Your people don’t want to come back to the office… — Lionesses of Africa

by Paula Quinsee

We live in a world where we glorify professional stress, extensive work hours, extreme dedication. We live in a world where saying ”no” to extra work is seen as a weakness. As a result you end up over-worked, exhausted, traumatized… which you then simply call ”the price of being successful’’. As my colleague Bogdan Manta says, ”Balance is not something you find; balance is something you create.”

Did you know that since February 2020, the average Teams user saw a 252% increase in their weekly meeting time? No wonder mental health and well-being is so topical and the Great Resignation is a real concern for many organisations.

Your people don’t want to come back to the office, it’s just not worth it anymore.

We recently hosted a Leadership Event for RMB on cultivating Psychological Safety in the workplace and the power of human connection for 170 leaders that are focused on taking the business forward. Employees have realized that they want their personal sense of purpose to align with that of their organisation, and they want an appropriate physical and digital environment that gives them the flexibility to achieve that elusive work–life balance.

So how do employers try and meet their needs while at the same time deliver on their objectives and goals? It’s all about the employee experience…and right now a lot of employees are exhausted, overwhelmed with their personal and work hours blurring, questioning what work means to them, and thinking through their options.

We’re also seeing a rise in the risk of burnout. Did you know it can take on average 2-yrs for someone to recover from burnout?

If you are expecting people to come back to the office to sit behind a desk and work, think again. They can do this from home.

People’s needs have changed. They want:
– time to connect
– access to decision makers
– mentoring
– time to be creative and innovative (i.e. robust discussions)
– to have constructive feedback
– open and transparent communication
– their voices to be heard
– to embrace being human

And they need you, their leaders to demonstrate this and to lead by example.

What employee experience are you creating within your organisation and do your employees feel the same way or is it perception vs reality?

Get in touch here if you would like to know more about these sessions and how we can help you create and positive and inspiring experience for your staff.

Warmly
Paula