Is the post-pandemic employee the boss?

A glance at my watch, I am now two hours late for my reunion. Everyone has flown into town to spend the weekend together. My option was simple, finish the contracts for the deal or leave but clear out my desk at the same time. It was London in 1996, and the work ethic was 'kill or be killed'. Driven and determined were the only two gears I understood. The pressure was part of the job spec, and stress was not something you never discussed.

It was financial services. Some people 'burnt out' before they were thirty, clearly weak and incapable, or at least that was the narrative. How could you speak to stress when that was the narrative??

Most of us were medicating with alcohol or drugs. We conducted business in the clubs at 3 AM, and you needed to be back at your desk for 8 AM. Thursday and Friday were liquid lunches, and that would set you up nicely for a hard weekend of partying to come.

The economy was only starting to recover after a tough six years. If you couldn't cut it, a hundred people were waiting to take your spot.

'Churn and burn' the weak ones and the good ones will float to the top.

In the years that followed, I led organisations and held little regard for mental health or people taking holidays, for that matter. I was a driven workaholic and expected everyone else to step up to my plate.

As far as I could see, families and personal lives seem to get in the way of employees hitting their targets. Don't get me wrong, I produced some great leaders, but it was hard to work on my team.?

As I write this article, I am reading the demands of some employers to force their employees back to the office. 'The culture expects you at your desk' - that does sound like something I would have said twenty years ago. However, here is the problem, young people just won't put up with intimidation tactics and threats. They have options, and they value lifestyle above work.

Employers need to understand their talent for the talent to stay. It took my son's death for me to wake up to the reality of how we treat employees, and most importantly, ourselves. If I don't invest in myself, it is implausible that anyone else will. Equally, corporate coaching and leadership programs need to reflect this new reality.?

When working with a client, I am interested in their nutrition, nervous system, sleep, hydration, physical regime, mental game, leadership approach, and broader relationships away from the office. The days of leadership coaching based on targets and how they interact with their subordinates are over.

As a coach, you need to be versed in and to have studied neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, performance and nutrition. We must all evolve or become extinct. Your job is to sustain the well-being of the talent, reduce recruitment costs and drive the bottom line through increased performance. Most performance and mental health issues at work can be addressed with nutrition, sleep and neuroscience.?

We are now in the era of performance. The role of the modern coach is to build customised programs to secure talent. Identify those who have the capacity for greatness and seek to nurture those who are struggling. Unemployment rates are plummeting. It is an employees market, and the choice for employers is simple. Adapt and implement the wellness programs and coaching platforms to excite your talent or watch your most valuable assets walk to your competition.

Churn and burn is dead. It is time to nurture, nourish and retain. Welcome to the post-pandemic workplace. You can get your team back to the office, but you have to be willing to make it a welcoming environment. Create the culture, and the people will follow.?