I may be a little late to the party, but I have discovered some fascinating research from HP.

HP released its first Workplace Relationship Index on September 20, 2023. They surveyed more than 12,000 knowledge workers, 3,600 IT decision-makers, and 1,200 business leaders across 12 countries.

HP wanted to understand the changing nature of the world’s relationship with work and how to transform that relationship so that everyone wins. They noted that much of the recent raging debate has been focused on where we work, but that is not the only issue to be solved.

“But, where doesn't matter if people don’t know why, how or who they show up for in the first place, and what it takes to have a healthy and productive relationship with work. It’s not an exaggeration to say that in the world of work today, society is at an era-defining crossroads: the meeting of where, why, how and who.”

HP analysed more than 50 aspects of society’s relationship with work, including how people feel about their skills and abilities, the role of work in their lives, the space they work in, the tools and technology they use and their expectations of leadership, and found that only about one-quarter (27%) of knowledge workers have a healthy relationship with work.

As a result, HP identified six key drivers that can lead to a healthy relationship with work.

Implications of an unhealthy relationship at work.

There are implications when 73% of knowledge workers do not have a healthy relationship with work.

I will extract these four implications from the report as I could not convey them more succinctly.

“The implications of unhealthy relationships with work are significant – the most alarming implication is that they are impacting employees’ well-being. When work has a negative impact on employees emotionally and physically, employees eat poorly, exercise less, toss and turn at night, gain weight, struggle with their mental health, feel like failures, feel isolated and more.

Productivity, morale, connection and engagement diminish when relationships with work are unhealthy, leading to increasing challenges with employee retention. A majority of those who don’t have a healthy relationship with work already have one foot out the door (to leave their companies).

Knowledge workers have higher expectations of how they are treated at – and by – work than they did even two years ago. They are willing to take a pay cut to work somewhere that meets their wants and needs.

Being professional no longer means suppressing emotional reactions. People want a culture where they can be their authentic selves at work. Employees – especially Gen Z and Millennial knowledge workers – want empathetic and emotionally intelligent leaders who can create an organizational culture where everyone feels they belong.”

There are also business costs. When their relationship is not what they want it to be, knowledge workers say they:

·       are less productive

·       are disengaged with their work

·       are disconnected from the organisation

·      do the bare minimum required to stay in good standing

·       are contemplating leaving the company

·       would not recommend their workplace to others

These all cost businesses through poor productivity, morale, connection and engagement.

Six core drivers 

Six core drivers fuel healthy relationships.

FULFILMENT: Purpose, meaning and empowerment at work

LEADERSHIP:  Empathy and emotional connection from those in charge

PEOPLE-CENTRICITY:  Decision-making with people at the heart

SKILLS:  Confidence-building by tapping into the enthusiasm employees have for learning new skills

TOOLS:  The right technology to drive employee engagement

WORKSPACE:  Flexibility and trust in where employees work, enabled by seamless transitions

Do you need help?

I suggest that you do. This is the graphic from the HP report indicating the percentage of knowledge workers that have a healthy relationship with work.

They are all very low numbers, and even the high of 50% in India isn’t great.

This graph shows the drivers are making up the low scores on the index. The number in the centre is the core Work Relationship Index score, capturing the percentage of people with a healthy relationship with work today.

The highlighted scores outside the circle represent the current performance of each driver out of 100.

 Australia, you have a problem

As we saw on the graphic showing the percentage of knowledge workers with a healthy relationship with work worldwide, we all have a problem.

As I live in Australia, I will use the “lucky country” or, now more appropriately, the “unlucky country” as an example of improving the situation.

In Australia:

81% of knowledge workers are willing to take a salary cut for a better relationship with work.

65% of knowledge workers say it’s important that people are encouraged to communicate their emotions in the workplace.

Fulfilment

HP does not provide an Australian-specific result for the core driver of fulfilment.

Globally, only 28% of knowledge workers feel their work gives them purpose, feel connected to their work, and their work is meaningful.

Leadership

Only 17% of knowledge workers say, “My company’s senior leadership have evolved their leadership styles based on our new ways of working from the past 2 – 3 years.” (Lower than the global average of 21%).

Only 17% of knowledge workers say, “Senior leadership demonstrates emotional intelligence.” (Lower than the global average of 20%).

People centricity

23% of knowledge workers consistently experience that people are treated as valued and respected human beings instead of just being viewed as a number.

Skills

Of Australia’s knowledge workers:

Only 29% are confident they have the right skills to be successful at work. Lower than the global average of 35%). 

Only 26% feel confident in their human (people/power) skills. (Lower than the global average of 31%).

Only 26% feel confident in their hard (business/technical) skills. (Lower than the global average of 31%).

Tools

Of Australia’s knowledge workers:

Only 24% feel their company give them the tools they need to be successful at work. (Lower than the global average of 27%).

Only 23% feel the company’s office has all the equipment, technology, and space they need to be successful. (Lower than the global average of 26%).

Only 22% are confident their company will choose the right technology to implement across the company to support hybrid work. (Lower than the global average of 25%).

Only 19% believe they work for an organisation that provides tools and technology based on employee needs and feedback. (Lower than the global average of 23%).

Workspace

HP does not provide an Australian-specific result for the core driver of the workspace.

70% of knowledge workers who can work in a company-provided office or remotely, based on what makes sense for them on a given day, report a healthy work relationship.

So, what are you going to do Australia?

You have a choice. You can choose to do nothing and suffer the consequences. Or you can invest in building a better organisation and lives for everyone.

The essence of the six core drivers HP identified as needed for a healthy work relationship is leadership. Employees will not feel fulfilled, bring their whole selves to work, have greater respect and autonomy, receive the right skills development and tools, and have the workspace flexibility they expect without exemplary leadership.

What got leaders to where they were in 2020 will not get them where they need to be in 2024. The world of work has changed, and so must leadership.

Leaders must learn, unlearn, and relearn. This takes courage and humility, as unlearning means admitting that what you know today is no longer valid, and you must discard this knowledge and replace it with new knowledge.

Leaders must learn to be empathetic and emotionally intelligent leaders. They must create a sense of belonging in which everyone feels respected and valued for their contribution. They must leverage employees' enthusiasm for learning new skills and work with them to ensure they have the tools to succeed. They must provide both flexibility and autonomy for employees to determine where they will do their best work. And above all, there must be trust.

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