After 15 months of pandemic-related closures, offices are starting to open back up but many workers aren't returning. Industries across sectors are scrambling to fill positions as we all are more than ready to get out in the world and enjoy ourselves. In my area in California, wineries and restaurants aren't able to keep up with demand and are having to schedule out reservations just to be able to fully accommodate guests. Articles about a lack of employees are floating around, most of which highlight the lack of workers at minimum-wage level.
Is there really a lack of employees? Did unemployment benefits flush people's pockets so much that they don't need work? Since unemployment is always less than the lost salary, that's a hard no. So, what happened?
It seems that the pandemic allowed for two very important points to surface:
1) What we've long-accepted as the necessary office-based model of work isn't necessary for many businesses, and
2) Younger people value work-life balance and mental health just as much as meaningful (and economically sustainable) work.
Both of these are tidal shifts in our collective assumptions about work. Our economy took a hit, for sure, but it didn't collapse. We were able to pivot to remote work very quickly. All of those meetings, we found out, were not necessary and those that were could take place via Zoom. We realized how difficult it is for working parents to suddenly have to home school so flexibility became a must. Instead of hard-and-fast 9 to 5 jobs, more employers shifted to an "as long as the work gets done" model.
Now, as things open up, it will be curious to see what happens to offices but we can assume they won't be at capacity as they were pre-pandemic. Some people have found that they want to get out of their houses - they need that separation of work and home. Others have no desire to schlepp an hour each way when they've proven they're just as productive at home. Yet others fall somewhere between - sure, getting out is great, but having flexibility is better.
Flexibility ties into the second point. Anecdotally speaking, I've noticed that younger people have a much more open attitude about work in general. Interviews aren't dour experiences in which candidates have to prove they're ready to die for the employer. Rather, they're discussions about mutual value brought by both employer and candidate. That's a big shift, and I'm hoping that translates through in contracts and compensation. Younger workers also tend to be more in touch with their own personalities and what that means for their work options. I remember a younger colleague telling me that she really needed to be in sales and not at a desk job because social interaction "fills me up." I found it so healthy that she knew that about herself because it prevents square pegs pointlessly trying to fit into round holes.
You might (reasonably) wonder how this ties into coaching, but what we're experiencing collectively now usually happens after loss or major life transition: we have the opportunity to rethink work and what we want it to look like. Our pandemic takeaways can really help us as we think through our personal and professional goals: do we want something secure but structured? Super flexible but not as secure? Somewhere in between? It's valuable to take the time to think it all through so we can help shape the shifting world of work.
Kommentare