The days of command and control in the workplace are at an end, according to Robert Dix, chief executive of corporate advisory firm Sopal. “I wouldn’t say we are seeing a ‘great resignation’ where people quit and stop work,” he says. “It’s more a ‘great migration’ where they are moving to organisations which are more aligned with their values. That’s a worldwide phenomenon and it’s happening in Ireland as well.”
It is leading to a fundamental shift in the power dynamics between employers and employees, he adds.
“My generation lived to work, but millennials and Gen Zs want to work to live. That’s a big change. That is a good thing for people and leads to better lives. There is a shift in what employees want from work and the organisations they work for. It goes well beyond compensation and extends to how organisations impact communities and the wider world and how they perform in areas like sustainability, equality, inclusion, and diversity. We are seeing a shift in power from employers to employees and the master servant relationship no longer holds true.”
This is a topic which has interested Dix for quite some time. “I’ve always been a people-centric leader in every job I’ve had,” he explains. “My management style is to put my employees first and to try to get the best out of people. The new order speaks to that in spades. I have a natural empathy and affinity with that. I’ve been speaking about it for many years.”
And he is witnessing the shift at first hand through his work with Sopal where he advises companies and managers who are facing organisational and other challenges. “People, particularly younger people, are now willing to trade pay for time,” he notes. “That’s a very interesting concept. Greater flexibility and autonomy for employees are here to stay. Companies that don’t offer that will lose out. The hybrid working model is here to stay as well.”
He points to research carried out by McKinsey which revealed that while 99 per cent of executives expected workers on site more than four days a week before the pandemic, the expectation has now fallen to between one and four days. “A Microsoft survey has found 41 per cent of workers globally are considering leaving current employment,” he adds. “Those are very big numbers.”
It is clear that organisations need to get their hybrid policies right.
“That will help differentiate companies and help them win the talent war,” says Dix. “And there is a war for talent at the moment. The Central Bank has forecast jobs growth of more than 160,000 over the next two years. Where are those people going to come from?”
The new way of working is still an experiment, and we are only at the beginning of it
When it comes to designing a hybrid model, he says organisations have to look at what parts of the old ways of working can be left behind and how to make the new way clear and understandable to all.
“Also, things like performance and productivity have to be measured and companies must ensure that people are not unfairly denied promotion opportunities just because they are working remotely. Employee engagement is another big thing. Are employees engaged if they are working from home rather than in the HQ in Dublin? Organisations may not have had to worry very much about things like employee wellbeing and satisfaction in the past, but they are being forced to think about them now. Organisations which do these things well can gain a competitive advantage.”
Getting it right
He points to Gleveagh Properties as an example of a company which got it right in terms of employee engagement. “It is a very good example of a company which is reaping the rewards for being a people-centric organisation. They treated their people very fairly during the pandemic. They had a target to build 1,150 homes in 2021 and still managed to achieve this even though they were operating under severe Covid restrictions for four months in the first part of the year. They achieved it because their workforce were totally engaged and committed when they did get back to work.”
But getting it right is not easy. “It means managers and companies have to manage a much wider number of things and the pressure is much greater on middle managers than on senior managers. Statistics show the burnout rate for middle managers is much higher than for senior managers.”
He cites Gallup research which revealed an increase from 27 to 35 per cent in middle managers reporting burnout between 2020 and 2021. By contrast, there was actually a decline in the number of senior managers reporting burnout, down from 25 to 22 per cent during the same period.
“Senior managers need to ensure their middle managers are being supported,” Dix adds.
There are other issues to contend with. “Leaders can lose touch with their people due to the lack of casual interactions in the office. And the loosening of connections can stifle innovation. Most serious is culture. It’s been said that culture eats strategy for breakfast but how do you maintain culture among existing staff and new recruits if they are working 200 kilometres away? Managers need to be proactive in addressing that.”
But there are positive aspects, of course.
“New models of work present an opportunity to emerge from this disruption better and create opportunities for groups that have historically been excluded,” he points out.
“There is a reservoir of untapped talent that companies are missing out on. For example, we still have 22 per cent employment for autistic adults while businesses are in need of talent. I think we should all look to companies like Aviva who are excelling in this space, who have designed ways of working that create an environment that fosters neurodiversity in the workplace. Market forces such as the war on talent seem to be inspiring some businesses to open their eyes to fantastic talent that is out there.
“The new way of working is still an experiment, and we are only at the beginning of it. We won’t get the answers straight away, but we will get there in the end.”