Hoteling, Psychological Safety and Radical Empathy

Uncertainty kills confidence - in pretty much everything, but especially business. As we move to the next phase in workplace transformation, people want to feel comfortable and confident, both physically and psychologically. This allows them to focus on their jobs, not their concerns.

?Locking this down is presenting HR leaders with a number of significant challenges.

1. Executive vs Employee Experience

To allow employees to thrive rather than merely survive, organisations have to allay all of these concerns. Is this happening? The jury is out.

Businesses need to focus on the effective communication of their visions for their future workplace models which should incorporate employee feedback. Some organisations are still not doing this and don't have their fingers on the pulse of their teams. Or worse still, they think they do, and are calling it wrong.

Research from Gartner shows a disconnect between executive and employee experience. "Only 47% of employees believe leadership takes their perspective into consideration when making decisions, whereas 75% of senior leaders feel they do."

Any communication also needs to include the notion of a shared purpose. The Gartner research suggests that although 77% of executives confirm they feel like they are "a part of something important" at their organisation, this is only shared by 59% of employees.

One of the outcomes of the the pandemic has been the demand for flexibility. This is more about employees wanting increased control of their working lives, rather than the freedom to do the laundry in "office hours" or binge on Netflix. Once again there are hierarchical differences. The Gartner research confirms this: “72% per cent of executives agree they can work out their own flexible work arrangement with their manager, whereas only half of employees feel they have that same privilege.”

2. Physical safety

For some, returning to the physical workplace, even on a hybrid basis, is on par with being asked to hold their hand over a naked flame. It's not an appealing proposition.

44% of respondents in the McKinsey survey expressed concerns about the increased chances of getting sick. This study was carried out before widespread vaccination programmes and the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, which infects even vaccinated people.

Vaccination policy

This shift has increased the pressure on HR leaders to create physically safe workplaces. Recent advice suggesting that organisations can now mandate rather than encourage vaccination, indicates that providing proof of vaccination will become a more routine request.

HR leaders have to navigate the divide on this polarising issue, with legal challenges already on the horizon. Earlier this year I ran a poll around "no jab no job" and a resounding 79% were against declaring vaccine status on a CV. However, major organisations such as Kornferry now see it as a significant candidate differentiator.

For existing employees it will be important to allow those with underlying vulnerabilities and exemptions flexibility to work remotely.

Hoteling

In addition to all the other health and safety precautions (upgrading ventilation systems, social distancing of the office layout, mask provision etc.) physical workplaces will be increasingly run on a "hoteling" basis. This is a new word, for me at least. This allows not just space management but also the implementation of track and trace protocols.

Hoteling, not to be confused with hot-desking, is pre-booking and checking in to your workplace via a "concierge" to access a work space, in the same way as we would a hotel. It is not the same as hot-desking which involves pitching up at the office to an unassigned desk.

The days of "officing," where you can have family photos on your desk were already a distant memory in some workplaces, replaced by silent booths and high school style lockers. Maybe you will now have the chance to ask for a desk with a view, rather than near the lift facing the bathroom door. As a long term observer of human behaviour, I suspect the booking system will become the equivalent of getting up at the crack of dawn to snag a lounger by the pool. Time will tell.

3. Psychological safety

In times of uncertainty, more than ever people want to feel psychologically secure in their place of work. Dr. Timothy R. Clark ,?author and global authority in organisational change,?has identified and developed a four stage approach to psychological safety. He says when you feel psychologically secure you feel "included, safe to learn, safe to contribute and safe to challenge the status quo." It should be possible to show-up to work without fear of ridicule, exclusion, reprisals, or damage to your career or professional reputation.

Pre-pandemic Gallup research indicates that 14% of people believe they were not treated with respect on the previous day. This has not improved with online interaction during the pandemic where remote harassment has actually increased. Research from Project Include indicates that online harassment is more likely to be experienced by "employees who identify as Black, Asian, Latinx, Indigenous, female and nonbinary, and especially by employees at the intersections of these identities."

Here is a psychological safety check list which is Clark's self-assessment check list that includes 12 common breaches of psychological safety that routinely occur in organisations.

How many of these have you experienced in your workplace?

?? Have you felt excluded in a social setting?

?? Have you been afraid to ask a question?

?? Have you remained silent when you knew the answer to a problem?

?? Have you had someone else steal credit for something you did?

?? Have you given a suggestion that was ignored?

?? Have you been rudely interrupted in a meeting?

??Have you felt that you were the target of a negative stereotype?

?? Have you faced retaliation for challenging the status quo?

?? Have you had a boss who asked for feedback but didn’t really want it?

?? ave you been publicly shamed or made fun of?

??Have you been punished for making an honest mistake?

?? Have you been made to feel inferior?

How psychologically secure do you feel?

Radical empathy

Central to creating a psychologically safe workplace characterised by effective, respectful and appropriate communication, is responding to employees with radical empathy. You can do as many Zoom hat parties as you like, but unless you really understand what is going on for your team in a meaningful way, they will continue to stay disengaged.

Radical empathy involves active listening being patient, present and non-judgmental so you act to support the person. It is a skill that can be honed and means with a more precise understanding of your employees' experience, you can introduce specific and visible changes in response. Research from Dr. Sara Konrath indicates a decline in empathy levels that seems to be an accelerating trend.

The move to increased online contact is exacerbating this shift which needs to be stopped.

Practical solutions

To bridge the disconnect between employees and leaders, managers still need to be better trained on how to run remote teams inclusively and learn how to adapt their communication styles to build confidence and trust. Read more here .

The big resignation once an academic projection, is now a reality backed by hard data. Leaders have to get it right or they will lose people.

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Footnote:?If your organisation wants to hire the right talent for a post COVID hybrid world of work, reach out for more information: [email protected]