Workers are more stressed and bored in their jobs than ever before in history. This was stated in the latest and revealing Gallup report titled “State of the Global Workplace 2023” in which the mental problems of employees around the world were examined and what is happening to cause this trend.
The survey has revealed that workers around the world are adding three negative factors: they suffer historical levels of stress, they are not very committed to their work and they are increasingly fighting with their bosses after studying how these professionals feel about their work and their lives.
According to Gallup, these indicators are an important predictor of a company’s resilience and performance and the results are not positive at all. 59% of workers are “silently giving up” their jobs, that is, they are not committed; and 18% are “quitting out loud,” which is the act of being actively disengaged from the company (but still employed).
In concrete figures, the study calculates that the low level of commitment is costing the world economy almost 9 trillion dollars because they do not perform as expected of them and the company does not obtain the productivity it seeks from these professionals dissatisfied with their situation. .
An interesting conclusion of this study is the question to employees about what they would improve about their job. Most responses were not about pay or conditions, but rather about issues such as more autonomy, clear goals, and recognition for their contributions.
In this sense, Gallup has highlighted that companies must actively commit to their employees so that they are happy, which does not mean trying to seek superficial happiness for them, but rather acquiring a high commitment to the company in which they work. Therefore, a powerful human resources and psychology team within the company is essential.
According to the report, true engagement means employees being psychologically present to do their jobs. These workers know what they have to do, they have what they need and they have the support of their boss and their team. They know why their work is important and are prepared to work, the report concludes.
The problem of stress is probably the most notable in the study because it has reached unprecedented levels. About 44% of employees surveyed said they experienced “a lot” of stress at work, consistent with their 2021 survey results and continuing a “trend of high stress that began nearly a decade earlier.”
Although it is not known what is contributing to maintaining this stress, since Gallup does not ask. Even so, the report hypothesizes which internal factors, such as the job itself and low commitment, and which external factors, such as inflation, are raising stress levels.
All of this forms a cocktail of discontent that means that more than half of those surveyed have acknowledged that they are actively looking for a new job. In fact, 53% of those surveyed have told Gallup that it is a good time to look for a new job. This figure is 8% higher than in previous years, indicating that “deeply dissatisfied workers are able to leave bad workplaces” and find a career they enjoy, according to the company.
Another Gallup study titled “6 Workplace Trends Leaders Should Watch in 2024” states that there are several important factors that business leaders should consider in the current landscape.
Taking into account that trust in organizational leadership has decreased significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizational managers must take actions to recover employees’ feeling of satisfaction.
For example, according to the report, when leaders communicate clearly, lead and support change, and inspire confidence in the future, 95% of employees say they fully trust their leaders.
On the other hand, according to research, hybrid work has become the norm for remote workers and people have largely adapted to their new routines. Therefore, it is time for leaders to implement hybrid workplaces.
That means creating an innovative value proposition, empowering teams to collaborate more effectively, overhauling performance management systems, and training managers to be excellent hybrid coaches.
In terms of advantages, hybrid workers have higher engagement, better overall well-being, and lower risk of turnover than fully in-person workers who have remote capabilities, which is also good for business.
In this context, it is increasingly important to have specialized human resources and psychology training teams within companies that can deal with employee dissatisfaction, a very common phenomenon, and stress, both factors that the company is interested in solving. since they negatively affect its performance.
