Page 33 - Investment Advisor March 2022
P. 33
THE FAST TRACK
By Angie Herbers
High Workforce Stress Is Changing the Rules
of Employee Management
The pandemic has ushered in a new dynamic that uses compassion and
flexibility to work with staff and — hopefully — bolster morale and performance.
E mployees have been under has so much else, over the course of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
pandemic-related
pressure
for two years now, and many
Before the pandemic, the standard
are teetering on the edge of burnout if management playbook required lead-
they haven’t already succumbed to it. ers to keep track of their employees’
Between that and the fact that we are performance and take corrective action.
in winter months with cold weather, Policies were created to dictate when to
COVID and flu season, we’ve been see- arrive at the office and when to leave.
ing rising rates of employee manage- Vacation, sick days and personal days
ment issues. Among them: high reports were all enumerated and codified. If an
of workforce stress. employee exceeded their allotted sick
Among the hundreds of companies days, financial penalties were levied or
in our consulting network, we’ve seen vacation days were eliminated.
upward of a 30% to 40% increase in
employee stress. While employee turn- CHANGED TACTICS
We’ve seen upward of over has garnered headlines lately, stress That people-management structure has
a 30% to 40% increase at companies of all sizes can pose a been torn down during the pandemic.
serious threat to smoothly functioning
In its place has emerged a structure
in employee stress. operations and overall employee morale built around compassion and flexibility.
While employee and performance. As we move forward, If there were an overarching statement
turnover has garnered it will be worth keeping an eye on the to set the tone for the new approach,
it might be: “Do what you need to do,
long-term effect of stress in the work-
headlines lately, stress force, especially chronic stress. when you need to do it. Take care of
at companies of all sizes High levels of stress not only tax yourself. We support you.”
That’s quite a departure from the
can pose a serious threat firms’ resources in the immediate term, rigid, rules-based norms that prevailed
but also impose a higher workload on
to smoothly functioning team members who are consistently from the 1990s until the mid-2000s.
operations and overall dealing with the mental tax of a stress- In those days, money was both the
stick and the carrot used to motivate
ful workplace. The cumulative effect
employee morale and of picking up the slack for absent co- employees to meet business goals.
performance. workers due to illness can easily lead to Later, leadership culture moved from
frustration and burnout. that crude approach to one aimed more
When a workforce is stretched, at supporting team members’ careers —
everything from client service to com- career paths were more clearly delin-
pliance tasks can be compromised. In eated, and personal development was
other words, sustained high levels of actively supported through goals and
stress are not compatible with business other means.
success. Firm leaders have long taken Employee management by focusing
the issue seriously, but the best prac- first on well-being is now ascendant,
tices for managing it have changed, as thanks to the pandemic. It’s based on
MARCH 2022 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 31
