Call it what you want; the great resignation, the great quit, the great leave, the great redirection. How about a new one for all the millennials out there.. the great swipe right. Whatever you call it, be clear, it's definitely happening and it's definitely an issue for businesses. The real question is what does it mean to your employees, your business and what if anything as a CEO, COO, human resources or benefits manager should you be doing about it?
In some industries, this shift has been huge, particularly with employees who have been in roles or with companies they really have not loved, that have asked too much of them and has taken a real toll on their well-being and overall happiness. These employees have decided it's time to take a fresh look at their lives with more importance being placed on their families, friends and their overall financial wellness. Many more in this group are also destined to come as time passes, as they see others around them actually taking action.
With and ending pandemic also around the corner, this old idea of burning the candle at both ends for an employer without a tremendous amount of employer support is simply no longer a reality of today's workplace. Those acting are taking a hard look at how they have been treated, managed, and more specifically rewarded and not just from a pay cheque. If this evaluation seems imbalanced, with more negatives than positives, this cohort is changing jobs, companies and even careers.
This has many businesses panicking and making knee jerk reactions to the issue. So far, not many businesses are taking the time to really understand what is happening and why. This is truly a revolution in how people conceive of work and its relationship to their other life priorities. One of the largest issues being raised is employee financial wellness yet few if any employers are taking action to functionally and operationally address it.
To fully engage employees now, employers must capture an employees belief that they are not just issuing pay cheques, but they are also there to fully support employees in all aspects of financial wellness, both at home and at work. In other words, what will it take to get your employees to keep swiping right with frequency at their job, specifically when these issues of financial wellness start to pop up.
Covid has turned out to be a catalyst of challenge to the workplace status quo. Many employer's success in managing their employees of the future will be heavily determined in how they respond today. Understanding the differences between looking at the employee bases as individuals rather than a single group will be paramount. In the end, this can be a truly positive change. But that’s only if employers embrace the shift in employee support and help to drive real employee engagement and satisfaction, with specific emphasis on taking that extra step to ensure employees are moving down a road to real and lasting financial literacy and overall wellness.