In other words, senior leaders need to extend a level of trust to their employees. They should also consider workers’ wants and needs in terms of flexibility and keep channels of communication open – especially when implementing new policies, be they flexible working arrangements or return-to-office mandates. The new pandemic – ‘quiet quitting’ So, what’s at risk if communication channels break down? Beginning in early 2021, economists noted a trend whereby employees started voluntarily resigning from their jobs en masse, which has since been named the Great Resignation. Since then, the media has picked up on the phenomenon of ‘quiet quitting’ – ie people psychologically checking out of their work even though they haven’t handed in an official resignation. It’s become a problem so widespread, perhaps businesses should now be calling it the Silent Resignation. A global workplace report from Gallup published last year revealed that nearly 60 per cent of workers around the world feel detached from their jobs. In France, Gallup reports that just six per cent of employees feel engaged at work, despite the country having the world’s seventh‑largest economy with one of the highest productivity rates in Europe. Unsurprisingly, this lack of engagement comes at a financial cost, which Gallup estimates to be around nine per cent of global GDP – in monetary terms, that’s approximately $8.8 trillion. This isn’t a recent development either; even as early as the turn of the millennium, Gallup discovered that three-quarters of the American employees whom it surveyed were not fully engaged at work. For many people, the Covid-19 pandemic presented an opportunity to bow out of their jobs, but the desire had been with them for some time. Research from MIT Sloan School of Management reveals that toxic corporate culture was the single best predictor of employee turnover during the first six months of the Great Resignation, 10 times more powerful than how employees viewed their compensation. Leading elements that contribute to toxic cultures include failure to promote diversity and inclusion, workers feeling disrespected and unethical behaviour. Other factors that feed into workers’ decisions to jump ship include job insecurity, failure to recognise and reward high performers and – surprisingly – high levels of innovation. The last of these is thought to be because staying at the cutting edge of innovation typically requires employees to put in longer hours, work at a faster pace and endure more stress. The work may be exciting and satisfying, but it’s not a recipe for long‑term sustainability.
What bosses should learn from this is that retaining employees means ensuring the work environment is diverse, inclusive and recognises talent. More broadly, it’s a question of treating workers as people and understanding that, in order for them to feel invested in the firm, management has to demonstrate that it is invested in them. Are flexible working policies the answer? Any steps that a company takes to ensure its employees are comfortable and engaged at work
should be rooted in open communication. There is no single answer that will apply to all businesses. After all, the purpose of communication is so that corporate leaders can design company policies that are best suited to the needs of their specific workforce. However, there are some strategies that may help firms boost employee satisfaction and retention, depending on their unique situation. For instance, flexible working policies have been proven time and again to be beneficial for employees. A report from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development finds that staff are more
22 | Ambition | JUNE 2024
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