“No one wants to work anymore!” It has become the battle cry of corporate America, especially post-COVID. Apparently, there is a “labor shortage” in America despite the countless amounts of job openings that are waiting to be filled and employers everywhere are at wits end. Outrageous pandemic benefits that turned into “overly generous” unemployment benefits keep people comfortable on their couches rather than out doing “real work. The truth is that the Covid19 pandemic brought about profound changes in the way work dynamics are seen, especially when it comes to what constitutes the “ideal employee” and the “ideal work environment”. It is no secret that there are significant differences in the definitions of these pre-COVID and post-COVID. Further, the rapid changes that the pandemic created in how work was to take place (think “essential” workers and remote work) disrupted the traditional mindset.” But are we truly experiencing a labor shortage? Do people just not want to work?
The dynamics of work are changing, there is no doubt about that. And the conversations surrounding this demand attention. The values that were once lauded before the pandemic, things like corporate hierarchies, company loyalty, tenure, and physical presence, were dramatically uprooted during the sudden shift to remote work that came about due to COVID restrictions. In Fouad et al.’s article, “Changes in the U.S. Workers’ Values and Satisfaction after Covid-19,” research results showed that employee participants experienced changes in their work valued during the pandemic and that they found satisfaction through “crafting … and adjusting …” (Fouad et al., 2023). Essentially, workers either created or adjusted their work/life balance, retired, “quiet quit”, or left their jobs entirely looking for more meaningful and aligned work opportunities. The latter part, “meaningful and aligned work opportunities”, is of particular interest and importance when considering the work dynamic shifts post-COVID. This has been the subject of a slew of social media content that finds the new labor force “stressed and depressed”, a concept their previous Gen-X and Millennial counterparts understand firsthand. This is echoed in VICE’s article, “Nobody Wants Their Job to Rule Their Lives Anymore,” written by Eloise Hendy, where she deep dives into the viral TikTok video of “Gen Z Girl” who, amidst frustration and tears states, “I don’t have time for anything, I’m so stressed out.” Not surprisingly, the traditionalists or “hustle and grind stans” (Hendy, 2023) went on the offensive, mocking the young girl. Yet, others came to her defense while exclaiming “we don’t want our lives to revolve around work anymore” (Hendy, 2023). This sharp contrast raises a valid question: is it possible that the issue isn’t working at all but rather that workers merely seek a better alternative to the traditional paradigms associated with the notion of the ideal employee and ideal work environment?
As we approach the fifth year post-COVID, there is a crucial need to reevaluate what defines the ideal employee and ideal work environment. Examining and addressing the expectations and realities of what currently exists and adjusting it to the contemporary landscape of today is paramount to mitigating both employer and employee uncertainties about the future of work. This will require exploration into organizational performance, effectiveness, and adaptability as well as considerations regarding employee well-being and engagement. Communication theories that can be utilized in investigating these include Communication Accommodation Theory to analyze communication dynamics in workplaces pre-COVID and post-COVID and Media Richness Theory to vet effective communication dynamics within the evolving workplace post-COVID, especially as it relates to virtual work environments. Additionally, the Social Identity Theory can be used to evaluate how these new shifts in work dynamics affect how employees identify within their role and organization and how communication lends to organizational identity and cohesion in the evolving corporate landscape. Key questions that may be raised include reevaluating what education, skills, and experience should be considered essential in a post-COVID workplace, what constitutes effective communication in remote work environments or virtual collaboration and, lastly, inconsistencies in access to flexible work and technology creating inequities in this new work environment.
References:
Fouad, N. A., Burrows, S. G., Avery, C., & Ezema, G. (2023). Changes in U.S. workers’ values and satisfaction after COVID-19. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727231194786
Hendy, E. (2023, November 6). Nobody Wants Their Jobs to Rule Their Lives Anymore. VICE. https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5ym94/no-one-wants-their-job-to-rule-their-lives-tiktok
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