Founder & CEO of WeSpire. Recognized expert in using tech to change behavior for the better. EY Entrepreneur of the Year. Mom of 2.
A year into the pandemic, how are your employees feeling?
That is the question on most executives' minds, including my own as a founder and CEO of a software as a service technology company. Better understanding how my employees feel is also one reason I have been eagerly awaiting the results of our company's latest employee engagement research, which surveyed 1,800 full-time U.S. employees.
Our team started this research 10 years ago to understand what companies were doing to improve employee engagement, and this year’s results yielded several insights I feel business leaders should work to address.
1. Some HR teams might be underestimating the impact social isolation and unrest are having.
Our study found there is a disconnect between what employees are concerned about and what human resources teams think they are concerned about. The gaps mainly existed in two areas: social isolation and social unrest. Of 14 commonly cited concerns, social isolation ranked last in HR's perception of employee concerns. Employees, however, ranked isolation seventh, right after concerns such as job security, mental health and stress, and social unrest; isolate was ahead of topics such as child care, remote work and viability of their employer.
As early as April 2020, research from SocialPro indicated that isolation was already taking its toll, particularly on millennials, who were 70% more likely to report being lonely than other employees at that point in the pandemic. Now, nearly a year later, research from the World Economic Forum found that around half of all employees report feeling lonely.
Given that social isolation can have a significant impact on physical, mental and cognitive health, it's important for employers to emphasize connection and community building.
2. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs need to be made more available.
In our 2019 study, my company saw a jump in the number of employees gaining access to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, from 29% to 37%. And in 2020, the World Economic Forum documented a number of increased diversity commitments from companies such as PepsiCo and Paypal. As a result, I expected to see another jump in programs available to employees. However, after conducting our study, we learned that among those we surveyed, the number of employees who said their companies had formal programs in place had fallen to 24%.
My hypothesis is that since many of these programs were relatively new, they might have relied on volunteer leaders and focused on in-person training and events. So, when companies needed to transition to remote work during the pandemic, these programs suffered. It's also possible that companies are stepping back to reassess the effectiveness of their efforts.
3. Employees want purpose-driven companies and incentives.
What continues to gain momentum is the importance of being a purpose-driven organization. Our research showed that employees who believe their company is having a strong positive impact in the world are less likely to be looking for a new role. This is consistent with myriad studies, including a 2016 study by Cone Communications that found 64% of millennials wouldn't take a job if the company lacked strong corporate social responsibility values.
In addition, employees would like to see a shift in incentives. For the first year, gift cards dropped below 50% as the top-preferred incentive. What's gaining, on the other hand, are incentives imbued with a sense of purpose and meaning, such as fitness and well-being classes, sustainability upgrades, and donations to not-for-profit organizations. This is good news for employers, given that pro-social incentives have been shown to increase employee satisfaction and team performance.
4. Your team might not want you to ditch email.
Finally, the great email debate continues to rage in terms of how to communicate with employees. Often, internal communication professionals try to limit the number of company emails, concerned about feedback that employees are drowning in their inboxes.
Yet, nearly 60% of our respondents reported that email is still their most preferred way to hear about engagement initiatives. The intranet is preferred by only 12%, and apps are chosen by another 11%. One reminder, however, is that communication preferences can differ among generations.
Moving Forward
What I can conclude from this research is that employees are stressed, lonely, and worried about their finances, their health, and growing political and social divisions. That’s a reality that leaders need to confront head-on.
One of the most successful approaches for leaders to combat these feelings is to really emphasize purpose and to ensure their companies are a force for good in this world. Then, employees should be engaged in a variety of social purpose activities that reinforce the company’s impact goals. This requires strategic intent, well-communicated opportunities, and universal access to initiatives no matter where employees are working.
Keep in mind, these initiatives don’t need to take hours. In her book Do Good At Work, I learned from researcher Bea Boccalandro that as few as five minutes a week of social purpose can improve employee well-being and business outcomes. In the end, it's these investments in resilience that will serve every company well not only in this pandemic but also in an increasingly complex future.
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