The world of work is a clear representation of what is happening socially, of a change in habits, attitudes and values that the pandemic intensified and accelerated. Psychologists and human resources consultants assure that pessimism and the lack of connection with the company on the part of the workforce has a lot to do with the fact that today work is already in the pyramid of people's priorities, among other reasons because having it or keeping it It is not a guarantee of enjoying a good standard of living.
“Before, the social elevator worked and many people, from different generations, defined themselves by their work, they felt that they were what they did, but now that has changed and people feel that they are what they are, not what they do, it doesn't matter. be lawyers or journalists because today they work in a company or in some functions and tomorrow in another...”, says Anna Gascón, co-founder and director of Ethikos 3.0.
“There is also not that much difference between what allows you to have a good job and another that is not so good, so the maxim is that not everything is having that job or giving everything for your job,” says Tiago Santos, from Mindgram.
Added to this, he says, is that the fear of losing one's job has been lost: “Before being fired was a reason for social shame, people didn't say it; but now it is an inevitability, everyone knows someone who has been fired.”
Furthermore, many people in the 35 to 45 age group, who should be in their professional consolidation phase, see that they are not at that point in their career and begin to understand that they will not reach the positions they would expect, which causes frustration and Above all, there are not so many people willing to sacrifice their personal lives for their professional lives.
“There is a cultural shock: while the boomers were defined by work, from the age of 40 onwards, they no longer give as much importance to what they do but to what they live; they admire not those who work at something but rather those who work at something. who has more possibilities for life experiences,” comments consultant Germán Cuenca, from Ethikos 3.0.
For all this, many employees have quickly assumed the approaches that younger workers, those of generation Z, were beginning to introduce into labor relations: “neither the boss nor the company is the owner of my life; “My interests and needs matter, I want flexibility and to be judged for meeting objectives.”
But, also, since the social model that drives digitalization is that of immediacy and the search for instant recognition, they want rapid experiences and transformations and to advance quickly. And all this collides with the fact that the culture in most companies is still very hierarchical and leadership is exercised through control and not trust. “This dissociation is complicated to manage, it causes problems and frustration, and that is why there are so many people with detachment and discouragement,” explains Cuenca.
“The problem is that we continue to think that as managers we have the upper hand as in the past, but that has already changed; "People - and I'm not just referring to young people - no longer accept micromanagement leadership styles, management models that imply control over them and surveillance of their activities," emphasizes Norbert Monfort, expert in leadership and people management. from Esade.
And he emphasizes his argument with a very graphic example: “Until a few years ago, we managers managed by herding sheep because we were obedient, fearful... and when a sheep did not obey, we let the dog go to put it into the flock; but we no longer have sheep in companies, we have independent, anarchic, rebellious people... (because that is how parents and teachers have made them), and now we have to work with them in a different way, we cannot treat them like sheep, “You have to co-create the limits with them.”
There are already companies, especially those with a very emotional and innovative culture, that do it, and also the very pragmatic ones, but the very hierarchical or very relational ones do not.
“When I talk to human resources managers, they say that they know that worker happiness is profitable and that workplace well-being is one of their priorities, but when I asked them what they are doing to promote it, they say that it is not that easy, that when “When they ask for authorization for investments, the executives prioritize the financial health of the company over the happiness of the employees,” says Santos.
