Recording of my UN talk: Pandemic Impact on Employee Expectations

Stream On Demand – Decent Work: Pandemic Impact on Employee Expectations

Decent Work: Pandemic Impact on Employee Expectations

July 12, 2021

Presentation to the High-Level Political forum at the United Nations

Achieving Decent Work for Resilient and Sustainable Recovery from COVID-19

Much has been speculated about how the pandemic will shape employee expectations about the workplace. And, I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have a crystal ball, but based on history and our humanity some predictions can be made regarding what is likely to occur.

What we see, collected from employee surveys and interviews, is that many of the current patterns in the data are similar to the patterns that we saw after 9/11 and during the Great Recession which began in 2007.  But when we look at patterns of data from employees, we have to be careful not to paint with too broad of a brush. While there is a statistical distribution with every trait, truth-be-told there are more similarities than differences when it comes to the specifics of what workers want from the world of work. Before I get into those similarities and differences and patterns in the data and how best to respond to them, there is a fundamental tenant, that I would like to put forth.

The underlying human psychology which drives the fundamentals of what workers want from the workplace has not changed during this pandemic. It did not change after 9/11. It did not change after the Great Recession, and it is very unlikely to change any time soon. What does and can change is how those fundamentals are fulfilled. Let me cover a few of those fundamentals to illustrate:

First is sense of equity, that for the effort I put in I am given a fair return. That return is measured in terms of compensation and benefits. The benefits can be varied and each person will put different weight on the value of those benefits such as job prestige, organizational mission, development opportunities, resume building, insurance, flexibility, vacation time, retirement plans, time to retirement and job security. Many people for instance will take a job with lower compensation if they can retire after 20 years with health insurance and a pension. Others will take a job and work under less satisfying conditions if the organization is viewed as serving a higher purpose. What combination people value in terms of compensation and benefits is varied and can and does change over time, sometimes driven by life stage or by impacts of significant events, such as technological advances, economic crises, attacks by foreign actors or pandemics.  So, after a pandemic people still desire equitable treatment, but the factors that create that equitableness can and will change, not necessarily for all, but at least for some.   

The second fundamental is being treated with respect and dignity. I defy you to find a worker anywhere in the world, of any generation, from any culture that doesn’t want to be treated with respect and dignity, pathology aside. This does not change over time and is a constant. Respect and dignity are so often used in conjunction with one another that they have become joined at the hip as a unified concept not only in the world of employees at work but also in our day-to-day conceptual thinking as well.

Dignity is often defined as a “person’s freedom to write their own life story”.  That requires freedom from oppression, and has within that notion both rights and obligations. One right is of control over oneself and one’s body and an obligation would be to take responsibility for your behaviors and actions.

Maintaining dignity in the world of work, using that definition, is a balancing act. If dignity is about the right to choose, as one enters an employment situation one is giving up at least some dignity, in that you are working not necessarily to your own ends, on your own initiatives, but on organizationally defined goals and often on an organizationally defined schedule.

The third factor is organizational effectiveness, which also includes effectiveness of leadership. One of the factors causing people to quit an organization is if they experience frustrations day-to-day in getting their work done. While there are always exceptions, by-and-large people want to work, they want to contribute and they want to do a good job. One piece of evidence for this is that people who are overworked have higher levels of job satisfaction than people who are not given enough to do, which generates feelings of being less valued. Organizational effectiveness has both an internal component, how well is the place being run, and an external component, do we offer products and services that are attractive and of high quality.

And the fourth fundamental factor is that each employee wants to have a sense of personal future, a career path, and each is chasing their own personal rainbow. Here is the thing though; no one has ever seen someone else’s rainbow. A rainbow is created when a beam of light passes through water droplets, is diffracted and shines on the color receptors in your eye. When two people look at a rainbow, even if they are standing side-by-side they are seeing different rainbows, different light beams, passing through different water droplets reflecting uniquely off of the color receptors in their eyes. Their respective rainbows may appear very similar but as each of us perceives a rainbow we are perceiving a unique image, an image that no one else perceives.

Organizations are constantly looking for their own rainbows or perhaps more accurately the mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. They create all sorts of messaging to motivate employees to see the same rainbow that the leader at the top of the organization sees. But just as each person needs to see rainbows their own unique way, each employee needs to internalize organizational goals in their own fashion. Employees can get on-board with the organizational “vision” but just as each of us has a unique vision of our personal rainbows, each of us will have a unique vision of why we work to achieve the organization’s goals, no matter how similar we think we might be.

During this pandemic it will come as no surprise if I say that stress levels have increased. And while stress levels have been steadily increasing over the last decades, during the pandemic it would not be unusual to see responses in the mid-80’s to mid-90’s. In other words, the vast majority of the workforce is very stressed. No Surprise, women with either pre-school age or school-age children are the most stressed. They are often juggling work, remote schooling, lack of child care options, cancelled after-school activities, running a household and perhaps an aging parent or two. While many organizations are concerned about the stress levels employees are experiencing, and trying various strategies, such as closing on a Friday, or mandatory vacation time, as we make changes (e.g., back to the office), the changes themselves can be stress inducing, even if done with the best of intentions. An organization will not be able to eliminate stress, but it can help employees cope with it.

One of the causes of stress is lack of information. The lack of information, along with increased levels of fear, driven by the unknown of a novel disease increases anxiety. Take anxiety and throw in media reports of panic buying and you get runs on toilet paper, milk, eggs, etc. The desire for information is clearly indicated in the data as an insatiable desire as it reduces the uncertainty and stress people are feeling. Ominously, in the absence of accurate information, people make up their own stories or are open to lies and false information. Employees want to hear the truth and they want to hear it from the top of the house. You cannot over communicate to your employees at this point and they will be grateful for it.

In times of uncertainty ratings of leadership, in terms of trust and competence, improve significantly. In uncertain and fear inducing situations, effective, decisive leadership, which points to a solution path is desired. And employees are willing to give leadership the benefit of the doubt, at least until proven otherwise. This is a pattern we have seen over and over. What happens though is that organizations rarely if ever can hold onto the gains in ratings of leadership as the crisis subsides. In uncertainty leadership is often more visible, communicates more giving reassurances where possible. As that visibility and high level of communications dissipates so do the enhanced scores. As a leader be as visible as possible to your folks. Do not simply retreat into the war room to plan out options and contingencies. Talk to them. Listen to them.

Oftentimes in situations of uncertainty chaos in the workplace increases. There is a school of thought out there that chaos is a good thing, that it increases innovation and drives higher levels of performance. But be assured it does no such thing. Chaos by definition makes less information available to staff. Chaos is not an organizing principle or a way to achieve a higher level of creativity or performance, it is simply chaos, and leads to greater uncertainty. This is not a good time to reorganize or to move people around without very good reasons.  Reducing chaos, by increasing information flow should be the goal. Be as clear as possible about what the organization is doing to cope with the situation and provide as much information as possible regarding the impact on each organizational member.

Give people as much agency as possible. This is a path to increasing dignity. Get people involved in solving problems, give them as much control over their own paths as possible. After 9/11 for instance, those employees who were actively involved in restoring one company’s operation located at ground zero, saw dramatic increases in satisfaction, pride, and engagement compared to another group not involved at the same company.

Work towards restoring or increasing employee confidence. And remember, it is likely that every single one of your employees in one fashion or another has struggled. Confidence can be impacted by:

Improving the way you conduct business

Improve internal processes/relationships, tackle issues that will increase effectiveness, but perhaps have been put off, and do so in a visible/ communicative fashion.

• Reinvigorate the organization’s competitiveness

Ensure that your services/products are current and competitive. Communicate to your staff what you are doing to enhance competitiveness.

• Provide current reassurance

Assure that organizational members can thrive in the current environment. What do they need to be effective and what special circumstances are they dealing with?

• Take a long-term view of staff member development and opportunity

The value proposition to employees is to provide skills and experience that equips them a meaningful career, not for a specific job.

Remember how people react to COVID is not uniform and will vary based upon individual differences and will also be dependent on personal circumstances. What we also know about people is that when they are appropriately supported and feel safe there is a tremendous amount of resilience and people can bounce back from adversity.

 Thank you.

UN Event: Achieving Decent Work post CODIV-19

Join OrgVitality at the United Nations High Level Political Forum Side Event    Each year the United Nations holds a High Level Political Forum in which member nations discuss their progress in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were designed to improve lives globally by 2030. As part of this event, the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) is holding a side event on July 12th from 7:30-9:00 am EST:   “Achieving Decent Work for Resilient And Sustainable Recovery From Covid-19: Contributions Of Humanitarian Work Psychology To The Economic, Social And Environmental Dimensions Of Sustainable Development.”   REGISTER NOW   Moderator: Judy Kuriansky Professor of Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University. NGO Representative to UN from IAAP Discussant: Walter Reichman, Partner and VP, OrgVitality, Main NGO Representative to ECOSOC from IAAP Closing Remarks: Christine Roland-Levy, Professor at University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, President of IAAP   Panelists: Stuart C. Carr: Professor of Psychology Massey University, New Zealand. Head of the Interdisciplinary Poverty Research Group. Wages and Well-being for Sustainable Livelihoods. Lori Foster: Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, North Carolina State University, President-Elect IAAP – Applying Psychology to Equip Public Servants for Agenda 2030. Therese Fitzpatrick: Global Lead for Implementation of UN Mental Health and Well-being Strategy. Mental Health and Well-being of Personnel During COVID and Beyond. Paul Dommel: IBM Global Industry Leader for Government and Social Programs. Trauma, Pandemic and Return to Work: A Role for Tech. Jeffery M. Saltzman: CEO, OrgVitality. Associate Fellow, Center for Leadership Studies, Binghamton University. Decent Work: Pandemic Impact on Employee Expectations.   The major focus of this event is building back from the pandemic to achieve a new normal in which decent work and mental health are key ingredients to a satisfying and productive work life. The focus on decent work stems from Goal 8 of the SDGs, which states “Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all men and women.” This is a universal goal shared by all industrial and organizational psychologists. The term “decent work” was first coined by the International Labor Organization (ILO), a unique organization founded in 1919 as part of the League of Nations and which continued to function productively and now is a part of the United Nations. The ILO defined decent work as work that provides opportunities for being productive, delivers a fair income, provides security in the workplace, social protection for families, prospects for social development, social integration and freedom of expression.   OrgVitality is proud to continue our support of the United Nations. As a firm focused on using science to drive organizational change, we believe our field has a great deal to contribute to the deliberations of the UN as it tries to improve the living conditions of people all over the world.   OrgVitality Partner and Vice President Dr. Walter Reichman serves as the main representative to the Economic and Social Council of the UN for the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) and is an honorary member of the SIOP UN Team and was president of the umbrella psychology organization, The Psychology Coalition at the United Nations. We invite you to join us at this event.   REGISTER NOW