Written by: Victor Penda Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Drastic social changes have forced leaders to transform workplaces to successfully meet organisational objectives. Gone are the days that company objectives and goals were restricted to the confinement of an office building. These days the office buildings for most employees exist on the boundary of their personal life. Work and personal can no longer be separated by corporate policies. With data from 2021 suggesting that 76% of employees are currently working hybridly, the line separating work and personal has become increasingly blurred. Such drastic workforce changes must be accompanied by changes in our understanding of how to best manage the workforce. The evidence suggests that contemporary workers are caught in the tales of two worlds that can no longer be separated. The emphasis on “talent” is an outdated concept that had a place in a reductionist world where boundaries were easily defined and “people” exists to serve the benefits of leaders.
Leadership and engagement
These days the world is more complex and what defines a leader has also transformed. Leaders are no longer defined just by their task-focused qualities such as the ability to make effective decisions. Leaders in our more complex world are also expected to have people qualities focusing on emotional intelligence. Not only do leaders high in emotional intelligence perform better and make more money. Employees with high emotionally intelligent leaders are also 4 times less likely to leave. During a time of great resignation, adopting a people-focused approach may be critical to attract and maintain talent. However, this would require a transformation of leadership to expand their reductionist view of employees as talents. Before anything, employees are people navigating a complex world with increasingly blurred boundaries. The modern leader must be aware of these complexities and be empathetic to the life experiences of each employee.
A narrow perspective focusing on the work environment to improve engagement and motivation has become ineffective. The new normal of improving employees engagement must take into consideration life experiences outside of work. Such an approach is in line with contemporary work trends such as remote and hybrid working. Such new models of work may also negatively impact the mental health and wellbeing of workers because it might increase the likelihood of experiencing conflicting demands with their personal life. An increase in working hours is among the factors that might be experienced as conflicting. For example, working from home may increase the total hours worked by 30% including an increase of 18% for out of office hours without necessary a change in productivity. This suggests that without the appropriate measures, both employees and employers might struggle to adapt to the new normal.
Appropriate measures for employers
1. Integration
Integration is the process of bringing different and sometimes contradictory parts to form a whole. This would require a transformation of the current views of employees as talents because this promotes a static perception that is not aligned with the dynamic nature of the current world. Some employees are mothers, fathers, business owners, neurodivergent and more. Each of these employees will have unique lived experiences that will make every one of them different. It is the task for employers to learn about these differences and to provide the necessary structure to ease integration. Not because it is the morally right thing to do but because the success of the business depends on it. A disintegrated workforce leads to low morale, conflict and disengagement.
2. Transformational Leadership
Transformational leaders take a people-focused approach to motivate the team towards the idealized vision while constantly considering individual relationships. In other words, the leader addresses the whole as much as it addresses the parts. This will require an awareness of the organizational vision, interpersonal skills and the ability to empathize with individual employees. Considering the current displacement of workers across different geographical locations, the ability to create a sense of togetherness towards a shared vision is a critical skill for organizational success.
3. Support and Training
Taking a people-first approach means recognising that employees are not merely tools to be used but are humans with many intricacies. These intricacies are associated with unique lived experiences that must be transformed to serve both the employee and the organisation. Thus, relying on a one fit for all approach to people development at work is equally an outdated concept as referring to your workers as just “talents”. Employers must have measures in place to support different employee experiences. As well as providing them with the right training to effectively manage their work-life balance. A happy person is likely to be a happy worker.
Victor Penda, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Victor Penda is a researcher and consulting psychologist focusing on identity and its relationship to mental wellbeing, performance and group behaviour. Born and raised in Cameroon before emigrating to Amsterdam, The Netherlands in his early teens. He is curious about how we constantly make sense of ourselves and the environment during changing dynamics. He holds a postgraduate in occupational and organisational psychology with an emphasis on psychodynamic approaches to human behaviour. He is also trained in using schema therapeutic techniques and has applied his knowledge to improve Fortune 500 companies and elite athletes known for their participation in major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup. His mission is to improve performance and social functioning by redefining our individual and collective identity.
