Disruptive Leaders are creating happier teams
A new report illustrates how leaders will need to adapt to meet changing workplace expectations
Future Forum, a think tank backed by software company Slack that researches future workplace design, recently released its quarterly Pulse survey of more than 10,000 employees regarding their experiences at work. The results show the continued momentum and benefits of flexible work policies, and they issue an important call-to-action for leaders in how they build their teams and workplaces.
I’d like to walk through two themes from the report: how Disruptive Leaders are ushering in a new wave of strong teams and what the rise in burnout among specific groups illustrates about the future of work.
Disruptive Leaders are ahead of the pack
Some fast facts from the Pulse report:
62% of U.S. workers report some level of location flexibility (i.e. hybrid or remote vs. fully in-office)
Remote and hybrid workers are 52% more likely to say their company culture has improved over the past two years, citing flexible work policies as the #1 factor behind that improvement
People who feel their leaders are transparent feel nearly 4x as high a sense of belonging
People who feel their leaders are transparent feel more than 6x as high satisfaction with their work environment
60% of executives say they’re getting little to no input from employees when designing workforce policies
If you’re familiar with my leadership philosophy and how I define Disruptive Leaders, you know that skills like courage, grounded confidence, vulnerability and trust sit at the center of Disruptive Leadership.
These stats demonstrate that the leaders who adapted to give their people flexibility are seeing the fruits (i.e. better cultures, happier and more productive employees) of the trust they exhibited to let people decide how they work best.
The leaders who show the courage and vulnerability to be transparent and honest with their people are creating tighter and happier teams.
On the flip side, the leaders who make unilateral decisions in the dark and fail to show grounded confidence in their people are falling behind and eroding trust with their organizations.
When you display Disruptive Leadership, you move your organization forward and help people work their best.
Burnout among women and young workers could drive dramatic changes
More fast facts from the Pulse report:
Women reported 32% higher burnout than men
49% of people 18-to-29 years old say they’re burned out, 29% higher than those 30+
Burnout is closely associated with degraded performance, including 32% worse productivity and 60% worse ability to focus
People who are burned out are 2x more likely to feel disconnected from company values, direct managers, immediate team and executive leadership
People who are burned out report being 3x more “likely” or “very likely” to look for a new job in the coming year
Women are twice as likely to do Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work, the kind of work that executives love to extol as being “critical to culture” (and remember, “culture” is why executives need you back in the office full-time). And yet, women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate in years. Millennials and Gen Z represent about half of the workforce, but they’re among the most burned out from work. Not a great sign when the people groups that are the backbone and future of organizations are actually miserable and less effective.
Maybe it’s time to admit that the systems we’ve been propping up for generations are inadequate. Maybe it’s time to admit that the way we’ve been leading, in which we promote an always-on, “whatever it takes” culture obsessed with productivity, is grossly insufficient for the post-2020 workplace. Maybe it’s time for decision-makers to recognize that people will no longer tolerate their employers treating them like disposable commodities.
Maybe it’s time to admit that the systems we’ve been propping up for generations are inadequate.
There’s a cultural correction taking place in the world of work. The organizations that get it, the ones in which Disruptive Leaders design a workplace around people instead of profits, are already showing themselves to be leaps and bounds ahead of those too stubborn, scared or arrogant to adapt.
Here’s one more fast fact for you: the number of people who said they’re likely to look for a new job in the next year rose from 55% to 57% in the past quarter.
One thing that’s showing itself to be recession-proof? People’s intolerance for out-of-touch leadership.
You can read the full report from Future Forum here.