A Human's guide to the world of work

If an alien were to visit and experience life in organisations today – it would likely leave feeling confused.

As some companies make mass lay-offs, others (in healthcare, hospitality, retail) would bite your hand off for new employees. Leaders are issuing muddled commands around flexible working and office attendance. Managers are trying to track productivity (are those working from home really working?) and trying to support individuals dealing with challenging situations as the cost of living rises and family life becomes increasingly complex. Employees search for meaning and broader purpose through their work as the world struggles with constant ambiguity and disruption, but also need to find balance and funds just to make life work.

An alien would likely wonder what this bizarre planet and their concept of ‘work’ is trying to achieve!

It’s not just those who don’t inhabit earth left questioning this. Here are some thoughts for us, as humans, on how to navigate our new world of work…

First, understand what isn’t working

Globally, we’re more unhappy, people are burning out, and levels of productivity continue to stagnate. Companies are wrestling with how to build workplaces where people thrive and businesses grow. The volume of new terms such as ‘Great Resignation’, ‘Quiet Quitting’, and ‘Career Cushioning’, sum-up a period of discontent.

The cultures we build at work play a critical role. People are 10.4 x more likely to leave a job because of the culture than the money they're paid. In today's employee-focused market, companies simply cannot afford to nurture a toxic culture.  But culture doesn't just break over night. It starts with a tiny crack. Through my work partnering with companies to improve people processes and experiences, I believe there are 10 early warning signs a culture is under strain and could crack.

My research suggests cultures in companies across the world are slowly cracking. 88% of people are likely to be experiencing at least one crack in their organisational cultures, and 82% report two or more.

At the root of these experiences lie the core elements of what makes us human. A need to feel valued and belong, to feel supported and secure, and able to make our own decisions so that we can learn and grow. For organisations, this boils down to creating environments where individuals and teams experience trust and empowerment, feel able to express thoughts and ideas, see their contributions and achievements fairly recognised and rewarded, and experience honest and constructive feedback to progress their careers.

Building and nurturing cultures where people flourish is a key on-going commitment to making work meaningful in today’s landscape. 

Second, capture the new mission

All of this demands a more holistic model to guide a company’s success. Glassdoor recently published the Top Companies to work for in 2023, based on employee reviews. The metrics that matter to employees are clear – a collaborative, inclusive culture; flexibility and balance; interesting and meaningful work; opportunities to progress and grow. Many companies talk to these components, but dig beneath the surface and are they actually measured, reported, and proactively targeted?

In their quest for finding workplaces offering these experiences, employees display a better instinct for what truly matters for sustainable businesses. Research has found positive relationships between purpose and company earnings; employees today demand more than pay and benefits (and they can access this in a much broader array of companies); nurturing diverse and inclusive workplaces increases company profits; and people who don’t find opportunities to learn and grow their careers, will leave the company.

New measures of success?

Our new world of work demands a new scorecard for success. Here are some ideas on the holistic outcomes organisations need to strive for, and it includes much more than financial performance:

Third, unleash the people magic momentum!

Several years ago, Gallup revealed that managers account for up to 70% of variance in engagement levels. When a relationship between manager and employee works, something magical happens. The impact ripples through teams and functions, fueling engagement, invigorating innovation, stimulating collaboration. This is the people magic momentum. The secret to happy, healthy, growing organisations is through identifying and nurturing people with an aptitude for understanding others into people leader roles. I believe this is the most impactful move any company can make.

It starts with solid organisational foundations. A galvanizing purpose and mission articulating why the company exists. Then you can fuel the organisation. Embed objective measures across talent processes – hiring, onboarding, developing, promoting. Take steps to truly understand what drives, sustains, and engages your people and put this information in the hands of individuals and their managers. Wrap this with good tools and technology to feed collaboration and learning in the flow of work.

Next, power-up your people leaders.  Diane Gherson and Lynda Gratton highlight the need to shift from manager to people leader. In our ever-changing, ambiguous, connected world, people leaders must guide teams through, create shared objectives (not just their own goals and status), empower, enable and coach, facilitate connections, and keep re-defining priorities as the sand shifts.

An incremental shift in management capability can significantly improve employee experience, and broader organisational outcomes.

5 top tips for succeeding in today’s world of work

1. Be bold and explore the areas in your organisation’s culture that are letting you down. Where are the cracks blocking inclusion, collaboration, belonging, innovation? Then manage your culture as you would an asset.
2. Identify new, holistic measures of success – we become what we measure. Get out in front and establish the metrics that will make your organisation – as a community of people and business – successful across the long-term.
3. Power-up people skills across your organisation. Invest in human skills (emotional intelligence, empathy, storytelling, conflict-resolution) and ensure these behaviours are celebrated and rewarded.
4. Facilitate constant feedback and learning. Make it the norm to fail and expectation to learn. Provide tools and techniques to help people have honest and constructive conversations.
5. Get out of the way of people managers. Empower those leading teams to make decisions, to coach and develop, and to constantly improve ways of working.

I’m certain the alien’s advice to us would be simple – Make it Human.