RESOURCES dimensions: feelings of physical or emotional exhaustion, increased negativity or cynicism of the job, and reduced professional efficacy.” Last year, wellbeing platform Yerbo polled 32,000 IT professionals and found that two in five technology workers are at high risk of burnout, brought on by longer hours and demanding workloads. Sixty-two percent of IT professionals report they are “physically and emotionally drained,” Williams added. Leaders burnout too Sloan said addressing employee burnout and quiet quitting needs to include the company’s leaders as well. “First, recognize that many leaders are facing burnout and disengagement themselves, and 70 percent [of them] are considering leaving themselves,” Sloan said. “The right thing to do for many leaders is either choose to become agents of change or step aside to allow others to step up to lead.” He suggested leaders who battle through the stress need to appreciate that workers value meaning at work. “In fact, Millennial workers are willing to take up to a 23 percent pay cut for greater emotional and relational compensation.” Williams cited Daniel Pink’s book on human motivation, “Drive,” which suggests employees thrive when there’s a connection alignment among purpose, autonomy and the ability to master their craft. “Companies should realize that a proactive approach is often best. Waiting until an employee is performing poorly to investigate reasons why often is a reactive approach without solving the root cause or providing fundamental support,” Williams said. “The manager is an employee’s best resource for support, encouragement and well-being.” Instead of measuring success from only a results dimension, managers ought to consider the relationship dimension proactively by asking: “How do we feel about working together? Or, how clear, effective and efficient is our approach?” Williams said managers may want to engage employees by asking for their input on improving work processes, whether they believe more resources are needed, offer them specific assignments that play to an individual’s strengths, and acknowledge them when a job is done well to raise employee’s confidence. Pandemic’s effect The terms Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting originate out of macrolevel shifts in the workforce and impacts of the pandemic. The pandemic caused employees to become more introspective and challenged old paradigms of work-life balance, meaning and purpose, Williams said. “The Great Resignation reflected a dramatic increase in voluntary resignations mostly attributed to low pay, limited opportunities for advancement, inflexible work policies and high job dissatisfaction,” he said, citing the number of people who quit in 2021 was more than doubled the number of people quitting versus a decade prior. But the historical U.S. unemployment rate remains under 4 percent, which reflects many employees who were quitting were moving between employers. On average in 2021 and 2022, almost four million Americans quite jobs each month. This equates to almost 23 percent of the U.S. workforce. Industries most impacted have been food service, leisure and hospitality, retail trade and transportation. Williams said Quiet Quitting describes employees who are doing the minimum necessary of what is required. “Unlike the Great Resignation where employees quit and leave a company, Quiet Quitting involves disengaged employees remaining at their current employer with low levels of productivity, which cause unequal workloads across teams.” According to Gallup, 60 percent of people are considered detached at work. Chris Williams, COO, Interaction Associates Greg Sloan of Go Beyond Top Reasons for Quitting Previous Job, April 2021-2022 Lack of career development and advancement 41% Inadequate total compensation 36% Uncaring and uninspiring leaders 34% Lack of meaningful work 31% Unsustainable work expectations 29% Unreliable and unsupportive people at work 26% Lack of workplace flexibility 26% Lack of support for the health and wellbeing 26% Non-inclusive and unwelcoming community 14% Geographic ties and travel demand 13% Unsafe workplace environment 13% Inadequate resource accessibility 11% Source: McKinsey & Co. 34 REMOTE WORK SOLUTIONS rwsmagazine.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTg4Njc=