Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

It's Time to Stop Talking Quiet Quitting and Quiet Firing

“Quiet quitting” and “quiet firing” are the latest buzzwords to take the world of work by storm. But while the terms themselves may be new, the concepts aren’t. And they illustrate a troubling trend taking place in the post-pandemic workplace.

Quiet quitting refers to employees who show up to work and seemingly do the bare minimum to meet expectations. Quiet firing happens when employers actively seek to make work conditions less favorable by taking away attention, resources, or opportunities from employees with the hope that they’ll resign.

Both quiet quitting and quiet firing are passive aggressive moves born out of uncertainty. Quiet quitters don’t want to pull the trigger because they may be afraid of what awaits them on the other side of unemployment in a volatile economic and social climate. And at a time when employee well-being and retention are front and center, quiet firers may be concerned about outright firing an employee.

The sudden shift to remote work that took place during the pandemic resulted in a loss of culture for many organizations, and unfortunately, that culture is not likely to spring right back into place for companies transitioning their employees to hybrid work.

Using in-office time as an opportunity to create an environment of camaraderie and psychological safety can go a long way toward mitigating both quiet quitting and quiet firing. Here are three specific strategies:

Facilitate face-to-face interactions

Quiet quitting and quiet firing are more difficult to pull off when you have formed genuine, authentic connections with your managers, reports, and colleagues. Managers should lead by example and show up. Some examples might include hanging out in the cafeteria or breakroom and hosting events. Where possible, hold performance discussions and regular one-on-one check-ins in person, and make use of casual lounges to support engagement and spontaneous meetings.

And this might go without saying, but if you’re asking people to be in the office a few days a week, don’t have them sit in an empty room by themselves. If an employee’s team isn’t there and they’re at their workstation all day devoid of human interaction, they might as well have stayed home. This is a surefire recipe for quiet quitting.

Avoid proximity bias

According to a recent Prezi study, 66% of hybrid workers feel that workplaces favor employees who are together in a physical office. To combat this so-called proximity bias, which could lead to inequities that drive both quiet quitting and quiet firing, level the playing field in how you structure your video meetings. For instance, everyone should join from their own computer to avoid spotlighting remote employees who aren’t in the office.

Co-create new norms

Quiet quitting and quiet firing may happen because managers and employees are afraid to speak up about their needs. For example, maybe you’re a caregiver and the long commute associated with returning to the office has been especially punishing for you, so you quiet quit. On the other hand, if you’re that caregiver’s manager, you may not want to overload your employee, but feel you have unmovable performance expectations, so you quiet fire.

By surveying employees to find out what policies work for them and working collaboratively to establish new norms for performance and productivity, you can build a culture that’s naturally more supportive of different concerns and points of view.

The bottom line? If you use your return-to-the-office efforts as a chance to learn about your employees directly and holistically, you will experience less “under-one’s-breath” phenomena such as quiet quitting and quiet firing.

For the original piece, check out the Ceridian blog.

Up Close with Middle Managers

In the first post in our middle manager series, I looked at research related to the challenges facing middle managers. However, I was curious to learn what middle managers themselves have been thinking. I consulted a diverse panel of four:  

• Daniel Cook, director of human resources at the law firm Mullen & Mullen 
• Luke Horrocks, inventory analyst at vehicle salvage company Scrap My Car 
• Lorraine Lee, editorial director at Prezi
• Colleen Acanto, a fast casual restaurant chain manager 

Colleen’s real identity has been withheld to protect her privacy.  

What was your biggest fear as a middle manager during the pandemic? 

Luke: I think we were all quite worried about our jobs and what would happen to the company. No one knew which industry would be affected the most, obviously apart from retail. With the focus of our business being collecting damaged cars, the fact that no cars would really be on the road was incredibly concerning. 

Colleen: I feared my staff wouldn’t show up. Of course, I wanted them to put their health and safety first, but we also had a business that was still open during the pandemic.  

Did you feel burned out, and if so, how did you cope with that? 

Daniel: Yes. Sometimes, at work, I reach my maximum mental capacity to digest information and utilize it productively. This is when I realize that I am exhausted and am facing burnout. Usually, when I am burned out, I feel emotionally frustrated and physically drained. Often, it can lead to severe migraines that affect my work quality and mood. There have been times I’ve felt fatigued to the point where I am forced to take a half day and leave work early. I definitely believe in taking constant breaks during work so I’m able to focus and I reward myself for completing tasks. It motivates me to do more. 

Luke: I never felt burned out during the pandemic. I think working from home gave me some comfort in a strange way. Post pandemic, our business has hit levels we haven’t seen for a long time, so getting back into the swing of things was quite a struggle initially. Long hours to catch up and little social time started to affect me. 

What was an aspect of your management style that you changed during or after COVID-19? 

Luke: While we were hit by the pandemic, we had to focus on different areas of the business than we had before, so I assigned new tasks like going through existing stock or revamping our storage areas. I also started meeting with my team every morning for a general catch-up and to check in on how everyone was coping with the at-home work environment. 

Lorraine: With the shift to remote work, I saw that I needed to become a lot more intentional with general communication and feedback to my team. I recall one time when some managers hosted a virtual happy hour, and one of our quietest employees was really talkative. This was a clear sign to us that he was craving connection and we needed to create more touchpoints for that. 

While making sure your direct reports were taken care of, how did you keep your own boss in the loop? 

Lorraine: In pre-pandemic times, it was easier for your boss to know what you were working on because you were in the office together. You could have watercooler chats in which you'd bring up an exciting idea or connect the dots between different teams. Now, us middle managers need to be our own best advocates. I meet one-on-one with my manager weekly and provide them with a single, easy-to-read document with the most important updates. 

Colleen: I work at a franchise, and the owner isn’t around a lot. There have been a lot of times when I’ve asked how they want to receive information and have needed to get permission to handle an issue that might come up out of the blue. Generally, I feel that there’s no such thing as too much communication, but I’ve also realized that sometimes I won’t get answers and will have to move forward confidently anyway. 

Thanks to my panel of middle managers for sharing their experiences so openly and thoughtfully. It was inspiring to hear that despite a high level of uncertainty, middle managers are committed to caring both for themselves and their organizations, regardless of organizational hurdles or management style. 

In the next post, we’ll begin tackling solutions for supporting the Lukes, Daniels, Lorraines, and Colleens in your organization.

5 Boxes to Check for Your First-Time Manager Experience

The first time I was promoted into a managerial position, I closed the door of my fancy new office and held back tears born of fear and Impostor Syndrome. But here’s the thing. I could leave said office, walk down the hall, and get a pep talk from my boss.

In a distributed workforce where you rarely or never see your own manager or direct reports and are often doing the jobs of three people, you may be experiencing the toughest time in recent history for managers.

According to a Gallup survey, depression increased for managers in 2021 despite being unchanged for leaders and ICs, and one in three managers often or always feel burned out.

In my recent column for the Wall Street Journal’s Workplace Report, I spoke with Alyssa Lahar, chief human resources officer for ZoomInfo, a subscription-based database service. Lahar shared that managers often find themselves not at the bottom rung and but also not in positions of influence, which leads to a feeling of powerlessness. “Middle managers tend to be stretched the thinnest, and their work tends to be unseen,” she said.

Especially vulnerable are first-time middle managers, who too often are thrust into new roles without proper guidance, mentorship, or training. Without the in-person management experience to draw from, it’s even  more important that organizations use technology to fill the gaps.

Specifically, they should identify a solution that immerses new managers in the organization’s approach to leadership, performance, engagement and productivity.

Not only should the technology be customizable for the unique needs of the individual manager, but it should also have the capability to flex with evolving business requirements. If you are smartly rethinking your first-time manager offering, here are five elements to consider including.

• Retention: Providing detailed information on new role expectations and team contributions, reducing the uncertainty, frustration, and burnout that leads to attrition.
• Knowledge Transfer: Communicating with key stakeholders to ensure continuous project management and workflow.
• Recruitment: Making the hiring process as seamless as possible so that managers can quickly select and onboard new talent for vacant roles.
• Talent Management: Facilitating consistent and timely performance evaluations for and engagement with direct reports.
• Internal Mobility: Clarifying manager career paths and opportunities for internal movement and transition.

Build Gen Z's Engagement, Confidence, and Skills

When I was 22 years old, I was struggling mightily in my first job out of college. Even as a high achieving student, I had no idea how to behave in the business world, and despite valiant efforts, I was not successful.

It was hard enough learning the rules when I was physically surrounded by people willing and able to indoctrinate me, and I can’t help but feel for the Generation Z-ers (born 1996-2012) who are launching their careers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These young professionals are trying to assess responsibilities and expectations in an environment where everyone is behind a screen, scattered around the world.

Gen Z may be digitally adept, but they’ve been prevented from observing a lot of behavior in person, and as such, can’t absorb the nuances of work as easily. It’s one thing to work remotely when you already know how the business world operates and can use established relationships to figure out any ambiguities.

My suspicion is that failing to understand and address this will affect companies’ ability to keep their Gen Z talent, and these young workers will seek out companies that better support them.

I tested this assumption against a recent global Gen Z workforce study from consumer software firm Adobe. The survey of 3,400 workers indicated that more than half of Gen Z employees intend to pursue a new job in the next year – a higher percentage than any other generation. It also found that Gen Z is the least satisfied generation at work, with only 56% satisfied with work/life balance and 59% with their jobs overall.

The pandemic certainly isn’t the only story here. According to a Western Governors University study released just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gen Z was already suffering. At that time, only 45% of Gen Z-ers said their mental health was good or excellent. That’s significantly lower than the next closest generation, millennials. Thirty-seven percent of Gen Z-ers also reported that they received help from a psychologist or mental health expert – more than any other generation.

While it’s not an employer’s responsibility to solve all of Gen Z’s problems, work-related isolation doesn’t help their cause, and well-placed intervention can go a long way in attracting and keeping young talent.

By combining our knowledge about the temperament and preferences of this generation with the high tech/high touch capabilities of human capital management software, you can rally your junior level employees to higher productivity and engagement.

 

Gen Z strategy 1: Enhanced onboarding

Communicate actively with young professional hires between the offer letter and start date. Do not give them time to regret their decision or change their minds, and instead send targeted, friendly messages expressing your enthusiasm that they’re joining the team. The right employee onboarding software can help support organic interactions and introduce new Gen Z hires to your culture, right from their first day.

When they do come aboard, make sure your orientation schedule and materials are customized to the person and the role. For instance, many Gen Z-ers prefer a one-on-one manager chat and team intros to a generic “about the business” program and would rather consume short video clips via a tech-driven employee onboarding software over a massive employee handbook.

Digitize your paperwork and, keeping in mind diversity and inclusion best practices, put together a roster of topics and expectations to cover that are specific to young professionals. This roster may include areas you think are common sense (e.g. the importance of arriving on time to meetings, the appropriate language to use when texting or emailing a client), but these norms might not be universal across cultures, and Gen Z’s experience with them might be limited.

Work with new hires’ managers to set their goals and learning cadence and build in weekly (if not daily) check-ins to assess how Gen Z-ers are feeling.

Gen Z strategy 2: Flexible scheduling

Many Gen Z-ers have never had to commute to a building and work in an office for a set number of hours every day. Especially when their safety and convenience are at stake, your Gen Z-ers may balk if an employer mandates staff back to the office without good reason.

Engage in employee listening strategies, from official pulse surveys to informal text chats, and ascertain the type of work arrangement that works best for your staff in various cultures and locations. Then, allow individual employees as much control as possible in determining their hours and environment. A hybrid work model can go a long way toward Gen Z employee retention and engagement.

For the rest of the article, head over to the Ceridian blog.

How to Work Effectively on Project-Based Teams

Not long ago, employees would have ample time to build relationships with their colleagues while working together in the same office. But as organizations transition to more project-based work, workers need to understand the steps they need to take to foster trust and cooperation immediately.

That's where business owners and managers come in. Whether you have a full-time employee or gig worker working on a series of projects, you'll need to carefully consider the unique communication, inclusion, management and culture issues that arise with remote project work.

Communication

Even before the pandemic, the majority of project-based teams worked virtually. Organizations assembled teams from across locations and skill sets to solve specific business problems. Your team members most likely will be required to work closely with people they’ve never met before, and may in fact never encounter in person at all.

So much meaning is translated via body language, so working with someone entirely online adds a layer of communication complexity. When you don’t know someone, it's difficult to infer their tone, their motives or even whether or not they’re joking. Someone might perceive positive messages in email or instant message as neutral, and neutral ones as negative.

In the history of work, some of the most meaningful and rewarding one-to-one interactions have happened over chance meetings in the hallway or elevator. Many project-based teams don’t have such opportunities, so encourage team members to be direct and deliberate in communicating respect, collaboration and concern.

Inclusion

When most people worked in person for long time periods, the workplace could resemble high school. Some bosses would give the best assignments to their favorites, and it wasn’t unusual for some employees to feel left out when a clique of coworkers headed out to lunch together.

In other words, there were many ways to feel excluded and marginalized.

Virtual project-based teaming is a great equalizer. It provides flexibility for people, regardless of their situations. While webcams do offer a personal view into team members’ lives, people can purposely create the desired impression with dress, virtual backgrounds and decor—or simply choose to turn their camera off.

Project-based team members can still, however, be victims of microaggressions—statements, actions or incidents regarded as indirect, subtle or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized community.

New teams don't often have a reservoir of trust or comfort established at the beginning. Managers and leaders should be sensitive and mindful that microaggressions can occur and ensure that during online dialogue, all member's contributions are appropriately valued.

Make inclusion a value that's established through your hiring and onboarding process, and have systems in place that properly address any issue that does arise in a way that respects and affirms the harmed party.

Management

Many project-based teams are self-managed, meaning they have no formally assigned leader. About a decade ago, economist Elinor Ostrom received the Nobel Prize for her studies of self-governed communities in Africa and Asia.

Ostrom found that many human societies establish agreements among themselves for sharing and maximizing resources without the “help” of higher-order authorities. In other words, self-managed teams work. The best ones have several parameters:

• well-defined operational boundaries,
• access to resources to achieve their goals,
• a system for monitoring member behavior and performance,
• an internal process for dispute resolution and
• sanctions for rule-breakers.

According to SAP Success Factors (which refers to project-based, self-managed teams as "dynamic teams"), these groups are defined by the following:

• workflow that changes rapidly as new ideas are introduced and implemented,
• membership that is cross-functional and frequently in flux and
• the encouragement of failure in pursuit of innovation.

For the rest of the article, head over to the AMEX Business site.

 

If You Could Go Back to the Office, Would You?

If you could return to your pre-pandemic work arrangement right now, would you do it?

I conducted an informal email survey last month to hear how 9-to-5 professionals would answer that question. What were their reasons for wanting a more traditional in-office or an alternative working-from-home (WFH) arrangement?

I deduced some central themes from the about 100 responses I received. For one thing, people's decisions about whether or not they'd go back were nuanced. Of the approximately 75 percent of my respondents who said they would NOT go back, nearly all gave a qualifier such as "I'd be happier and more productive working from home permanently IF my kids weren't out of school."

 I also heard many of the same pros and cons time and time again.

Pros of Working From Home

Some of the recurring pros reflected that working from home gave individuals control over the typical, day-to-day stress of being in an office. Many find that working from home is a better fit for their comfort zones.

Freedom 

About half of respondents who said they would not go back to the office mentioned freedom specifically. These individuals relish the independence and flexibility that come with working from home.

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“It’s much less distracting and I don't have the wasted time of a commute twice a day,” says Jesse Silkoff, co-founder and president of MyRoofingPal. "It has also allowed my wife and I to have more time together since we can meet up for a coffee break. And, I’ve saved a ton of money having easy access to my own refrigerator, preferred coffee and the casual clothes I want to wear."

Interestingly, one-third of respondents who would not go back to the old way were positive about having a work environment full of kids and pets. When DevSkiller co-founder Tom Winter was working at the office, he was so exhausted when he came home, he didn’t have the energy to play with his children.

“Remote work has allowed me to enjoy family meals and park visits,” he says.

Pet safety company Huan's founder Gilad Rom feels he has a better quality of life with his dog Puppy Pie keeping him company as he works.

“He reminds me to take breaks, he reduces my stress and our bond is much stronger,” Rom says.

No More Sunday Blues

Jason VanDevere, CEO of Goal Crazy Planners, shared that many people who work Monday through Friday often feel mildly depressed on Sunday nights in anticipation of the work week ahead.

“When I was working in the office, it was the typical job and I was in an endless cycle of feeling excited for Friday and dreading the ensuing Monday two days later,” he says. “Working from home, I mostly maintain the same 9-to-5 routine. For some reason, though, I'm less negatively impacted by the prospect of getting back to work on Monday morning.”

Better for Introverts

Most self-proclaimed introverts agreed that overall, WFH better supports their natural tendencies. The extroverts who manage and work with introverts have also noticed the positive impact WFH has had on them.

“Before the pandemic, I would go to my clients’ offices to conduct in-person workshops,” says Dave Collins, CEO of corporate education firm Oak & Reeds. “Now, my company has pivoted to virtual-only training, and I’ve found that this format gives the quieter, more introspective workshop participants more of an opportunity. In a live group setting, I might have really had to push them, but the virtual privacy gives introverts a bit of cover when sharing their experiences.”

For more where this came from, check out the full piece at AMEX Business.

How to Cope with Long-Term Uncertainty

As much as experts want to predict how the coronavirus situation will pan out, the truth is that no one really knows what's going to happen. The good news is that there are several things business owners can do to reduce their uncertainty. 

1. Act on the outcomes you can realistically anticipate.

Businesses based on in-person interaction already know that customers won’t be coming in for a while. If you don’t yet have a digital means to offer your product or service, consider which products and services are most appropriate to sell online, and then add e-commerce to your website. There are a number of e-commerce solutions such as Shopify, BigCommerce and Squarespace.

While you may want to delegate this to a tech-savvy staff member, both of you should make note of the ways in which online business differs from brick and mortars. With the reduction in frequent in-person connection points, you'll need to go out of your way to engage with your customers via social media and email outreach. Try working with your marketing team to create a content calendar—either an old-school spreadsheet or a tech-based solution like Later or HubSpot—that tracks analytics around your social engagement so you can see what resonates with your customers.

2. Brainstorm with other business owners.

Another way you can deal with uncertainty is to identify other business owners in your sphere who are facing the same challenges you are, and come together to devise solutions to keep the collective group afloat. In particular, experts recommend launching online engagements that preserve the heartbeat and character of a community. 

Midnight Market, a Jersey City, New Jersey-based indoor festival that curates 20 food vendors to recreate an open air, international market, did just that. Understanding that they can’t open for the foreseeable future, Midnight Market’s owners rallied their partners to host a "Take-Out Flash Mob," that is, encouraging followers to order takeout from eight participating restaurants.

"It gives them a burst of cash to pay employees, keep the lights on and helps them continue normal operations so they can continue making delicious food for us!" the company wrote on its website.

To create a social distancing appropriate recreation of their event, Midnight Market promoted cocktail recipes that were easy to create at home, live streamed of DJ sets, and shared drinking games. And they're planning another one with a different selection of restaurants.

For the rest of my tips, check out the full article on the AMEX Business website.

 

Doing Right By Your Customers in a Crisis

Around the world, large companies are making unprecedented moves on behalf of their customers. Dunkin' is awarding its loyalty program members bonus points for using their drive thrus; luxury product manufacturer LVMH switched from making perfume to producing hand sanitizer.

But the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantining procedures present a dilemma for business owners. How should one engage with customers during this frightening period? Is there a right or wrong strategy? Here are three dos and don'ts for effective interaction.

DO offer cancellations and refunds to the best of your ability.

Even if you have a policy that expressly states that all sales are final, recognize that these are extenuating circumstances and err on the side of generosity, especially if products haven’t been used or services rendered. 

Andrew Maff, who runs a digital marketing consultancy, understands why many of his staffing agency customers have pulled their orders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The job market is a big question mark," Maff says, "so to help our clients do whatever they can to make it through this, we’ve had to be creative.

"For example, while we didn't give outright refunds, we basically offered a hold. Most of our clients have a minimum of a six-month contract. We volunteered to hold the monthly payments for up to 90 days, and then re-evaluate," he explains. "We did have two clients start in March and we voided those contracts, saying we'd revisit in the next few months. For clients who paid us already, we stopped working for the time being and will use the funds as a pre-payment for future services."

DO send a small gift or coupon to make their immediate situation easier.

If your product or service correlates to pandemic-related needs, consider providing something for free or at a discount. While this strategy may help you upsell, this isn’t the goal. You can show your customers that you’re thinking about their well-being by sending a food delivery, a subscription or even a simple handwritten card.  

Lisa Barrington, an employee engagement strategist, realized that her clients could use her advice in their newly created work-from-home roles. She responded by developing and delivering pro-bono webinars as well as free, downloadable videos and resources. The response was positive.

"People wrote on my LinkedIn to thank me for the great resources on my website, and one of my students who'd never worked from home before commented that he really appreciated and found the video useful," Barrington says.

For the rest of the piece, head over to the AMEX Business site.

Stress and Anxiety Guidance from Northwestern's Chief Psychologist

Greetings, friends.

 

I hope everyone is staying safe and well during this unprecedented and challenging situation. As many of you know, my husband Stew Shankman is a Professor and Chief Psychologist at Northwestern Medical School. He provided some great advice to the media for coping with stress and anxiety of the pandemic and our current isolation procedures. It might be helpful to share with your families, friends, and teams.

 

NPR

CBS

NBC

The New York Times

WGN Chicago

         

Please let me know if Stew or I can help you in any way.

Learning Resources to Help You Keep Up With Your Growing Business

Effective strategies for managing a growing business change all the time—the onus is on the owner to develop a mindset of continuous education. It's in your best interest to identify learning resources in a few key areas that are critical for growing your business.

Let's focus on debt consolidation, business loan attainment, supply chain  management and sales and marketing tracking because they all affect your ability to generate positive cash flow and ensure that your operations solidly support your growth objectives.

Debt Consolidation

When growing pains hit your business, you could unexpectedly find yourself in a mountain of debt.

Rather than letting the situation get out of control, you might consider debt consolidation, which involves taking out a new loan to pay off the debt and associated interest across your accounts. Debt consolidation loans are typically installment-based, meaning you pay them off monthly over a set time period.

Provided you procure a loan with a lower interest rate than that of your other balances, debt consolidation may make sense for you. Learning resources that teach the ins and outs of debt consolidation include a local credit union, CreditKarma, Debt.org and NerdWallet.

Business Loan Attainment

Once upon a time, getting a business loan meant walking into your local bank branch and convincing the lender to take a chance on you. Fortunately, there are more online options than ever before, but you must know what to look for.

 

Your growing business can benefit from a variety of financing solutions with low interest rates. Some common solutions include term loans, in which a lender provides a lump sum that you may back over a specified time period of one to five years; and business lines of credit, in which you borrow a maximum credit limit and pay interest rates on only the capital borrowed from the credit line.

And unlike the loans of yesteryear, you don't have to wait very long. Most online business loans get you the money you need within a few days. If your business needs a capital infusion to keep up with industry changes, check out learning resources like the Small Business Administration and Fundera to identify the loan that best addresses your business requirements and unique financial situation.

For the rest of the piece, check out the AMEX Business site.