Are you out of touch with your employees? A new Microsoft report has revealed that bosses are “thriving” while their employees are struggling
A new Microsoft report found that bosses are out of touch and “thriving” where their employees are barely surviving.
It’s been over a year since we began working from home full-time. In all of the ups and downs of the last year or so, one group of people seem to be better off than all of the others: bosses.
Where 61% of business leaders reported that they were thriving, only 40% of Gen Z employees could say the same. In a similar situation are working mums and frontline workers.
A massive 64% of new employees reported that they were struggling and 67% of single employees said the same.
So what can we do with this information? What can bosses do to ensure that their teams are happy and thriving? How can bosses make sure that they aren’t out of touch with their employees?
Why are your newer, younger employees struggling?
Working from home
Starting a new job is hard enough without having to do it remotely.
When we began working from home last year the social support structures we had in the office were ripped away from us. But when you start your first ever job working from home they were never there to begin with.
It’s really important that as leaders we support our new hires because working from home comes with a load of trouble. For lots of us, the lines between work and home are blurred. It’s like we’re now sleeping in the office instead of working from home!
And this can be hard enough to deal with as a new hire when your boss respects your working hours.
Waking your team members up at 7 am with a message or call is just bad practice. When you then keep them working late into the night, they’re going to be exhausted.
Their work lacks meaning
It’s easy to blame all of our problems on working from home, but that’s just not true. We have to look at the bigger picture.
2020 and 2021 so far have been big years for social justice and political issues. Things like Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate and elections have been on everyone’s minds.
When we care so much about a social or political issue it can be a bit strange to then dedicate our days to something without that kind of importance.
It’s vital that your employees feel like they’re working towards some kind of goal. Because when we don’t feel that our work has meaning, we can quickly grow apathetic and lose motivation.
Mental health is hard
But we can’t forget that life sometimes just sucks.
Especially in the last year, life has been hard. We’ve all had to sit with ourselves and the life that we’ve built. We’ve dealt with isolation, crisis and heatbreak.
Daily team meetings just don’t cut it. Humans are social creatures and a Zoom call isn’t the same as a hug from a friend.
What can bosses do to help?
Focus on mental health
Your younger employees are struggling, so what can you do to help?
- Be thorough with your onboarding process so your new hires settle in well
- Be sure to check in with your team members to see how they’re doing
- Respect your team’s working hours and set boundaries
- Schedule in some socials and make time non-work related chat
- Be generous when showing your appreciation
- Take care of your team and make sure they’re using the right equipment and getting enough support
- Be self-aware in your leadership and ask if you can do anything to improve
Bosses can either make employees feel respected, happy and supported or be out of touch of the realities of working from home. Make sure that you’re the former!
If you need any extra help hiring or onboarding junior employees, check out our hiring platform and free resources!