What Your Employees Want and Need
The experiences of the last few years have reshaped the mindset of employees regarding their personal and professional priorities. As Microsoft’s Work Index reports, employees’ have a new “worth it” equation—what people want from work and what they’re willing to give in return. The power dynamic is shifting, and rewards like a corner office or a lunch expense account are no longer what people value most.
In Microsoft’s study, 47% of respondents say they are more likely to put family and personal life over work than before the pandemic.
In addition, 53%—particularly parents (55%) and women (56%)—say they are more likely to prioritize their health and wellbeing over work than they did before the pandemic. “Work is only a part of life. It should not be your whole life or the only thing you care about.”
Key Findings from Microsoft work index include five urgent trends business leaders need to know in 2022:
Employees have a new “worth it” equation.
Leaders need to make the office worth the commute.
Flexible work does not have to mean “always on.”
Rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world.
Lets dig a bit deeper into to a few of the emerging trends:
Work life balance
Although more employees are working from home or remotely, it does not mean that their work-life balance has improved. The boundary between work and home life has been blurred in many cases. Employees are working more off the clock and during their personal time. One study found that remote workers spend 2.5 more hours each day at work. Work-life balance is a problem that keeps on escalating. When workers feel like they are working more than living, they are more likely to burn out or look for opportunities. Companies that establish a good work-life balance culture will be more productive and retain more of their workers.
Creating a good work-life balance for your employees requires a culture change for many businesses. Business owners and managers can set an example by not contacting employees after business hours. In return, they would also discourage employees from contacting them once work ends. Another way businesses can improve work-life balance is by being more lenient on employee time off. When employees need to take care of a sick family member or attend to an emergency, they shouldn’t be in fear of losing their jobs. Think about what you can reasonably offer to keep your doors open and have employees feeling supported.
Employee burnout
Employee burnout is also not going away. The stress from the pandemic has exacerbated the problem. Research found that today’s trends show over 50% of workers feel burnt out. When employees are burnt out, they have reached a point of exhaustion. They will be less productive, often feel cynical towards work, and may even quit. This is not good for businesses since turnover can cost them thousands per employee lost. Burnout also takes a toll on both physical and mental health. The World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization attributed 745,000 deaths from stroke and heart disease to overworking.
Where do we go from here?
Your employees are looking for solutions. A recent Happiness Survey indicated two-thirds of Americans feel like they do not have time for what is important. Many of them are trying and failing to find the tools they need to get to a more satisfying lifestyle. As an employer, you can be a part of the problem or the solution. Helping people find a more satisfying roadmap for how to work and live requires a systematic approach that helps both the employer and employee determine the key values that fuel them and a system to hold them accountable.
Value Based Time Management is an approach that has worked and can easily be implemented in the workforce. If you would like to learn more about value-based time management and how it can help your team with their happiness and productivity, book a Connect Call to see how I can help your team go from just surviving, to wildly thriving.
You will need to think about what is best for your employees and your business. Happy employees mean happy customers, which means a successful business for all.