How leaders can address the human energy crisis

Kathleen Hogan, Microsofts’s chief human resources officer, recently sounded the alarm that businesses today are facing a “human energy crisis.”

Workers in virtually every occupation are “languishing, feeling burned out and exhibiting emotional detachment” says Hogan, asserting that because workplace managers have profound influence over their employee’s energy levels, it is essential that they make a pronounced pivot in how they lead in the post-pandemic era.

From 2021 through 2022—just two years—nearly 100 million American workers quit their jobs. And this trend has continued into 2023. Fortunately, there are steps teams can take to address the human energy crisis. 

 Leaders need to adapt 

“There’s no time when it’s been more important to have great managers than right now because leadership in general is more difficult than it’s ever been,” Jim Harter, chief scientist at Gallup recently tells me on my podcast. “In addition to all the challenges that came pre-pandemic, covid brought us a massive increase in hybrid work and fully remote work—and people now experience work in a very different way. And navigating through that as an added challenge is something most organizations have yet to solve.”

Harter directs Gallup’s 20 year-long employee engagement study as well as Gallup’s ongoing well-being study. Gallup’s engagement study, he says, indicates that employee engagement not only has hit a seven-year low, but that record 1-in-5 workers are now “actively disengaged,” suggesting that 20% of workers are both miserable and detached from their jobs.

“Before we saw the recent drop, we saw a record of growth that’s now been cancelled out,” Harter explains. “More organizations did take engagement seriously, but work and life have changed significantly—and leaders must recalibrate their efforts in order to reverse what’s happened.”

Addressing record stress levels

Gallup’s data indicates that employee stress levels have been trending upward for over a decade, but increased by five percentage points globally as the pandemic hit. Today, 44% of global workers report experiencing great stress on any given day. Harter says businesses play a role in these rising stress levels. 

“We’re seeing leadership go in one of two directions,” he says. “In one direction, they’re saying, ‘Get back to the office,’ and in another they’re saying, ‘Do what you need for yourself.’ The problem is there’s no coordination.”

Given the benefits employees gain from working remotely, Harter believes that many talented people will never again work for an organization that doesn’t offer hybrid work schedules, that leaders must fully accept this change, and that CEOs need to affirm that hybrid is here to stay.

Gallup’s research suggests that hybrid workplaces can be incredibly productive, but that in-person collaboration is also beneficial. “We’ve found that you can solve problems quicker when people are together and there are parts of human nature that work better when you can see each other,” Harter says. “Conversely, we know that not being together limits the number of relationships we can establish and stifles employee development—two things that will devastate organizations over time.”

Harter’s conclusion is that working in the office two-to-three days a week is how engagement will be maximized, and leaders should clearly define the specific days people work together. 

Caring managers make all the difference

Some studies have found that people who started new jobs during the Great Resignation, landed bigger pay packages. But when Gallup asked workers who quit during this period, only 15% emphasized pay as their primary reason for leaving—while nearly 75% highlighted well-being and engagement related issues.

As Gallup’s research has repeatedly shown, up to 70% of engagement and job satisfaction are attributable to an employee’s relationship with their manager. And many  workers today are looking for a manager who cares about them as an individual. They want clear direction, opportunities to grow, coaching to accelerate their effectiveness, and appreciation and recognition when they do good work. Bottom line: they want to feel they work for a leader who has their best interests at heart.

The idea of being a “caring manager” easily could be conflated with “soft” management until we realize that this is the kind of leader most people now want. And as my own work has repeatedly shown, when people feel their manager is their advocate—they commit more of themselves to their jobs. They instinctively reciprocate.

Caring managers have the mindset of a coach. If an employee is confused about what’s expected of them, their manager clears it up for them. If they have an equipment or material need, their manager helps them find a solution. It also means that managers know their employee’s personal history and goals, and intentionally do what’s best to foster their growth and well-being—all the while maintaining high expectations and holding them accountable for results.

Connecting one-on-one

Harter recommends that managers build strong connections with workers by having at least one meaningful conversation with each team member every week. 

According to Harter, the reason for these one-on-one meetings shouldn’t solely be to discuss employee assignments, “It’s so that the manager can listen—the art of leadership that’s too often forgotten. The goal is to know the situation of every employee—what’s going on in their life overall.” Remarkably, Gallup’s research discovered that 80% of employees who said they had a meaningful discussion with their boss in the past week were fully engaged.

Some managers will wonder how they will ever find the time to have a heart-to-heart with every employee, every week. But these conversations need only be 15 to 30 minutes long if they are consistently held. By making these kinds of leadership adjustments, it is possible for teams to re-inspire employees, and solve humanity’s energy crisis.