Every morning, I open LinkedIn to check on open jobs, view my connections, and take a peek at the LinkedIn News Hub on my homepage. Often, the content is very relevant, and these quick snippets give me enough info to dive into traditional news sites for more info as my day goes on.
Apathetic Employees cost $1.9T says the headline. I open the link that declares the worker’s enthusiasm has “flatlined” according to CNBC. Gallup says that only a third of employees are engaged in their work. $1.9 trillion dollars has been lost annually in productivity from employees who are not actively engaged.
Are they surprised; I wonder? Companies are mandating back-to-office policies even after experiencing record profits through their WFH employees just two years ago. Layoffs dominate the news cycle. Wage growth is stagnant, and companies are back to taking weeks or months to make hiring decisions.
I’m certainly not advocating for wage theft and “coffee badging” as CNBC calls it. But I am perplexed that companies are lamenting lackluster employee engagement after stripping back flexibility, reducing teams, overloading remaining employees, and stagnating wages over the past year. Are they truly shocked that many people are prioritizing their work-life balance over climbing the corporate ladder as quickly as possible?
From a staffing and recruitment lens, we are seeing some of the highest expectations from employers in years. Yet, there is less than 3% unemployment in areas like tech. Employees are wary of making a move for lateral job titles, minimal compensation increases, and fear of being the first to be laid off. Job seeker confidence is low as they apply to portals that lead to a black hole, or worse, an AI platform that screens your resume. Workers looking to make a move are feeling stuck.
Understandably, companies want to be cautious about committing to new employees. The cost of getting it wrong can be very steep. Searching, interviewing, and training a second hire is both time and capital intensive. But once employees join the team, creating an environment where they can be engaged should be a top priority.
The remaining news headlines only confirmed why we’re seeing increased apathy at work: Americans Rely on Side Hustles and Job Market Sours for Recent Grads. It’s hard to get people excited about their full-time job when they need a side hustle to make ends meet. And new grads are being locked out of jobs before they’ve even had a chance to get started.
If you are hiring over the next few months, take some time to really review policies about working from home or return-to-office mandates. Ensure that they are clear from the get-go. Look at the impact that any layoffs have had on your current employees. Take the time that you need to make the right hires, but keep the process streamlined, efficient, and open for real communication.
Employee engagement is a two-way street. There is no perfect recipe. Yet, acknowledging the impact that these policies and mandates have on employees might help to bridge the gap between engagement expectations and the reality that workers are experiencing.