Lately, I’ve been seeing some big companies make an effort to be more human, empathetic employers. For example, sportswear giant Nike recently gave the employees in its Beaverton, Oregon, head offices an extra week off, with spokespeople for the company saying they were “powering down” for the week to spend time with loved ones and others to recuperate from the stresses of a crazy year.
LinkedIn, Hootsuite, Bumble, and Twitch were among a slew of companies who also initiated company-wide weeks off in the last year.
In June 2021, Andrea Hsu wrote an NPR piece about what some people are calling America’s Great Resignation. “As pandemic life recedes in the U.S., people are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility, and more happiness.” She continued, “Many are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. It’s leading to a dramatic increase in resignations — a record 4 million people quit their jobs in April alone, according to the Labor Department.”
I guess what comes to mind for me is… why do people choose to quit their job? With this question, I think about how an employee may think their work contributes to the betterment of society. I mean, if you love what you do, and it makes a difference, why would you leave? One might question, how does being a cashier at a grocery store or Macy’s contribute to society? That’s when a company’s leadership needs to remind their workforce that what they do truly matters. If an employee feels valued and appreciated and knows that they are making a difference, they tend to stay longer, even if the paycheck is better elsewhere. I think about the employees we have who work social services – the pay is not that great, but how vivid is it for an employee to see how what they do matters literally and figuratively to a human’s life?
A week off may seem like a great fix until people come back to work full of the same stress as before. Companies hope these gestures keep more people on the payroll, but additional time off isn’t always the answer. American companies must create a workplace that works for their employees and their customers or clients. Organizations must create safe spaces for the sharing of personal misfortune, like the death of a relative, a car accident, or a work-induced conflict. 2020 may have marked the end of the American ideal of suck-it-up culture.
The Key to Retention is Empathy
No single benefit or policy will make everyone happy because everyone has different needs and issues. That’s why including empathy into the equation will be essential in worker retention in the coming months and years. If we hear of an employee experiencing the loss of a loved one at our agency, we immediately work to have office personnel (signed by all management) prepare a sympathy card to acknowledge their loss and express our concern for them. Perhaps a simple gesture, if it is genuinely presented, expresses true compassion and empathy for those who help make our agency great.
In the past, the working relationship between employee/employer was primarily money-driven on both sides. Workers look for the best pay and understand that the best income usually results in an unbalanced work/life relationship. Consequently, well-paid mothers with sick children needed to show up for work, regardless. Sons who worried about a sick parent still had to travel for work. Using family or personal reasons to ask for time off was often discouraged.
In an empathetic workplace, workers feel comfortable discussing personal life challenges with employers. And employers, in turn, don’t give employees demerits for giving less than 110% of their attention 110% of the time. Instead, the new workplace must allow people to spend time with family when needed, work reasonable hours, and feel that they have the flexibility to be both a good friend and family member and a good employee. The balance is that the employee understands they have the support of their employer to be a whole human outside of work while also being a whole employee when at work.
Tips for The Empathetic Employer
Listen. No one is perfect, but at CIS, we try very hard to be a place that builds and empowers employees and our clients. We try hard to make our company a caring, empathetic place to work. Here are some things we do to help us become more attuned to our employees’ needs.
1. Our employee’s well-being and life balance are a core value, not a “nice-to-have”
Whatever we do, whatever policy we put in place, we do it with our employee’s interests in the forefront. Yes, we need to stay in business, but as social work professionals, we know that the only way we can help our clients is to support our employees. We don’t just want workers. We want happy, joy-filled, motivated, and passionate employees who feel seen and heard at work. We want people to see opportunities for themselves at CIS. And we really want our employees to feel like they can honor important personal commitments without harming their professional status.
2. We picture ourselves in the same predicament
Some of our employees have challenging lives. They may be taking care of sick relatives. Some are first-generation citizens. Many are parents. Some have emotional or health challenges that need extra attention. We work to let all of our employees know that it’s okay not to be okay. In all fairness to other industries, the nature of our work demands that we’re attuned to all aspects of our employees’ mental and physical health. But we also put ourselves in their shoes. When one of our team deals with especially challenging circumstances, we try to make work more accommodating or less stressful. Sometimes we fail. But we continue to try.
3. We must be able to discern when unfortunate circumstances are self-inflicted and when they are not
Some hardships come from outside sources, and some come from within. For example, while we may be able to help an employee make accommodations to help a sick family member, a person who behaves unprofessionally without cause and after reprimands may not be a good fit for us. This is a hard line to walk, and it requires a keen eye toward each person with an empathetic eye. Can they get better? Do they want to get better? Are we judging them fairly? Are we allowing a short-term issue to ruin a long-term employee relationship? When you know your employees and your team well, it’s easier to make evaluations.
Our agency, like many businesses these days, has an Employee Assistance Program. We may offer some type of support to an employee with a requirement to reach out to the EAP program for more specific solutions and then provide proof that they did so.
4. Thank your employees, tell them you appreciate them and don’t discount the power of ice cream
This sounds trite, but if you mean it when you say it, it won’t be. Being seen and appreciated is essential to almost everyone, so praise early and often. Please don’t hold back on praise when it’s earned. I say this a lot… if all else fails, buy your team ice cream! It harkens back to their childhood memories, brings up good feelings and a lot of smiles.
5. Encourage friendships
A friend’s son recently informed me that his manager told him he shouldn’t be friends with anyone at work. I wanted to scream! Friends at work make everything better. Friendships reduce stress. They increase productivity. They boost morale. They reduce turnover. Friends in the workplace foster cooperation. So encourage friendship in the workplace!
Employees with pals at work are easy to spot. They smile at others. They have personal conversations. They go to lunch together and ask about family members. Don’t discourage friendly relationships. They are one of your best defenses against burnout.
6. More time off is an easy answer, but rarely the right one
When work and life are out of balance, giving an employee (or an entire company) a week off may seem like a great fix. But the truth is that you can’t fix stress, workload, and an unhappy workforce with an extra week off. Instead, take a longer look at your work expectations. Can an average employee reasonably meet expectations in a standard workweek? Are 9-, 10-, or 11-hour days the norm for your salaried workers? Do they have slow periods, or is their day jam-packed every day? Do your employees look relaxed at their desks, or are they tense?
Instead of giving everyone a week off, consider redistributing workloads. For example, instead of asking a manager to look for under producers, ask them to look after overproducers. First-in/last-out employees may seem like a great deal, but they are often headed for burnout. And nothing is more discouraging than losing a star performer.
Ready to be Empathetic?
I’m always very interested in hearing what other people are doing. If you’ve got great ideas, please share them! If you want to know more about anything in this article, please contact me. I am always learning and ready to share my experiences. Together, with love, compassion, and empathy, perhaps we can end the great resignation.