The Great Resignation, the war on talent, and quiet quitting have all permeated our workforce. Every industry has been impacted, from frontline workers to C-suite professionals. Leaders and HR departments are trying to get a handle on the current realities of working in a post-/not-really-over-yet pandemic. The current landscape of employment, retaining top talent or even talent in general, and overall recruitment is on fire. Having worked with some of the largest organizations around the world, I hear the same battle cry from leaders: “We need more from our people with less, and we must retain our workforce at any cost.” Interestingly, the cost of retaining our workforces isn’t likely as “expensive” as many would assume, and all retentions aren’t necessarily wins!
The remedy is more readily available when we have clarity on what matters most to our people. It’s easy to quit a job, but it’s hard to quit a community. And in a true community, there are teams working toward a noble pursuit.
Here are seven research insights that will radically shift our perspective of what employees need and want from their organizations.
- “Returning to normal” is a poor business strategy. When has going back to how we did things almost 3 years ago made smart business sense? The world and how we do our work have changed. Employees want their efforts acknowledged. Lessons have been learned, and new ways of doing the work have emerged. Let people bring their hard-earned insights and work practices into their roles where it makes sense. Let teams co-create processes and systems where they can and when possible. The knowledge lives within the people who are living this work every day. Ask them, and then listen. You don’t have to enact every suggestion, but being acknowledged and validated for their ideas makes people feel needed and valued.
- Employees are desperate to be treated like adults. When asked what employees want most from their managers, supervisors, and leaders, the top response was to be treated like a grown adult. Micromanaging, a lack of trust, and having to prove you’re working all hinder employee morale. One participant reported, “I feel like a teenager again working in this hybrid setting. If I don’t answer my email or a call immediately, I think my boss is going to get mad at me.” Another shared, “I take my phone in case my boss needs me even when I am not working because I am scared to miss a call.” Yet another said they’ve missed taking their elder parent to medical appointments because they “don’t have the energy to deal with their boss.” The reality is that most people manage far more complex and challenging tasks in their personal life than in their work, but for many, when they’re at work, they report being treated like they’re irresponsible or not competent.
- Psychological safety is the most underrated concept that can change workplace culture. Having the freedom to be yourself and to be safe from reprisal seems straightforward enough, yet many people don’t feel safe interpersonally at work. Yes, during the pandemic, people were “scared” to go back to the office, but there’s a percentage of the workforce that was already feeling uneasy at work. The “Sunday scaries” (the fear that grows as returning to work on Monday looms) are real and a good indicator that the workplace is less than optimal in the realm of psychological safety. Another indicator is who’s speaking up and who’s being silenced. I recently asked leaders of one of the largest financial institutions in the world “Who is intimated by you at work?” The first responses were “No one—I am approachable” and “I can’t think of anyone.” The higher a person is within the organization, the less aware the person usually is of the power and privilege differentials.
- Employees want a future, not necessarily security. This finding shocked many leaders. The adage that everyone wants the leader’s job might not be as relevant today. Employees want opportunities for growth and development over job security in their current role. It’s rare that we hold one job in our careers. The reality is that people will have multiple roles in potentially different fields. Employees want generalizable skills and direction on where they can go from here. For large organizations, perhaps that can be within the company, but for some, it will mean leaving, which doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Supporting growth and development leads to employees who are engaged, motivated, and loyal while they’re there. Jobs are like seasons. You need to be learning or earning, but mobility and personal growth activate the best work traits in employees.
- Collaboration with the right people is key. Employees want to work with good people. Bad behavior left unaddressed hurts the team. If you take performance on one axis and trust on the other, teams need a sweet spot. An overperforming person no one trusts hurts the team. A trusted underperformer is fun to have around but doesn’t help get the work done. The best combination is moderate performance with high trust. Interestingly, this formula brings out the best in teams. So, even if you lose your top performer who has low trust with colleagues, it may benefit the overall team. Not all resignations are equal.
- Employees want to enjoy the work again. There will always be parts of work that might not be that pleasurable, but being with the right people can make even the most painful tasks more tolerable and even fun. However, employees report that most of their leaders are in a constant state of doom and gloom. Everything is an emergency and a crisis. If everything is a crisis and an emergency, then nothing is a crisis or an emergency! Allowing some spaciousness in our workdays for conversation, chit-chat, music, watching a monumental world sporting event during office hours, and even eating together helps boost morale. Remember the days when your teacher would wheel in the technology cart with the TV and VCR! You’d spend the afternoon watching something as a class (community). Or, remember when people brought snacks on Fridays (with carbs). There needs to be a place for light-heartedness.
- There’s power in the noble pursuit. As people are concerned about how stressful their jobs have become, have you ever wondered how military leaders get their teams to do their work? If stressful work environments are the problem, these leaders are literally in the trenches. The military has a rich history of training and development, but it ultimately comes down to the mission, the noble pursuit, and the people around you. People will go to remarkable lengths when they believe in the work. Being purpose-filled and part of the team are powerful motivators for workplace excellence. Every job has the potential to see the noble pursuit regardless of title or level of education. Help people see how their role matters. The reality is that we’re all replaceable in our jobs, and we can still be the right person, in this moment, to do the job well.
The Bottom Line
Employees will rally and rise to the task at hand when they’re part of the community. A recent study, highlighted in Our World in Data, showed who we spend our time with over our life spans. In childhood, it’s predominately with our family systems. In teenagerhood, we spend our time with teachers and friends, but as adults, there’s a marked decrease in time with family, while time with colleagues increases dramatically.
Our working years are now the longest season of our lives. Reflect on that for one moment. You’ll likely spend more of your awake time with colleagues than with family and friends. Whom you work with and how you’re part of the work community matter, and they matter a lot more than people think. So, if people are seeking out better work communities and leaving organizations that don’t get it, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe this slow-brewing trend of resignation is going to challenge organizations to rethink how they view and treat their people. People first, then employees? As adults? As valuable members of the community? Collectively, perhaps we’re witnessing a mighty shift in whom we work with and for so we can potentially enjoy our life as we’re living it versus waiting to retire to be well and find our communities.
Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a multi-award-winning education and psychology instructor, author, and resiliency expert. She specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, personal wellness in the workplace, and optimal performance, both personal and organizational. With over 18 years of university teaching and research experience and as a two-time TEDx Talk speaker, Hanley-Dafoe continues to create accessible and relatable materials while offering practical strategies that are realistic and sustainable. Her newest book, Stress Wisely: How to Be Well in an Unwell World, will be released June 20, 2023.
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