“The Great Resignation” has yielded to workers staying in their jobs at rates near pre-pandemic levels, The New York Times reports. That shift is changing job market perceptions and brewing a new question: have employers regained power? Wage growth has stalled, and some benefits of job-switching have dwindled. “You don’t see the signs saying $1,000 signing bonus anymore,” Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, told the Times. Experts predict lower-earner wage gains to hold in what remains a tight job market. Otherwise, it’s back to business as usual.
By Todd Dybas, Editor at LinkedIn News
A personal story as background for my ongoing advocacy around the topic of this article in The New York Times. For years, I worked 90-100 hour weeks for a company, building millions in revenue while still being dramatically underpaid. I did it because they told me if I showed them I was “in it” with them, they would eventually reward me. But while I was in it with them, they were never in it with me. It was quintessential corporate exploitation. They say in relationships, believe who people show you they are. The same is true about companies. Going forward, I’ve vowed to insist on fair–not egregious, not greedy, but fair–compensation up front for me, and for every person I have a hand in hiring. And I’ve also turned into a vocal advocate against corporate selfishness and for fairness–a cause I’m proud the people I work alongside now also stand with. Of course, I believe some executives and workers do deserve to be paid outsize packages when they drive outsize value. I have no problem with Bob Iger’s pay package or that of other brilliant executives. But I also believe that companies CAN and SHOULD sacrifice SOME profits to make their everyday employees’ lives better and show them that they matter. It’s not always about the salary, but money is an important lever. A little bit–of money, of humanity, of fairness–goes a long way to show your employees how much you value them, even if it means a small hit to the bottom line. Corporations do not matter as much as human beings, and trying to replace good people is always a much bigger hit to the business than the cost to keep them.
BY CRAIG GREIWE
I recently met a banking exec who told me she was at her wits end with her support staff—
“My assistant refuses to work when I want her to.” The frustration was palpable.
“Do you feel like you have a good idea WHY your team member is having a hard time meeting your requests?”
This exec’s face softened—
“No, actually. I don’t have any idea.”
This us or them mentality is not great, folks. Companies should not be happy with headlines that pit them AGAINST their employees. That’s NUTS.
We can do better. It would involve truly getting to the heart of the matter.
Grief and loss are there. At work. It’s part of why people simply can’t just “go back.” Grief needs to be validated or people can’t and won’t move forward.
There doesn’t have to be a death.
Loss is still EVERYWHERE.
If you read this article as hopeful—you are missing the point.
“There was a moment of empowerment,” she said. “There was a moment of ‘We’re not going back, and we’re not going to take this anymore,’ but the truth is yes, we are, because how else are we going to pay the bills?”
Very interesting article from Ben Casselman at NYTimes.com that can be summed up by this quote: “If I don’t feel like I’m being supported and I don’t feel like you’re taking my concerns seriously and you guys just continue to dump more and more to me, I can do the same thing (quit). You don’t have the loyalty to a company anymore, because the companies don’t have the loyalty to you.”
Take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers. Don’t give a benefit/perk and then take it away. Make people feel heard and understood. Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it?
Yet, there are countless articles describing the exact opposite. The pandemic provided a golden opportunity to reset our mental models on many of the ingrained beliefs we held about work – both how we do it and how much. It seems most are slipping back into the way things used to be.
It’s unfortunate to read articles that frame the employee/employer relationship as a power struggle instead of a collaborative, mutually beneficial relationship.