Your Employees (And Probably You) Are Not OK
Employee wellbeing has been a topic of importance for employers for years. Recently, the urgency to do something about it has heightened significantly. It’s time for organizations to quit just talking about wellbeing and start taking action if we plan to get out of the labor crisis we are in as a country.
COVID changed our lives forever. For some, it changed our lives because we lost someone we loved dearly. For others, it changed a life we enjoyed: one where we were happy with our work, our employer, our environment, and our colleagues. For others, COVID may not have been a negative— allowing us to reprioritize what is important and make our family and lives a priority once again.
I recently heard someone say: perhaps the Great Resignation is not so much that, but more of a Great Re-evaluation.
Many view the world differently now and we need to honor that, and seek out opportunities to create different, better environments that people want to be a part of.
BambooHR published a report recently indicating over the last six months that 43% of American workers said they have considered looking for a new job that better aligns with their values. While the report was based on a relatively small survey, it is concerning to think that almost half of the workforce is looking for new jobs.
Even more staggering, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Deloitte found C-Suites are overestimating how their employees are doing compared to how employees say they are doing. According to the data, 89% of executives believe their employees are thriving, compared to 65% of employees who rated their own wellbeing as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.
The very amazing and talented Brené Brown suggests in a recent Dare to Lead podcast that she believes employees may be overestimating their wellbeing because of fear about telling their boss or their organization that they’re not alright. According to Brown—and I agree—as an American workforce, we are not ok. We have employees jumping ship left and right, we cannot fill critical vacancies across most industries, and we have leaders scratching their heads trying to figure out how and what to do to pivot.
To make matters worse, that same Deloitte study mentioned above found that of the executives surveyed, 95% of them believe they are responsible for their employee’s wellbeing, yet only 68% are doing anything about it. AND…almost 70% of executive leaders are considering leaving their own job in pursuit of better support for their personal wellbeing. That seems like a serious disconnect and most certainly does not embody the foundational leadership trait of leading by example, although I do believe some of this stems from leaders not knowing how to address the issue.
So, what do you do when facing external issues that you have little control over, like COVID? You focus on what up can change. You control the controllables; and with this particular challenge, that is YOU and how YOU lead!
Here’s what to do: start by having open and honest conversations about how you’re feeling. If you lead by example, your team may feel safer admitting if they are also not ok. Then you get back to the basics. You put your people first! You understand their needs, desires, and wants, and you use that to forge a new way of leading.
In closing, leaders must expand their thinking and understand the fundamental differences of people. We must begin treating others how they want to be treated, rather than how we want to be treated, and we must get comfortable being vulnerable if we want to get to the root of the challenges we are facing.
Ignite Leadership is passionate about helping others learn to lead, dedicated to their purpose and their people. If you would like more information about how we do this, reach out for a free consultation.
