In today’s ‘tight talent market’ – forgive the quotations as you will see why organisations have been focusing on strengthening their employee experience and corporate initiatives as ways to attract and retain talent. The problem is that there is no such thing as a tight talent market. Simply, what it comes down to is that empty gestures and grandiose ideologies and talk about ‘doing the right thing’ are simply not enough to motivate employees to work.
Since early 2020, organisations across the globe have suffered mass casualties as employees decide to ditch their workplaces in favour of roles that give their life more meaning. According to Workplace Intelligence, more than 15 million people have resigned from their roles in the past 12 months and many HR professionals expect to see a turnover increase within their organisations this year.
In this time of war, companies decidedly launched a counter-attack by implementing initiatives to appeal to their employees. Yet, despite ‘valiant’ efforts, employees have realised their worth and there has been a huge shift in their mindset when it comes to their skills and what they are willing to put up with.
No longer afraid
Many employees are now no longer afraid of voicing issues that matter the most to them and are increasingly taking to social media to call out businesses and their leaders who fail to understand the real-world challenges they are faced with. The rise of the anti-work movement makes clear that it is not a case of ‘no one wants to work anymore’ rather it is a case of ‘no one wants to pay workers what they are worth.’
On a higher level, there is a sense of delusion that sending emails on the benefits of mindfulness or offering a yoga class will simply alleviate employee grievances, reduce turnover and make employees more engaged. Throwing resources at problems without actually taking on board what issues employees are facing will do little to alleviate attrition or improve employees’ experience.
Some tone-deaf employers even shift the blame to their employees and say their lack of engagement and stress on the fact that employees have simply not practised enough self-care.
Preventive measures or extra responsibilities?
The problem with the push for self-care is that it burdens employees with an additional source of stress as it demands that they take time away from what they were doing that might have actually improved their situation. Constant changes in expectations combined with several ongoing external crises including the cost of living, war and a pandemic, encouraging employees to find time to practice self-care can feel like a burden rather than a genuine effort to remedy their problems.
Besides, some well-being initiatives might do more harm than good. Holding sharing circles where employees are pressured into talking about the state of their mental health is a terrible idea. All it takes is for one person to over-share to create an environment that forces others to contribute something that is well beyond their comfort zone.
Furthermore, this risks coming across as overly intrusive into employees’ personal lives. Scheduling intimate sessions might seem like a fantastic idea from a well-being perspective yet, there is no need for employers to know everything about an employee’s emotional, financial or spiritual well-being. Some things are simply best kept outside of the organisational orbit.
Undoubtedly, mental health advocation and well-being should be organisational priorities however, in tandem, there should be a careful balancing of how these initiatives are carried out with careful consideration on the implications of the initiatives.
Out of touch
Moreover, the push for well-being is increasingly out of touch with the reality of many employees’ day-to-day life. Take a single working parent for example. They may work a demanding job that requires labour-intensive shifts with a constant need for unpaid overtime. After their extended workday, they are responsible for the care of a five-year-old child with disabilities. When are they supposed to find time to practice their self-care? On their commute? On their break? In the shower?
Perhaps what employees feel most frustrated about is that employers are not focusing on the things that could actually make an improvement to employees’ lives and mental health. Paying an actually liveable wage, providing quality health insurance, ensuring workloads are reasonable and enabling access to childcare support are all ways to uniquely address employee issues.
Yet for some, it will remain easier (i.e. cheaper) to send out those emails or offer that new yoga mat. In the face of fierce competition, continuing in this manner will prove to employees how nominally businesses value them and only then will they experience how serious a turnover problem can really be.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
