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Continue to be great at what you do and hope for an opening in management is not a career plan. That is what appears to be on offer at many companies though. They aren’t preparing anyone to be a manager in the future, and they aren’t increasing headcount that might require more team leads and managers, so how long do we expect people to wait? Add in the number of “senior” folks with higher salaries who find themselves part of a reduction in force, or the number of people who’ve watched their current job change over and over until they find themselves doing work they never signed up for in the first place, and it’s no wonder that workers are taking responsibility for their own growth, by choosing workplaces that give them better opportunities.
No one has to stay and work for you for the next 20-25 years. They can, and will, go elsewhere if there’s no clear path forward. I don’t blame them.
The one that gives me pause is the last bullet, but not because leaders shouldn’t have that knowledge, but more because human nature tells me that is the one most likely to be misused and create really uncomfortable situations. There’s a very fine line between being aware of signs of someone struggling and diagnosis. I absolutely do not want anyone in the workplace diagnosing people. Watch out for signs of stress and ways you can support the folks who work for you proactively? Sure. Decide for yourself that they have depression, or should be referred to an Employee Assistance Program? Not so much.
But, here’s the thing I will fully admit when saying this. Avoiding this type of behavior is absolutely something that solid mental health training should be a part of. I’ve heard far too many instances lately where organizations are reading a lot about mental health, and burnout, in the workplace and then dispatch their managers to have conversations with their teams about it, and zero training.
Those conversations are dangerous. You have to enable your leaders to go into those conversations with some education and expertise on the subject Just telling them to go and have the conversations without getting them up to speed on how to do so, creates a situation that is likely to end up with some very alienated employees.
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There has been a lot of progress, but I fear management has made that progress and ticked the item on the checklist as “done” without really making sure they’ve hit the mark. Yes, they rolled out a mental health benefit or two, but have they done the work to train managers? Have they understood how employees feel about that relationship and whether they trust their immediate manager? That is where an employee needs to feel safe talking about mental health. If that safety doesn’t exist, all the extra benefits in the world will not help.
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Sadly, I’ve seen and heard many stories like this too. I’ve seen some of those job listings myself. You know the ones, where they want to pay entry-level wages but also require 5 years experience or the list of requirements sound like you’re really looking for multiple people, but only paying for one. In my industry, it’s usually the laundry list of experience and certifications that give it away. Really, you are going to require multiple certifications on half a dozen different platforms and tools, as well as years of recent experience? Who even has access to that many different tools at the same time?
Also, if you’re hiring process involves multiple interviews and weeks of delays, you’re going to see a lot of your candidates swept up with an offer before you even get through the process.
You need to be better. If you’re not, someone else will be.