(source: unsplash.com: alex kotliarskyi)
“You say you want a revolution….well, you know…..!” The Beatles knew. Lennon screamed it in that beautiful primal way back then.
Corporate culture is DUE for a revolution. A re-do. A redesign. A full blow up and then recreated - better.
Workers are ready. Many leaders are, too. Some CEOs and execs? Maybe not so much. You know, the whole CONTROL thing.
Those CEOs who refuse the wake-up call have already lost. They just don’t know it yet.
Yes, I believe we’re here. I think we’re past due.
I spent 16 years in tech and a decade of that time leading teams. Most of what I saw was ‘command and control’ culture with a smattering of ping pong tables and great benefits like beer bash Fridays.
That’s all superficial. Fun, sure. It never changes the structure and substance of culture.
Nope. That cake is baked in at the beginning. Great cultures scale and when employees needs are met, great cultures are a sustainable strategic advantage.
CE-Oh Hell No!
As we move towards bringing people back to physical offices, a number of companies and execs are ratcheting up the ‘butts in seats’ rhetoric: that people have to be at work to DO work.
It’s insane. And out of step with reality. And wrong. And laughably arrogant. It’s a power move and they just lost. Execs can’t monitor people and use irrelevant metrics anymore to track people. People don’t need to be over-managed. They need leadership.
Yes, some people want to go back to an office. Many don’t. They want flexibility, respect, dignity, choice. And not all women who are moms (all moms work so let’s not say working moms!) want to stay home and work from home; yet, a gating factor here for many is the loss of affordable childcare. The pandemic created a big gap in childcare and ‘affordable childcare’ was a misnomer BEFORE the pandemic. Childcare is only one of many issues that has made going back to work in a corporate office a far bigger burden than it already was. And it was HUGE.
So many male researchers point out that people don’t want to go back to the office. They are right. Again, they miss a key piece for women - women MIGHT want to go back IF they had a) support; b) better opportunity and c) AGAIN - CHILDCARE.
The FACTS
And…
40% of people say they’re looking for new jobs
85% of workers are actively disengaged at work
The Pay Gap is growing and voices including Gravity Payments’ CEO Dan Price have been incredibly vocal about living wages for all workers. So few companies get that we’ve created an unsustainable system.
My friend Jeff Harry calls it the great ‘corporate migration.’ I call it an exodus, and…
A talent diaspora - with talent scattering everywhere to companies and startups - and small business creation - that will support flexibility, respect, inclusion and equitable pay / opportunity.
And Millennials and Gen Z - they are NOT gonna take it anymore. They’re right. Because they don’t have to. And should not have to. The war for talent is on.
Women Lose, Companies Lose
The largest group impacted by job loss in this pandemic? Women. The largest group opting out of the workplace? Women. Not all by choice. Some, sure.
The talent exodus is real and concerning.
Women don’t want to go back not just for flexibility.
Exactly what are many women going back to? Bullshit? No thanks.
So why be in a rush to get crappy, expensive childcare for a job that underutilizes, under-resources and underpays women?
That’s a HUGE issue here. Would YOU want to go back to that? Nope.
Why aren’t women lining up to get away from their kids (yes we love our kids (most days, anyway!), and school and work at home hasn’t changed the burden of childcare that still hits women)? Because what waits for them back at the office is toxic culture that doesn’t support them.
Culture is not working for so many. And companies lose when they lose talented women. Women lose when they are not given opportunity. Men lose when women aren’t supported.
What a huge talent loss all the way around.
(image free rawpixel.com)
Now What?
Now some CEOs want to further tie hands and demand that people come back to the office. Where is the data that shows most people are more productive in these places than working remotely?
Exactly.
Amazon and Google are seeing pressure from workers to unionize - something that has been talked about for years. While billionaires get richer and spend on a space race - there’s no taxes in space….yet! - many of their workers can’t pay their bills. Can’t find childcare. Don’t have enough healthcare. And are under-served.
So why should workers trust leaders anymore?
Leaders haven’t given them reason to.
From toxic workplaces to lack of inclusion to hypocrisy and lip service from companies who say they care and fail to make good on it…we’re seeing new leaders rise, workers’ rights becoming more popular with the American public and people opting out. Amazing talent - much of it female - opting out. And women of color are the fastest growing small business segment in America. There’s little wonder as to why. Seriously, female talent, and specifically women of color talent, has been under-utilized, under-paid, under-recognized. So they leave. So do talented men who deserve more flexibility to balance out family needs.
We all deserve better. Corporate America is a bad ex who keeps saying they will change. So you go back hoping this time it will stick. And it doesn’t.
The talent exodus is a huge loss for corporate America. And it’s a wakeup call.
The Future of Work Reboot: Co-Created Culture
The system is busted. The narrative is busted. Culture is busted. Humor at work won’t fix it (the calls I get are unreal). That’s a bandaid on a hemorrhage. Happy fun time events - same. Employees want more than happy culture - they want a culture that sustains happiness and their needs over the long-run. Humor and improvisational mindsets only work in cultures that say ‘yes and’ to employees.
The ONLY thing that will work is blowing up corporate culture and rebuilding with employees: the future of work will be co-created with employees. That’s right - yes, and. Improvisation. Employees want a say in the culture they operate in.
So…
CEOs, fix your shit and co-create better shit with your employees. Or lose talent to companies who fix theirs.
It’s time to burn corporate culture to the ground in order to rebuild better. First, let’s evacuate the buildings… I mean we’re badasses, not monsters. That’s ‘benevolent arson.’
What do you think?