“ The pandemic has forever changed the way work is viewed . For many , it ’ s been a reassessment and realignment of priorities . Invite employees to review their work life balance and create opportunities for healthy conversations .”
TEAMBUILDING
“ The pandemic has forever changed the way work is viewed . For many , it ’ s been a reassessment and realignment of priorities . Invite employees to review their work life balance and create opportunities for healthy conversations .”
work-life balance falls .”
He says when employees find themselves working more with no additional reward they do the minimum “ as per their job description but do not go above and beyond ”.
Similar to this trend , you may have heard of presenteeism – the act of being present at work without being productive , normally because of poor physical or mental health . Studies in this area have been strong in the past three years with many companies now working to ensure employees recognise that to be efficient at work they have to be both physically and mentally strong .
This is a particularly challenging notion for employees who continue to work remotely for much of the time . As you probably know , when employees are working from home there is a belief that they need to ensure they are present , and feel obligated to be online 24 / 7 even when they are feeling physically or mentally drained .
A different kind of Monday Yet another newly coined concept is ‘ barely minimum Mondays ’. LinkedIn research conducted in 2022 by workplace relations company Employsure found that almost 80 % of employees suffer from a cloud of dread that hangs over them on a Sunday and impacts their productivity on Monday .
Employsure ’ s head of talent and acquisition Mary Blake says if employers are already seeing the negative impact of this phenomenon in their workplaces , this could be the opportune time to fine tune workplace practices : “ Creating an employee experience that inspires individuals to show up to work each day is the most effective way to unlock employee engagement . A strong workplace culture can unify employees and ensuring management is well equipped to lead their teams successfully will more than likely help in reducing burnout .”
Mary adds that employers should normalise having a balance between work and life . “ Make Mondays less unpredictable ,’ she advises . “ Employees can easily get stressed about the uncertainties of a Monday . Work with your managers or even your employees to create schedules for every Monday morning . Having a solid plan and knowing what they can expect on the first day of the week will help alleviate any fear or trepidation employees may have .”
“ The pandemic has forever changed the way work is viewed . For many , it ’ s been a reassessment and realignment of priorities . Invite employees to review their work life balance and create opportunities for healthy conversations .”
Returning to UNSW Business School , Mark says that although it may not be realistic to expect a company to increase wages in the current market , organisations do have
Atlassian ’ s Team Anywhere
During the global pandemic more than 400 staff at IT company Atlassian left Sydney and relocated to other parts of the country with the understanding that they could continue to work remotely . We find out more about the Atlassian Team Anywhere program , which continues to be run successfully to this day …
Global head of Team Anywhere Annie Dean says working remotely doesn ’ t mean reduced output . In fact , she believes some of the biggest barriers to getting great work done are the following :
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Full days of back-to-back meetings Giving vague goals and processes Not knowing who can drive a project forward
“ Offices don ’ t solve these problems ,” she explains . “ The answer is to get rid of useless meetings , set and share measurable milestone and identify a single decision-maker . And you can do all those things while working from home .”
Annie adds that 10 % of Atlassian ’ s Australian employees live outside of major cities , with Queensland ’ s Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast the most popular . The company even has one employee working remotely in Joondalup in Western Australia , 3000km from the company ’ s Sydney headquarters !
a clear solution to combating quiet quitting . And that is incentives linked to performance and value creation : “ This is especially obvious where employees produce discrete pieces of work or have clear measurable outcomes ,” he explains .
“ For example , if that employee creates , sells , or runs a product that might create value , provide commissions , a slice of revenue , or a slice of gross profits . Or if doing a better job , which takes more effort , helps the bottom line , incentivise that effort that increase job satisfaction .
“ Companies should not bury their head in the sand when faced with quiet quitting . If skilled employees are balking at falling wages , increased workload demands , and are less willing to work additional hours , ignoring the problem will make it worse . Top talent will leave . And this ultimately will harm the bottom line .” S
Summer Issue 2024 | Executive PA 33