Organizations around the world are facing crucial challenges and uncertainty on multiple fronts, and if they want to successfully compete in today’s increasingly complex business environment, they will need to address and solve two critical issues: the talent crisis and eroding trust.
The labor market is hot, and people are quitting in record numbers, especially the younger generations. And it’s not just for more money. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a major shift in employee expectations, and people have been re-evaluating their lives, both personally and professionally. Leaders are struggling with what to do to attract and retain talent.
The office can be a vehicle for communicating values and creating a community at work where people feel they belong
The change in employee expectations and the shift in values have also led to an increase in employee activism. People no longer just want a job. They want and expect to work for a company that shares their values and beliefs, and they’re not just concerned about themselves. They’re concerned about the big picture and the sociopolitical stance of the company. As a result, employee voices have never been louder or had a greater impact.
At the same time, organizations are experiencing a trust recession. Trust is eroding among colleagues as a result of the physical separation they have experienced over the past two years. A recent study of more than 5,400 Finnish workers found that “the longer employees were apart from one another during the pandemic, the more their faith in colleagues fell.” People begin to question their colleagues’ competence and character.
Eroding trust is intensifying the talent crisis. Leaders need to “work to rebuild and maintain trusting relationships — with and among their employees,” writes The Harvard Business Review. “Those that don’t, risk far more than lower morale. The chances of increased attrition, lower productivity and stalled innovation also loom large when trust plummets.”
Leaders are trying to do the right thing. They’re raising salaries and benefits, offering signing bonuses and shifting to hybrid work models to give people more flexibility. Yet, according to research from McKinsey, these choices can create a transactional relationship with employees, and may not provide what people really want: to feel valued and feel a sense of belonging to their organization.
New global research by Steelcase, conducted with employees around the world, uncovers how the office can help. The office can be a vehicle for communicating values and creating a community at work where people feel they belong. The workplace is the body language of an organization, and it speaks volumes about the culture and what’s important to leaders. This study shows how important the office is to people, what workers need in this new reality, and how the places people work can be a crucial part of an organization’s strategy to solve the complex issues leaders face today. Offering remote work and higher salaries are important steps, but they’re not enough to create a systemic and sustainable difference. Leaders must also address the impact the work experience and the workplace can have to meet new employee needs and build a more resilient organization that can thrive in an era of change and uncertainty.
