Prioritizing Love in a Post-Pandemic Workforce
How will organizations retain talent among drastically shifting cultural priorities? In the words of the late bell hooks, it’s “all about love”.
Organizations across the nation are struggling to fill job positions: a post-pandemic labor phenomenon now known as the “Great Resignation”. In January, there were 4.8 million more employment opportunities than people unemployed in the U.S.
Why the uptick in separation? According to recent studies, the pandemic may have provided people the time and space needed away from standard work culture to completely reimagine their livelihoods. Findings from Pew Research Center indicate people are now prioritizing how they feel and are treated in the workplace; feeling underappreciated, lack of compensation and opportunities for advancement, and inflexibility were among the reasons talented workers left their positions. McKinsey & Company found that many employees are abandoning the traditional work environment entirely in favor of alternative avenues of income generation.
If organizations want to thrive- or even survive- in a post-pandemic workforce, they should be willing to accept the challenge of serious cultural change. Employers need to get to the heart of what drives the dedication of one’s time. Leadership must learn to practice a love ethic.
What’s love got to do with it?
The concept of Loving Organizations isn’t new, but developmentally it remains in infancy. While there are currently no widely-accepted definitions or characteristics of a Loving Organization, a common theme that emerges in theory is one that decentralizes decision making and moves from motivated employees as the means to thriving humans as the end goal. Practicing love in the work place may look like creating a culture of accountability, autonomy, healthy conflict, and authenticity.
Hummel, Lee, et. al. provide a basic framework for examining an organization within the context of love, but there is plenty of room for growth. By integrating a love ethic with proven organizational models and intentionally working toward this desired culture, organizations may discover the key to remaining relevant and retaining talent as we come to understand our new normal.
Understanding organizational love
Existing literature focuses on “beneficial” and “companionate” definitions of love which amplify the idea that love in a professional context must be bound by order and compliance. As a basis for further research this may be harmless. However, in practice it is crucial to consider all ways love shows up in the workplace. Individual attachment styles and relationship patterns will inevitably impact an organization’s efforts to grow a love culture. Examining and operationalizing the characteristics of other-than-professional love-based relationships will lead to more effective strategies for developing an organizational love practice.
Employees want to be connected to their purpose and to others. Organizations should strive to ensure people feel a deep sense of belonging and care. They need the ability to nurture relationships in and out of the workplace, which requires ample rest and time for self-love and personal growth. Love as a growing organizational practice must reach beyond its current limits and draw upon understandings of human wholeness.
As people leave standard employment in post-Covid droves to pursue work that is meaningful, we must shift practices in organizational management to support authentic connection and prioritize holistic human development. Love must be factored into all levels of leadership and integrated into a business’s daily operations.
Follow this blog series as we dive deeper into the theory and research of Loving Organizations. We will define their characteristics and improve upon existing tools and frameworks to better understand the future of labor practices and the prospering of humanity.
