Employees are seeking more value from their positions

The changing value of work

Microsoft released a report surveying 31,000 employees that looked at how work changed during the pandemic. The results show that employees seek more value from their companies to stay engaged. Employees are looking for more than just good pay, and they would like to have a flexible work environment that includes caring and opportunities.

Generation Z outlook on jobs has shifted

Work had shifted in the last two years; when the pandemic started in 2020, many people worked remotely. This shift has had disastrous effects on how employees look at work. Americans always saw their lives as the” live to work,” where this study demonstrates that employees no longer have this outlook. Employees have different priorities and values.

The great resignation is a shift that is happening in the careers. 58% of Generation Z employees consider changing their jobs compared to 43% of all generations, making workplaces think about what’s important to employees. Employers have to make a change to keep staff engaged.

Top priorities for employees

What has been the change in priorities? Pay continues to be near the top of what employees value but the rest of the top priorities are the effects of having more freedom in their positions. According to the survey, Employees are seeking:

1. Positive work culture
2. Mental health and well-being benefits
3. A sense of purpose and meaning in their roles
4. Flexible work hours
5. More than two weeks of vacation time per year

TThese ideas make them more inclusive, sometimes focusing on one-self and employee needs over their employers.

Value of Well Being over work

Caring for one’s health has increasingly become a priority for most employees. People are valuing this more than actually going to the workplace. Employees’ well-being and health ranked by 53% as the most critical aspect they expect their employers to offer them in today’s focus toward work. A significant shift from two years ago, and it’s not only happening in the United States.

1. 50% of North Americans
2. 70% of Latin America
3. 44% of Europeans

All have similar viewpoints; they are focused on themselves, and work comes second.

How can leaders adjust to this? This shift in the work dynamics must adapt a company’s perspective. The outstanding question is how to make this change? How can workplaces pivot are being decided daily in offices?

Recommendations of the pivot

Leaders need to think about this pivot differently than we have ever experienced this in the past. Employers need to change their view that mental health can’t be hidden from view. Tennis star Naomi Osaka admitted her struggles with mental health. The last two years of more isolation and additional screen time have shown some adverse effects. We must open our minds to be supportive of our employees.

To do this, we must do a few things.

1. We must engage our employees more regularly.
2. Meetings can’t only be about work; there must be an open dialog
3. We need to value engagement as much as productivity.
4. Hybrid work situations where remote and in-office time is balanced

These adjustments would begin toward a more inclusive, open-minded environment where employees and employers can collaborate effectively.

Switch from work focused to employee focus.

LarLarge corporations are going to struggle as this switch is occurring. Companies want employees to return to their offices, even though productivity has been off the charts the last year. This has adverse effects on innovation which has suffered across all parts of the organization.

Benefits like offering corner offices, gym memberships, and free food may have been a value in 2020, but today’s employees seek more to stay at the organization. They want a balance that is more of the” work to live” philosophy. The 12-14 hour days that included commuting to work may be a thing of the past. We need to understand that employees who could readily move to other opportunities leave employers in a bind. They spend time developing them and take what they learn to other companies. The new company benefits, not the current one. This switch in mindset and ideas ensure both employer and employee benefit.

Adopting a new model for employeers

Adopting a new model for work will have a sacrifice for companies. The profit margins may not always meet the shareholder’s expectations. Stock values may suffer in the short term, but we must learn to shift our focus. We can’t always look at the next three months; we have to consider what the long-term 2-4 years will bring for the company.

A long-term vision will provide companies with values that are more inclusive, positive culture and offer a long-term year of year growth with less turnover of employees. Companies that cannot adopt this shift may have some short-term success, but it will have them struggle when they lose their most valuable resources to their competitors.

Companies adopting this new model will be the companies that higher education institutions will discuss in their classrooms and through case studies. They can be the next SpaceX, Micorosft, Telsa, and Uber.

Summary

The change with the pandemic isn’t only occurring in the health care field. Employees are feeling empowered to take control of their lives. They are prioritizing their well-being and work relationships differently than before the pandemic. As leaders, we must adjust this may include intellectual property clauses since many of the younger generations want the ability to monetize their side hustle. The survey mentions how locking down their opportunities to be entrepreneurs is non-negotiable with this generation.

Source: Microsoft, “Exploring the Science of Work and Ingenuity”