Why organisations must invent new, more human ways of working
Employees now want a meaningful professional adventure and to be seen by their supervisors and coworkers as unique persons with unique personalities, skills and limitations, needs, and sensitivities.
Who cares about employee emotions? Considering them is a key lever for the firm in talent selection, retention, and everyday performance.
We keep saying it: managerial culture must change to meet employee expectations. They want a meaningful professional adventure and to be seen as individuals by their superiors and coworkers. So with their own personality, strengths, shortcomings, requirements, and sensitivities.
Companies must create new, more human ways of working based on trust and tailored to our times. To make work a vector of personal development, taking into account its daily socialisation, sense of usefulness, and self-confidence-building potential.
Employees' emotional demands include trust, empathy, astonishment, scepticism, frustration, and meaninglessness, not just recognition. The French need social and emotional effort, which is expected.
The drive to humanise work is more important than ever. Long months of limited and digitalized connections showed how important informal exchanges and moments were for employee well-being, commitment, and feeling like part of a collective or company effort.
Companies must increasingly include emotional demands, starting with directors, HR managers, and managers. Incorporating managerial culture at the highest level is crucial for its infusion across the organisation. Management must embody human values to ensure credibility of the discourse.
Employees are obviously demanding a break with the traditional business paradigm and want their ideas considered or they will disengage and hurt the company.
Listening and building trust are essential, therefore firms must offer more flexible, collaborative, inclusive, and most importantly, responsive work that addresses each individual's requirements.
Recruitment must also change to better understand candidates and their goals. It's no longer enough for the candidate to prove their suitability for the job.
Today, to stand out as an employer brand, a company must implement employee-focused systems and technologies and prioritise what the CV doesn't say.
Consider candidates' interpersonal skills, values, and personality beyond technical talents to ensure their expectations align with the company's mission. Understanding emotional demands reduces casting errors.
Considering everyone's feelings requires managerial reform. France's managerial culture emphasises a posteriori trust and a vertical and process model “I delegate – I control” rather than “I federate – I develop”.
Today, emotional intelligence-based managers must trust, stimulate creativity, and empower their people by allowing more free will. The latter may address employees' need for meaning, transforming “this is how you must…” into “this is why you must…”.
Employees want this management change. As evidence, the French said the corporation must first improve work organisation and managerial culture before income distribution.
Managers, the foundation of a good workplace, are now expected to be benevolent facilitators who listen attentively, empathetically, and respectfully. Sharing feelings is crucial in business. Managers can employ personal development coaching and ongoing feedback with their personnel.