By Lynne Curry You want your employees to work harder. They seem to expect a medal for what they’re already doing. You want your employees to feel happy about returning to the office. They don’t. They’d prefer to work remote. You handed out raises and expected your employees to thank you. Your employees reminded you their wages, even with the raises, haven’t kept pace with … [Read more...] about Partnering: Reset your relationship with your employees
Remote Work
How to resolve conflicts in a virtual, remote work environment
By Lynne Curry “We had a situation blow up this morning,” the law practice partner said when he called for advice. “It came out of nowhere. One small issue, a manager not letting his peer know about a meeting, unleashed a tidal wave of anger from her. We talked to the first manager. He said he’d accidentally overlooked putting the other manager on the Zoom invitation. He … [Read more...] about How to resolve conflicts in a virtual, remote work environment
You don’t need to bring staff back to the office to build a culture
By Lynne Curry Question: I’m a partner in a professional services firm. We barely survived the pandemic and only because we furloughed all nonessential employees. Those of us who were partners worked unpaid part of the time. We kept ourselves going by promising ourselves that “things would get back to normal.” Our company recovered slowly. We rehired many of the employees we … [Read more...] about You don’t need to bring staff back to the office to build a culture
Employers need to realize some employees would rather quit than return to the office
By Lynne Curry “Doing time, that’s what going into the office to work feels to me.” “Like…jail?” “Like I’m selling my freedom for a paycheck. The bars close behind me every morning.” “Jim’s” employer didn’t want him to resign. “Could you interview him and find out if there’s anything we can do to keep him?” It took less than three minutes to learn—his … [Read more...] about Employers need to realize some employees would rather quit than return to the office
The nomadic remote employee: Employee dream, employer nightmare
By Lynne Curry Question: Several of our employees regularly travel out of state. Before the pandemic, they took vacations for several days or weeks. They and we understood they were on vacation. The situation was clear cut. Our current team includes three employees who want to travel and stay for weeks or even months, in places like Hawaii and Thailand or with relatives. … [Read more...] about The nomadic remote employee: Employee dream, employer nightmare
Managers hold the key to employee engagement and retention
With many workplaces now allowing hybrid work, new complexities in managing the workplace are emerging, says the The Conference Board in a new report. Recent evidence suggests that productivity among US workers has declined significantly from heights experienced during the pandemic. Remote and hybrid work arrangements combined with ill-prepared managers may be a cause. Why it … [Read more...] about Managers hold the key to employee engagement and retention
Digital presenteeism: Faking you care, faking you’re even there
By Lynne Curry A surprising number of employees, determined to hold on to their “work from home” status and aware that managers and others suspect remote employees of working less than their required hours, practice digital presenteeism. Digital presenteeism involves remote employees demonstrating they’re hard workers by responding to additional emails, attending additional … [Read more...] about Digital presenteeism: Faking you care, faking you’re even there
Make online team meetings work for you
By Lynne Curry If you dread online meetings–attending them, hosting them–and long for meetings to become more than a necessary evil, you can make it happen. Recently, I hosted a two-day, 15-hour meeting that the 17 attendees said “zoomed by,” “was fun, kept me engaged the entire time;” and “made an hour seem like five minutes.” Here’s how we did it. A “you” start We started … [Read more...] about Make online team meetings work for you
How to attract new staff in the post-pandemic job market
By Lynne Curry The pandemic has changed employees and what they want out of a job. It’s up to employers to recognize these new attitudes toward work and figure out how to attract good staff. See if you relate to the situation described here by a manager in another industry, and if you can use some of the advice. Question: I always thought I was a good manager. Not anymore. … [Read more...] about How to attract new staff in the post-pandemic job market
Over half of workers would quit if required to return to office
After two years of office spaces sitting empty, many companies are eager to call employees back for good. In a survey of more than 800 senior managers, more than half of respondents (55 per cent) said they want their teams to work on-site full time as COVID-19-related restrictions ease, nearly unchanged from a similar survey conducted last year. Currently, 44 per cent of … [Read more...] about Over half of workers would quit if required to return to office