In a perfect world performance reviews would be an unbiased, stressless process that accurately assesses the performance and productivity of the work we do in a way that makes both management and employees satisfied.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) “2023 State of Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace” research shows that nearly half of U.S. workers say they have little energy to participate in nonwork activities at the end of the workday, with younger generations disproportionately affected.
Employers face a conundrum in 2023: escalating labor costs have combined with historically high inflation to eat into already thin profit margins, yet employee engagement is down in the U.S. for the first time in a decade.
The pandemic’s effect on the workplace is a bit like having driven off a cliff – no matter how much we want to turn around or go back to the way things were before, it simply isn’t possible, especially when it comes to company culture in a hybrid work environment.
“Some leaders are thinking about what new culture and a new way of working might look like, and how to perpetuate a culture in a primarily hybrid world,” says Bryan Hancock, the global leader of McKinsey’s talent work.
When the pandemic hit in 2020 the business world turned topsy-turvy overnight.
In the earliest stages of the coronavirus crisis, safety and survival took center stage as businesses navigated through the treacherous waters of lockdowns and economic upheaval.
Move over “Great Resignation” … meet “Quiet Quitting” the latest labor force zeitgeist that is trending on TikTok and across virtual water coolers this summer.
“In the wake of the Great Resignation, we now have quiet quitting,” reported Houston’s KHOU (channel 11).
While the much publicized Great Resignation continues with 4 million-plus U.S. workers voluntarily leaving their jobs each month for the past 13 consecutive months, quiet quitting is not actually quitting one’s job but the antithesis of the “hustle culture.”
“As explained in one viral clip, it involves “not outright quitting your job, but … quitting the idea of going above and beyond,” reported (ironically, enough) The Hustle.
Part of the enigma of U.S. history is the apparently opposing dynamic forces of American “Rugged Individualism” vs. teamwork.
The authors of “Rugged Individualism: Dead or Alive?” wrote, “Reaching back to the founding, rugged individualism has defined American character and uniqueness. It has been described as the “master assumption” of American political and economic thought. The combination of individual liberty in America’s founding and the frontier spirit provided the rich soil in which it has grown and developed.”
If you have spent any time in a workplace you probably have experienced various levels of feedback from your employer.
Those sit-downs, both formally in scheduled performance reviews and informally when the boss asks you to step into their office, come in all varieties.
Sometimes the feedback can come off as superfluous with an uncaring supervisor quickly checking generic boxes that provide no real insight or help to sharpen your role with the company.
Employers are increasingly prioritizing employee burnout and their mental health as the COVID-19 pandemic trudges toward the 2-year mark.
“This is a historic time; we’ve never been through anything like this. Our mental health and our physical health are really being taxed,” Darcy Gruttadaro, director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health, told ABC News this summer. “If there was ever a time to raise these issues, it’s now. If you’re experiencing burnout and you’re trying to ignore it, that will eventually catch up with you.”
CNBC reported in September that “how to deal with burnout – and prevent future burnout – is a challenge all businesses are now tasked with as many workers hit 19 months of working from home.”
Employees are one of your businesses’ greatest assets, so it is important to maximize their potential and increase your company’s chance of success with strategic planning.
“Loyal customers, visionary leaders and quality goods and services all influence success, but usually a company’s best asset is its employees,” says the Indeed.com Editorial Team.
