THE WORKPLACE IS CHANGING

LEADERS HEAR THIS DECLARATION OR some variation of it frequently. It’s a common refrain that, in the past, has carried little weight. After all, change is a constant in the business world. The workplace certainly was changing when we released past State of the American Workplace reports.

So why does it feel different now? Why does “change” feel so heavy, pervasive and notable?

Because the changes that are affecting organizations today are coming fast and furious. They are overlapping and colliding in ways they haven’t before. They are historic and monumental. These changes are forcing organizations to reconsider how they manage and optimize performance in a time when the very essence of how, when and where people work and the value they place on work are shifting.

New and emerging technologies are transforming the way work gets done. More people do their job virtually or remotely and at various times of the day rather than between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and teams have fewer face-to-face interactions, communicating increasingly through email, instant messaging and conference calls. Gallup found that from 2012 to 2016, the number of employees working remotely rose by four percentage points, from 39% to 43%, and employees working remotely spent more time doing so.

While flexibility isn’t a reality for all workers, many want it to be. Gallup consistently has found that flexible scheduling and work-from-home opportunities play a major role in an employee’s decision to take or leave a job. Employees are pushing companies to break down the long-established structures and policies that traditionally have influenced their workdays. As more people work away from the office, organizations recognize their opportunity to cut costs by minimizing real estate. They are moving to open and hybrid floor plans that allow more people to coexist in less space. But tearing down walls and taking away assigned workspaces isn’t just about the expense. Organizations have a pressing need to become more agile and collaborative. They are exploring new ways to encourage people to talk to each other and move more quickly, whether that’s putting them in the same space or structuring teams that cut across functions, reporting lines and geographies.

Underlying all of this is an evolving employee attitude about what a job should and should not be. Most workers, many of whom are millennials, approach a role and a company with a highly defined set of expectations. They want their work to have meaning and purpose. They want to use their talents and strengths to do what they do best every day. They want to learn and develop. They want their job to fit their life.

Most workers, many of whom are millennials, approach a role and a company with a highly defined set of expectations. They want their work to have meaning and purpose.

The modern workforce knows what’s important to them and isn’t going to settle. Employees are willing to look and keep looking for a company that’s mission and culture reflect and reinforce their values. They have seemingly unlimited resources to help them conduct their job searches — far beyond classified ads and their immediate professional networks. And as the job market has been opening up, employees have been feeling increasingly optimistic about what they’re finding. A record 47% of the workforce says now is a good time to find a quality job, and more than half of employees (51%) are searching for new jobs or watching for openings.

With more people on the job hunt, organizations must hone their attraction strategies so they can more effectively recruit and hire sought-after candidates. They also have to ensure their retention strategies are sound. Only one-third of U.S. employees are engaged in their work and workplace. And only about one in five say their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work. Employees feel rather indifferent about their joband the work they are being asked to do. Organizations are not giving them compelling reasons to stay, so it should come as no surprise that most employees (91%) say the last time they changed jobs, they left their company to do so.

21% of employees strongly agree their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.

The competition for skilled and talented workers keeps intensifying. Employers can use social media to locate experienced employees in minutes. Similarly, employees are hyper connected and can access information on any company just as quickly. Through the web and social media, they can see what an organization offers and what past and current employees are saying about it. They can read articles and headlines, see Facebook and LinkedIn posts and develop a clear idea about what makes an employer not just “good” or “bad,” but “exceptional.” And, if employees can’t find an exceptional job that complements other aspects of their life or, at a minimum, pays enough to make the 8-to-5 grind worthwhile, they can create their own job category. They might work 20 hours a week at a contracted office gig, 20 as a ride-hailing service driver and 10 as a freelancer.

Organizations have nowhere to hide. They have to adapt to the needs of the modern workforce, or they will find themselves struggling to attract and keep great employees and therefore customers. Regardless of all the changes in the workplace, people remain the core component in an organization’s success or failure. Leaders have to think about their technology, policies, products and services — but only because these are factors that influence the engagement and success of their employees. The key to an organization’s growth has been and always will be its workforce.

An extensive amount of information is available regarding what employees want at their workplace today and how organizations can best adapt. The number of articles and blog posts that have been written on the topic of the “changing workforce” is vast and often overwhelming.

Organizations have nowhere to hide. They have to adapt to the needs of the modern workforce, or they will find themselves struggling to attract and keep great employees and therefore customers.

State of the American Workplace was created to help leaders cut through the clutter. The report provides analytics and advice on various aspects of the modern workforce, pinpointing the issues that matter most in attracting, retaining and engaging employees. This report is based on extensive work with organizations in a wide variety of industries and our study of more than 195,600 employees, using data collected through the Gallup Panel, Gallup Daily tracking and Gallup’s employee engagement database.

That said, this report is not intended to be “the answer.” We recognize that the modern workforce has only just begun to define itself and requires ongoing study. We wrote State of the American Workplace to spark conversation and provide leaders with best practices they can apply in their unique workplace culture. For some leaders, this report may be a starting point for adjusting to a modern workforce, and for others, it may be a guide that provides clarity and direction for enhancing strategies and policies they already have in place.

Above all, it is a call to action. The one thing leaders cannot do is nothing. They cannot wait for trends to pass them by, and they cannot wait for millennials to get older and start behaving like baby boomers. That won’t happen. This workforce isn’t going to acclimate to the status quo.

There is an urgency for leaders to define and convey their vision more clearly — and rally employees around it. Gallup data reveal an unsettling pattern in the U.S. workplace. Employees have little belief in their company’s leadership. We have found that just:

• 22% of employees strongly agree the leadership of their organization has a clear direction for the organization.
• 15% of employees strongly agree the leadership of their organization makes them enthusiastic about the future.
• 13% of employees strongly agree the leadership of their organization communicates effectively with the rest of the organization.

But these numbers can improve with leaders’ renewed commitment to their employees. Each chapter of State of the American Workplace represents an opportunity for leaders to enhance their human capital strategies.

Leaders must determine how they can:

• design and deliver a compelling and authentic employer brand
• take employee engagement from a survey to a cultural pillar that improves performance
• approach performance management in ways that motivate employees
• offer benefits and perks that influence attraction and retention
• enable people to work successfully from locations besides the office
• construct office environments that honor privacy while encouraging collaboration
• improve clarity and communication for employees who work on multiple teams

The rulebook is being rewritten. Leaders must decide what role they want to play in their organization — now in the midst of change and in the future. They can be passive bystanders or active participants in creating and guiding an exceptional workplace.

The one thing leaders cannot do is nothing. They cannot wait for trends to pass them by, and they cannot wait for millennials to get older and start behaving like baby boomers.

For the Full 214 page Gallup - State of the American Workplace Please Email me for a copy Copyright © 2017 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.