Satisfied, fulfilled employees seem to be increasingly a thing of the past. Does it matter?
Happiness in the workplace. Office morale. Fulfillment. Meaning. All intangible, ineffable elements that make up a significant part of our lives in financial institutions.
But right now, the world doesn’t seem to be in a good place when it comes to the soft factors permeating our careers. finews.asia commented on the looming Great Detachment at the beginning of the month and now there are some new statistics out there that underline just how bad the situation is.
Additional Context
A survey published by international analytics and advisory firm Gallup on Wednesday, the last on workplace culture this year, adds some additional context around their finding that most employees in the US want to leave their jobs while only 18 percent are satisfied.
In the current survey, Gallup asked employees to measure how people rate their current and future lives.
Thriving Lives
The number of those who lead thriving lives has fallen to exactly half of all employees surveyed, down from 60 percent in 2019. The proportion of those struggling has risen to 45 percent from well below 40 percent in the same timeframe.
Those flat-out suffering has bobbed at about 4 percent for much in the past five years.
Record Lows
According to Gallup, the numbers are at a record low and this matters, according to Dan Witter, research director, of Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index.
«How workers think about and evaluate their lives is largely a reflection of how they live their lives more broadly across all five of the essential elements of wellbeing. Workers classified as ‘thriving’ show much lower rates of unplanned absenteeism, burnout, healthcare utilization and turnover than do those who are not thriving,» he indicates.
Better Ambassadors
Witter maintains that thriving workers also have better mental health, are more connected to their workplaces, and are «substantially better ambassadors» for employers.
The problem seems to lie in management blind spots, according to them.
Management Blind Spots
When managers are asked, 59 percent of them believe they provide recognition for good work. The direct reports, however, beg to differ, as only 35 percent feel the same way.
The same goes for weekly feedback. Half of the surveyed managers say they do so, while only one-fifth of direct reports do. Building a collaborative team? 42 percent of managers believe they do but only 30 percent of direct reports agree with that.
Feeling Appreciated
This matters, says Ben Wigert, director of research and strategy, workplace management at Gallup.
«Managers want their team to feel appreciated, informed and collaborative. Unfortunately, managers' efforts to meet these needs are not fully landing with employees, leaving critical gaps for managers to close. A clear call to action here is: Your managers need the development, feedback and support necessary to lead people effectively and develop highly productive teams,» he said.
Threat of Redundancy
That is likely also a lesson for financial institutions, as it is an industry replete with demotivated workers facing the constant threat of redundancy who are also constantly on the lookout for a job at another institution.
Although making employees happy has always taken a backseat to the job at hand, and revenues, it might be an idea to directly recognize one or two, or maybe a whole team - occasionally.
