The Great Rethink and Resignation

– By Jeremy Miller

Was Covid Just a Scapegoat?

Not long ago, an employee sat across from me fighting back tears. Through a crackling voice she said, “I just don’t think I can give my all right now.” Another day, another resignation. In 2021, 47 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs. Yes, read that again. 47 million.

While Covid has been rightly seen as the great catalyst for what is coined, The Great Resignation, we need to also ask, “Why are employees so eager to flee their jobs?” We can point fingers, assign blame, or ask self-pitying questions, such as: “Why me? My employees have a great job, they get paid very well, they have worked with me for so long, they must be happy, right?”

Not as happy as we think.

Do we create a work environment where our employees can trust us? Do we lead with integrity? Do we demonstrate appreciation beyond raises and bonuses? Early Covid was a great example. Many employers were quick to furlough some of their best employees in favor of short-term profits. How do we expect employee loyalty in an environment that demonstrates how quickly an employee is deemed expendable? I cannot say this with enough urgency: my fellow managers, we need to do a better job to acknowledge and appreciate the work of our employees before it is too late.

WHAT IS SHOWING APPRECIATION?

In our early careers, we were reared to show appreciation differently. We need to evolve. This means more than a simple verbal recognition about hard work or performance, and more than handing out bonuses and incentives. True appreciation is authentically acknowledging and supporting your employees. The key word here is “authentically”. Authentic acknowledgement has tremendous effects on health, stress levels, and overall job satisfaction. When you tell an employee they are doing a good job, you must truly mean it. One technique to ensure your employee feels this authenticity is to elaborate. Tell them why. Show them you are truly paying attention.

As leaders it’s difficult to always be present with the employee in front of you. There are a million things competing for your attention, being present with an employee is an essential discipline. As essential as being present with an investor. Elaboration will force you to be mindful and present, and result in amplifying the employee’s satisfaction and well-being.

Another powerful practice is to show gratitude in unexpected and personal ways. A quick example could be if an employee is in a financial bind, the company can offer a loan. Or if an employee is overwhelmed by any of the many stressors and transitions in our ever-changing lives, we can go above and beyond, adapt in real-time, support them with some days off or dig in to discover how you can sincerely offer help. This is personal. You can’t template this. It establishes trust and makes employees feel valued; an employee that feels valued is a more motivated one. As more employees remain working from home and work life balance shifts more towards life balance, supporting mental, emotional, and social well-being becomes as important as their economic well-being.

BACK TO THAT EMPLOYEE OF MINE

A year earlier she had lost her boyfriend in an accident and was still unable to focus on work. Through her tears, she stoically said, “I understand if you want me to resign.” The death still felt like yesterday. I had lost my closest uncle to a car crash 25 years ago, I could empathize.

On paper, the "smart” decision would be to just move on. It would save precious company resources that may be squandered with having an unproductive employee. But she was a good employee up to that point. She worked hard to build a sales pipeline, and within the company she always arrived to the office eager to build the business and develop good relationships with others.

So, what to do?

DON’T BE AFRAID TO SHOW

However great the benefit of showing appreciation, there is still a great fear by managers to embrace this practice. The business world’s prevailing leadership style continues to be instilling fear to move the workforce and crush goals. Showing appreciation doesn’t fit into this style. There is a fear the employee might use this goodwill against the company somehow. Perhaps ask for a raise or eventually begin to slack off. These fears are mostly unfounded.

A friend of mine from a large online retailer reflected with me on this recently. For years, his company had paid for employees weddings and school as part of an employee benefit program. And for as many years he pushed back the reservations from a certain set of investors that balked at the financial implications. But the CEO believed in paying it forward and stuck with it. When Covid hit, his style paid off in multitudes of return. While many businesses bled money or suffered a labor exodus, his employees stepped up even while the company was forced into austerity measures and free government money was tempting them to leave. In the end, the company did not miss a single beat throughout the height of Covid, their warehouses stayed open even since day one of the pandemic.

IT’S NOT ALL KOOL AID, APPRECIATION MUST GO BOTH WAYS

I had one case where an employee had an amazing year in sales. She received a sizable bonus, but argued her contract was misinterpreted. She gave me a number and we met halfway. I thought it was fair, but she quit anyway. Did I regret not giving her want she asked? No, because I felt I was being fair. Appreciation is not synonymous with bending to the demands of an employee if you do not agree. Sometimes expectations do not always align. We have to accept that, and that’s OK.

THE MORE YOU PUT IN, THE MORE YOU GET OUT

And our employee who was still grieving? We gave her a leave of absence, a severance package, and a glowing recommendation to the next company that hired her when she returned to the workplace. Other employees took note. A salesperson approached me after and acknowledged me for how empathetically I personally handled the situation. She had herself contemplated leaving and actually said how happy it made her to be working with a company that is authentic. Fast forward 3-months, and that employee closed the biggest account in the company’s history.

Like any healthy relationship, the more you put in the more you get out. It takes work and it’s tough to do this. I have tried and failed a couple of times but keep trying you’ll get it right! If you are authentic, the benefits far outweigh the risks. So, the next meeting you are in with someone you have not acknowledged in a while, be present and open, elaborate on the excellent job they are doing. Even better, provide something unexpected that is meaningful to them and see what happens!