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Corporate Mental Health and the Future of Work

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Mental health and wellness have unfortunately long been neglected attributes of the corporate world. However, in a business climate that places the utmost emphasis on talent retention and a focus on becoming “destination of choice” workplaces, this concept is changing quickly. As awareness of the importance of mental wellbeing grows (and employee burnout continues to rage), enterprises are beginning to realize that managing employees’ mental health is not just a moral imperative, but it also benefits the greater business in multiple ways.

The World Health Organization has found that one in four people globally will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives; and, the cost of untreated mental health issues to the global economy is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars. Poor mental health, from a workplace perspective, often results in disengagement, increased absenteeism, a lack of productivity, and more frequent turnover.

The movement towards focusing on corporate mental health and wellness seems to be evolving, though. Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has discovered that 93% of business leaders are actively prioritizing mental health (and mental health awareness) as part of their 2023 leadership styles, a far cry from years past when this critical issue was near nowhere to be found.

Recognizing the challenges of poor mental health in the workplace, an increasing number of companies are taking steps to address these issues, such as offering mental health resources, such as counseling services and support groups. Other organizations are also promoting wellness initiatives (such as meditation classes on-site yoga, etc.) to help employees manage their stress and anxiety and transform the workplace into a more comfortable place to work.

Workplace culture has become a top conduit for revamping mental health initiatives, as it has become crucial to create a culture that promotes inclusivity and openness. By fostering a workplace environment in which workers feel comfortable discussing their mental health and, consequently, seeking support when they need it, businesses can ensure that their most critical asset (their talent) views the organization and its workplace as place that cares about them as people.

Business leaders can extend this progressive idea of workplace culture by developing and communicating policies that back employees who may be dealing with mental health issues; simply offering paid time off for treatment or providing flexible work arrangements can prove to be a major difference in truly supporting the workforce.

What this all boils down to, of course, is the role of leadership in reimagining workplace culture into an environment that promotes positive mental health. Senior leadership must be committed to these ideals of wellness and model the behaviors that map to supportive policies. The Future of Work has long been founded on the depth of talent, and, if businesses desire to thrive in 2023 and beyond, they must address corporate mental health, view these initiatives as both ways to humanize the workplace and retain talent, and, most importantly, creating a more resilient, productive, and healthy workforce.

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How To Destroy Workplace Culture In Less Than One Week: An Elon Musk MasterClass

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on

If you’ve been following the news recently, erratic billionaire Elon Musk, he of Tesla and SpaceX fame, finally completed his quest to purchase social media giant Twitter for over $40B just last week. And, in typical Musk fashion, simply buying one of the most storied social media cornerstones of the past decade-plus just wasn’t enough for him: whether with intent or not, he’s already created havoc at an organization that was once lauded for its workforce flexibility.

The Future of Work Exchange, since its inception, has been a source of insights regarding the criticality of workplace culture and ramification of toxicity within corporate boundaries. In an age when resignations are rampant, uncertainty over the economy looms over businesses like a financial specter, and Year Four (yes, Year Four!) of pandemic could create massive disruptions yet again, businesses need to lean on several key factors to not only attract talent, but retain the top-tier expertise it already has.

Workplace flexibility, empathy-led leadership, attention to mental wellness, and robust wellbeing strategies, as well as a strong corporate brand that is associated with these facets, are all crucial elements in creating a positive environment that drives talent retention and boosts both talent engagement and talent acquisition initiatives. Economic downturn aside, the jobs market is still quite hot; United States employers added 261,000 jobs in October, according to The New York Times, a figure that shows that “the economy is resilient.” Furthermore, the Times also reported that:

There have been other recent signs that the labor market remains exceedingly tight. Job openings, after falling significantly in August, rose again in September to 10.7 million. That increase meant there were roughly 1.9 job openings for every unemployed worker. The number of people who quit their jobs — typically a sign that workers are confident they will find better ones — ticked down to 4.1 million but remained high. Layoffs overall have stayed low.

However, that aforementioned specter of a recession cannot be ignored. While “layoffs have stayed low,” none of us can scroll through LinkedIn without hearing news of peers’ and colleagues’ troubles with mass cuts. What does this have to do with Elon Musk and Twitter and workplace culture? Just keep the Times information in the back of your mind.

Musk has made public his desire to buy Twitter for a very, very long time and that dream was realized when the purchase went through last week. Immediately, Twitter, a company known for aspects like its company-wide mental health “holidays,” was immediately turned on its head from a workplace culture perspective. Let’s forget for a second (since the Exchange is not a political site) the “free speech” attributes of Musk’s gunning for the social media giant and instead focus on how much damage he’s done…in just a week’s time.

Musk and Twitter leadership laid off 50% of its staff late last week, with many employees receiving the news indirectly; some were denied access to critical systems, while others could not even log onto their laptops. Some heard of peers being laid off on social media and most others received emails informing them of their newfound, involuntary exits. And, this is only a peek at the culture Musk has already fostered, as beyond the layoffs, some employees found themselves literally sleeping in their offices to meet erratic deadlines:

A Twitter employee who shared a photo appearing to show his boss sleeping on the office floor has caused a stir on the platform. The image, which was tweeted by Evan Jones, a product manager at Twitter Spaces, on November 2, was captioned, “When you need something from your boss at elon twitter.” It shows a woman who has been identified as Esther Crawford, a director of product management at Twitter, wearing an eye mask and lying in a sleeping bag on the floor of what appears to be an office.

Yes, we’ve all had to pull all-nighters before. We’ve all had to burn some midnight oil to get a particular project or two done in our career history. It’s just that these things are adding up and it does not look good for a global organization that is a household brand…especially one that has a career page that says this:

We put people first. Be you, really. That’s how we build trust. Together we’re creating a culture that’s supportive, respectful, and a pretty cool vibe. Sure, we’re not perfect, we’re people. But we’re open and honest about who we are and what we do.

We’re all about flexibility and equity. At Twitter, we do our work where it makes the most sense. Most roles can be done from home. But some positions take place in the office. Either way, we believe in giving all Tweeps maximum flexibility whenever we can.

There’s no doubt that there is a barrage of negativity surrounding Musk’s Twitter takeover. As reported by Vox:

In the days after Musk took over, he booted top executives, slashed rank-and-file headcount, pushed engineers to work harder, and began fast-tracking a hodgepodge of potentially revenue-generating features, including charging users to get or keep a verification check mark.

It’s not new for a new business owner and executive leader to catalyze immediate change. Again, it’s 1) the pace at which these changes are happening, 2) the disregard of existing positive culture across the workplace, and 3) the abhorrent attitude in which Musk is displaying while transforming the social media giant. Here are more nuggets from the Vox piece:

One Twitter employee described the morale at the company after the layoffs as low, and said that many colleagues who survived this round of cuts wish they had gotten laid off and gotten severance instead. Twitter is giving many laid-off employees full pay and benefits through at least January, although it’s not clear if this applied to all employees, particularly those outside the US, sources said.

Twitter staff have received little official communication, such as emails or corporate-wide Slack messages, so far from Twitter’s executive leadership since Musk officially took over. One employee who spoke with Recode on the condition of anonymity called it an “information vacuum.” That’s been an adjustment for many Twitter employees who are used to a more measured, communicative, and structured work culture. One anonymous Twitter employee told the Washington Post that the work atmosphere under Elon was like “working in Trump’s White House.”

And, to top it all off, Musk eliminated the “work-from-anywhere” policy that Twitter developed earlier this year, and terminated its beloved “days of rest” monthly holidays, two attributes that were solid pieces of the workplace culture at Twitter.

Musk has been seen a brash innovator who leads in a differentiated way. He wants to implement at “24/7” work culture that, unfortunately, does not align with where workers are right now mentally and physically. The fear here is that business leaders who look up to Musk as an example of how to lead will mimic his policies and strategies, most of which will introduce toxicity into workplace culture in a time when it’d be the absolutely last thing an enterprise needs in this volatile market.

Over the weekend, news broke that Twitter asked some of its laid off employees to return to the company, realizing that some of their layoffs were mistakes. According to Fortune:

After laying off roughly half the company on Friday following Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition, is now reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asking them to return. Some of those who are being asked to return were laid off by mistake, according to two people familiar with the moves. Others were let go before management realized that their work and experience may be necessary to build the new features Musk envisions, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information…The requests for employees to return demonstrate how rushed and chaotic the process was.

In less than a week, Musk’s takeover of Twitter included the elimination of flexible work policies, termination of monthly wellness days, a mass layoff in which nearly 50% of the company’s staff was cut, and a reachout to some of those let go because the process was rushed and chaotic. A once-lauded organization for its incredible workplace culture, Twitter will now reflect the very toxic nature of a new owner who destroyed this foundation in less than a week.

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Is Waning Productivity a Worker Problem…or a Leadership Problem?

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on

What do tech CEOs such as Google’s Sundar Pichail, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Microsft’s Satya Nadella all have in common? These three, amongst many other high-profile executive leaders, are calling into question whether their workers are working hard enough. Nadella has even coined a term, “productivity paranoia,” that translates into heightened corporate anxiety over whether or not their teams are producing as much as they should.

In a feature published in The Washington Post yesterday (and posted by Boston.com), news of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ work on tracking productivity has businesses rightfully worried about their teams:

Employers across the country are worried that workers are getting less done – and there’s evidence they’re right to be spooked. In the first half of 2022, productivity – the measure of how much output in goods and services an employee can produce in an hour – plunged by the sharpest rate on record going back to 1947, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What’s incredibly interesting about this turn of events is that, just last year, these productivity figures sparked to their highest level in decades. The Post, in the August 2021 article, attributed these gains to better working conditions, enhanced access to remote and hybrid work models, and other factors. So…what changed?

A return to “normalcy,” even if it can be considered that (more like “semi-normalcy”?), is most likely a culprit after two-plus years of living in pandemic-led conditions. After all of the discussions in 2020 and 2021 (and into this year) regarding the permanent shifts in how we work, it is shocking to see figures like the ones the BLS revealed this week.

The one thing that we are missing here, apparently, is just how permanent the shifts in how we lead truly are. Were the transformations towards empathy, compassion, emotional wellbeing, and better working conditions just a mirage? Or were they for real?

Conscious leadership isn’t just a mindset; it’s a state of being that cascades into how our workforce is treated, how we value them, how we support them, and how we show appreciation. There’s an incredible gap today between the way business leaders are leading and the way they should lead, and that’s reflected in how we are more likely to hear about enterprises failing to provide sick leave, proper maternity or paternity leave, or dynamic support for emotional and physical wellbeing.

Leadership is often broken. And so are some of the ways we work.

Employee engagement is a real and powerful attribute of the modern-day enterprise. The concept at its core is so very, very simple: ensure your workers are engaged, and, in return, they will dedicated to the organization, which, of course…results in increased productivity. Unfortunately, however, we are not fully living in that world today. Worker burnout is all-too common in nearly every company. Emotional wellbeing is not being prioritized at the scale that it should be. Extended vacation and sick leave benefits only exist in a small percentage of organizations.

If a business puts more stock in a free company lunch than it does its overall workplace culture, it’s a serious problem. The issues with productivity, as found by the BLS, can be attributed to a seismic failure at the leadership level of businesses across the country. Does this mean that 100% of the blame falls at the feet of executive leaders? Well, no. Those employees and workers that have engaged in “quiet quitting” are certainly guilty of waning productivity due to taking their collective foot off the gas and producing the bare minimum.

However, there’s a reason for the vast majority of quiet quitting instances that does, indeed, link back to failures at the leadership level. Are leaders being unreasonable with productivity requests? Are there putting more and more pressure on already-stressed workers? Although not many organizations are the same size (or bigger) as Twitter is, the recent takeover by Elon Musk has reportedly resulted in the controversial billionaire asking engineers to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week to meet deadlines. Musk already created a firestorm during the process leading up to his ownership of the social media platform, and seems intent on bringing that attitude into its day-to-day operations.

Over the past two years, we’ve seen (and heard) high-profile CEOs and executives eschew remote work as “aberrations” and being wholly unsustainable. There’s been a major tug-of-war between workers and leaders over return-to-office plans. And, to top it all off, some leaders even believe that flexibility isn’t a foundation of their workplace culture.

There are certainly many workers out there that aren’t pulling their weight. However, there are many, many more workers that are burnt out, disengaged, and disconnected from their workplace’s culture and vision. This is a signal that the problem of waning productivity starts at the top, with business leadership needing even more transformation than it ever has before. Lost in all of this dialogue is the fact that workers are humans, and humans experience feelings, emotions, and desires that can be affected by toxic attributes of their roles.

While economists have no clear answers on why productivity may be tumbling, looking at the rollercoaster transformation of business leadership may be the first clue. It doesn’t matter if an employee works from home, works in a hybrid model, or is in the office full-time; having leaders that lead with empathy and consciousness is the linchpin to sparking real engagement…and avoiding dips in productivity.

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The Rules of Wellness Have Changed

Business LeadershipHR by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Future of Work movement thrives on many accelerants that range from advancements in talent acquisition to innovative tools and technology. However, the realm of humanity, wellness, and culture may be the most critical items in how work continues to evolve.

“Wellness” is often thrown around as a word that reflects healthy corporate “behavior” from the perspective(s) of the workforce (including extended talent), owed to a rise in business leadership’s greater understanding of empathy, inclusivity, and other aspects related to a better workplace. As the story goes, happier employees = more productive (and, hopefully, loyal) workers.

Although the Future of Work Exchange typically discusses how rigidity is the “anti-Future of Work” mindset, something as archaic as a desire for a business’ staff to be productive is absolutely one of those measures that is not bound by time or circumstance. That is, it’s always understandable that an executive remains focused on productivity; without this focus, the enterprise fails.

So why do we need to revisit wellness? Didn’t we just talk about this recently? Well, yes, we did. But that was nearly eight months ago, and, in a pandemic-led, economically-volatile, frenetic labor market-fueled world (both business and personal), the stakes have certainly changed.

A second straight quarter of the U.S. economic shrinking technically means that we’re entering a recession…even though it doesn’t necessarily feel like it. However, many organizations are already taking the steps to prepare for the worst, which means cut to the workforce and the linger specter of layoffs through the remainder of 2022.

And, oh yeah, there’s a still pandemic raging, along with a health emergency for monkeypox. Many, many individuals (as much as 2% or 3% of the total workforce, although that number could be lower or higher) could be suffering from “Long COVID” from past coronavirus infections, with the government still not defining how long-haulers can apply for and receive disability options.

These issues not only mean that wellness in the workplace becomes more important; it also translate into the need to reimagine how business leadership addresses and supports wellness in the wake of an evolving world:

  • Today’s “new” wellness rules should always, always include engagement and experience in the mix. Wellness is more than an employee or worker being physically healthy and appearing to be mentally fit for their role. Leaders must ensure that they expand how they support both physical and mental wellness during whichever turbulent times may lie ahead; whatever worked even during the worst of the pandemic may already be outdated. In nearly three years of consistent business evolution, the very concept of “wellness” has been transformed to include concepts like employee engagement and the talent experience. The total workforce should be engaged with leadership and their teams and coworkers, grounded in a positive workplace experience, and also feel appreciated, safe, and valued. The next generation of wellness strategies should always include engagement and experience as foundational elements.
  • Even the most stoic of performers may have something deeper happening in their personal lives; thus, there is no one-size-fits-all model that will “catch” those that require intermediation. Dips in productivity, a lack of communication, and poor collaboration are all markers of a worker suffering from something negative. These individuals are most often pointed to as the main recipients of wellness support; however, there are many workers that put on a happy face, remain incredibly productive, and seem to have it all together. These workers may not need support on the surface, however, there’s usually an undercurrent of burnout bubbling somewhere. Business leaders should arm themselves with the necessary attitude and knowledge in understanding what the warning signs are for employee burnout.
  • The hybrid workplace requires hybrid leadership…which now requires a more strategic mindset. During the spring and summer of 2020, many business leaders grappled with the complexities of managing a newly-remote workforce in the wake of social distancing, quarantining, etc. Video calls and new modes of leadership were straining, leaving these already-exhausted leaders confounded in how to capture the essence of collaboration without the benefit of in-person operations. Today, the issue has become more severe: onboarding workers can be a nightmare via remote methods, not to mention aspects of reskilling, upskilling, mentoring, etc. Business leaders cannot spend a few hours with a new worker and expect them to function productively while on auto-pilot.
  • Wellness was the answer all along to a problem that has plagued the business arena for nearly 16 months. Yes, we’re talking about The Great Resignation. Although the numbers dipped in May (4.3 million quits as opposed to 4.4 million the month before), an encouraging trend is emerging: fears of a recession, combined with inflation, may be helping to keep workers put. However, all it takes is a small wiggle upwards and we’re back to the much worse, higher trend. The refrain of “happier workers stay with their companies” could not be more true today. If a professional is engaged, satisfied, and having a positive experience while also working for leaders that are mindful, empathetic, and inclusive, it reflects an ideal recipe for wellness that also bodes well for retention. If workers have a flexible work-life integration, it is a powerful attribute that enables true wellness and wellbeing.
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The Four-Day Work Week Can Be A Reality…But Not Until the Pandemic is Over

Business LeadershipTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College, and Oxford University, not-for-profit organization 4 Day Week Global, UK think tank Autonomy, and the 4 Day Week UK Campaign, along with over 30 businesses across the UK, are set to begin a trial of four-day work weeks from June until December 2022. The study, which is open to other companies that apply before the program starts, aims to put real-world data behind the benefits of the four-day work week. “The four-day week challenges the current model of work and helps companies move away from simply measuring how long people are “at work,” to a sharper focus on the output being produced. 2022 will be the year that heralds in this bold new future of work,” Joe O’Connor, pilot program manager for 4 Day Week Global, told Mashable earlier this week.

The four-day work week has long been perceived as a savior for productivity and a boost for overall employee engagement, allowing employees with the option to savor three-day weekends and spend more time with their families and loved ones. An “automatic” additional day off every week would certainly improve mental health, employee wellness, and help alleviate some of the issues that workers have been dealing with over the course of the past two transformative years.

I was highly encouraged by a study run by the Reykjavík City Council in Iceland in which 2,500 employees participated. “Workers reported feeling less stressed and at risk of burnout, and said their health and work-life balance had improved. They also reported having more time to spend with their families, do hobbies and complete household chores,” the BBC article stated.

Here’s the caveat, though: the Iceland trial took place from 2015 to 2019. And, the upcoming UK experiment will take place during a pandemic.

Nearly every facet of both life and business has been altered in some profound manner since March 2020. Many of the attributes of work, including traditional commutes and afternoon lunches with peers, were taken for granted the second our cities and towns went in lockdown. In fact, with the Omicron variant raging across the United States and other countries around the world, we still those aspects for granted whenever there’s an exposure or infection and we’re quarantining for five, seven, or ten days (depending on country-specific guidance and restrictions).

The Future of Work Exchange was created with many concepts in mind, but one core goal was to point to the forward-thinking ideas, technology, and strategies that support work optimization and the Future of Work movement. “Flexibility” is a linchpin to how companies enhance how work is done in today’s evolving business environment, and, yes, that does include progressive approaches such as the four-day work week. This mode of work will have its benefits, no matter when it’s launched; employees will feel more engaged, workers will be able to connect more with their loved ones, and, yes, there is the fact that staff will work “smarter, not harder” and improve overall productivity.

There are reasons, though, why right now (meaning, literally, right now) may not be the proper time to launch such an experiment. Here’s why:

  • The prevalence of remote and hybrid work is translating into a failure to “disconnect” from work. I can attest to this first-hand: there are typically two or three evenings per week (sometimes more) when the bright lights of my laptop illuminate my home office while I’m listening to a new album or film score, typing away and not noticing that it’s 1am. For many workers that are now part (or have been part of) remote or hybrid infrastructures, the issue of “burnout” has always been an issue. Sometimes, no matter what the calendar looks like, a worker is going to put in well over 40 hours (and possibly close to 50) if they cannot disconnect from their strategic projects and initiatives. It’s a much different story in light industrial and similar industries, because…
  • Four-day work weeks are not “one-size-fits-all,” as in-person operations heavily favor a shortened calendar (with some risk). When forklift drivers, picker-packers, and those directly on the shop floor have the ability to condense their work into four instead of five days and maintain their productivity, it’s a win-win for both employees and executives. As stated above, however, white collar workers are not guaranteed to not work on those fifth days given the easy access to enterprise systems and their home office setups. The “risk” for non-remote employees is quite straightforward: what happens when manufacturing targets aren’t hit, or when “stow” goals are off at the end of the week? There is inherent risk built into four-day work weeks for these types of industries, that when mitigated, will surely be outweighed by other benefits.
  • There is too much uncertainty regarding the pandemic and its immediate workforce ramifications. “The Great Resignation,” which we call the “Talent Revolution,” is masking the true foundation of the long-term labor market. There is no way to conduct specific types of work-based experiments when, in the United States alone, over four million workers are resigning monthly from their positions. There are still big-name CEOs and executives that eschew remote and hybrid work, not to mention the fact that COVID cases are on a seven-day average of over 800,000, nearly triple the amount during the horrible 2020-2021 winter surge. It may be too much to say that COVID needs to be endemic before businesses begin tinkering with four-day work weeks, however, the next couple of months will prove to be yet another series of uncertain days when businesses will flirt with vaccine mandates for employees (and customers), staggered opening depending on caseloads, and other reactions to an ongoing public health crisis.

There are many other issues with the shortened work week that are linked to the “customer experience,” in which a day in which employees aren’t manning call centers or “Contact Us” chats could negatively impact relationships with key buyers. This has been a key pivot point for artificial intelligence in the workplace, allowing AI-led interactions help customers. As this form of AI becomes more prevalent (and accessible), businesses will have an easier time moving to the condensed work week. For now, however, the pandemic brings too much disruption, especially in the throes of the Omicron surge.

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Why the Healthcare Workforce Burnout Issue is a Wake-Up Call for All Businesses

Business LeadershipTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

I subscribe to several daily newsletters from various news outlets, including The Atlantic, New York Times, The New Yorker, etc. For the past several weeks, and, in particular, the early days of 2022, there was a commonality in each news roundup: the effects of the Omicron coronavirus variant on hospital staffing and the continued healthcare crunch.

The United States is bracing for a seven-day rolling average of over 700,000 cases, nearly three times that of the worst of the 2020-2021 winter surge. Even though there has been scientific evidence of Omicron orienting itself as a “milder” strain of the coronavirus (mainly by sparing the worst of lower respiratory effects as in other previous variants), the sheer transmissibility of the new mutations heavily outweighs any mildness the virus may bring. Tripling the number of daily cases seen during previous waves means more strain on the healthcare system.

What’s happening with the healthcare workforce is a direct reflection of what happens when the world around us causes severe disruptions in the labor market. Now, I completely understand that hospitals and healthcare facilities are directly on the frontlines, and, as such, will always bear the unfortunate burden of having to face the worst of the pandemic nearly two years into this crisis. The fallout, however, is something that will become commonplace across the globe within many other industries.

Healthcare workers are operating under several challenges, including major burnout, long hours, and, worst of all, mental health issues that could eventually force them to leave the industry altogether. More and more nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals (all of whom have spent many years of their life not just in their roles, but also in the preparatory times preceding their careers in school and training) are expected to leave the industry as the physical and mental toll of the pandemic continues on in 2022.

Imagine spending years of your life dedicated to helping other people, and, after all of the time doing so, on top of the years of schooling required to get there, decide to leave the industry altogether? It’s disheartening on many levels. And it’s something that isn’t just specific to the healthcare industry.

The Future of Work Exchange has written about worker burnout and mental wellbeing in the workplace before; however, with an Omicron surge forcing isolation and quarantine for millions of professionals across the country, those are lucky enough to dodge infection are actively feeling the brunt. In warehouses, where workers are often operating side-by-side, just a small percentage of quarantined individuals means that others have to pick up the slack. In veterinary medicine (which hits close to him, since my wife has been in the field for two decades), a range of veterinarians and veterinary technician staff have to pick up extra hours and scramble for coverage in overnight shifts, weekend hours, etc. Worse yet, many veterinary hospitals have had to defer care when staffing shortages at their worst, meaning that only a sliver of specific emergencies (read: life-or-death instances) are seen during particular blocks of time.

Light industrial will feel the brunt over the next several weeks, as will retail, hospitality, and other industries that cannot work remotely. Omicron’s transmissibility means that millions of Americans will become infected throughout the mid-winter weeks, forcing them into isolation and causing ripply disruptions in productivity. Workers that were already unhappy in their positions will contribute the ongoing “Great Resignation” as they are forced to work more hours in unsafe conditions without the flexibility and benefits they desire.

Longer-term, what is happening within the healthcare workforce will be an omniscient preview of how other industries may come out of an Omicron winter. Why is this such a “wake-up call?” Simply put: the last thing any business leader should desire right now is a loss of talent, be it voluntarily or because of COVID. Extreme burnout isn’t occurring in every industry and certainly not at the scale of the healthcare space, however, the deeper Omicron digs its heels into viable hosts over the next several weeks, the more that non-infected workers have to boost their own productivity under existing mental and physical strain.

We’re already dealing with massive levels of resignation across all sectors. The best-aligned talent is harder to find, and, with literal millions of job openings available, it’s going to become more difficult for businesses to engage well-aligned skillsets and expertise. Even though the healthcare workforce is currently experiencing an extreme form of burnout, it doesn’t mean that the same ramifications won’t be present in other industries. Seeing medical professionals with decades of experience up and leave the profession should cause chills across the greater business spectrum, with a clear message for everyone that actively witnesses the burnout and fatigue on display in the nation’s medical facilities:

This could happen to you and your workforce unless you prioritize the wellbeing of your talent.

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Contingent Workforce Weekly, Episode 608: The Impact of “Fatigue” on the Future of Work

Podcast by Christopher J. Dwyer on

An all-new edition of the Contingent Workforce Weekly podcast highlights the growing impact of “fatigue” on how work gets done, from pandemic fatigue to fatigue from the constant stream of change that permeates through the personal and professional lives of today’s workforce.

Tune into Episode 608 of Contingent Workforce Weekly below, or subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.

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The Future of Work Exchange Meets “The Deep End”

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceSolution ProvidersTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The business world is consistently evolving, with a global pandemic setting off accelerants that are pushing the boundaries of how businesses address how work is done. Future of Work Exchange research points to a variety of factors that enterprises are focused on today in regard to how they are transforming the way work gets done, including:

  • The transition from manual- and paper-based tactics within workforce management to a world of a digital talent acquisition and recruitment.
  • The prevalence, benefits, and long-term impact of remote work and hybrid work models.
  • The rise of empathy-led business leadership and a greater focus on worker well-being/wellness.
  • The critical interjection of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) into core business operations, and;
  • The continued growth and impact of the agile workforce.

I recently had the pleasure of joining Workforce Logiq’s Chief Solutions Officer, Geoff Dubiski, for the company’s highly-regarded The Deep End vodcast/podcast series. Click below to enjoy FOWX meeting The Deep End for insights on empathy in the evolving world of work, why the hybrid work model is here to stay, and some peeks of Ardent Partners’ new Future of Work Exchange Research Study for 2021:

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FOWX Notes: August 27 Edition

Business LeadershipGeneral Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

From time-to-time, the Future of Work Exchange will feature various thoughts and commentary on the evolving world of talent and work. One of Boston’s greatest sportswriters, Dan Shaughnessy, publishes a collection of various commentary on New England sports in The Boston Globe and calls it “picked-up pieces.” So, here are some picked-up pieces from across the industry, which we call “FOWX Notes,” on the Future of Work Exchange for the week ending August 27:

  • Now that the FDA has given full approval to the Pfizer vaccine (with Moderna’s vaccine expected to follow suit shortly), it gives more businesses the necessary leverage to mandate vaccines for its staff and workforce. With cases and hospitalizations soaring across the country, many businesses will err on the side of health and safety and begin to mandate that their employees (and contingent workers) be inoculated for in-person work. I fully expect an incredible amount of conversation about this topic in the months ahead as those that choose not to be vaccinated have to grapple with their beliefs versus their jobs.
  • There’s a question here that we’re missing, though, that may arise beginning in September: will boosters be mandated for those workers that are eight months past the date of their second Pfizer or Moderna jab (or their one-dose J&J vaccine)? A casual scroll through a personal Facebook feed tells us that there are some individuals that were open to being vaccinated months ago but will draw a hard line at a booster dose. Something to watch, indeed.
  • Worker wellness, well-being, and burnout are all very real and very counterproductive issues that are plaguing the business world today. The time has come for business leaders to truly prioritize worker wellness and mental health if they are also prioritizing productivity and better business outcomes, since the two sides cannot converge. With a return to school for working parents, it remains to be seen what types of disruption the Delta variant will unleash. This could add another stressful load to the remote workforce if there’s any type of return to the models that schools had to employ for the 2020-2021 year. Mental health is more important than ever, and businesses must be conscious of their wellness plans well into the latter months of the year (with empathy continuing to be at the forefront of core management approaches).
  • One thing that many businesses miss regarding the remote and hybrid work models is how they play into talent acquisition and talent engagement strategies. Remote work isn’t just a Future of Work transformation for the existing workforce, but also a valuable tool in how companies attract new, future talent. The days of early pandemic levels of unemployment are long gone (knock on wood) and “The Great Resignation” that has been ongoing since the spring is resulting into the re-emergence of the long-vaunted “war for talent.” Businesses that are beginning to think about return-to-office plans must keep in mind that, in a world where there if fierce competition for talent, they must offer more than compensatory perks if they are going to attract top-tier workers. Remote options are alluring to today’s highly-skilled workforce, and, many talent acquisition execs will quickly realize that the remote/hybrid models also enable access to new candidates that may not have been historically considered for roles based on their location.
  • Proposition 22 was the most expensive ballot measure in California’s history ($220 million, by some estimates) and was recently ruled unconstitutional by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch. Gig tech apps like Uber, Lyft, and others bankrolled the ballot measure, but the rebuke was a decision based on the fact that Prop 22 does not allow “gig workers” to collectively bargain or unionize (hence the “unconstitutional” ruling). Although nearly 60% of voters passed Prop 22 back in November during the general election (which is essentially an exemption to AB5, which was passed in 2019 as a measure to determine a worker’s status as an independent contractor or an employee), the ruling thrusts the measure back through the California court system, where it could take up to a year to reach the state’s Supreme Court. Within its ruling, the court stated that Prop 22 was more about the proponents’ economic interests as well as having a “divided, un-unionized workforce.” Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash are fuming and vowing to appeal, which will provide more fodder for discussion as Prop 22’s now-unconstitutional status slithers through the California court system well into 2022.
  • The upcoming Future of Work Exchange Report for 2021 (an Ardent Partners and FOWX research study) finds that the top Future of Work accelerant due to the pandemic was the increase in remote/hybrid work and distributed teams (noted by 72% of businesses), which is not surprising given the environment in which we now live and work. What was interesting and of note is that 70% of organizations that participated in our study also noted that greater digital transformation efforts were accelerated over the past year. Businesses learned very quickly that a flexible technological architecture was a necessity during evolving times, and even greater so as the global market faced incredible challenges. Whether it’s the automation of manual- and paper-based tasks (which became harder to execute in a remote environment), a deeper data-driven approach to core business functions, or a future-ready organization that is equipped to be more agile and dynamic in how it responds to the challenges of tomorrow, becoming a “digital enterprise” should be a top priority for today’s organizational leaders.
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Once More, With Feeling: Empathy Is the Only Way Forward

Business LeadershipDiversity and InclusionHRTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.” – Meryl Streep

Over the past several months, there’s one word that has popped up more than so many others in my conversations with hiring managers, business leaders, HR practitioners, and talent acquisition executives. It’s a word that hasn’t been used very often in the corporate world, but it’s a concept that we are learning has such a profound effect on how work gets done. It’s at the very heart of who we are as humans and it’s a reflection of the energy we put out into the world around us. And, as we are finding, it’s a foundational way for businesses and their leaders to build long-lasting relationships with their workforce.

Empathy.

Many of us knew exactly what it would be like when the biggest remote work experiment in history kicked off in the dark days of March 2020. However, many others struggled with newfound responsibilities within their home as kids shuffled no further than the kitchen table and a laptop instead of to the bus. Many of us waded in the collective, anxious waters of a global pandemic that forced us indoors and to shutter social interaction. And too many of us still bear the scars of the most dangerous public health crisis in our lifetimes.

All of this means one thing: empathy must be the root of how we move forward. It must be the foundational layer to how we approach how work gets done and how we structure a workplace environment that is both inclusive and safe. It also means that, in the face of the Delta variant’s rampage across the country (and world), we as business leaders and we as business workers must prioritize empathy in nearly every facet of how we address our roles, our jobs, and our communications with each other.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that 77% of businesses expect more empathy-driven leadership moving forward within their organizations, proving that “cold” and archaic modes of leadership, particularly instilling a culture of fear and rigidity, are detrimental to the overall enterprise. In order to retain talent and reengage key workers when needed, business leaders must create, foster, and deliver on the best possible workplace culture. By reinforcing expectations, practicing transparency, promoting positivity, and leveraging accountability (for both workers and managers), business leaders will ensure that empathetic efforts will help their organizations improve the talent experience for its total workforce.

Empathy within the workplace (and the workforce) has incredible benefits:

  • Empathy-led leadership will help business execs develop long-lasting relationships with its workforce. Workers that can perform their tasks with a touch of flexibility whilst feeling comfortable and safe within an inclusive environment are more likely to want to have a better relationship with their managers. Workers will be more apt to open additional lines of communication with their leaders and be honest about their workloads and any pressure they may be feeling about their roles. These long-lasting relationships can be especially critical when workers have opportunities outside of the organization, and, could potentially be a deciding factor on taking their talents elsewhere or staying put.
  • Leveraging empathy as a core Future of Work tenet will result in more productive workers and teams (and better business outcomes). Appreciation is also another factor that can catalyze a workforce. Workers that feel appreciated, along with a sense of physiological safety in an empathetic environment, are more likely to perform at a higher level due to a better overall employee experience. If they truly believe in what they are doing and feel that they are appreciated in how they perform their jobs, that extra level of value certainly cascades into the ultimate completion of the project. “Better business outcomes” has long been a goal for organizations, and empathy as a foundational workplace facet can be a critical contributor to achieving this initiative.
  • Empathy fosters a better connection with workers that can help stave off potential issues before they are exacerbated. Workers that have an open line of communication with their leaders will always feel that they can discuss major personal and business issues without fear of scrutiny or reprisal. In these scenarios, simply talking about problems, especially before they become worse, can potentially stave off detachment from the role or even resignations. Leaders pushing empathy can foster stronger relationships with their workers and ensure that these unions are robust tools in boosting the overall talent experience. In age that some have dubbed “The Great Resignation,” anything that executives can do in terms of empathy, flexibility, etc. will go a long way towards key talent retention.
  • Empathy-led leadership is one of several solutions to worker burnout. Think about the world we’re currently living in. The pandemic has been nothing short of an anxiety-ridden rollercoaster ride. Some of us have lost loved ones, others have been sick and experienced COVID first-hand. Many of us still battle with the lingering personal ramifications of this public health crisis. As we discussed recently, worker burnout is an epidemic on top of a pandemic; business leaders are the essential front-line of defense when it comes to curtailing this major issue. Empathetic and inclusive workplace environments (including, yes, remote environments!) can help curb some of the worker burnout issues that plague today’s talent by helping employees feel that 1) they are not alone in what they are doing, 2) they can reach out for help if they are overwhelmed, 3) they can establish flexible boundaries for when personal issues need to be prioritized, and, 4) they can work effectively with their leadership team to construct the best possible work-life balance for the maximum productivity and wellness.

A phrase known as “compassion fatigue” has been uttered lately as more and more leaders tire of the past eighteen months and the changes they’ve had to make in how they manage their workforce (it’s also a phrase thought of and spoken by medical workers that are rightfully exhausted at the thought of caring for unvaccinated individuals as hospitals begin to surge once again across the country). The FOWX theory is this: if business leaders are tiring of pushing empathy and rooting it into the foundation of their workplace environments, they shouldn’t be surprised when productivity wanes or workers begin to quit.

The COVID-19 pandemic (an ongoing pandemic, I may add) has been stressful for everyone, no doubt. However, empathy is the only way forward for the world of business. It’s the only way that workers will have a sense of inclusion, wellness, and appreciation. Leaders must respond to challenging times with empathy and flexibility, not just for themselves, but for their direct reports, as well. According to Future of Work Exchange research, nearly 70% of businesses expect leadership to focus understanding the perspectives of the workforce as they adapt to personal and professional change over the next 12 months. When the public health crisis is in the rear-view, it will be those businesses that have led with empathy and truly understand the human elements of their workforce that will retain their top talent.

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