The division between employer and employee is getting wider and deeper

Last month, McKinsey & Company issued a report called “’Great Attrition’ or ‘Great Attraction’ The Choice is Yours.” It states that organisations are struggling to address the attrition issue for one reason – they don’t understand why employees are leaving in the first place. I will explore some of the findings of that report later in this article. Before I do, I wanted to share some of the ‘great divides’ I have been collating.

The divisions

The following are statements or data from various studies that have been conducted in 2021. They are clear indicators that employees want continued flexibility in regard to where they work, when they work and how they work. Yet we still have senior executives in many organisations demanding a full return to the office on a permanent basis. This is particularly prevalent in the financial sector.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman

“If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office.”

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon

“I do think for a business like ours, which is an innovative, collaborative apprenticeship culture, this is not ideal for us. And it’s not a new normal. It’s an aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible.”

Jes Staley, CEO Barclays

“It’s remarkable it’s working as well as it is, but I don’t think it’s sustainable.”

BlackHawk Network August 2021

“Our top takeaway? There is an enormous disconnect between what employees and employers want. The vast majority of people surveyed currently working remotely do not want to return to physical offices, but their employers are going to ask or mandate that they do.”

“Nearly three quarters of respondents working virtually would prefer to continue doing so as opposed to working in a physical workplace full- or part-time, but only 25% will not be required to return to a physical workspace full- or part-time in the coming months.”

Envoy August 2021

Larry Gadea, CEO and Founder of Envoy, spoke about the study and was quoted in Bloomberg.

“One major takeaway from these data points is that companies that demand a return to pre-pandemic ‘business as usual’ will fail. We need to earn our employees back.

 COVID isn’t going anywhere -- people need to know that their health is the top priority. And leaders need to ask the hard questions about what’s working and what’s not, and then begin experimenting with technology solutions that make the work experience better.”

Eden July 2021

Joe Du Bey CEO and co-founder - Eden Workplace

“Companies that opt for a hybrid model gain a competitive advantage as being an employer of choice. They can attract 85% of workers who want to have access to an office but also speak to the majority of the workforce that wises for some remote work and more flexibility.”

Accenture May 2021

“A majority of workers (83%) prefer a hybrid work model.

Responsible leaders must move beyond physical location to shape the future of work by giving people resources tailored to their needs.

We found that 63% of high-growth companies have already adopted a “productivity anywhere” workforce model.”

Gartner May 2021

“Gartner’s 2021 Hybrid Work Employee Survey of more than 2,400 knowledge workers in January 2021 reveals that employers’ attempts to recreate visibility by investing in tracking systems has made employees nearly 2 times more likely to pretend to be working, exacerbating the “always on” phenomenon. Employers’ attempts to recreate serendipity by adding more meetings has led to virtual overload – employees who now spend more time in meetings are 1.24 times more likely to feel emotionally drained from their work.”

Jérôme Mackowiak, director, advisory, in the Gartner HR practice stated:

“Organizations have reacted to this crisis by recreating what they know, but rather than merely adapting principles from the on-site environment to the hybrid world, organizations need to unlearn old habits and fundamentally rethink work design.

Forcing employees to go back to the on-site environment could result in employers losing up to 39% of their workforce.”

Robert Half April 2021

April 2021 More than 1000 US workers

A new study by global staffing firm Robert Half shows that about 1 in 3 professionals (34%) currently working from home due to the pandemic would look for a new job if required to be in the office full time.”

Sungard July 2021

“Over half of employed U.S. adults (57%) have been working remotely since the start of the pandemic, and nearly 95% ideally want to keep it that way,

Among remote workers, 43% ideally don’t want to return to the office at all, while 51% percent would prefer a mix of remote and in-office working.

Nearly four in five remote workers (78%) believe they would be most productive if they could choose to work remotely or in an office as needed, including roughly two in five (41%) who strongly agree. Their feelings are so strong that 56% would take less money if it meant they could work from any location full-time.”

breeze – July 2021

“We asked 1,000 adult Americans who are employed or looking for work at a job that can be completed entirely remotely what they would give up if that employer offered them the option of working remotely full-time.

Here's how they answered:

• 65% would take a 5% pay cut

• 38% would take a 10% pay cut

• 24% would take a 15% pay cut

• 18% would take a 20% pay cut

• 15% would take a 25% pay cut”

The choice is yours

As the McKinsey article I cited earlier stated “The choice is yours.” I echo that as loudly as I can.

The organisations that take intentional action to close the divide between employer and employee are the ones that will retain their talent and attract it. These will be the survivors.

The McKinsey research clearly shows that employers do not fully understand why employees are leaving. 

When asked why employees were leaving, employers cited:

·       Compensation

·       Work-life balance

·       Poor physical and emotional health

When employees were asked why they were leaving, they cited:

·       Not feeling valued by the organisation

·       Not feeling valued by their manager

·       No sense of belonging at work

Whilst those factors cited by employers are still important to employees, they are not as important as employers think. They are out of touch. Employers are focused on transactional factors whereas employees are focused on relational ones.

Action

The time for action is now, otherwise it will be too late. Organisations must pause and take stock. This is the time to listen to what employees want and need. This is the time to really listen and ensure you are hearing and understanding what is being said. It is time to bridge the gap.

Involve employees in finding the solutions. Don’t do this alone in an ivory tower. This is the time to come down from the tower and really connect with the workforce.

The McKinsey report suggests a number of questions that should be asked as organisations connect with their employees. These are the ones I believe should be asked.

Do we have leaders? Do we have real leaders in the organisation who make people feel valued, inspire and motivate, lead with care and compassion, empower and enable every employee to be the best they can be?

Do we have employee wellbeing as the priority? Employee wellbeing must be the most important thing we care about.

Have we enabled high performing hybrid teams? Have we invested in leadership development to effectively lead a hybrid team? Many leaders have never led a hybrid team before, and it entails a fundamental mindset shift and a capability uplift to do so proficiently. They need to use more of a coaching leadership style to achieve the level of autonomy and commitment hybrid teams require. 

Do we have an environment of psychological safety? This means that every employee knows that they can speak up with ideas, questions, concerns, challenges, or mistakes without any fear of repercussion or reprisal. They feel safe to reach out and ask for help. Trust and mutual respect are pervasive throughout the organisation.

Do we develop our people? Employees are looking for career paths and development. They want feedback and recognition. We need to provide growth opportunities for employees at every level of the organisation including our leaders and senior executives.

Close

Organisations must stop and listen to their employees and find out what they want before they leave. The competition that understands employees needs and meets them, have their doors open for your talent.

You can stand by and watch them leave or you can take decisive action.

The choice is yours.