The New "WORKPLACE GRAVITY"

Employers in all industries have done their best to keep their businesses operating and their employees functioning, but many are discovering that “workplace gravity” has dramatically changed.  Many realize that they need a better parachute and to find new ways to get “grounded.”

Things that were once foundational (in-person meetings, nearby bowls of M&Ms, Friday Happy Hour bonding, water cooler gossip and networking, etc.) are gone.  Unfortunately, not all Employers are fully aware of, or prepared for, this new latitude and longitude and the new road that lies ahead.

So, what has changed due to the new Workplace Gravity?

1)         EMPLOYEES WORKING FROM HOME

Yeah, yeah, we know…sweatpants, gaining some extra COVID pounds, dogs and babies crawling into the Zoom, optional showers, staring at the fridge, just noticing that your spouse never flosses. The list is endless.

But one of the gravity changes, the one from which Employers may not recover from, is the epiphany that work can actually be done from home (imagine that!) and employees really enjoy no commute (+ costs and time related thereto) and for the most part, being with their family.

Takeaway: Going forward, working from home (whether FT or hybrid) will have to be incorporated into the new gravity. The ability to work from home will now become part of the new benefits package and will impact talent attraction and retention.

2)         THE NEW AESTHETIC

We used to worry about whether our chili buffet lunch remnants were noticeable on our shirt/blouse…now it’s your closely scrutinized video conference background that will create an impression on others. It is a really poor secret that the other participants will be dissecting (like a CSI forensic examiner) every molecule of your visage (grooming, attire and visual background).

Perhaps, attending a virtual Senior Leadership meeting while in your teenager’s room is not the best idea given the Rob Zombie poster montage on the wall. By the way, the Cardi B/Megan Thee Stallion WAP shoot photos may not impress the other attendees or enhance your personal brand with the stodgy Board of Directors (though it might work well with your younger direct reports).

Takeaway: Video Conference checklist

a)       Look behind you, before you connect and make sure that your background is video conference and company culture appropriate

b)       Light your face from the front, not the back

c)       If you are in a separate room, lock the door if you can

d)        Wear solid colors and/or, non-busy patterns

e)       Match your attire with the “culture” of your meeting and audience

3)         EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, REWARD AND RECOGNITION

Many of the traditional methods now seem a little antiquated and ineffective. In the COVID/post-COVID era how best to energize people and let direct reports/colleagues know that you appreciate their contribution?

a)         For a team, send everyone a gift certificate for coffee and have them actually go out,  buy it and bring it to the video conference…a true shared experience. Buying everyone a mug with a mutually understood buzzword, phrase or quote is really fun and goes over well.

b)        Create a costume “theme” for the next virtual/hybrid meeting (e.g., sports teams, Marvel characters, etc.)

c)          “Tell a Joke Day”- Ask for volunteers for your next meeting…and start that meeting with some humor.  Usually, the worse the joke and the joke teller, the more fun the experience.

d)        Surprise recognition: Engage someone’s roommate or significant other to purposefully interrupt the Zoom by presenting a trophy (that you sent in advance) to the designee

e)         Do a regular (non-holiday time “Secret Santa/Hannukah Harry”) where employees are given responsibility to send a fun, low-cost gift to another  employee.

f)           Create small group creative team projects (e.g., write funny fake newspaper headlines; have a trivia contest; etc.).

g)         Rotate whom is responsible for conducting meetings and creating/managing the agenda.

(so simple to do and most employees absolutely love this)

Takeaway: The old ways will not engage employees and may not even be physically realistic.  To recognize and excite employees you need to: 

·    create new “shared experiences” 

·    figure out a new way to single out, from a distance, an individual or a team so that they feel special

·    have more frequent one-on-ones 

·    when appropriate, make some interactions a phone call (remember those?) rather than a video conference.

4)         BARGAINING POWER

The single biggest employment change brought on by the New Gravity is the real change in bargaining power and leverage between employees and management.

Whether it’s supply and demand, worker shortages, the availability of other better paying jobs, the sins of the past (need I go on?)…the bargaining dynamic has changed.

The proof is in the news everyday as Starbucks (multiple in Buffalo, NY) and Amazon sites (Alabama can you hear me?) are being aggressively organized by labor unions or employees are just picking up and quitting.

So, what’s an employer to do now?

Takeaway:

a)        Review your pay structure to figure out what is competitive (or more than competitive) and practical, while serving as a magnet to retain talent. You cannot engage, recognize or reward people that aren’t there.

b)        Conduct Engagement surveys NOW to better understand how the New Gravity has impacted opinions and morale (and utilize space for actual comments in prose, rather than just multiple choice or numerical answers).

c)       Create an entirely new Onboarding Program and Recognition Package that takes into account home workers and hybrid workforces.

d)        Bosses need to be more available than ever for 1-on-1 conversations.  Create a mechanism that informs employees and direct reports when you can be contacted (without penalty).

Now you know ALL of the answers (not really…we have barely made a dent).  The key takeaway I hope that you get from the above is that you were right…there is something…something different out there: 

The New Workplace Gravity.

What was once up is down, what was hot is cold and what was clear is now ambiguous as hell.

An effective start is to embrace the New Gravity, not fight it. 

Rethink the old processes that you spent so much time perfecting, know that your previous comp and benefits package may no longer be doing what you want it to and get input from your employees to get targeted suggestions on what needs tweaking.

Depending on what steps  employers take and how clever, nimble and agile they can be in the COVID/post-COVD era, some will find stability in the New Gravity…and others will just float away, untethered from the new workplace reality.