Southeast Michigan
Are you struggling to find and retain good employees?
Are you concerned about employee motivation in a post-COVID world?
Wondering what you can offer to help your team thrive in 2021 … and beyond?
We didn’t expect the pandemic, and we certainly didn’t expect how it would change American business. Technology has become the backbone of business, as millions of Americans moved to a work-from-home model and proved the old-fashioned, 9-5 office model nearly obsolete. With work and home no longer separated by space and time, business is primed for change.
As a result, the work/life and employer/employee balance changed, almost overnight.
Pre-pandemic, it wasn’t uncommon for businesses to consider incentives like casual Fridays and company-provided snacks to boost employee motivation and engagement. The more progressive businesses may have offered perks like onsite gyms, daycare, and wellness programs. The missing link is that they are largely devoted to improving wellbeing while in the workplace. A true work/life balance supports life outside the workplace.
How do we create a win-win that balances employer with employee needs, wants, and interests?
Post-Pandemic Employees are Motivated to Choose Life Over Work
The truth that seems to be emerging since COVID shut down the country is the value of good employees and what really matters to them. The pandemic pushed millions across a line that many were already toeing: making a living vs living. When making a living truly became a matter of life or death, the work/life balance tipped towards life. With work-from-home the new norm, employees could be both breadwinner and stay-at-home parent or spouse.
Employees are expected to manage their in/out boxes and responsibilities, and for the most part deal with their personal lives outside of work. The pandemic has taught us that many employees can manage these well in a work from home environment – one where life, living, and work are finely balanced throughout the day and work week.
FastCompany sums it up: “For the first time in perhaps a long time, Americans have control over their day-to-day, including the ability to prioritize the aspects they enjoy and to be mentally present during the moments of their life that matter the most.”
From an employee’s perspective, we might say the business world is finally learning that employees don’t want to be valued for what happens to the company bottom line. Casual Fridays, free snacks, a one paid volunteer day per year, etc., are nice, but they aren’t truly motivating. The pandemic has really heightened the realization that life is all too short and life outside the office space really matters. Employees are now more focused than ever on balance and a life they may not get to enjoy at a meaningful level until after retirement – if that continues as it did under the pre-pandemic model. To bridge these widening gaps, more than ever, employers must ask themselves – What do we need to do to position ourselves as an employer of choice?
Rethinking Employee Motivation
The carrot-on-a-stick model of motivating employees is no longer apt. It has lost its luster against the backdrop of a life-changing health crisis like a pandemic.
How many essential workers put their company’s bottom line above health and safety? How many made alternate living arrangements so they could provide for their families and serve the public while protecting those they lived with and loved?
How many walked away?
The ever present “help wanted” signs and reports of staffing shortages tell the story. It’s become common to see signs posted outside businesses offering sign-on bonuses and college tuition reimbursement. Unfortunately, it’s becoming all too common to experience shortened hours of service and unexpected closings due to staffing shortages.
So, what does motivate employees now?
- Work At Home works — we can take care of personal needs and work from the comfort of our homes, saving time and money without a commute
- Self-employment is empowering, and is more accessible than before
- The work/life balance has shifted to focus more on life
- People don’t want to work until they die — or die working
A new generation of employees emerging from lockdown is no longer accepting the status quo – no longer accepting a paycheck as trade for their life. They’re making new demands to meet not-so-new needs.
How Do You Pivot to Meet the New Normal?
To keep employees engaged may require turning an old-fashioned model of employee engagement on its side. Ask yourself:
What does it take to truly focus on my employees?
What can we do to support our employees’ quality of life?
Start with a phone call to David
David is an accomplished and experienced business professional who brings over 40 years of insight to the table. As a business coach, he specializes in helping business owners prioritize their needs. He can help you create a new plan to increase employee engagement — a plan that respects their accomplishments in and out of the workplace. Wherever they may work.
It all starts with a single, free conversation. Call 734-726-5208 today for a free coaching session or contact David through the website. Your life is waiting!