Give us your all. Until, bye bye!
The focus, most pronounced since the pandemic, on employees’ wellbeing has been intense, hasn’t it?
A plethora of wellbeing initiatives has been launched on stress management, mindfulness, physical wellbeing and emotional support. And in today's society we increasingly expect that from our employers. Simon Sinek shares his observation that, where in the past the company was primarily seen as the deliverer of your monthly pay cheque, we now look to our employers to support us holistically. In the past, these functions were served more by one’s community, extended family and life outside a work environment.
Leaders foster team-building exercises that encourage one to be vulnerable, share life stories and build deep bonds in an environment of psychological safety. In exchange, and in this fully absorbed state, you are encouraged to 'give your all' but ultimately this is for the benefit of the capitalist beast - your best work to deliver shareholder value.
This ethos, plus our expectations of our employers, can mean we come to identify our personal value with the company for whom we work. For some, this has often manifested in putting work first. Your identity has become embroiled with the corporate cultural norms and the relationships you have been encouraged to create. A sense of security is promoted when we engage so completely at work.
However, how much does this ethos help you when inevitable change happens? Your organisation restructures, downsizes or shifts strategy – the guillotine drops - and your role is now redundant. The extent to which you identify with your role, your longevity of service, personal sacrifices you may have made, the amount of vulnerability displayed to be your authentic self at work - means nothing when this happens.
It is a stark contrast to when your wellbeing was so vigorously defended by your leadership, ultimately to reduce the attrition many companies suffered during and post-pandemic.
It's important to do 'meaningful work', feel rewarded and do your best work - but should you be giving your all? A degree of detachment and self-preservation is needed but not encouraged by our employers. In fact, the force is the opposing. But it is needed now more than ever. Industries are changing rapidly and continuously, no one is indispensable or irreplaceable.
Detachment is needed to maintain a healthy relationship with our work, at all times, even when work is going well and it feels like our position, department and organisation is ‘safe’. This 'healthy detachment' ensures we always have a plan B, C or D. Work-life balance is enhanced with this attitude, incidences of burn-out are reduced and it ensures we do our best work without losing ourselves completely to ultimately drive profit for shareholders.
Do you have a healthy detachment from your work?
For me, observing the pendulum swing so sharply from wellbeing to ‘bye-bye’ for so many people within a relatively short space of time, is a reminder to be mindful of this healthy detachment. Ultimately this benefits you, and also the organisations for whom we work.
As leaders, how can we best balance our team’s high performance with recognition that they maintain some detachment and self-preservation? Are these forces opposing or actually mutually beneficial?