How is everyone doing? This current transition is proving pretty complex. I am hearing a desire to have straightforward conversations from both candidates and clients. Conversations about health policies and remote or hybrid work options. Given our recent experiences, having a defined personal purpose for work may be the key. I am sharing some resources below I hope can help inform these conversations.
Finding Purpose
This episode of The McKinsey Podcast explores how personal purpose can intersect with organizational purpose. Encouraging this intersection is one clear way – backed by statistics – to form a resilient, committed, and successful workforce. Key Quote:
“One of the things that we were surprised to find in the research is that about 70 percent of people say they define their purpose through work.”
“People Aren’t Just Quitting Their Jobs. They’re Redefining Success. Why the Great Resignation is about more than burnout.” on Inc by Arianna Huffington offers a nuanced overview. She maintains that many workers have now had time to consider what is important to them. They aren’t just resigning – they are defining success for themselves.
Prioritizing Well Being
We may not be able to buy our way towards a clearly defined sense of purpose, productivity, and happiness, but we can take a free online class at Yale on it. Laurie Renee Santos is a cognitive scientist and Professor of Psychology at Yale University and her popular class “The Science of Well-Being” is offered on Coursera.
In this McKinsey interview with CEO Annastiina Hintsa, there is a light bulb moment about the ever-elusive work-life balance concept and burnout in the workplace. Hintsa is the CEO of a successful coaching firm and has a holistic approach to work and well-being.
“There is just life,” says Annastiina Hintsa, “and your work is part of your life. That’s it…I think it’s a misconception we have—that wellbeing and high performance are somehow mutually exclusive, that these two things can’t coexist.”
I found this perspective helpful at a time when both companies and employees are negotiating new work schedules, burnout issues, resignation rates, and fresh starts. Read: How wellbeing improves performance: An interview with Annastiina Hintsa.
Managing Flexible, Hybrid Work
Read “The Critical Hybrid Work Issue that Companies Should Tackle Now” to find some suggestions about handling work-life balance including calendar blocking, mental health resources, and burn-out training for managers.
David Palmieri is Division Vice President and General Manager at ADP – in “How to manage workers for the transition back to the workplace” he shares some good practical advice and scheduling tools that might help companies manage right now
I’d love to hear directly from you about your experiences right now. Reach out if I can be a support in problem-solving any talent issues too. If you or someone you know is looking to transition to a new role, check our current opportunities.
