We hate to say: "We told you so!"

Whatever we choose to call it - either Employee Engagement or Employee Satisfaction - morale in the working world right now is at an all-time low. Surveys indicate that only thirty-eight (38%) percent of us are "happy" with our current employment situations. Sixty-two (62%) percent of our people are either actively looking for another job or they are at least open to the possibilities. This is pretty sad and it is also understandable.

The effects of the pandemic have taken their toll on all of us. In this country alone we have lost half a million people - members of our families, our friends and people on our teams - and we have been forced to take precautions, impose restrictions on ourselves and everyone around us. It's no wonder that most of us are unhappy. Its not surprising many people are just waiting for things to be "safer" so they can make a move. They want and need a change.

Many of the people seeking to make a move are not thinking this way because they are working for "bad" companies or reporting to "bad" managers. They are simply tired of reporting to the same people who, in their minds, they see as having not been as supportive of them and their situations as they would have liked them to be. There's always a percentage of the working population who are looking for new opportunities, just not almost two-thirds of us all at the same time!

This crisis has demonstrated the bar for truly effective leadership has been raised and raised significantly. It is no longer acceptable (if it ever was) to be a mediocre less-than-supportive and less-than-sincere manager/leader or employer.

Later this year, as vaccinations are administered and restrictions are lifted there are going to be huge numbers of people good and talented people who will be posting their resumes and looking to go to work for companies with strong cultures. They will want to go to work for companies whose leaders respected their people and who provided them with steady and meaningful work through the crisis. Yes, they will want to be paid for their work but, that won't be the primary reason they will be looking to move away from their current situations.

So, leaders/employers - if you have kept up with your agreements and your responsibilities to your people and you have worked to keep\t your culture healthy and strong - get ready you could well become an employer of choice for a lot of people.

And, for those of you who have not kept up with your responsibilities to your people, you will need to get ready, as well. You are about to have a lot of positions you will need to fill.