Employers: invest in well being and take mental health seriously!

The Corona crisis rocked the job market. The increase in working from home has blurred the line between leisure and work. And many people feel like they always have to be “on”; email and social media are constantly present. This is definitely a major ‘accelerator’ of work stress, which is a growing and well-known problem. Meanwhile, 20% of the working population has burnout complaints, according to research by TNO. That’s over 1.6 million people. The problem is proportionally greatest among young people: one in four 25- to 34-year-olds has burnout symptoms due to work.

A major cause of these problems is a disturbed work-life balance. Performance pressure, life uncertainties and social pressure are the main sources of stress among young working people. The feeling of always having to do everything right, being constantly available and wanting to optimally combine work and private life are often too much.

This work stress leads to many employees dropping out of work, which is painful for employees and extremely annoying for employers. In addition to this work stress, we see a number of trends in the labor market that are the result of a lot of employee dissatisfaction with their work.

1. Quiet Quitting

This term has been in vogue for a while now and we have been hearing it in the corridors a bit more often. In short, quiet quitting means doing only what you really need to do in the workplace. You perform regular tasks, but taking on extra responsibility and “going all the way” are no longer an option. Reasons for this include the feeling that an employee does not get enough in return for what he or she invests in the job. Either there is too little appreciation from the employer, opportunities for advancement are limited, or there are only short-term contracts.

In addition, we see the tendency especially among millennials that work is not always first priority these days. If you don’t like it, you pack your bags and try somewhere else. The commitment to an employer or company has thus become very low. Ultimately, “quiet quitting” is potentially harmful to both employers and employees. Investing from both sides is very important and that includes social events, such as a chat at the coffee machine, a team outing or being willing to take over each other’s work.

2. Loud Leaving

In a nutshell, loud leaving is actively announcing that you are done working, to guard the boundary between work time and private time. This is in contrast to Loud quitters, which are employees who explicitly complain about their employer and openly leave tasks beyond the minimum requirement. With Loud leavers, we see employees who no longer feel like working late into the evening, without appropriate compensation. Somehow quite understandable and recognizable. An important way to prevent or recover from work stress is to properly monitor your boundaries. You need to be able to detach from your work and not be constantly “activated. By the way, this tendency is quite ok because the employee clearly indicates what he does not want. For managers it may take some getting used to, but just right when they either set a good example or respect that employees value their private time.

3. Rage Applying

In short, rage applying is applying more or less haphazardly to many jobs at the same time out of anger and frustration with the current job, hoping to find something else quickly. It is often done only with a resume and without a targeted letter. A trend that has come over from the US. This trend seems to stem mainly from the strong position workers have in a tight labor market. “They speak out, dare to express dissatisfaction more honestly. With that, it is also another consequence of the work pressure that has been rising for years. Whether the method of applying for jobs now also leads to many results remains to be seen. A cover letter and the real desire to want to fill that position are often missing.

4. Quiet Hiring

Finally, a trend that is slowly creeping in at many companies. “Quiet hiring” stands for the phenomenon of organizations adding work to positions rather than hiring additional people for them. Somewhat understandable in a tight labor market where vacancies just can’t be filled for work that needs to be done, or because there is no budget for it (even worse). Initially, these extra tasks are temporary, but before you know it, they become a permanent part of a job.

We used to call this job broadening, and intended to make jobs more attractive in terms of content and give workers more opportunities to direct their work. Employees gain additional relevant experience that they can use in the rest of their careers, that is certainly true. An important condition here, then, is that an employee must be compensated for this. More work without extra pay or better fringe benefits encourages demotivation. When employees have to do extra much without commensurate compensation, it negatively affects their motivation and stress levels.”

What’s  next? What should companies do to counter these trends?

Organizations need to adapt much better, to the needs of employees. And that starts with LISTENING to employees, What should an employer offer? Nice jobs with perspective that pays well is not enough. Hybrid work is here to stay. Of course employers want employees to come back to the office, after all, it is very valuable. Then make sure these are effective, useful days with consultations and brainstorms. Make the workplace a nice environment, provide some “hospitality. That way you can bond and retain employees, and they will stay motivated with the company longer.