Unhappy businesswoman laid off from her job.
Smart business leaders learned a handful of related lessons during the pandemic:
1. Employee well-being is essential, not an extra.
2. Seemingly "private" concerns like mental health and caregiving significantly impact an employee's ability to be their best; it is simply good business to partner with employees to address these concerns.
3. If you take your employees for granted, you risk losing them.
For a while, employers were taking these lessons to heart, charting a new course, and going the extra mile to support employee well-being, employee engagement, and employee satisfaction in the workplace. Unfortunately, in recent months, some employers appeared to be taking a step back. And now, a dramatic series of layoffs in Big Tech raises concerns about employers' commitment to creating sustainable organizational environments in which all can thrive.
Short-lived lessons
At the start of the pandemic, many employers responded decisively to their employees' challenges. They prioritized mental health and stepped up to support employees with "non-work" related issues that affected their job performance. Accordingly, in May 2020, Gallup found that 49% of employees felt their employers cared about their well-being.
But as I wrote last year, two years later, that number had plummeted to 24%, the lowest in a decade. Too many employers have yet to sustain their initial commitment and have failed to keep up with changing employee expectations. Employers expecting to return to the "old normal" were in for a rude awakening as a growing number of employees demonstrated they were willing to leave their jobs and seek better options.
Big Tech and the economy
The job losses in Big Tech began last year, with a round of layoffs in just the first week of December alone costing over 200,000 employees their jobs. Over the first month and a half of this year, that wave of layoffs only grew. Yahoo laid off 20% of their staff, Zoom 15%, and GitHub 10%. Although Google's overall cuts were smaller at 6.5% of its workforce, Google-backed ShareChat laid off 20% of its staff. Intrinsic, a robotics subsidiary of Google's parent Alphabet, also cut 20% of its workforce; Alphabet-owned Verily laid off 15%. There were also substantial layoffs at Microsoft, Meta, Salesforce, and Twitter. Two rounds of cuts at Amazon amounted to the largest workforce reduction in the company’s history.
Explanations for the sweeping layoffs varied. Some companies cited over-hiring during the pandemic. Others blamed economic headwinds and supply-chain issues. It is important to keep in mind that the tech sector accounts for only 2% of the American workforce. Overall employment numbers have been strong.
However, for decades, tech has been both a trendsetter and a bellwether for the rest of the economy. It is not just the scope of the layoffs but how they were carried out that raises concerns. Many employees found out they no longer had a job by email or on social media. This creates bad will and distrust amongst those directly affected and leaves a wake of anxiety among those who remain at the company. By contrast, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison receives high grades for his empathetic approach.
Mental health programs take a hit
Another red flag is that wellness programs that are now more critical than ever took their share of the cuts at one company. Google's director of mental health and well-being was among those let go. According to her and other reports, numerous others in her department were also laid off. It is still being determined whether wellness programs at other tech companies have been similarly affected.
Big Tech has often led the way in promoting health and wellness. Google was one of the first companies to recognize the importance of psychological safety. Tech companies have also been leaders in expanding parental leave, especially during the pandemic. However, being on parental leave is no protection against losing your job, and some experts warn that the experience of tech workers let go in the recent layoffs despite being on parental leave could have a "sobering effect."
Burnout rears its ugly head
Although Big Tech has sometimes been a leader in mental health initiatives, it has also, unfortunately, been a leader in burnout. A recent study found two in five tech workers are at high risk of burnout. Respondents cited long hours, demanding workloads, and work-life conflicts as culprits.
Tech is a high-pressure sector. But one cannot claim to be a leader in well-being while allowing burnout to fester. The situation is particularly worrying when it comes to women—who in the previous study reported (at a much higher rate: 69% compared to 56% for men) feeling "run-down and drained of physical and emotional energy" at the end of a workday.
The "Great Breakup"?
The 2022 Women in the Workplace report (a co-production of McKinsey and LeanIn.org) worries that, in Big Tech and elsewhere, women—who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic in multiple ways—are growing increasingly restless with the status quo in the workplace. The Great Resignation, the report concludes, is not over:
"Women are demanding more from work, and they're leaving their companies in unprecedented numbers to get it. Women leaders are switching jobs at the highest rates we've ever seen—and at higher rates than men in leadership."
What is one to make of all this? Women and other dissatisfied employees are breaking up with their employers like never before. Big Tech just broke up with a significant portion of its workforce. As CEO of a corporate wellness company I see employers and employees sometimes moving in opposite directions—with some employers trying to return to an old normal while employees increasingly insist on a new paradigm.
At some point, the best leaders and companies will have to commit decisively to a new business model built on a foundation of employee well-being and thriving. Until that happens, the silver lining from the pandemic will sometimes be obscured by a dark cloud.
