The pandemic has disrupted labor relations and the state of mind of professionals, tired of endless hours, little flexibility at work, and frustrated aspirations and promotions. Many have decided to leave the company and start a new path. It’s what psychologist and organizational expert Anthony C. Klotz, a professor at the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University, has dubbed the great resignation. According to a report on employment trends, compiled by Microsoft, 41% of professionals will probably consider leaving their jobs this year. A tornado that threatens the productivity of companies and that seems to show no signs of abating.
Because, after the summer, the return to the office and the return to routine, job concerns increase. Despite the uncertainty, professionals are increasingly reflecting on the impact that work has on their day-to-day life, but above all on their mental health. A study on the state of occupational health in companies, prepared by Cobee, a European digital platform for managing employee benefit plans, in collaboration with ifeel, Sanitas and DKV, warns of some problems within the Spanish workforce. 79% of employees say they have prolonged stress in the last year, being an excessive workload (59%) the main reason. Added to this are the difficulties in combining work life with personal responsibilities. For this reason, more than 40% of Spaniards have thought of quitting their job in the last year. The reason behind this decision is a general dissatisfaction with work, which has a direct consequence for the company and its productivity. In most cases, this resignation is preceded by other phenomena, which are also signs of this discontent.
Among them stands out the burnout either burnt out syndrome: one who suffers from a state of constant work fatigue or is unmotivated by the work he or she performs. And this leads to another risk, much more worrying, such as the silent resignation, or what is the same, the position taken by the employee: do the minimum, without exceeding schedules or tasks, so as not to be fired. “This is happening among those who are not in a position to voluntarily leave the company, but are also unable to change jobs and do not have the time flexibility or motivation that they would like. They need their salary to live, but they don’t want to give more than their share,” explains Álvaro Álvarez, secretary general and secretary of the board of Manpower Group.
In this sense, he points out that the pending subject of the companies, after two years in which they tried improvised teleworking, is to take attractive initiatives so that the employee can have flexibility. “It is very difficult to return to the face-to-face model and this lack of proposals, by companies, the only thing it leads to is disaffection and lack of commitment.”
It also points out that the offices have ceased to be attractive places, where things used to happen, and now something exciting rarely happens: “activities were organized, there were Zumba classes, kitchen service was offered, which some have not recovered due to the lack of critical mass, and not having that modus vivendi also has repercussions on the mental exhaustion of professionals. You have to turn workspaces into places where you want to go, where ideas are exchanged, where you connect with people”.
The dedication of professionals during the pandemic has been exemplary, in that eagerness “to attend to professional issues at odd hours, out of a feeling of solidarity, but now is the time to work 40 hours per week, of not working beyond what is the established working day”, says Álvarez, who links this trend with the concerns of the new generations that have joined the labor market. “They work, but without giving up developing other skills, other complements that satisfy them or allow them to find another job.”
Companies, says Jaime Sánchez, head of insurance at Cobee, must understand the needs of the workforce to improve the internal environment, promote the productivity of their employees and reduce their turnover rates.
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