{ Human Resources | Workforce well-being }
Leading People in the
“Next Normal”
Ensuring current workforce emotional well-being
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By Kelly M. Renz, MHRM, SHRMSCP
hen we hear the terms “next normal” or “new normal,” we all have different reactions and feelings about them. So do our employees. Most just want to go back to “the old normal.” However, a lot has changed over the past several months, and we won’t simply return to business as usual, even as business makes strides to recover.
Organizations are already doing more with less when it comes to people, due to reductions and reorganizations, as we move into the COVID-19 recovery phase (and this is expected to last for months or years to come). You need to ensure you are providing the environment, tools and communications to keep your talent safe and focused. That said, workforce emotional well-being must be a factor in your current business strategy, and understanding the impacts for sustaining a mentally safe place for people to work will positively affect business results.
What is important to know about workforce emotional well-being right now? When it comes to understanding the emotional wellbeing of employees, as leaders we must be in tune with meeting our organization where it is, not where we assume it to be. During a state of crisis, cultures morph and environments change quickly. We also know that, generally, as goes the leadership team, so goes the rest of the organization. Even if you think you know your organization well, the world has changed drastically around your people. That has
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On Balance
September | October 2020
had significant effects on each one as a whole person, and it is time to check in with them again. Understanding what we call your “organizational DNA” is your competitive advantage of knowing your talent’s overall wiring. Knowing what makes your talent tick — and how to ultimately motivate your people to their highest performance — unlocks the real potential of your workforce, especially in tough times. For example, workforce research shows that nearly 60% of job performance is attributed to a person’s emotional intelligence (EQ), which is the degree to which they are able to accurately recognize, appropriately manage and socially apply their emotions to situations for the best possible outcomes. For some this comes easily, and for others it is far more difficult. Measuring the EQ of your organization provides keen insights into how well equipped employees will be and where you might need to augment.
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