The pandemic’s turbulence demanded strong leadership from the top. Moving forward, with more than 10 million job openings as of October 2022, companies are desperately seeking ways to both retain and recruit the best possible talent. For decades, leaders have been told and taught to believe, “People don’t leave companies, they leave their manager.” While there is truth in the statement, it fails to incorporate the nuances of our changing reality; employees leave when organizations fail to meet their needs.
Creating a high-performing team and ensuring engagement from its members requires conscious effort and specific development strategies. But sometimes even healthy organizations can’t overcome chaos—whether it be the struggle to reclaim work-life balance, or the impending threat of a recession. In 2023, leaders need to shift away from the leader-driven environment and redefine employee engagement.
Our new truth is that employees want something different from both their leaders and their workplaces. Organizations that continue to operate under old paradigms are missing the boat. As leaders move into the new year, here are a few critical considerations.
Employee engagement redefined
During the pandemic, employee engagement leveled off at around 36% after years of improvement. Research confirms that engagement leads to increased retention, productivity, and work quality and up to 59.7% of employee performance is influenced by it. Research also confirms that engagement is not just about the leader. While many promote the leader’s exclusive role in determining engagement, the reality is there are numerous organizational factors that drive an employee’s ability to bring their full selves to work and be an engaged team member.
Contrary to popular belief, engagement requires high demands of employees in addition to high levels of support from management. While it might seem counterintuitive that increased workload could result in improved engagement, employees actually engage the proper coping strategies to feel fulfilled, purposeful, and contributory despite higher demands (when given adequate resources and view demands as challenges).
While the leader is in a position to heavily influence engagement, the work environment has been found in numerous studies to be one of the strongest correlates to engagement. Organizational aspects such as physical workspace, company culture, job role definition, compensation, recognition, coworker relationships, and development opportunities are factors within the organization that must be considered. All these factors go beyond a single leader’s individual influence. As an employee’s values around work change, organizational cultures must adapt to better align with what employees demand from their work environment.
Leaders and organizations must recognize the symbiotic relationship between individual employees, the organization’s workplace culture, and its leadership capabilities within the organization that either help or hinder employees from achieving their work goals. If we continue to place the responsibility solely on the leader, we fail to change the other aspects driving engagement challenges.
What employees want and need
Like everything else, employee needs are changing. As we enter 2023, employees are seeking:
Confidence and trust in leadership: In ambiguous times, employees want a sense that their organization and leaders can offer job security and stability amidst the rough waters. They want to feel a sense of confidence that their leadership can support them when things get tough.
Income or benefits that allow them to keep up with economic uncertainty: A new survey finds that only 32% of employees feel they are paid fairly. In addition, employees are also seeking recognition, which many times is even more valuable than compensation. Companies need to ensure that pay for current and new employees is comparable and meets new market standards. They also need to revamp benefits to match a changing landscape. Getting creative and considering offerings to support wellness and mental health, student loan debt, pay, and access to mentors and coaches can make the difference.
Greater work-life balance as they define their personal boundaries: Quiet quitting, a term that monopolized 2022, resulted from a workforce determined to take back control of their time and lifestyle. Employees now seek flexibility that allows them to balance multiple roles in their life. Nearly two million women left the workplace throughout the pandemic, often to care for children or other family members; 76% of all employees are prioritizing lifestyle and employers are feeling the crunch.
Organizations have been slow to find ways to accommodate these needs and find win-win solutions. For employees, flexible work schedules, including hybrid work, the ability to choose their work hours, job shares, and additional time off options are among the needs expressed. In addition, leaders and organizations need to assess “scope creep,” which occurred through the pandemic and redefine what is a reasonable workload.
In the long run, these solutions pay off as 63% of those who rate their work-life balance strong are willing to do more for their organizations.
Deeper alignment between their work and who they are: COVID-19 brought identify shifts and clarity in values. As employees look to 2023, they are seeking more than just a job, but rather a way to express their strengths and values. Leaders can encourage this shift by setting aside time for employees to express what is important to them. The result is an employee who wants to remain an active and engaged part of the organization.
Don’t underestimate the power of the team
A great team can stifle burnout, promote health, mitigate stress, elevate recognition, and make an employee love their work. Highly engaged teams have increased levels of productivity and consistency with their workplace relationships as a driving factor of engagement. Inclusion, belonging, and care are basic human needs that we seek out in our team environments.
As a result, building trust, accountability, and creating a more team-motivated business environment proves advantageous. Individuals that feel connected to good team dynamics, healthy team norms, and effectively manage conflict are successful at both an individual and organizational level. The pressure on the leader is minimized as the team becomes self-sufficient.
A leader’s role in this process is to create the norms and structures for team members to operate in collaboration with one other. Ideas include assigning peer mentors, creating team socialization opportunities, putting communication or relationship mechanisms in place, creating shared project goals, managing accountability equitably, and ensuring the team dynamics remain healthy. Leaders can also develop shared learning opportunities and look at team recognition to minimize professional jealousy. It is also important that leaders address performance issues that mitigate team effectiveness.
Creating feelings of inclusion will bring out the best in your people and make your role as leader more fulfilling.
Leaders wanting to create high-performing teams need to position themselves to not only address employees’ needs but also navigate and negotiate change within the broader organizational system. In 2023, make it easier for your employees to stay rather than leave.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
