Need to find balance in the workplace

Johan Botes Baker McKenzie

An engaged, fulfilled andthriving workforce is a keygoal for all progressive businesses in 2023.

Thechallenges facedby both employersand employees in the workplace call for a redesign ofworkforce policiesthat areable tobalance the financial, employment and logisticschallenges faced by post-pandemicemployers, withthe individual employee’s searchfor meaning, flexibility and wellbeing.

According to PwC’s Global Workforce Hopesand Fears survey, one in five global workersplanned toquitin 2022.A fairnumber ofthem did, withemployers facing fresh challengesto recruit newtalent duetoemployees reassessing theirlives and goals during Covid-19.

A general unhappiness with theirworkplace environmentand asearchfor more payor moreflexible policies have allbeen cited as the reasonsfor themass migration ofemployees from one firmto another,or for downgrades or downscaling.

Morethan oneemployee seemed toconclude that living amore spartanlife but with greater peace and tranquillity was worth ditching someof theaccoutrements of high-end jobs.

This Great Resignation has affected mostindustries, and companies aroundthe world have been trying to find the most efficientstaffing models and flexiblearrangements within thosemodels to ensure they areable to meet staff expectationsand attract and retain the right talent.

The Search For Meaning

While workplaceflexibility has become a key negotiation point inemployment contracts, themodern workforce is alsoincreasingly demanding thattheir employer s activities matchtheir own personal ideals.This includes that the business operates in a sustainable way and provides benefitsfor theenvironment, local economies and thesurrounding com- munities. Employeeswant to know theyare workingin a role that provides not only personal meaning,but that the business is fulfilling its responsibilities tosociety and the environment.

Employees, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders arealso demanding that organisations take a stanceon important issues suchas racism,sexual harassment, unemployment, and incomeinequality. Leading businessesare turning this challenge into a competitive advantageby creating workplaces withpurposeful engagement andways to accommodate a diverse set of employees withdiffering workplace needs.

Growing Importance Of Mental Wellbeing

For much of the pre-industrial era, what wasgoing on in the mindsof workerswas consideredto beof norelevance to thequality of their gence, machine learning and automation has not eradicated theneed forcreative thinking instead, it has served to emphasise its immense value.

The Quiet Quitters

While employersgrapple with retaining key talent, some employees optnot to vote withtheir feetwhen they are disgruntled they quietly quit. They do not actually resign orleave the service of their employer, but switch gears to “disengage” but continueto workand draw a salary with the same employer. Therisk ofstaff onlydoing whattheyare absolutely supposed to (or just enoughto notget fired)is often associated with poor workplace culture.

Employees whoare fearful of repercussionsare less likely to raise suggestions, put forward ideas on new ways of doing business, identify outdated practices or drive the businessin a new direction.

AT

BREAKING POINT work. Workers were simply required to show up physically at the workplace.

Fortunately, businesses andour societyhavesince evolved. In our current economy, the mostcritical tool for any business is the intellectual property of its employees the workers minds.

Working atits best,the human mindis astate-ofthe-art piece of machinery, capable of painting the Sistine Chapel, writing the Google algorithm and calculating precise mathematicaltrajectories thatlanded Apollo11 on the moon. Givenits crucial valueto thebusiness, itfollows that the mental health of aworkforceshould beatop priority for employers, and employee wellbeingpolicies are nowan integralpart of forward thinkingbusinesses human resources strategies.

The rise ofartificial intelli-

The rise of quiet quitting in the workplace during 2022 has been attributed to various factors, including long working hours, lackof work/life balance, workplacebullying and beingtaken forgranted by their employers. Employers focused on making sure their top performers didn t leave cameto realisethat their nexttier ofemployees were as important, and warranted attention and rewards aswell.While keytalentis often mobile and such employees are likelyto leave when they feel disgruntled, employees who are less likelyto readilyfindmeaningful alternative employment may bemore inclined to stay and be unhappy.

This group of quiet quitterscould haveadisastrous effect on the business, turning a thrivingcompany intoa bureaucracy resemblinga poorly run state department.

For employers,the solutionliesin gettingthebalance right. Businesses must ensure that employees who have felt compelled to quietly quitareable tospeakup about exhaustion,frustration and grievances, and ask for assistance. Avoiding burnout and risks totheir mental health will assist greatly in fulfilling the higher demands we place on employees to remain motivated.

The trend to silently slip away from one’s workplace responsibilities, literallyor figuratively, could place additional burden on other employees who are dedicatedto thecause.Employees who repeatedlyexperience an unbalanced workload are likely toquit whether they do so actually or quietly.

Employers should ensure their retention policies and projects aimto addressnot only their high-flyersbut all groups of employees needed to ensure the smooth running of the business.

Retention of staffis no longer enough retaining the commitment andmotivation of allemployed bythe organisation is critical for business success.

THE FOUR-DAY WORK WEEK

Likeyo-yos andhulahoops, the four-daywork weekhas excited generations, with the notion fadingover timeand becoming trendy again once those who were infatuated withthe ideahave longforgotten the frustration of replicating moves made to look so simple by a select few.

Two globaloil companies were the first documented cases of modern companies adopting the four-day work week, back in 1940. Their drivers worked a schedule thatsaw themworking40 hoursinfour days(the4/40 system).

Research fromthe 1970s shows that the initial enthusiasmandpositive effectsofa reduced work week wane over time.Ivancevich &Lyon (1977) noted that employees working ona 4/40week reported increasedsatisfaction in respectof job security, autonomy and remuneration when compared toa comparator group, plus reduced anxiety and increased productivity. These results measured after 13 months from the commencement of the programme stood in starkcontrast tothe employee experiences recorded at 25 months.

All areasthat weremeasured declined bythe second survey the only aspect that remained positive after two years was the employees sense of personal worth.

A currenttrial conducted by4Day WeekGlobal,the think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day WeekUK Campaignand researchers at Boston College and Cambridge and Oxford universities continues to report success.

Inlate Novemberitwas announced that 100 UK companies employing about 2,600 employees would permanently implementfourday weeks, with employees receiving the same salaries. Thisis consideredto bea positive step forthe four-day week campaign.

Further, employerswho are ableto correctlyidentify the right mixof workforce policies availableto themand then findways ofaccommodating andcommunicating with theirstaff tocreate meaning, purposeand wellbeing for them, are at a strategicadvantage whenitcomes to attracting and retaining the right talent.