The past five years have been the most tumultuous in the memory of American workers. Even before the outbreak, the turnover rate is the highest in the 20 years since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping statistics. Then COVID-19 hit, bringing more chaos and leading to the “Great Resignation.” That was a swing of the pendulum—when workers’ power was at its peak.
What follows is a swing in the opposite direction. The Fed raises interest rates, money is no longer free, and power returns to managers, causing employees to stay put and choose to quietly resign.
Now comes the next new normal: an imbalanced labor market where no one has all the power but both sides are trying to advance their own priorities.
As a mentor to many, I have witnessed this phenomenon firsthand. Friends who know they should quit, who know they’re not as good as they should be, are having second thoughts because they’re worried about the alternatives. Some people watch coworkers get fired because they know their company no longer cares about all of its employees.
Likewise, I have also seen a high level of arrogance on the part of management, even at the very top of various organizations. Now that they have regained some power, they appear to be using it recklessly to try to force employees back into the office, whether it makes sense or not, and often in ways that demoralize and disable teams.
I would say the same thing to both parties: be patient, but…
For those who know they need to quit, be patient but proactive. While you may not have an advantage right now that would allow you to immediately move to a better opportunity, you can’t let it stop you from planting the seeds for your next step.
If the headhunter stops calling, you need to call them. Keep your LinkedIn page fresh and update, revive, and accelerate your contacts. Do whatever else is necessary to create options for yourself.
The other option is to stay put and remain miserable, which will not only affect your performance at work. It can also affect your mindset, relationships with family and loved ones, and marketability. In short, you lose your edge. You can’t let a bad attitude taint your commitment to what you’re doing today or your hopes for tomorrow.
To those in power: Be patient, but empathetic.
Your goals remain the same. Even during periods of high turnover, our goal remains the same: to attract and retain the best talent to deliver the best results for the organization, shareholders and other stakeholders.
What changes is the level of empathy and understanding you need to show. Many employees feel vulnerable these days, and you must work harder to create an environment where they can thrive, be seen, heard, and feel empowered. To embody a culture of high performance and trust, you have to inspire your people, which means you have to invest in the way they want.
The truth is, what happened next probably doesn’t lend itself to a clever slogan. It may not have one side that has all the power.
It’s likely that the next phase for American workers will be a culture that embraces giving more flexibility to more people. If leaders and their team members want to find a path forward, they must realize that the tug-of-war needs to end—and everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction.
While it may be naive to think that leaders and employees can agree on everything, solutions to labor woes must be developed together. There is always a way forward and that is together.
Anne Chow is the lead director on FranklinCovey’s board of directors, a director at 3M, and the author of the best-selling A leader’s guide to dealing with unconscious bias. Ms. Zhou is the former CEO of AT&T Business and has twice been named one of the most powerful women in business by Fortune magazine.
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