By focusing on employee recognition, engagement, and feedback, HR leaders can help cultivate a culture of trust and resilience in their organizations.
By Maggie Mancini
American workers are feeling increasingly disconnected from their jobs. Employees are continuing to seek new job opportunities with each passing year, and job satisfaction has reached record lows. Still, unlike during The Great Resignation, when employees were able switch employers with relative ease, a tightening labor market and widespread economic uncertainty have some employees feeling stuck in their current workplaces. As a result, one-third of U.S. employees are merely surviving—and not thriving—at work, fueling a trend Gallup calls “The Great Detachment.”
“It’s not news that when, where, and why we work have all been subject to significant reflection and change over the last few years,” says Mindi Cox, chief marketing and people officer at O.C. Tanner. “For some, this reflection and an abundant job market have combined into a newfound freedom to explore possibilities in different companies, fields, or positions. However, the current cooling jobs scene calls for a more rigid work structure that has many feeling stuck.”
Cox explains that while “stuck” may also falsely present as “stable” to some employers, feeling stuck is not good for anyone. The reason? An inherent desire to progress, learn grow, and exercise autonomy.
“When any of those desired states feel out of reach, our souls can lean into a silent type of rebellion, a detachment from our work, our purpose, even each other,” she says. “Add that to limited communication around the ‘why’ of RTO mandates, the heightened cost of living and inflation, stagnant salaries, and growing job responsibilities, and you can watch the frustration grow.”
Burnout, disengagement, and detachment are all rooted in a lack of support, fulfillment, and recognition within an organization, Cox says. She explains that there are several ways HR leaders can address the root causes of disengagement and keep employees connected.
- Look internally at places where the employee experience is lacking. “To both address and stave off future instances of disengagement, HR teams must look internally to identify where the employee experience is lacking and find ways to recruit employees through experiences that foster progress, learning, growth, and autonomy,” Cox says.
- Invest in employee recognition. Burnout can be caused by any number of factors, from a lack of recognition to a lack of adequate compensation. “Recent research from the O.C. Tanner Institute identified a continuum of burnout,” Cox says. “Disengaged employees can fall anywhere on the burnout spectrum based on their total compensation, growth opportunities, and work-life balance, among other factors.”
- Ensure that employees receive adequate compensation and benefits. Without access to adequate compensation, employees are forced to focus on simply surviving, Cox says. “These employees are particularly vulnerable to mental health struggles, as they are six times more likely to report feelings of anxiety, which fuels burnout. High-surviving employees meet the basic financial needs to live but lack growth opportunities that keep them motivated. For both low and high-surviving individuals, it’s vital that organizations devote time and resources to moving these employees off the spectrum altogether.”
- Provide opportunities for career advancement. “When basic needs like adequate compensation, physical and mental healthcare, and a sense of belonging in the workplace are met, employees feel empowered and motivated to seek opportunities for growth and development,” Cox says. When organizations provide avenues for skill building and career advancement, the likelihood of a thriving workforce surges, she says.
“Trust is the framework of a strong and resilient company culture, and nothing builds trust like frequent, transparent communication,” Cox says. “Organizations who reframe the way they view the employee-employer relationship to see it as more of a feedback loop cultivate a prime environment for connection.”
Even when organizations need to make tough decisions, the key to maintaining trust with the workforce is to keep employees informed every step of the way, she says. Adopting a people-centric approach to communication means considering employees throughout the decision-making process and staying honest and transparent about major changes that impact their lives.
Cox explains that HR leaders should consider conducting focus groups with employees to gather sentiments around different decisions, allowing them to provide honest feedback and encouraging collaboration with leaders and employees.
“When decisions are made, leaders must be able to speak clearly about those decisions and outline the ‘why,’” Cox says. “It’s not enough to send out an all-company communication. Trust is built between frontline and senior leaders in moments like this, so when HR teams prepare frontline leaders to speak confidently to decisions, it benefits their teams and the company.”
When employees perceive their leaders to have the tools to help them manage change, they are six times more likely to thrive at work, 10 times more likely to report feelings of trust, and 76% less likely to feel burnt out, Cox says.
In the wake of widespread economic uncertainty, employees are feeling less connected to their organization’s mission, according to Gallup’s research. This has a major impact on engagement and productivity. Employees want to know that their contributions matter, and highly engaged employees feel like they are part of a larger community at work, Gallup finds.
“If transparent communication is the framework of building a resilient company culture, integrated recognition is the glue that keeps employees engaged with that culture,” Cox says. “When organizations have strong, integrated recognition programs, employees are 80% less likely to report burnout, which is especially important in mitigating widespread detachment and uncertainty.”
Recognition can be enormously beneficial for both the employee and the organization, Cox says. It is a strong retention tool, reducing attrition by 29%, she says. Integrated recognition can also improve engagement and the frequency of great work. Only about 21% of companies have strong integrated recognition practices, she says—underscoring a glaring need for more organizations to build out their cultures through systems that focus on appreciation.
Cox explains that HR leaders should consider these two key strategies when implementing integrated recognition.
- Train all levels of the organization on the importance of recognition. Not only will training encourage communication across the organization, it also sets the standard for company culture. Cox explains: “If executive leadership understands and prioritizes appreciation, that behavior will trickle down to all teams and lead to widespread recognition practices.”
- Tailor recognition to each employee. By specifically calling out the impacts of employee contributions, organizations can cultivate a culture of acknowledgement and appreciation. “This can be anything from recognizing an employee for consistently being a team player to how their creative ideas secured a new piece of business for the company,” Cox says.
“Our people are the soul of our organizations,” Cox says. “If they are feeling detached and stuck, chances are we will feel that in our business results and our customers’ experiences. As leaders, we must pay attention to not just the output of our people, but how those individuals are truly feeling.”
Employee motivations course through the organization, Cox says. It’s important to ensure detachment is not rotting the core of the employee experience. By putting care at the center of people strategy, HR can create environments where everyone can thrive.