The Great Inflection
Why the pandemic could radically alter work as we know it
I am so curious to see what our world of work looks like in ten years. The optimist in me is jazzed about the possibilities, because It’s clear that we have reached an inflection point. It’s impossible to listen to or read the news without hearing about “The Big Quit”, or the Great Resignation. Since April 2021, 20 million people have chosen to leave their jobs, and LinkedIn data shows career changes are at the highest rates since the platform launched in 2003. So what is causing these once in a lifetime shifts, and what can employers do to fill jobs when there are only 8.3 million people seeking the 10.4 million open positions in the U.S.?
Why is everyone quitting?
When federal pandemic unemployment benefits ended in July 2021, people didn’t come flooding back to work as many hypothesized. Certainly some people are leaving jobs because of the health risks of an ongoing pandemic and continued challenges with access to affordable child and elder care. But these factors alone don’t explain the unprecedented levels of workforce exodus and transition.
Life since March 2020 has been challenging, disorienting, and unpredictable. Most of us are experiencing a maelstrom of emotions - draining anxiety, relief, powerlessness, guilt, gratitude, and exhaustion, to name a few. We are confronting a global pandemic, a national reckoning with racism, political chasms, and heightened angst about the future of our planet. Just ask any therapist - they are inundated with requests, and their clients are suffering more than ever. So what does this have to do with the labor market? As it turns out, quite a lot.
As psychology research tells us often happens alongside major life events, the pandemic has inspired many of us to reexamine our lives, consider what we value, and contemplate how we want to enjoy the days that we have been reminded are quite ephemeral. In addition to making career changes, people are getting divorced, moving in with new partners, selling their homes, and adding pets to their families. (I want to acknowledge that the ability to make such changes is often associated with the financial privilege to do so.) So it shouldn’t be surprising that we are asking so many questions about the workplace and how it fits into our lives. What does work life balance truly look like? Do I want to spend 40+ hours of every week sitting at a desk? Can I show up as my authentic self at work? Is my job bringing me joy? When I look back at my life, what moments will make me truly proud of what I’ve contributed? Am I spending enough time with my family, my friends? How am I really investing in taking care of myself?
How can employers act responsively in this very unique moment?
With Joblist reporting that 73% of the American workforce is actively considering leaving their jobs, there is no doubt that workplaces need to evolve and make bold changes if they want to recruit and retain top talent. The companies that attempt to return to business as usual will be left behind. There is no road map, no one right answer. But below are four guiding principles that can help you turn the tide of the Great Resignation.
1. Humanize the workplace
“73% of the American workforce is actively considering leaving their jobs.”
Peeking into the home lives of our coworkers over zoom calls has invited a new intimacy and often comic relief into our workdays. One of my favorite pandemic zoom stories is my sister’s tech team stopping a meeting because her coworker’s two year old daughter was having a meltdown looking for the “cookies” that everyone at the web privacy meeting was discussing. The days when we were expected to leave our personal selves at the office door are a vestige of a bygone homogenous workplace. Yes, we need to know how to set appropriate boundaries, but we also need to create workplaces where people can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging.
Human workplaces compensate people so they can live with dignity. They provide time off, flexibility, and benefits that acknowledge that people have to take care of themselves and their families, and that people need to rest and play. They dig into the discomfort that comes with examining how racism, gender inequities, and ableism show up in their workplaces. And in this moment of collective suffering, human workplaces provide space for collective reflection and healing. People are having lots of feelings right now, and if we don’t stop to acknowledge them, we fuel anxiety and disconnection that only further isolate the human beings that we rely on every day to do great work.
2. Reflect on where you can empower your workers with agency and choice
With many people working remotely throughout the pandemic, workers have gotten used to a certain amount of independence and flexibility. Not every job can be done from home, and coming together in person can fuel creativity, collaboration, and connection. However, we’ve learned that remote work can increase productivity and workplace satisfaction. If you are seeing challenges with productivity, be careful not to mistake performance and accountability issues for a sign that you can’t offer a flexible work environment.
How can you allow your people some level of choice in how, when, and where they do their work? Can your workplace consider hybrid options, compressed work weeks, part time positions, or job sharing? When we give people choices, we demonstrate that we value their individual needs. That could have a major impact on their decision to stay.
3. Listen
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is well known for transforming Microsoft’s meeting culture with his three rules: “Listen more. Talk less. Be decisive when the time comes.” Most of the new ideas, policies, and offerings you need to retain and attract top talent live in the heads and hearts of your current employees. The challenge is how to extract them. Leadership can’t put down the power they hold, and that dynamic creates obstacles to employees sharing their true thoughts and feelings. We have to find creative and consistent ways to listen.
Design robust strategies for building trust, and create opportunities where employees feel safe to share their honest opinions. Below are some ideas:
Train your managers on how to solicit and receive feedback.
Ask teams to collaborate on suggestions for what changes would keep them at the company longer (people often feel safer when they offer ideas as a group).
When making decisions about workplace changes, use company wide anonymous surveys. Share results and explain how you use the input to inform your decisions.
Consider posting a thought provoking weekly pulse question to better understand what your people value and what motivates them. What is the most meaningful part of your job? How do you prefer to start your day? What drains you at work? What energizes you?
Create a culture committee of people that hold different identities and positions, and give them the power to propose new paths. Make sure to compensate them for taking on this important work.
Conduct exit interviews and stay interviews.
Have regular skip level meetings to learn from people across the company.
4. Don’t be afraid to experiment
How many times have you used the words “unprecedented” and “pivot” in a sentence since March 2020? Without minimizing the pain that exists, we need to harness the power of this moment because struggle has a tendency to produce innovation and progress. For example, after nearly losing his wife and seven-year-old daughter in a car crash in 1952, John Hetrick was inspired to invent the original prototype for today’s airbag. And U.S. public policy in response to the Great Depression ushered in a period of prosperity and greater equality.
So let’s give some bold new approaches a chance. Some will work. Some won’t. Along the way we will learn a great deal about who we are as individuals, as companies, as communities, and about who we aspire to be.
As Maya Angelou wisely wrote, “Nobody, but nobody can make it out here alone”. If you want help thinking through what progress looks like in your workplace, reach out and together let’s figure out how to cut through the layers of the Great Inflection and create something new. It’s in my nature to be optimistic, and I choose to believe that this moment will bring exciting shifts that help us all live more holistic, fulfilling lives.