Commentary: This Great Resignation Wave is painful and frustrating for employers

Commentary

Commentary: This Great Resignation Wave is painful and frustrating for employers

The string of resignations are straining employers who have had to go on firms adrift, NUS Business School's Wu Pei Chuan says.

04 Jan 2022 06:03AM (Updated: 04 January 2022 06:03AM)

SINGAPORE: Two years into the COVID-nineteen pandemic, employees are getting more frustrated at work, fuelling the great resignation wave.

Only so are employers.

Besides managing costs and profits, some have gone beyond what'due south asked of them to demonstrate care for their employees during this difficult flow, simply still see a flurry of resignations.

MANY EMPLOYERS ARE STILL IN SURVIVAL Way

A major claiming for employers during the pandemic was to proceed jobs intact even equally they struggled to go on their firms adrift.

Take the badly striking aviation industry every bit an example. Singapore Airlines had axed 4,300 positions about a yr agone to survive, and redeployed some remaining staff as care ambassadors in hospitals and contact tracers to supplement their lost earnings.

Equally air travel reopened in September, the airline stated that 92 per cent of pilots and 86 per cent of motel coiffure were dorsum in service.

Nonetheless, it faces the huge challenge of motivating existing employees. These are employees who experienced a prolonged period of devastation and anxiety. It would take time for them to transition to a new phase.

Singapore Airlines flight coiffure members walk along the transit hall of Changi Airport in Singapore on Sep iii, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Roslan RAHMAN)

Only time might non be on the side of some employers if rules don't change. People's republic of china Pacific has to take intendance of burnt-out aircrew, some claiming they spent most 150 days in a brutal cycle of quarantine that kept them separated from their families and society.

While the airline provided support such as "electrical appliances, amenities, back up groups, financial incentives, and boosted food supplies", many aircrew still thought support wasn't forthcoming.

Some told the BBC their "perpetual land of quarantine" was killing their mental health and morale. "80 per cent of those I fly with are actively looking for work elsewhere … it'due south all we talk almost," one pilot said.

Indeed, employers are walking on a tightrope as they residue safety guidelines with what employees want.

EMPLOYERS Have Made BIG STRIDES TOWARDS IMPROVING EMPLOYEE WELFARE

Some companies have managed better . Stories like these during the last two years take sparked a swing towards better employee welfare.

In Oracle's recent report, 77 per cent of Singapore respondents said their employers were more concerned almost their mental health at present compared to two years agone.

Medical technology firm Medtronic Asia Pacific initiated virtual family reunion programmes to back up foreign employees. They also introduced upskilling programmes and special bonus incentives to recognise employees' efforts all of which culminated in a 14-point increment in employee engagement co-ordinate to their latest internal survey.

AstraZeneca Singapore launched initiatives such as "fuel up" days, recovery time, and AxerciseZ to gratuitous employees from meetings and encourage concrete do. They besides set platforms to identify signs of mental health issues and created an employee assist programme to help workers accept better care of their mental well-existence.

At specialty chemicals visitor Infineum , a global network of 30 volunteer wellbeing champions was gear up in April 2022 to raise awareness nigh mental wellness and wellbeing at work.

Workers are also encouraged to exercise in small groups (when rules allow) and take stretches while working at home. They were also given admission to an online Global Wellbeing Hub that offer tips on maintaining wellbeing.

Naomi Chua, a human resource partner at Infineum Singapore, said: "Leaders are empowered to discuss with their squad members about hybrid work organization and decide what works all-time for their team."

This bottom-up arroyo seems to take worked, as the global annual Appointment Survey showed the wellbeing element remaining largely similar for Infineum Singapore employees – 75 per cent rated positively in 2022 versus 74 per cent rated positively in 2021.

Meeting EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS IS Difficult

With so many stories of companies supporting their employees during difficult times, employee commitment levels should be surging upwards.

Even so, the record is patchy. According to Ceridian'due south 2022 study, simply 1 third of Singapore respondents said their employers provide them with flexible schedules (33 per cent) and employee assistance programmes (thirty per cent), while 23 per cent felt cipher was existence provided to them to ease mental health and wellness bug, a figure higher than the global level of 19 per cent.

The report likewise found meaning gaps betwixt what employees want and what employers offer. Customising a holistic nevertheless flexible workstreams that remainder both employers and employees' needs tin be hard.

Many employers have initiated pulse surveys to empathize the needs and satisfaction levels of their people. But what's needed now is to figure out the best way of showing that employers do care.

In other words, employers must get cracking on translating the organization'southward values and civilisation into real activity.

Perchance, similar to year-end performance review, supervisors and leaders should besides have a primal performance indicator tracking what they have achieved to heighten the welfare of their employees.

AN Accent ON WELFARE MUST Commencement AT THE Meridian

At the top level, some leaders have shared their own well-beingness struggles. When leaders walk the talk, it signals to employees that "it'southward okay to non be okay". This creates trust between leaders and employees.

When Nomura Singapore's CEO Kelvin Ho openly shared his stress and anxiety regarding work-from-dwelling house (WFH) during the circuit breaker in Singapore, his team opened up with their personal frustrations.

When a leader like 3M Southeast Asia managing director Kevin McGuigan removed four hours (5pm to 9pm) from his daily working schedule (originally 8am to midnight), the company's employees received the point they too should look later their work-life rest.

Heed to Hour experts explain what'southward backside worker unhappiness despite greater attending on workplace well-being and what managers should do on CNA'due south Heart of the Affair podcast:

Showing vulnerability can make leaders announced more authentic and relatable, and helps them connect better with frontline employees.

However, a recent Adecco study beyond 25 countries showed that leaders notice it challenging and exhausting to do regular well-existence check-ins. Some merely do non have the skills to do so.

Over the by 12 months, almost half of visitor leaders worldwide constitute it difficult to manage people in full general (46 per cent) and to support team members' bug related to career evolution (48 per cent).

They also found information technology challenging to onboard new team members (55 per cent), and did non find it easy to notify others almost their team's problems in mental wellbeing (53 per cent) and burnout (51 per cent).

Clearly, leaders are not equipped with the skills or savviness to handle work-life rest challenges and speak frankly about such issues. As a result, only one in 2 workers gave a "meeting expectation" operation rating for their leaders.

It is thus not surprising that the global Qualtrics 2022 Employee Experience Trends predicts a ascent in leaders' resignations, with a possible exodus next year. How to support exhaustive leaders with the right tools to handle well-being problems is a summit concern for companies.

2022 MAY SEE More than RESIGNATIONS

Much as employers accept had a tough time figuring out WFH and supporting employees, 2022 could be a tougher year in the war for talent.

A September Korn Ferry written report shows most professionals believe fifty-fifty more than volition resign in 2022, citing reasons such as re-evaluation of priorities (30 per cent), a lack of a clear career advancement path (24 per cent), and pay and benefits (23 per cent).

Some attrition is commonly a sign of good for you churn, where organisations are refreshed with new ideas and ways of working. Only too much turnover can result in a loss of institutional knowledge and exist destabilising.

Information technology'due south therefore trivial surprise that many employers program to arrange bacon for employees in 2022. Singapore workers are expecting to meet a iii.five per cent bacon increase according to ECA International's Salary Trends report. And in this arms race, iii out of 4 Singapore firms reportedly introduced mid-yr pay adjustments in 2022 to retain targeted employees.

But will pay raises this late be enough to go on the all-time when employee expectations have changed? Oracle's global written report showed 92 per cent of respondents had redefined success since the starting time of the pandemic, prioritising work-life balance, flexibility and mental health.

In the meantime, 90 per cent of employees are fix to make a career motility and many consider professional development as their top consideration.

Adjusting pay merely meets the baseline of talent retention. What's more pertinent are career progression-related issues, as employees from the frontline to senior leaders are moving across organisations.

PRIORITISING PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

The smashing resignation wave also revealed a critical need to provide opportunities for career growth.

Speaking at the Human Resource Online HR Distinction Awards earlier this month, DBS Hong Kong Hour head Sharon Cheang said she reckons the biggest challenge for the depository financial institution is to upskill their entire workforce to exist futurity-gear up.

DBS knows that the tight labour market hither, coupled with the continued need for transformation means greater demands on the human uppercase they take.

Employees are often assumed to be alter resistant simply that is far from the truth. Many want to change but have no direction or assurances.

Oracle'south global written report even showed xc per cent of Singapore respondents are open to leveraging technology to support their career evolution needs and identify needed skillsets.

Indeed, i of employers' biggest challenges is to demonstrate to employees the utility of learning new skills. They could meliorate map out how such skills can exist put to support new career pathways and growth.

If only employers can now focus on showing how talent here volition be supported in the years ahead in their career growth and piece of work-life balance aspirations, that might hold the key to retaining top performers.

They should prioritise the internal mobility of employees keen to learn new skills and stay on longer at the company.

In the wake of the pandemic, organisations need to discover new ways of thinking and working. It's similar rowing a boat against the current. If you aren't moving forward, yous will be forced to retreat.

Dr Wu Pei Chuan is a lecturer in the Department of Direction & Organisation at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. She is also the the Deputy Academic Director for the MSc in Human Capital Management and Analytics programme. The opinions expressed are those of the writer and practise non represent the views and opinions of NUS.

Commentary: This Great Resignation Wave is painful and frustrating for employers

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