Vice President of Sales at John R. Wood Properties

Ron Howard

What is going on?

 In leadership meetings and employee water cooler conversations across the country, frustrations related to the 2023 workplace are building. There is no shortage of articles and dialog around the trend expressed, such as "quiet-quitting" and "productivity paranoia" (Washington Post). A general situation of employee dissatisfaction is unhelpful in the in-office/remote-work debate. Employee expectations are crashing against a return-to-office push by some companies, surprisingly, even by high-tech organizations. Equally surprising are the flexible work-from-home policies coming from many non-high-tech organizations. Companies are following a cost-saving trend in shedding their commercial and retail office space to leverage remote work. The reported obstacles in work-from-home scenario by employees, such as mental health and other environmental challenges to remain focused on work, adds to the already existing opposing and confusing viewpoints on this debate. (McKinsey 2023)

The solution to employee dissatisfaction may not be tied to the buzz .You would think reports of employee and employer frustrations refer to a small number of traditional, perhaps more hierarchal organizations. My own experience, and that of many with whom I collaborate, is that many organizations, even those not considered "top-down," are working on issues of employee dissatisfaction post-pandemic. A record number of companies are facing this problem. There may be an underlying reason for “quiet-quitting" and “the great resignation” buzz. Remote work challenges may be masking a deeper issue. What if the buzz, and the problems addressing remote work, are tied to an underlying, more basic challenge? Is it possible that part of the problem is a disconnect between leadership/management and employees? The most important factors in the employee’s mind might be social and psychological, including not feeling valued by their organization or manager or not having a sense of belonging at work. (McKinsey2022)

While the business world continues to struggle with remote work policies and focus remains somewhat limited to more superficial factors related to remote work, should we be on a more root-cause path towards deeper solutions? 

Let's shift our focus to something we probably know how to do and a skillset that we possess and have had much success in executing. I am speaking of a simple, refreshed focus on and engagement with each employee. This engagement is tied to asking how they are doing in their job, how their career is advancing, and listening to their complaints, frustrations, hopes, and ideas. Then, can we work with each employee to help them resolve as many challenges as possible? We may be unable to allow remote work or provide a pay raise. We may, however, be able to cure a workplace conflict, improve a frustrating process, and exercise the very culture our websites enjoy professing.

"Is it possible that part of the problem is a disconnect between leadership/management and employees?"

People do more of what they want to do than what they are told to do. This statement, or some form of it, is something we all understand. So, if we return attention to the well-being and careers of our employees, we may find that they return our attention with greater satisfaction and appreciation. A wise business leader, Larry Kendall, teaches, "What you focus on expands." So, if we focus on the employees and address their underlying frustrations and root causes of dissatisfaction, it is possible to regain employee satisfaction. This so-called "soft skill" might be the start of finding the solution to a tougher problem.

You can have tremendous business success for your company by being a nice person who employees like working for and by creating a culture and environment that makes you and everyone in your company want to come to work—and enjoy where they are and what they’re doing. (Psychology Today, 2023) That is exactly what we are addressing, is it not? “A culture and environment that makes you and everyone in your company want to come to work”? Let’s try it.