You’ve probably heard about “The Great Resignation” by now, and chances are that you’re experiencing a staffing shortage. Business owners who are used to holding all the power in working relationships are displeased. Consequently, this turn of events has been decried as people refusing to return to work after having been spoiled by unemployment benefits. However, this characterization ignores some of the most relevant contributing factors and insults most of the working class in the process. To retain quality staff, today’s employers need to cultivate a more humane attitude toward their employees. Treating people right is the cost of doing business. Frankly, if you cannot afford that cost, you shouldn’t have staff. Here are some things you can do to be a more desirable employer in the new year:
- Have some sympathy for the REAL reasons people aren’t working like they were before. Some people who had even mild cases of COVID are suffering long term health effects; others are caring for family members who have become disabled during the pandemic. People are caring for children who aren’t in school because of closures, exposures, and underlying health concerns. People have lost the childcare their parents provided because their parents have died or become very ill. We are suffering the long term effects of collective trauma, grief, and fear. Harsh realities about our systems have been exposed and people are frustrated and less willing to risk their lives for barely any benefit. However, the majority of people are not refusing to go back to work just because they’re disgruntled. The bigger picture is that family and personal responsibilities have skyrocketed. See number 2.
- Offer some scheduling flexibility. People are sick, scared, and stressed. They need time to take care of their families and themselves. If it isn’t absolutely necessary for people to be physically present at the exact hours you have set, allow some remote work or flexible work time. Recognize the fact that It is a lot easier to offer some accommodations to the quality staff you have than to try to recruit people in today’s climate. When a majority of office workers started working remotely in March 2020, the assumption was that productivity would decline. In fact, the opposite happened. Having staff work from home saves money for employers, too. It is little wonder that people feel that they should be allowed to work remotely at least part of the time if they have jobs that don’t absolutely require their physical presence.
- Offer paid sick time, even if you are a small company that does’t legally have to. If you can’t offer extra paid days off, offer people the option to make some hours up as they go so they they can keep their wages as close to normal as possible while still taking time to recover. People having to come in sick isn’t helping any of us at this point.
- Offer a living wage. Perqs are nice, but employers tend to overestimate their appeal, especially with young workers. We’ve all seen the game rooms and “bring your dog to the office” programs. None of that can ever stack up to a living wage, decent health insurance, and a reasonable amount of PTO.
- Offer a supportive and inclusive atmosphere. If you’re a larger company, try to provide some counseling to help your staff through challenging times. If you can’t afford this, or if you’re a smaller company, at least provide understanding. Put together a list of free resources in your community. Don’t belittle or threaten your employees for having a rough time; instead, try to help them through it.
Substance and Style 