Believe it or not, the one thing the pandemic didn’t seem to negatively affect through May 2020 was employee engagement rates. In fact, Gallup reported record highs in May, with nearly 38% of respondents saying they were actively engaged in their work. This is the highest level since Gallup started recording this data in 2000.
However, following the killing of George Floyd at the end of May which triggered protests and riots globally, we saw a historic drop in engagement. It went down to just 31% between the period of June 1-14, 2020.
Rightfully so, the US saw sharp spikes of anger and sadness increasing in early June due to Floyd’s death, making it extremely clear as to why engagement dropped. The focus was not, and frankly could not, be on our daily work.
For some, work becomes a refuge during times when other parts of our lives feel chaotic or at unrest. For others, it becomes a part of their life that needs to take a backseat while they work on more pressing life issues.
Either way, we as employers owe our employees more than a paycheck. Our team is the backbone of our organization. Whether it’s a family illness, a global pandemic or racial injustices, our priority is to evolve the support our team needs when they need it.
Here are a few ways to support employees through difficult times, whether it be personal, national or global challenges:
Teach your managers how to provide a space for healing
At home, employees may be processing problems from work. At work, they may be processing problems from home. Considering the obstacles you’ve navigated in the past week or year can be very helpful in empathizing with team members.
Were you able to be completely mentally present at work when you were having a struggle at home? Probably not. Did the work still get done? Probably. Could it have been done better? Likely, yes.
Acknowledging the shared human nature of these scenarios, it’s important we as employers see our colleagues as true human beings, not just workers designated to do a job. They will have good days and bad days, ups and downs, highs and lows.
Our job as an employer is to create an environment where overall performance isn’t judged on the employee’s worst day. We need to be able to recognize when someone isn’t being their normal self, and have the empathy in leadership by being curious enough to ask them what’s wrong, and how we can help. Having raw conversations like this will not only improve your ability to manage your team well by having deeper understanding, but it’ll create more loyalty and trust amongst one another other leading to less costly turnover.
Keeping open communication and taking extra time to notice signs of distress from employees should always be a top priority, especially now. No two people will respond exactly the same, but everyone will appreciate the effort made to see them as an individual.
Work with the people managers on your team so they understand how to have these conversations before they need to take place. Managers are often elevated into positions of leadership because of their work quality. When they become managers, training for people management rarely happens.
There are excellent organizations, such as Be Plucky, that hold incredible managerial seminars to train people to become great leaders.
Encourage time away to process thoughts, emotions and situations
While productivity is always something we are looking to maximize in our work spaces, sometimes taking a needed break can create exponentially more progress than keeping our heads down and forging ahead. Talking and working out inner fears and insecurities can free up mental space to allow us to focus back on the work at hand.
Those PTO policies you have? Encourage their use. Heavily.
Over time, the lost productivity of a distracted person is greater than a few days’ time off. And more importantly, our employees should feel empowered to take time off so that they can rest, reduce stress and enjoy their lives away from work. Time off is a great opportunity to let work and home and the world to fall back into their proper proportions. Having had time to resolve their distraction will allow employees to return to work sharper and more focused.
Even though time off is something available and even paid for in most situations, employees can feel guilty about taking advantage of it. The best way to combat this is to create open dialogue about using it, and encourage the use of PTO from the top down.
Don’t ignore the national conversation
Closing the office door doesn’t close out the rest of the world. Now, more than ever, the issues of our country are all around us and they belong to each of us. Ignoring elephants in the room will only serve to further draw us apart from each other.
Is there something in your workplace that needs to change as racial and political relations do? In any space, there may be very strong differences in personal experiences and opinions. There should always be an opportunity in your workplace to re-think and re-frame standing company culture, as it needs to evolve with your team, your work and your national conversation. You may personally see an issue to be small where an employee may see it as gigantic.
By having frequent feedback sessions, you’ll be closer to your employees naturally and able to better gauge issues that are preventing them from feeling comfortable, accepted and valued in your workplace.
Ask questions that may be awkward such as hard hitting ones like, “How do you feel about (insert national or global issue here)?” After some practice, it’ll be just as easy to ask as, “How did that last project go?”
Taking extra time to learn and be able to anticipate the effect global and local changes will have on your co-workers and your business will go a long way to unifying your team. We spend almost as much time with teammates as we do our families, and more time than we do with most friends. Your investment in each other is enormous.
Be extremely clear in your expectations and your daily communication
In this moment where there aren’t many absolutes, concrete initiatives can create more comfortable certainty. Being clear from the outset with goals and priorities will give employees confidence and a self-reliance in achieving what their team needs from them. Hitting benchmarks may truly be one of the only things an employee can feel control over right now. We don’t have to look any further than our own selves to realize how valuable it is to be able to control at least one outcome in the day.
A Harvard Business Review study by Watson Wyatt shows companies that have effective communication enjoy a 47% higher return to shareholders over a five year period than those who don’t. Almost a 50% increase just based on how clearly you communicate to your team is one of the easiest way to grow your company.
Of course, every company and every employee are different, but that level of yield with only good communication as the cost is vital to every business regardless of size.
The study calls on great leaders to “have the courage to talk about what employees want to hear.” Courage is exactly what our leadership must have now to face the many uncertainties this year has brought on.
By leading with empathy, kindness and understanding, we are better equipped to navigate our team through easily one of the most unsteady times in our history. Have grace with yourself, have grace with your team. Nothing is normal, and recognizing that alone will help you better lead your team along the way.
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