You only have to watch a few minutes of virtually any media report or scroll through your preferred social media channel to see people all over the US talking about the Great Resignation; people talking about how they are tired of working hard for companies who have delivered a consistent message that all employees are replaceable; people talking about how they are tired of working hard to make the elite ruling class of American get wealthier while the employees themselves are only struggling more due to the pandemic, inflation, and the inability of our bipartisan government to come together to support their constituents.
In the last decade, HR professionals and experts have talked about employee engagement on a never-ending loop but why are we still seeing so much discontent? A recent Gallup article explores the concept of the Great Resignation really being the Great Discontent. This statement is really powerful and completely accurate.
The pandemic changed the way people work and how they view work. Many are reflecting on what a quality job feels like, and nearly half are willing to quit to find one. Reversing the tide in an organization requires managers who care, who engage, and who give workers a sense of purpose, inspiration and motivation to perform. Such managers give people reason to stay.
While this isn’t a novel or new concept it seems to need to be said again, people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers.
While 10 or 20 years ago managers could be micromanaging, function from a place of distrust, and continually expect more from people with nothing in return – that management style is no longer be successful over the long term. Hire good people and foster their talents. Trust them to do what you hired them to do and understand their successes (and failures) will always reflect on you.