From resignation to recommitment
What can employers and leaders do to stem the tide and create a more equitable and inclusive environment for all employees?
Everyone wants to know why marginalized groups are leading the Great Resignation, with many leaders and companies blaming the “war for talent,” which they typically define as increased employer competition. While some are indeed leaving for better options, it’s the least likely cause of Black and brown people exiting seemingly safe jobs for greener pastures.
COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our lives and families, but it also gave marginalized talent a few workplace benefits they may not have asked for: greater flexibility, the option to work from home, time and space to think about what they really want out of their careers, and enough emotional distance to objectively see whether or not they’re getting it. For many, that answer was a resounding “no.”
Related: Employees rethinking jobs, financial goals, retirement
Options aside, the three drivers for this marginalized talent exodus are stress, imbalance, and feeling overworked and undervalued.
Stress
For starters, safety at work isn’t defined solely as job stability or financial security. It includes psychological safety, which is the freedom to show up as you are, share what you know, and contribute fully without fear of personal or reputational risk. The lack of psychological safety for marginalized groups at work means more trauma, more pretending, more holding back, and more political navigation, all of which amount to a significant mental and emotional weight that steals energy from managing performance and building supportive relationships. The safety gap, over time, is compounded by isolation and lack of true sponsorship. In a pandemic that transformed parents into teachers and everyone into IT specialists, many employees hit a breaking point, and the only way through was out.
Imbalance
Involuntary resets give us the chance to revisit what matters most to us –our beliefs, values, dreams, and even boundaries. COVID-19 brought the importance of family to the fore, whether for health reasons or due to compounded responsibilities. While the pandemic didn’t create the need, it increased our need for the freedom to make choices that support both our jobs and our families. This need for flexible freedom is a leading cause of Latinx talent leaving the workforce, but they are not alone, and it’s not their only concern.
Overworked and undervalued
Beyond the obvious impact of trauma in the workplace, feeling overworked and undervalued is probably the most emotional resignation factor at play for marginalized groups. Many feel they have been working “twice as hard for half the credit” for years. COVID-19 made matters worse, as many companies had to reduce their workforces and collapse responsibilities due to business pressures.
At the same time, work got a lot more complicated. Supply chains had to be reworked. Value propositions redefined. And some of the ways of working we’ve long relied upon to help us succeed were no longer available to us–stand-up brainstorming sessions, face-to-face customer meetings, and more. Most employees understood, and still understand, the need to tighten up and work harder at times like this. That’s not the problem. But when resources are fewer, work is harder, days are longer, and appreciation doesn’t show up to match the extra effort, people begin to feel abused. They still want opportunity to grow and to be rewarded for their hard work. Sometimes, the basics aren’t even in play. “Thank you,” anyone?
So, what can employers and leaders do to stem the tide and create a more equitable and inclusive environment for all employees?
1. Understand the reality
As they consider creating more equitable workplaces, companies are focused on rethinking talent systems through a best practice lens. That’s okay, but if you don’t also seek to deeply understand the lived experiences of marginalized employees at your company, you could be solving problems you don’t have at the expense of problems you do.
A great example is focusing on developing talent as an equity strategy, while failing to assess leadership inclusion competence through bi-directional feedback. As Tony Dungy said about the NFL opportunity parity debate, “the problem is not always on the demand side; sometimes it’s on the supply side.” Experience surveys, if they ask the right questions and are designed through an employee lens, are one way to get the insight you need to move forward thoughtfully. In this Great Resignation, marginalized groups are running from something more often than they are running to something. Your job is to find out what that something is.
2. Take responsibility for change
Equity work is often concentrated in human resources or in the chief diversity office or, worse yet, the one person held responsible for all diversity, equity, and inclusion progress. Equitable cultures where all people feel set up for success is every leader’s responsibility. It comes alive through our daily choices and behaviors – whom we ask for input, whom we make visible, whom we promote and reward, and how we treat people. Defining what equitable leadership looks like and holding ourselves accountable for embodying it is a necessary step toward progress. When we don’t define and inspect what we expect, we end up with judges and the judged—the former sitting on the fence watching and assessing the latter. And we wonder why we’re stuck.
3. Build bridges across difference
As much as we try to “policy” our way out of it, relationships still hold the keys to opportunities in most environments. Someone must know you to open the door for you and vouch for you. When Black and brown people don’t have sponsors, and white leaders don’t build connections and uncover common ground across boundaries, opportunity remains concentrated in the same old circles. Sponsor programs and curated visibility opportunities can help interrupt our natural instincts and open the playing field for those who have been left out.
The days of being simply grateful for a paycheck are over. People want more out of life and work, and they are increasingly unwilling to sacrifice themselves on the altar of any job, even if it’s a good one. Because a good job today isn’t just one with good pay. It’s one in which we feel seen. Respected. Valued. And protected. A good workplace is equitable and inclusive. If businesses can embrace a new definition of employee and employer success, they have a shot at not only being the greener pastures marginalized groups will run to, but a better place to work for everyone.
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