This week’s Future of Work Exchange Podcast, sponsored by PRO Unlimited, features a discussion with Tim Minahan, EVP of Strategy and CMO of Citrix. Tim and I discuss the impact of hybrid work on the Future of Work movement, the link between digital workspaces and the extended workforce, and what the future holds for remote work.
Tune into Episode 612 of The Future of Work Exchange Podcast below, or subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.
[Today’s guest contribution was written by Tim Minahan, EVP Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer at Citrix.]
Hybrid work has opened the door to a new kind of “gig with benefits” that may upend the model. And that’s good news for Corporate America.
Workers are leaving jobs like never before, and it’s causing a shortage of talent that has companies around the globe reeling. According to a recent survey conducted by Citrix, 40 percent of 1,000 knowledge workers in the US have left at least one job in the past year or are considering doing so. It’s been dubbed “The Great Resignation.” But it’s really “The Great Transformation.”
Contrary to what’s being reported, workers aren’t bailing for traditional reasons like more money or a better title. The majority are jumping ship for jobs that give them the freedom to do meaningful work from the location of their choice and provide equal opportunities to contribute and advance their careers. As revealed by the Citrix survey:
Money isn’t Everything
Make no mistake: salary and benefits are important. But they aren’t what’s inspiring workers to seek new roles. Among those surveyed who have changed jobs in the last 12 months, more than half took a pay cut. And 60% joined startups and accepted equity in exchange for salary.
Flexibility is Key
Today’s workers want flexible arrangements that allow them to choose where they work best. An overwhelming 80% of respondents to the Citrix survey said it was “very” or “somewhat” important that they be able to “work from anywhere,” and 55% said they would take less money to do so.
Employee Experience has Never Mattered More
Modern employees want to engage in innovative work, be productive and make meaningful contributions to the business that are valued without interference from complex technology and processes. And they’re likely to move on if they can’t:
If all of this sounds familiar, it should. In 2009, a similar exit took place as workers across the knowledge economy began pursuing consulting and freelance work, creating the so-called “Gig Economy.” They left for many of the same reasons workers are moving on today. But the stage is set to bring them back.
In addition to why workers leave, the Citrix survey sought to understand what makes them stay. And it found:
All of this bodes well for Corporate America.
In embracing hybrid models for work and digital technologies that empower people to work when, where and how they choose, companies can create a new class of “gigs with benefits” that provide the flexibility and autonomy that freelance, contract and gig workers crave along with the stability that has become increasingly attractive as the pandemic wears on.
And in doing so, they may lure back some valuable talent with the skills to keep business going and growing.
Creating the Space to Succeed
With the right digital workspace solutions, companies can remove the friction from work that frustrates and slows employees down. And this is critical, because when employees feel empowered by the solutions they use rather than hamstrung by them, they can focus, innovate and deliver value.
Narrowing the Digital Divide
They can also narrow the new digital divide that hybrid models threaten to open by creating an equitable environment in which employees can engage and collaborate in a transparent and efficient way regardless of where they are located.
Whether at home, in the office or on the road, digital workspaces provide employees with consistent, secure and reliable access to all of the apps and information they need to perform at their best.
Winning the Battle for Talent
The balance of power has shifted. Employees are no longer demanding flexible jobs that allow them to innovate and move forward, they’re commanding them.
To remain vibrant in one of the tightest labor markets the world has ever seen, companies need to come to grips with this and get on board with the new, flexible work models that will drive the Future of Work and leverage them to cultivate a workforce that is flexible, agile, and empowered to adapt to changing conditions and move their business forward.
Tim Minahan is the executive vice president, business strategy and chief marketing officer at Citrix, a leading provider of digital workspace solutions.
Flexibility is at the very core of the newfound “Talent Revolution” you’ve been hearing so much about recently. Sure, it’s being called “The Great Resignation,” but we all know that the underlying foundation of the so-called “Big Quit” is that the workforce has collectively decided “Enough!” and have been angling for better benefits, safer workplace conditions, and, most importantly, the flexibility they require to live their lives effectively with a solid semblance of work-life integration.
The Future of Work Exchange has covered this attribute of our industry quite frequently, and we truly believe that until business leaders come to the conclusion that these facets of work truly matter to their talent, The Great Resignation will become “The Great Stalemate” and we’re going to see millions more workers voluntarily leave their jobs over the early months of 2022.
For remote workers, the very concept of flexibility is a core aspect that’s baked into their everyday roles. Some professionals have been work-at-home staples for years and years, while others have just recently become part of this crowd when the pandemic hit. No matter the maturity of the remote-working professional, there seems to be an epidemic occurring that is oft-overlooked when discussing the age-old (and now, much-too-prevalent) issue of “burnout”: the inability to “unplug” both laptops and minds.
For years, I’ve kept a running diary of Future of Work-related ideas in the “Notes” app on my iPhone, which is always nestled and charging on my nightstand. If I’m awake at 3:30am and an idea strikes me, boom, it’s jotted down and revisited some time the day after. There are evenings when the glow of my laptop fills my home office at 1am, with some music playing in the background (lately, I’ve been obsessing over both Black Map and the Magna Carta Cartel), and pages and pages ahead of me to fill.
For most days (and nights!), my brain can’t be “turned off,” which, in turn, means my laptop is also not turned off. Employee burnout occurs when professionals clock more hours than they should because of a variety of reasons (one today being staff shortages), when they are tasked with the work of multiple individuals and have to handle it solo, or, when they toil as an entrepreneur running their own business (or, working for a small business and wearing “multiple hats”). The list goes on, but the Future of Work Exchange has frequently made the call for business leaders to not ignore employee burnout.
Many individuals may consider remote work a way to avoid burnout, however, the exact opposite is true: it’s happening at a scale that is similar in size and impact to traditional worker burnout. Remote workers may feel that their leaders expect them to be available both in and outside of typical work hours, while others could “condense” work on a particular project by burning through 12-hour (more more) workdays. There’s also a long-unfortunate reality that many professionals that work remotely feel mistrusted by their bosses since the in-person factor isn’t there for check-ins and similar meetings.
With a pandemic still raging and the Omicron variant keeping caseloads at near-triple what they were in early 2021 at their worst, the remote workforce has the added anxiety and stress of dealing with homeward disruptions (sick teachers and children causing school or daycare interruptions, etc.) on top of an added workload within their roles. The fact is this: right now, in the early days of 2022, remote worker burnout is a very real and very catastrophic epidemic that is not getting the attention it warrants.
Working remotely, whether it’s a full-time setup or part of a hybrid work infrastructure, is a flexible benefit that has both aided productivity and contributed to enhanced workplace safety controls. However, two years into this health crisis, and the sheer volume (over 42% of all workers, according to Future of Work Exchange research, nearly double what it was pre-pandemic) of remote workers translates into burnout and stress becoming unfortunate realities for these types of positions.
To curb remote worker burnout, business leaders must take into account the following strategies:
There are many other factors that business leaders can leverage to reduce remote worker burnout, including extending more frequent encouragement over tasks performed well (“thank you”s go a long way!), subsidizing digital wellness programs (such as Pelaton’s monthly membership), and providing additional “mental health” days that fall outside of traditional paid time off.