The pandemic has tested many relationships, including that of employers and employees. While we may not be experiencing “The Great Resignation” to the same extent as our neighbours to the south, it could just be a matter of time.
Canadian employees are evaluating employers through a new lens. Many are feeling burned out and they want to invest their energy and expertise in organizations where they feel valued and where leaders care about their well-being.
Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found that 40% of workers globally are considering leaving their job in the next 12 months. And, research by Telus revealed that 80% of workers would consider leaving their employer for one that focused more on employee mental health.
Psychological safety can help you avoid turnover and staff shortages
In the soon-to-be-released 2022 Health & Safety Leadership Survey conducted by WSPS, attraction and retention of staff leapfrogged by 12 percentage points to the top business challenge. In 2020, it was fifth on the list. And, among the more than 530 employee and employer respondents, there was universal agreement that ensuring employees’ safety and well-being are key to attracting and retaining staff.
Insights from the Center of Creative Leadership suggest highly psychologically-safe workplace cultures, where employees believe they will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, or mistakes, are strongly correlated with retention.
If you’re not already thinking about a retention strategy, now is the time — and psychological safety is a great place to start.
Fair pay and benefits are table stakes. Employees are looking for healthy, fulfilling, positive experiences
This post by Robert Half Talent Solutions outlines 14 retention strategies, that contribute to a positive employee experience and support psychological safety. These include wellness offerings, communication, continuous feedback on performance, training and development, worklife balance, flexible work arrangements, an emphasis on teamwork, and acknowledgement of large and small milestones.
Another component is paying attention to the health of employee/manager relationships. Day-to-day interactions and experiences in the workplace can either feed or deplete employee motivation. This 2020 Employee Care Report states that low-quality supervisor relationships that negatively impact emotional well-being are a top reason for employee departures. When employees have negative experiences with leaders, they do not feel heard, valued, or understood, and are much more likely to leave. As the familiar saying goes, people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses.
Below are some additional tips to help you prevent this from happening.
- Ensure workers understand their value. The report Why They Stay and Why They Go, published by HowattHR, indicates that when workers don’t feel they are contributing they are less likely to feel connected to the organization. Leaders can ensure direct reports understand how they contribute to the organization’s success through regular check-ins, conversations, and acknowledgement.
- Workers must feel safe and trust that leaders value their feedback and input. Cultivating this mindset in employees can help them understand their purpose and can be a critical motivating factor. It creates meaning beyond what paycheques or benefits can provide.
- Pay attention to emotional intelligence. Do not assume that a leader who is a subject matter expert or has years of industry experience understands how to facilitate safe and positive interactions. A recent Forbes article suggests that training leaders in emotional intelligence (EQ) and communication, including receiving 360 feedback and understanding their current EQ, can be an invaluable exercise.
- Invest in leader development. Leaders who develop self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills can interact with their employees in a manner that increases openness, confidence, and trust. Without training and insight, some leaders may be more prone to react defensively when challenged.
- Protect workers by fostering safe social connections in the workplace. In our new world of work, everything must be scheduled, which can make it difficult for workers to get to know each other. This Virgin Pulse report on employee experience shows that workers with a high level of social connectivity report high levels of engagement. And, when an employee has a best friend in the workplace, they are seven times more likely to report higher engagement and well-being and are at lower risk of injury.
- Implement the National Standard for Psychological Safety in the Workplace. The Standard, co-developed and championed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, is a set of voluntary guidelines, tools and resources intended to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work. Implementing the Standard sends a strong message to employees that their mental wellness is a top priority.
- Consider “Stay-at-Work” interviews. When an employee is leaving, exit interviews are standard practice, but what about employees who aren’t on their way out? What insights could you gain by asking engaged employees what will keep them that way? Consider developing a process for retention or stay-at-work interviews to better understand employees wants, needs, and expectations.
As this recent Globe and Mail article highlights, we are in the midst of an important shift. Prior to COVID, organizations were focused on being customer-centric. Now, two-years into the pandemic, employers are recognizing that employees truly are the most important stakeholder.
Employees are placing their trust in your hands. By taking the steps to create a psychologically safe workplace, you will demonstrate that their trust has been well-placed, and increase the chances of retaining talented, engaged employees for years to come.
Get to know the authors – Dr. Bill Howatt and Michel Rodrigue