The Missing Model
My partner and I are in the midst of listening to the audiobook of Wanting, a novel by Luke Burgis. Burgis, a successful serial entrepreneur, posits that all of humanity is driven by mimetic desire – the idea that nothing we desire is inherently new or unique to us. Instead, we imitate models laid out by others. As an investor, my partner is driven to understand why people are drawn to create a certain lifestyle. It helps him know the next company to invest in or when it’s time to sell. As an employee engagement consultant, I strive to understand which models people use to form their desires, as it sheds light on what helps them stay engaged and committed to their job.
This summer, a new model has emerged - let’s call it “The Great Complacency.” It posits that many Americans have stopped showing up to work, are doing the bare minimum, or have left the workforce altogether. Last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai issued an urgent plea to improve efficiency and employee focus amid a record drop in productivity. Is this just a temporary “slack-off summer” or have a majority of the American workforce joined the anti-work movement? My experience suggests another explanation, one that centers on the emergence of a new model – the pursuit of achieving less.
Before putting a vice grip on those pearls, allow me to point out this is not a strictly American model. The Chinese government beat us to hitting the panic button on collective work ethic when the “lie flat” movement emerged last year. Since then, more ideologies have emerged from the world’s second largest economy, such as “let it rot” and involution. While all somewhat distinct, this vernacular reflects a growing disaffection with a cutthroat work culture and decline in associated rewards. Why work hard if it’s earning you less than ever before?
Just like the Chinese, America’s collective dissatisfaction with work may have catapulted into the limelight over the past year, but its origins go further back. We’ve been on an unsustainable trajectory for years as work hours increased, wages remained stagnant, and global crises demand more of our time and attention. Expectations for parents rose at the same time increased lifespans put many Americans in caregiving roles. It’s no wonder we’re burning out, dropping out, and relying on alcohol and substances as a distraction. Our lives are unsustainably full right now. We want less. We want to do less.
What does it mean when the world’s two largest economies are home to a population determined to do less? It means a new lifestyle model has emerged, one in which workers prioritize their needs over that of their employer’s (we’ll call this a desire for “work-life balance” until a better term emerges). This new lifestyle model has upended the labor market and now we must build a new work model to accompany it. Unfortunately, no single work model can balance people’s lives with their work if each life looks different. There are no two people with the exact same combination of life circumstances, personality, drive, etc. Therefore, there’s no one model of work that will bestow work-life balance for even a slim majority of workers.
Most of the professional world knows this already. We’ve decided it’s too complicated to design work around the individual humans who carry it out. Instead, we try to predict what humans want by putting them into groups. We spend an inordinate amount of time (and money) conducting studies to tell us working parents want more flexible hours, Gen Z prefers purpose over pay, and women of color prefer remote work. Next, business leaders implement talent strategies built around these broad proclamations. Then everyone feigns shock when employee engagement levels remain stagnant for years.
How do we build a truly human-centric workplace? It starts with changing our communication. Over 250 years of workforce dynamics have built inherent levels of distrust between employers and management. The spokesman for much of the working class – unions – have declined in recent decades. Workers think it’s easier to get what they need by using their feet than their voice (though some find the grass isn’t always greener). Even in workplaces with high psychological safety and compassionate leadership, management is often too busy or ill-prepared to understand what their individual team members truly need to thrive. Employers and employees need to hit the reset button on communication.
There are two ways to get started: first, know that building a new work model is the responsibility of both parties, and second, rely on experienced professionals to facilitate those initial conversations. WhyWork conducts one-on-one engagement interviews with employees to understand what they need to thrive at work; then we provide a short, individual engagement plan to their leadership. It’s not the holy grail of communication, but it’s a jump-start to improving understanding and communication between both parties. Leadership and employees must be on the same page – not all requests can be accommodated immediately and associated performance standards must be mutually agreed upon. Engagement interviews should be done on a twice-yearly basis, accompanied by regular pulse surveys, to account for our evolving lives and desires.
Building a human-centric work model is challenging, but it’s the only way forward when a new lifestyle model has taken hold for much of the working population. It’s also just the beginning. Broad-based changes to support workers must still be codified. In an unending tight labor market, the most successful businesses will embrace those changes. If our future is shaped by our desires, then organizational success will be driven by the collective desire of the workforce. There is no better time to understand and harness that desire - in all its various forms.