THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT

Although we are less than a month from the end of winter, economic and social indicators suggest that we may be entering the Winter of Our Discontent. It wasn’t that long ago that unemployment was so low that employees were considered to be in the driver’s seat. Now, however, it appears that the screw has turned, and employees see their situations as worsening in the immediate future.

Ben Wigert and Corey Tatel, writing in Workplace, discuss the findings of a recent Gallup Poll. American employees are feeling increasingly detached from their jobs. As a result, the rate of employees seeking new job opportunities is the highest in the last 10 years, while overall satisfaction with their employer is at a record low.

THE GREAT DETACHMENT

While the “Great Resignation” saw an unprecedented number of employees seeking better, different, or more satisfying jobs, what Gallup calls the “Great Detachment” reveals a deep discontent in the American workforce, fueled in large part by inflation, a cooling job market, and economic uncertainty.

Although employers are breathing a sigh of relief as turnover slows, productivity concerns and anticipated talent loss have many of them worried.

While the mood of detachment gains momentum, attempts to reverse these feelings with organizational change initiatives are greeted with indifference or even resistance.

FIVE CHANGES FUELING DETACHMENT

1.   Rapid organizational change: Most companies underwent rapid transformations post-2020. Record-high turnover and hiring during the Great Resignation resulted in many employees finding their footing in a new career. Today, 7 in 10 employees (73%) say their organization has experienced some level of disruptive change in the past year. The more disruption that employees have experienced, the more likely they are to feel burned out today. Further, as businesses adjust to fluctuating markets, managers are reporting disruption from the restructuring of teams (55%) and additional job responsibilities for employees (69%), while nearly half (46%) report budget cuts. Consequently, many managers are tasked with stabilizing disrupted teams and onboarding new employees while navigating a tighter budget.

2.   Hybrid and remote growing pains: Hybrid work entails switching work locations throughout the week and often results in team members working different schedules, which naturally challenges communication and coordination. The physical distancing inherent to remote work can also create an emotional distance. Gallup research shows that fully remote workers are consistently less connected to their organization’s mission or purpose compared with their hybrid counterparts.

3.   New customer expectations: Fifty-six percent of employees report noticing changes in customer expectations since the pandemic, with 71% of those employees attributing changes to more demanding customers or higher expectations for a better digital experience.

4.   New employee expectations: The pandemic caused many to reevaluate what they want from their career and employer. Work-life balance and better compensation packages became more important to employees, along with expectations for remote work flexibility. A mismatch between what employees expect and what employers offer can leave employees feeling undervalued and questioning their future.

5.   Broken performance management practices: Most leaders have very little confidence in their performance management systems, leaving organizations without a reliable way to clarify expectations, align teams, recognize achievements and develop employees. This is particularly problematic in a highly disrupted environment riddled with changing expectations and employees working remotely more often.

WHAT CAN AN EMPLOYER DO?

An employer will need to create a counter-balance to the causes of detachment, which can be summed up as a lack of clarity of expectations at work and loss of empathy regarding the company’s mission and purpose.

RESET EXPECTATIONS AND PRIORITIES

Without a clear understanding of what is expected, employees may find themselves guessing, or just going through the motions associated with their job descriptions. Without clear expectations, the employee will not know what success looks like.

Since the pandemic, less than 50% of employees admit knowing what is expected of them. This lack of mission knowledge and task clarity is even more pronounced for younger employees, new employees, hybrid workers, and management roles.

The counterbalance to this is to initiate two-way conversations between managers and their teams to establish expectations. These expectations should be:

• collaboratively set and prioritized with employees
• aligned with what the team aims to achieve
• regularly discussed
• considered alongside workload and wellbeing

COMMUNITY VERSUS JUST A COG

A driving factor of The Great Resignation was the quest for meaning and purpose in their jobs. This remains a deep-seated need. Employees want to know that their work matters and that their company is making a difference in the world. With a joint mission and purpose between employees and management, a bond is formed that creates highly engaged employees who feel like they belong to a community and are not just a cog in a machine.

As conveyed by the Gallup Workplace article,

“In mid-2021, amid the Great Resignation, employees’ sense of connection began to erode as organizations experienced the pressure of constant change, uncertainty and a volatile labor market, which led to fatigue. A rapid decline ensued, with connection to company mission dropping from 38% in March 2021 to a record low of 30% in February 2024.

Connection to mission or purpose is particularly low among younger employees, fully remote workers and front-line employees.

To turn this trend around, leaders must communicate an inspiring vision that people want to get behind. This is critical at the organizational level, but ultimately, the connection must be made at the team level. Employees need a manager to show them why their effort makes a difference.

The best leaders and managers:

• clarify and model the mission and values of the organization
• help employees see how they contribute to something bigger
• ask employees to share stories about what makes them proud of their work
• ensure the employee experience is delivering on the company’s mission and values.

The Great Detachment indicates that many employees are struggling to navigate new priorities and new ways of working. They are also questioning the meaning and purpose of their work, and have yet to be answered. This presents a challenge for companies that want to retain their talent, strengthen their culture and grow their business.

The good news is that by addressing two declining elements of engagement -- clear expectations and mission or purpose -- leaders can turn these risks into game-changing strengths. Gallup’s 11^th edition of its Q^12® meta-analysis (from 2024) shows:

• Improving clarity of expectations from today’s levels to best-practice levels can lead to a 9% increase in profitability and an 11% improvement in work quality.
• Improving the connection between employees’ jobs and the mission or purpose of their organization can lead to a 32% reduction in turnover and a 15% improvement in productivity.

Organizations that deliver on these two critical needs will build a more committed workforce and inspire their people’s best work. That’s good for employees, employers and their customers.”

HOW CAN ASN HELP?

The professionals at ASN are experts in employer/employee relationships. We understand the critical need for employee engagement and employer clarity regarding job performance expectations. If you would like to discuss how you can improve employee engagement and clarity of purpose, we would love to have that conversation. Just give us a call.