The Great Resignation will be led by women and middle managers in 2022
A new Qualtrics survey indicates that individual contributors and middle managers are even more likely to look for a new job in the coming year. Three years later, 5% fewer employees plan to stay at their current jobs than in 2021, according to the Employee Experience Trends Report for 2022. The chances of women in middle management finding a new job are three times higher.
According to the survey, middle managers expect to leave their jobs by 2022 in the greatest numbers. Sixty-nine percent of respondents intend to remain at their current job over the next few years, down from 83% in 2021. Even those who must work full-time in an office can find a new job (35%).
In addition to supporting employees’ mental health, managers now are expected to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
While this work is essential to creating amazing workplaces, it is simultaneously causing burnout.
The experience of working with remote technology and in-person isn’t particularly appealing. Only 30% of respondents said their company’s technology exceeded expectations and 23% said their work environment exceeded expectations, according to the survey. For creating a better work experience for remote and in-person employees, the report recommends throwing out the old playbook and never looking back.
A dramatic change in approach is the only way to solve other issues identified in the survey, such as:
- 29% of employees won’t always take a sick day when they need one
- 61% of those who do not take sick days cite heavy workloads as the reason
- 20% of workers are concerned about work problems
About 14,000 full-time employees from 27 countries participated in the survey. This mixed impact of the pandemic on working life is evident from these three measures.
Employers can take comfort in the fact that employees have been feeling more energized over the past year. In addition, 50% of employees reported that their physical and mental health improved when they worked remotely.
Managing the mental health of women in the workplace and improving employee well-being in 2022, Qualtrics recommends managers take the following steps:
- Leading by example: Leaders should work reasonable hours, take personal time, and prioritize their mental and physical health.
- Talking about mental health at work is the top thing holding employees back from taking care of their mental health.
- Create a culture of well-being: Establish a structure for when, where, and how work gets done, as well as good habits for taking time off.
Women can succeed today through remote hybrid workplaces – see my publication.
Managing mental health while working remotely
Another topic that I want to touch on is mental health as a business. I had a previous version of this deck that had several slides about burnout, but then I took all those slides out again because I didn’t feel qualified to talk about that. I am not a psychiatrist or psychologist. It is something I have personally experienced, and I have seen other people go through it. Close friends of mine have died from it. I take this issue very seriously. It seems to me that this problem is quite widespread in the IT industry, and we do not discuss it enough. Please forgive me if I make you uncomfortable, but I think this is very important.
You shouldn’t play around with your mental health if you are experiencing problems. Consult a professional. I’m not sure why people have a problem accepting this reality. They visit the dentist if they have tooth pain. Mental health professionals can help you if you’re having problems with your mental health. Likewise, if someone in your team or a colleague or someone you know appears to be struggling with mental health issues, find a way to gently and kindly ask, “Have you thought about getting professional help?” It just might save someone’s life. Please take this seriously. People don’t, I don’t understand why.
Burnout is followed by loneliness. At the end of the day, you’re stuck in a room alone, whether it’s for weeks, months, or however long it is. It is that simple. Although we talk to people remotely on cameras and so on, over time, I think most of us start to miss the physical interaction of actually being with people. What has personally helped me, and I apologize for this sounding so gloomy, is having a social life. Getting ready to go and meet people sometimes requires a bit of energy, and sometimes that seems like a lot of work. You should also prioritize your family if you have one, provided that is important to you. You should also prioritize your social life in general.
In addition, I have discovered that pets can help in a real way. You get fresh air and exercise when you walk your dog because dogs force you to get out and walk. The benefits are many. Unfortunately, I don’t have a dog. My cat is my pet.
On calls with me, people consistently think I have a cat’s tail on a stick just waving in front of the camera, but she is a real cat. Because laptops are warm, she spends all day at the office. My laptop is the perfect place for her to sleep. To turn the keyboard off so she could sleep on it, I had to figure out what kernel commands were for a Mac laptop. A Bluetooth keyboard was purchased. I promised somebody a cat video, so here it is.
There is growing evidence that getting out into nature is beneficial for your mental health. According to a paper I was reading last week – which I apologize for not mentioning on this slide – about 2 and a half hours spent in nature is enough for most people to have positive measurable effects on their mental health, which I found quite interesting. For those of you working remotely, I think this is vital reading on Best Practices for Working Remotely.
Conclusion
For many people who wish to cultivate a better work-life balance and want to control their schedules, remote work is an excellent option.
The majority of employees do not feel compelled to return to work. Employers won’t be forced to implement this immediately; it will be phased in over some time. You can also look into the Field Engineer platform if you’re looking for remote/freelance work.
