Linked: Stop Undervaluing Exceptional Women
There is a lot to chew on in the HBR article below. Starting with how often women overqualified for a position will get hired anyway versus overqualified men.
There is a lot to chew on in the HBR article below. Starting with how often women overqualified for a position will get hired anyway versus overqualified men.
I think a little anxiety and anger are appropriate now. Being distracted from your work should actually be a pretty normal reaction to what is going on in the world. Just replace your own national politics for the UK in that survey and can you really say that something hasn’t prevented you from being your best at work during the last couple of years? I’m in the US, I think it’s crazy that there are people going about their work as if nothing is happening, but I also know that is the corporate culture for many of us as well. For the hours you are “at” work, that’s our time. Spend your own time worrying about the world, grieving for lost loved ones, caring for your family, or your own needs, etc.
This is wrong on so many levels. Your people are not hours of labor on a spreadsheet, they are human beings, and human beings should absolutely be affected by what is going on in the world. Expecting them not to be during work hours tells me a lot more about the management team than it does about the workforce.
It surely doesn’t say anything good about the management team either.
I don’t particularly know why, but I came across an article out of Australia last week that caught my eye and got me thinking about working at our “passion” jobs. The reason I headed in that direction mentally was the description of what life is like for these various politicians after they lose an election….
Now, the shortage of people leading to overworked stressed, and burned-out workers is the headline, but if you look at the reasons given in the article below, it’s not “just” that. It’s where that situation leads. When you’re short-staffed and constantly putting out fires, you don’t really take the time to think about showing appreciation, helping employees grow their skills and careers, or creating a diverse workplace.
Yet those are the exact things that employees are looking for elsewhere.
Appreciating and growing your employees is not something that is “nice to have” anymore. It’s a requirement.
So often, I see people sitting and doing the same job, the same way, year after year. Some people are OK with that, and it becomes difficult to help them grow because they are resistant to change. Most people, however, do not want that to be their career, and so they leave to find a place that allows them to grow. If you aren’t the place that supports their growth, you are at risk of losing them to a place that will. It’s really that simple.