David Kovacovich is an Engagement Strategist, Organizational Culturalist, and Behavioral Economist. He has been a member of the SHRM Annual Conference Social Media Team since 2013 and is a keynote speaker in the NCHRA lecture series.
David is on Twitter at @DavidKovacovich and blogs at Dave's Weekly Thought.
The LinkedIn network is run amuck with people posting new career adventures. I had questioned whether the Great Resignation was a theme more than a reality. I also questioned if mass professional exodus was a sign of disengagement or simply a trend to bolster individual empowerment. Make no mistake about it, the Great Resignation is here.
There are a few distinct things that drive people from their job:
1. Bad Bosses
Bold Leadership Through Strategic Resources The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled many into involuntary leadership action over the last two years. Navigating daily regulation inconsistency while addressing changes in the work-from-home policy along with tempering the hiring and retention challenges of the Great Resignation has made Human Resources the busiest department in every organization. SHRM's Cause The Effect campaign is bringing attention to these unforeseen adjustments in the profession. Barely having time to catch one's breath is enough to keep any HR professional on the defensive.
We've all been bombarded by the forthcoming Great Resignation since the COVID-19 shutdown. The sentiment is that companies need to adapt to the requirements of the evolving workforce to keep the lights on (in the office to which no one is going). A recent Harris poll determined that 66% of Americans are interested in switching jobs.
For 15 months I've been documenting the ever-evolving workforce experience via this blog (and others). We've been through a hundred different layers contrasting hope and uncertainty. There are those who have found positivity in solitude while others have been chomping at the bit to get back to seeing other humans IRL (in real life). The time of emergence (at least for now) is upon us.
It's been a while since there has been a topic that has lacked decision in a way the post-pandemic workplace continues to. Will we return to the office? How often? Will there be parameters for hybrid models? Each region, industry, and individual organization seems to have their caveats that are ping-ponging policy.
As we emerge from work-from-home solitude and head back into the office, the role of human resources has never been more critical. In a time when policy foreshadows strategy, all eyes are on HR. The workforce is crammed into the starting gate waiting for a bell to sound. Here are the big questions to ponder:
Vaccines are being administered and with Spring a month away there is (finally) reason to be optimistic that a return to normal is in sight.
What Will The Future Look Like?
Will we return to commutes, office clusters, airplanes and hotels? Will the benefits of the work-from-home experiment be adopted long term?
It's that time of year when reflection and planning meet to flip the calendar. This year, it seems more important than ever to put the past away. At this time last year I predicted that 2020 could be the best year ever. I had also written a blog preparing for work-from-home workforce transitions predicting a 12-week office shut down.
Boy, Was I Wrong!
We cannot package human oppression as a module. Our work moving forward will involve a far more complex approach to organizational change.
We are three weeks into a 12-week (?) isolation. Times are uncertain but words like transparency and candor are becoming commonplace. It's been refreshing. When you dig into what is genuinely important, the difference between partnership and product transaction starts to emerge. When we stop pretending to be on opposite sides of the table, trust gets us closer to genuine human development.
We are concluding day three of mandated social distancing here in Northern California but it seems like it's been three months. Its been made apparent that this new style of existence may last for three months.... thus feeling as though we've been in the bunker for 90 years (don't check my math on that).
