Angela Gray CMIOSH, senior OSH specialist at IOSH, argues that younger employees expect their employer to respect and even share their values, particularly on mental and physical wellbeing. So, what can employers do to retain staff and get the best out of them?
Much has been written about the ‘Great Resignation’ over the last couple of years. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge factor in the massive changes that have shaped people’s work and home lives.
According to reports, the equivalent of 1.3 million small-to-medium-sized enterprises lost talent during 2022 by making employees feel undervalued.
Workers are increasingly focusing on their own mental and physical wellbeing. In addition, many have become more socially and environmentally conscious, and expect their employers to not only respect these values but to share them. These changes have undoubtedly contributed to the ‘Great Resignation’, which has seen an unprecedented number of employees leaving their roles to either work for themselves or join organisations that align more closely with their values.
According to a survey by an organisation called Amba, younger employees (in the 18–24-year-old age range) often have a stronger commitment to their values and ethics than older employees. In the survey, they shared the top five reasons why they left their previous role, which were:
- Not earning enough money.
- Not enough opportunities to progress.
- Didn’t feel valued by their employer.
- Poor work/life balance.
- Employer didn’t share their values.
Of course, people want to be compensated fairly, but they're also looking for some connection and meaning in what they do. Work-life balance, fair pay and value alignment: today’s youngest workers want it all and are willing to walk away if they don’t get it.
But it’s not just this group of workers. It seems workers of all ages and circumstances are reflecting on what’s important to them and whether their current employer is the right one for them.
The International Labour Organization recently declared that a safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental labour right and so business leaders and key decision makers really need to look hard at the cultural climate they have created.
Anthony Klotz, a professor of business administration at Texas A&M University who coined the ‘Great Resignation’ term, says companies can retain employees who are burned out by giving them a break and more support.
Experts say employers can offer more accommodating work arrangements, including remote work, hybrid work, and flexible schedules. Also, they can listen to what employees say they want and need instead of making top-down decisions without any consideration of staff needs.
Writing an opinion piece for the Harvard Business School, Michael Beer (Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus) describes what makes some businesses less vulnerable to the ‘Great Resignation’.
Not surprisingly, he starts at the top with CEOs who care equally about profits and employee well-being and don’t see them as competing or incompatible. These CEOs have institutionalised governance and learning systems that encourage honest conversations about how the company’s actions link directly to strategic goals and its human and customer-centric values. Because managers at all levels are held accountable for implementing and maintaining this governance and learning system, it becomes embedded in the culture.
Acknowledging that this is not as simple a phenomenon as being purely about values, shared values or feeling valued, they are a significant factor. But when ‘feeling valued’ can be very much a personal interpretation, is it even possible to meet the needs and expectations of an entire workforce? Probably not. And what each of us ‘value’ will change throughout our working life depending on our personal circumstances at a particular point in time.
So as an employer, where do you start? Putting people at the heart of your strategic planning and defining this within your company ethics and values is the first, and easiest, step. Following it through, however, with authentic, felt leadership is more challenging and will take time to embed across the entire leadership team. But by being transparent and putting your cards on the table, workers will be able to make an honest and informed decision about whether to ‘stick or twist’.
Image credit | iStock
