A Bridge Too Far; How Employers are Pushing Employees During the Pandemic

A year into a global pandemic and a lot has changed.  Some maybe for the better (yay vaccines!) and some for the worse (why are you still not wearing a mask…seriously?).  However, one of the things that has remained a constant for so many people during the pandemic is the feeling of work weighing upon them.  For many, work was a place where previously they escaped, they were allowed some level of fulfillment and even socialization because it had them leave the house and go to an office.  When the world started to shut down and people started to work from home their initial response was to be thankful they had a job and to be grateful to their employers for allowing them to continue to earn a wage.  However, as time has gone on this newfound appreciating so many were experiencing has deteriorated and these relationships have become toxic places.  More and more people are dissatisfied with their jobs and how they feel they are being treated.  Employers’ expectations may have dwindled early in the pandemic, and they were thankful for the output they got because they were able to stay in business.  However, as time has moved forward, many employers have laid off portions of their staff.  The things they tell staff is that they had to lose some of the workforce in an effort to stay afloat.  This creates three things for those who survive the layoff.  One; a sense of relief that they still have a job.  Two; concerns that they are going to be the next victim or that the rest of the team is also in jeopardy.  Three; more work, less help, and the same pay.

Employers feel they are now in a place where they have control over their employees, and they expect them to be at their beck and call.  Historically, we had natural boundaries from our employers because we left the office at some point to retreat to our homes.  This began dissolving when technology meant our phones and computers were portable because now we were reachable and could answer a call or reply to an email even while sitting at dinner with our families.  The move for people to working full time from home has shattered that boundary.  Now employers are messaging at every imaginable hour of the day expecting a response most of the times within a short time span.  They are monitoring us more closely and holding us accountable for work that is more challenging to do with the limited support we are given.  The lack of space and time away from work has eroded for many people into literal minutes of free time now.  People are putting aside time to connect with their partners or to engage with the children to work.  People are putting off exercise because now they have to sit down and do more work.  Instead of creating a sense of balance and truly feeling grateful to have a job, now people are in what otherwise would constitute an abusive relationship.

To further this, many people feel they cannot say no to their jobs.  No is one of the first boundaries we learn, and one that if we receive the right upbringing, we are comfortable utilizing.  With work, we historically have always struggled to say no because, as it turns out, we need the money.  However, now in the midst of a global pandemic, the very things we were thankful for and sometimes even sincerely excited about have become prisons.  They are the controlling partners who isolate us, cut us off from our natural supports and tell us we should be glad they do all they do for us.  They will not let us have interests outside of this relationship and if we try to talk to them about where we think the relationship is going, we may be met with stonewalling, manipulation, guilt, or a sudden breakup which leaves us thinking the problem was on our end.  This is not the time for us to be pushed to our ends, this is a time when our employers need to be understanding.  They may be receiving bailouts from the government to stay afloat.  They may be struggling to balance things in their own lives and at an organizational level.  However, losing sight of the humanity that is the capital almost every business runs on is only ensuring that down the road people are more bitter, more burned out, and less willing to do what you ask of them.  They will speak more poorly of your organization the more toxic the relationship becomes, and they will sour people they know from spending money with you, doing business with you, or even working for you.  In the midst of a global pandemic, the likes of which has not been seen for literally one hundred years, this is a time for gentleness, compassion, and understanding.

I am not advocating for people to let employees do nothing, or skirt by.  Instead I am advocating for employers to engage with people.  When an employee raises questions time and again or says that an aspect of the job is needing to be addressed, then the employer should listen, engage and work to understand the experience on the other side of the screen.  We have lost so much connection the last year, but now we are allowing the interfacing through screens and profit margins to erase our humanity and the connections we share.  Now is the time to invest in your human capital, double down on the people who create value rather than devaluing them and marginalizing them simply because they cannot do the work of an entire team and need some buy-in from leadership.