Is Your Organization Facing Pandemic Fatigue?
This is what you can do about it
Posted on 11-27-2020, Read Time: - Min
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It's safe to say that none of us expected our working conditions to adhere to remote work restrictions and shelter-in-place orders for this long. While most organizations responded to this crisis the best way they could, the effects of the pandemic continue to weigh on employees worldwide. And, although employees felt largely positive about how their organization was handling the crisis back in April, they are starting to show signs of pandemic fatigue.
What Is Pandemic Fatigue?
Fatigue is one thing, but this is a new type of fatigue. It weighs us down with the overwhelming feeling of having to maintain a state of constant vigilance since the onset of the pandemic on top of the weariness to abide by unending restrictions. Pandemic fatigue is something we could have never imagined at the start of 2020. Coupled with layoffs, furloughs, and slumping morale, it is taking its toll on everyone. Glint data found that more than half (56%) of employees in the United States said they felt less happy after seeing colleagues get furloughed or laid-off, and nearly half (47%) said those events detracted from their sense of belonging at work.
More than half a year into the pandemic here in the United States and we’re observing employee happiness and connection levels declining. Although 80% of employees reported feeling happy and successful working at their company in April/May, we’ve seen employee sentiment steadily decrease in some key areas. Since the onset of the pandemic, 37% of employees feel less connected to their teammates and 31% feel less connected to their managers. Nearly 1 in 5 workers say their organizations aren’t doing enough to make employees feel connected to one another—and those who are saying this are twice as likely to feel burned out.
Employees are looking to their leaders to help address pandemic fatigue and cultivate employee wellbeing and connection. There have been many changes as organizations respond to crises and operate in distress, but the core components of how to nurture employee happiness and success remain consistent. People want to feel valued and confident about the future of their organizations, as well as their place in it. They also want to experience a sense of belonging, trust their leaders, understand where they should focus their time, and believe there is stability in their work.
As you’re thinking about pandemic fatigue amongst your employees, here are a few ways that you can help support your organization:
More than half a year into the pandemic here in the United States and we’re observing employee happiness and connection levels declining. Although 80% of employees reported feeling happy and successful working at their company in April/May, we’ve seen employee sentiment steadily decrease in some key areas. Since the onset of the pandemic, 37% of employees feel less connected to their teammates and 31% feel less connected to their managers. Nearly 1 in 5 workers say their organizations aren’t doing enough to make employees feel connected to one another—and those who are saying this are twice as likely to feel burned out.
Employees are looking to their leaders to help address pandemic fatigue and cultivate employee wellbeing and connection. There have been many changes as organizations respond to crises and operate in distress, but the core components of how to nurture employee happiness and success remain consistent. People want to feel valued and confident about the future of their organizations, as well as their place in it. They also want to experience a sense of belonging, trust their leaders, understand where they should focus their time, and believe there is stability in their work.
As you’re thinking about pandemic fatigue amongst your employees, here are a few ways that you can help support your organization:
Continue To Build Habits That Support Agility and Resilience
Organizations need to remain agile and resilient as the pandemic journey continues. A simple set of core habits can help teams be nimble no matter the challenges ahead.
- Frequently gather employee feedback on important topics
- Equip managers with insights that help them address people’s needs
- Engage in regular team conversations about team needs and actions
- Encourage regular manager/employee conversations about individual needs and actions
- Take action on feedback in a way that improves organizational and individual success
Lean Into Employee Feedback
It’s important to listen to your employees on how they’re feeling and take action to make sure your people feel heard and involved. Checking in with employees, whether it’s through live conversations or pulse surveys, gives leaders and managers insight into what people need most during times of distress to help them feel supported and focused.
Reimagine Engagement for the Remote Workforce
Glint’s latest data shows we are at a two-year high in burnout (5.41% of employees reported signs of burnout). To combat burnout, companies need to cultivate connections and finding new ways to do that in a virtual setting key. Employers can do the following to make remote work feel less lonely:
- Encourage “face time.” Yes, it may not be in person, but ask employees to turn their videos on with video-conference technology to get actual “face time.” Just as important as it is to turn on the video, acknowledge that sometimes it’s okay to turn off the video or take a meeting via phone during a walk outside.
- Encourage the use of designated communications channels. Microsoft Teams, Slack, etc. help employees collaborate, share questions, and recognize each other. Try encouraging managers to post a question in a team channel each day: “What’s one thing we can do to better support each other right now?”
- Consider technology that facilitates meaningful conversations. For example, using technology for manager and employee conversations helps drive consistency and quality so employees are connecting on important topics on a regular basis.
- Offer resources to help your team continue to learn and grow. Remote work shouldn’t mean the end of all learning and development opportunities. In fact, 62% of people want more time for it as they think about the future of work. Instead, consider offering courses or pointing your team to resources and online learning courses that add value and enrichment to the work and the experience your employees are having.
Be Flexible With Work Arrangements
Employees want more flexibility. Glint, LinkedIn’s employee engagement solution, found in their data that four out of five employees are interested in an arrangement that is not exclusively office-based. Employees also cited more support for work-life balance and advancements in technology to facilitate connection as necessary components to the new world of work. It’s important to recognize the variety of experiences employees are facing and practice flexibility in order to accommodate their needs.
We’re all experiencing pandemic fatigue together. It’s important that organizations prioritize their people and nurture an environment where they can feel supported and focused. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, so consider your organization’s unique needs when reimagining your workforce. By focusing on your people, you’ll be able to combat pandemic fatigue and navigate this new world of work together!
We’re all experiencing pandemic fatigue together. It’s important that organizations prioritize their people and nurture an environment where they can feel supported and focused. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, so consider your organization’s unique needs when reimagining your workforce. By focusing on your people, you’ll be able to combat pandemic fatigue and navigate this new world of work together!
Author Bio
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Justin Black is the Head of People Science at LinkedIn's Glint. For more than a decade, Justin has been helping high-performing and innovative companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Southwest Airlines understand and take action on their people data. Visit www.glintinc.com Connect Justin Black Follow @IOPsychJustin |
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