A Work ‘Situationship’ Problem
Sixty percent of adults are noncommittal about their current employer. Can firms create more long-term outlooks for workers?
Day to day, it’s not bad, but he doesn’t know if it’s going to lead to anything long-term. He keeps getting mixed signals but, if he’s being honest, he’s not exactly being that communicative, either. He’s not sure whether he just should end things, whether “working on it” will make things any better, or what, exactly, “working on it” would actually entail.
This might sound like a so-called “situationship”—an ambiguous and commitment-free romantic relationship. But take out the romance part, and the term also describes how a majority of US workers feel about their jobs right now. Indeed, 59% don’t see a clear long-term path with their current employer, and 63% don’t believe their employer is committed to keeping them long-term, according to a new survey from career website Zety. The uncertainty isn’t surprising, experts say; rather, the degree of anxiety vexing both employees and employers is. “It’s a dance right now,” says Dennis Deans, Korn Ferry’s global human resources business partner.
It’s not that these situationship workers aren’t performing effectively. US labor productivity is up 2.8% over the last year, according to the most recent US government statistics. More broadly, productivity has improved at a 2.1% annual clip over the last seven years, identical to the average yearly rate dating back to 1947. But employees are frustrated with their work. According to the survey, 32% report limited growth opportunities, 17% blurred work-life boundaries, and 15% unclear role expectations. Companies, meanwhile, are fretting over the high cost of finding and training replacements.
The reasons for workers’ faltering commitment to their work are well-known. Over the last two years, employees have seen lower raises, increasing layoffs, and the elimination of entire layers of the middle-management roles that are traditionally the next rungs of the corporate ladder. In a recent Korn Ferry survey, no fewer than 40% of employees said they feel a lack of direction at work amid management-layer cutbacks.
At the same time, AI has thrown into question what many jobs will look like—or whether they’ll even exist—in a couple of years. That’s made it hard for many organizations to predict, let alone communicate to employees, what the future might hold. “The world has gone through dramatic change, and companies’ bosses are often saying, ‘I don’t know who will make it,’” says Craig Rowley, a Korn Ferry senior client partner specializing in retail.
Executives are generally anxious about managing their workforces and worry they’re falling behind in preparing their organizations for the future. Firms need employees focused and engaged, rather than listless and anxious. “If you want high-performing teams, you need engagement and people personally invested,” says Jenna Young, a senior partner in Korn Ferry’s Culture, Change, and Communications practice. From an organizational perspective, the onus is on managers to be up-front with their workers about the possibilities of advancement and the prerequisites for a successful longer-term career. “You can commit without overcommitting,” Deans says.
Additionally, there are plenty of steps employees can take if they want to get out of a situationship with their employer. Being intellectually curious is a must, Rowley says. Ask about projects and volunteer for new assignments, then take them on without complaint, even if the work isn’t initially rewarding. “Think of things as learning experiences,” Rowley says. “That willingness to commit is something employers always look for.”
Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Employee Experience capabilities.
