The Great Resignation - Part 2 (Employee)

Are you seeing what many of our clients are seeing -- a mass exodus within their organizations. People are swiftly leaving their jobs and moving to other companies. But why? In this 3-part series, we will be exploring this new movement. Part 1: What is it and why are people leaving | Part 2: You, as the Employee, what to consider | Part 3: You, as the Leader, how to retain talent

Transcript

Hey,

This is Lou with the IONIS Whole Person Leadership Development and Coaching.

And thank you for joining me for this episode of the Leader Manager podcast.

This is a special three-part series on the Great Resignation,

A new movement that's spreading through the workforce.

If you haven't yet listened to part one,

I definitely invite you to do so.

It explains the concept of the Great Resignation and the stats backing it,

And what it is and who is in the middle of it.

Are you affected?

Take 12 minutes and listen to that podcast first.

In this part two of the Great Resignation,

We're going to dive into the employee side of what's happening.

What's it like right now from the employee's perspective,

Your perspective?

And we will begin to understand what's going on.

If you are feeling like you have an itch to leave your job,

You're not alone.

Many people are not feeling happy right now.

And here's a quick preview into part three.

We're going to take our leaders into the Great Resignation and help them understand why their talent is leaving,

What they can do for you as the employee.

Okay,

Let's get started.

One of the most staggering stats we captured in the first podcast was that four million people quit their job in April of this year.

And right now,

64% of employees are thinking about quitting their jobs.

This means that more than half of your teammates are thinking of leaving their job.

Does this mean you should?

If everyone else is,

Then they must know something you don't,

Right?

Maybe they know something about the company's future success,

Or they know about some upcoming org changes,

Or maybe this is the prime time to jump ship because other companies are hiring right now.

This topic has been coming up across the board with all our clients.

Obviously,

There's something here that we need to dive into.

We surveyed our clients,

And this is what they shared.

They don't feel connected to their company and their team.

COVID life has created a pocket of isolation for people.

Not everyone asked to work from home.

This was a mandate.

The sense of community they felt in the office,

Being able to turn to the person next to them and share something funny,

Or to even hear eavesdrop on conversations a few desks away,

To greet people as they came in in the morning,

To see and hear the buzz of the work environment.

You sat within a dynamic community,

A community that you felt you had a place within.

For many of our clients,

All of this went dark when they started working from home.

Instant messaging isn't the same.

Zoom meetings don't replace the informal chitchat and physical presence of humans around you.

And because of this,

People are finding that they are not connected with their teams.

They are not connected with their companies.

They are not connected with their managers.

There is not a sense of belonging.

There isn't the same level of loyalty and devotion.

This is also leading to a level of impatience for things that are not working right.

Leadership not working,

Tools not working,

Resources not there,

Things changing in the org.

Nothing is working.

There is no patience for this.

And you don't feel supported,

At least maybe before you felt more supported.

And at this point,

You just feel neglected,

Unnoticed,

Uncared for.

But on the flip side,

The environment isn't that bad.

Many are finding some great efficiencies of being able to be heads down and get things done.

You might be thriving in an environment with less distractions.

No one to bother you or interrupt you.

No drive-bys at your desk.

People stopping you in the hallway.

It's so much easier to end a Zoom meeting and have some quiet time.

It's easy to turn off instant messaging,

And you can decide not to look at email for a while.

But it's hard to ignore someone standing at your desk asking for your attention.

A lot of us are enjoying the flexible environment.

Setting your schedule by tidying up your home,

Doing some laundry,

Giving some love to your fur babies,

Enjoying a walk outside.

Those are really nice things that you might have not been able to do before in the regular office environment.

And right now,

Employers are making decisions on the post-COVID work environment,

Or at least wherever we are in COVID right now.

They're asking employees to change how they work and where they work.

And people are getting a bit upset,

A little uneasy.

People don't want to keep changing,

Or at least they don't want to be told how to change.

Some employers have gone 100% remote,

Which is great for some people who truly love working remote.

Some companies are deciding to go hybrid,

Which is a good middle of the road.

And others are going 100% back in the office.

In each of these cases,

The employer is the one deciding,

Not you.

It's not easy to change when someone else is telling you to change.

Hence,

This is one of the primary drivers to the great resignation.

People want to make their own choices.

We also sat down one-on-one with one of our clients,

Nicole,

A senior software product manager.

She's seven years at the company.

It's a large global organization.

They have been working remote and allowing one day a week back in the office.

Nicole hasn't really been happy.

She enjoys the cross-functional parts of her job,

The functional work.

She's passionate about it.

But her manager can be very intimidating.

And the feedback the manager provides just tears her down.

Every criticism she receives makes her feel less and less competent.

The go-to solution is to just leave.

Looking around,

She sees so many others leaving her company.

In the last couple months,

Two of the five people on her team left.

Obviously,

People aren't happy.

It must be the company.

It must be the manager,

Right?

It could be.

But to stop there and to make a decision would be life limiting.

Why do I say this?

Life limiting.

Because making a life decision based on the surface indicators could lead you down the wrong road.

With the general feeling of discomfort or the current state reaction to what you see and feel,

This might lead you to take an action that might not be what will create the greatest happiness and success for you.

How so?

When in a situation where you're not happy,

You immediately just want to fix it.

I'm not happy with my job,

So I'm going to get a new job.

I will be happier at this fresh new job.

Or I'm sad.

So I'm going to eat a chocolate cake.

Then I'll feel better.

Quitting your job eating a chocolate cake might not be the healthiest choices on many different levels.

If you have done either of those before,

You probably know that you don't really feel the happiness you thought it was going to bring you.

A better option is to dive into understanding why I'm unhappy at work.

Why am I feeling sad right now?

Why do I feel a need for a chocolate cake?

In Nicole's case,

She was feeling the itch to leave her job.

And instead of quickly jumping ship,

She decided to pause.

She enlisted a coach and she dove into the why.

This was such a powerful decision for her to make.

Rather than jumping ship and going to something that seemed greener on the other side,

She worked with her coach to step back and identify what it was that truly brought energy and excitement to her life.

Figuring out where her energy drivers and drainers were.

With the right career tools and coaching,

Nicole was able to clearly see what was needed.

Not just for right now,

But in any future opportunity.

She identified what would enable her to love what she was doing.

She discovered she was a creator and someone who thrived as being a presenter and a subject matter expert.

It was also clear that what drained Nicole was detailed analysis,

Constant following up with people,

Project management,

Just drained the energy out of her.

Nicole identified that the greatest thing she could do was remain in her current job that she actually did love.

It had everything that gave her energy.

In addition to the energy drivers and drainers,

We identified what Nicole's development areas were.

She struggled with the ability to accept and process criticism,

Especially from those in positions that she perceived in authority.

She also discovered she often found herself in self-doubt and a feeling that she was an imposter.

These development areas were Nicole's unlock for a happier life.

With her coach,

She was able to build her confidence,

Learn how to process feedback,

To create growth,

And begin to create a life where she was filled with greater joy.

So many people are jumping ship without getting to the root,

Without asking why.

Please don't do this.

Seek to understand what is driving the feelings and emotions.

Enlist a coach to help you.

A coach isn't someone who tells you what to do.

A coach isn't one who takes sides.

A coach isn't someone who just places judgment on you.

You can go to friends,

You can go to your manager,

You can go to your parents,

For all of that kind of stuff.

A coach is someone who enables you to create the solutions that are true to who you are.

They listen,

They support,

They facilitate,

They push you to dive deeper,

To better understand who you are.

I can't say it enough.

Enlist a coach if you want to create happiness for yourself.

Alright,

My hope is that you now understand that you have a choice.

If you are feeling antsy,

Frustrated,

Worried,

Unhappy,

You have a choice to dive deeper and understand what truly is the best decision for you to make.

Okay,

Part three,

The leaders.

Given the current mindset of employees,

What can the employers do?

What can your manager do?

Your leader do?

What can you do if you're the one who manages people?

Tune into part three to learn about how to step up.

It costs nothing to step up as a leader.

It costs a ton when your employees leave.

You'll recall from part one,

One third of the employee's salary you as an employer spend trying to backfill.

So join me.

I'm excited to see you there.

Thank you for listening.

Reach out to us.

Let us know how we can help you.

We're here to create leaders in your organization and within you.

Send us a note at coach at IONISWPC.

Com.

That's coach at IONISWPC.

Com.

Also check out our website,

IONISWPC.

Com.