The Great Disruption — Is change here to stay?
The Great Resignation Disruption…….
It’s nearly here, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
If the hype and reporting is anything to go by, it’s the greatest threat to the global workforce status quo since the introduction of the 9-5 work day over a century ago.
But this may not be a bad thing at all.
By now, you’ve probably already heard about ‘The Great Resignation’. You may have even been an early adopter. So, how will it affect you?
Firstly, let’s take a look at what’s causing this disruption.
What’s going on?
Big organisations have been unpacking and unpicking all the detail around ‘The Great Resignation’, and by now it’s pretty clear that it is in fact a very real issue with hugely significant implications for how we all work, live, and staff our businesses.
Recent research by Microsoft, the 2021 Work Trend Index, showed that 41% of the global workforce is considering leaving their employer this year. Let that sink in for a moment.
Close to 1 in 2 people are ready to leave their jobs.
But why?
Pause for thought
On face value, the pandemic has been the driving force behind this historic reassessment of our collective work/life balance. Working from home during rolling lockdowns gave us a glimpse into life without the monotony of a daily commute, but with more flexible hours and time at home.
The truth is that the pandemic has just been the catalyst for change, not the cause. Long before the city of Wuhan or a Delta strains had entered our lexicon, the cracks were already starting to appear. The shift to digital was changing how we worked, while a focus on well-being made us question what really mattered.
In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially recognised ‘burn-out’ as a workplace health phenomenon. It was a sign that things were starting to change at a macro level.
The F word: no longer taboo
As many of us have experienced though, the day-to-day reality of contract negotiations is a world away from a WHO report. Pre-pandemic, ‘flexibility’ was often considered to be code for taking a salary hit or having a commitment question mark attached to you like a fluro vest.
But now, in the space of just a couple of years, flexibility has gone from taboo to demanded. The seal has well and truly been broken, and it’s unlikely to ever return to how it used to be.
This is opening up a world of opportunity for those who have been in pursuit of a more balanced life for years. Mums returning from maternity leave don’t need to leave work early and run across town to do the daycare pick-up. Part-time workers can job-share without much disruption. And families can spend more time together.
Of course, employers need to be on board with these changes, but all signs are pointing to a permanent change.
Productivity up, flexibility here to stay.
There are some good reasons for this.
From an employer’s perspective, it’s been an exercise in discovering efficiencies. A massive PWC survey out of the US this year showed that 83% of employers viewed the shift to remote work as a success for their company.
It also uncovered that more than a third of employees and over half of the executives surveyed agreed that remote work resulted in gains in output and productivity.
Long story short: employers will find it hard to justify not weaving flexibility into operations. The numbers simply don’t lie.
Although, it also looks like many will still support staff in using the office with flexible arrangements there for those who want them.
Will it last?
I rewatched Peter Weir’s brilliant 1998 film The Truman Show recently. For those who haven’t seen it, the plot follows the unwitting star of a reality show Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey), as a sense of growing unease envelops him.
He eventually comes to realise that his perception of his world is totally manufactured, and in a memorable final scene, after literally breaking down the ‘fourth wall’ he escapes into the real world never to return to his studio life.
In a way, we’ve all been given a glimpse behind the curtain these past two years, and it’s revealed that flexibility can, and should, be normalised.
~ Garth Kharitou
