THE average Goldman Sachs employee earns in excess of $350
000 per year, and we're assured Greg Smith, who most visibly quit his job there
last week, was paid substantially more.
And, in leaving his long-time employer, Smith didn't abandon
just a fat salary. To regain his career freedom, he knowingly forfeited a
considerable sum in deferred compensation as well.
Most people in the world, of course, can only dream of being
so highly paid for their work, so it's a good assumption that a very large
percentage of the working population has summarily judged Smith's resignation
as an act of complete insanity.
If they could coach him, they would say: "Go back to
Goldman, Greg! You have a terrific deal! Subordinate your concerns about a
declining corporate culture and profit-at-any-cost leadership. You have a
penthouse to go home to at night!"
But this scenario is a complete fantasy. Regardless of how
little or much they are making, US workers have begun to quit their jobs - in
droves - to go in search of organisations, and leaders, they feel will better
support their needs. As Smith's actions show us, pay no longer is the driver of
engagement or job satisfaction it once was.
Last year, a MetLife study published in USA Today showed
that at least one in three US workers was quietly planning their departure and
already had begun looking for a new job.
Stunningly, the report noted that most bosses were oblivious
to how unhappy and inherently disengaged their employees had become, and would
be caught flat-footed when their workers walked out.
Right after Thanksgiving, Time Magazine reported the first
evidence that MetLife's predictions might be right: “With 14 million people
still unable to find work and job prospects seemingly bleak... in September, 2
million people gave notice."
Extreme unhappiness on the job was cited as the reason so
many workers would take such a risk. Inherently clear was that a lot of people
had lost faith in the leaders for whom they worked.
In just the past few days, payroll company ADP confirmed
that employee turnover is building even greater momentum. "More people
quit jobs in February than in any time since the start of the Great
Recession."
Having been an executive leader for nearly 25 years, I know
what it's like to read statistics like these and to dismiss them as unrelated
to my team and business. I suppose it's even human nature to go into some form
of denial when first confronted with bad news. Here's a good example.
After Greg Smith resigned, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein
and president Gary D Cohn defensively characterised him as being
"disgruntled". Then they attempted to further discredit Smith by
referring to him as just one of the firm's 12 000 vice-presidents.
Acting on self-preservation instincts, we're inclined to
shoot our messengers and not fully digest and consider the information they
bring to us. This time, especially, we're advised to ponder and respond to the
feedback.
While few of us noticed, employee satisfaction has been
declining for at least a generation. New York's Conference Board, a century-old
non-profit research organisation, began measuring worker happiness in 1987. Its
discovery is that the percentage of contented employees has fallen every year
since then - regardless of good economic times or bad.
People (human beings) have grown disenchanted with their
jobs largely because their needs have greatly changed. What once inspired them
to put their hearts into work no longer succeeds.
Dating back to the Industrial Revolution, people once
secured jobs to provide for their most basic needs, food and shelter. In those
days, and for decades to come, a pay cheque was accepted as an entirely
sufficient exchange for one's efforts.
But as it has grown increasingly easier for most people to
put food on the table and a roof over their heads, what makes people truly
happy and engaged at work now has very little to do with pay.
Five things workers want
Subsequent employee engagement research produced by the
Conference Board reveals that over and above salary and bonuses, what inspires
human performance in the 21st century workplace is emotional currency.
Business leaders - and CEOs - take notice. To keep your
employees from leaving, and then to rejuvenate their on-the-job commitment,
you'll need to adopt entirely new practices - ones that authentically address
what people now require from you:
Your people want to contribute to the success of an
organisation they respect; to work directly for an empowering and caring boss;
to be given opportunities to grow and progress; to enjoy reasonable job
variety; and to have their efforts authentically valued and acknowledged. And
all across the world, these five things matter more to people than pay.
There's more you need to know. Employees cite the absence of
concern, care and connection from their leaders as the primary reason they are
so unhappy.
They want to be fulfilled by the work they do and to know
their contributions matter. Therefore, when leaders fail to relate more
personally, to understand and genuinely support their individual motivations
and aspirations, workers wither.
There are some enlightened organisations that are well on
their way towards realigning their leadership cultures and to more purposively
supporting the higher needs of their workers. They've begun to weed out the
non-collaborators, leaders who are unwilling to advocate for and even nurture
the people they manage.
This list includes Starbucks, Four Seasons Hotels, Wegmans
Food Markets, Google, REI and privately held SAS.
Last year, Wharton finance professor Alex Edmans evaluated
the stock performance of organisations named to Fortune magazine's annual list
of the Best Companies to Work For and proved that companies making the list
from 1984 to 2005 outperformed peers by 4% per year.
These companies are reinforcing our understanding of natural
law: "To give is to get."
Roy Disney once said: "If you want someone to care,
capture their minds and their hearts."
The heart has long been ignored in business, but bringing it
back into balance with the mind in how we lead people has become essential to
the recovery, and ongoing success, of the American economy.
- Reuters
* Mark C Crowley is a former national sales manager for WaMu Investments, where he was named Leader of the Year. He is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century.