The Great Resignation
I'm seeing a new theme emerging in my coaching work. It aligns with what the media is referring to as the “Great Leaving” or “Great Resignation”. In fact, I just read that as of May 1, 2021, over 4 million Americans have quit their jobs.
This is not great news for companies already scrambling to find qualified candidates.
A few of the reasons I've heard:
“I want more control of how I use my time and what times of day I do my best work. I want a position that honors that”.
“Having slowed down, I want time with family and friends. Not having a commute gives me that time”.
“I want more time and energy for things I’m passionate about”
“Why, when it's been proven that I can meet my deliverables and have a better quality of life, is leadership so determined to get me back in the cubical?”
If these are the feelings of the workforce, why are so many leaders pushing toward reopening the office?
I have a hunch, and it involves cognitive shortcuts.
Also known as cognitive bias, this is when your brain automatically chooses a familiar pattern of thinking in order to quickly and efficiently solve problems, particularly when times are uncertain, answers are unclear, or you are feeling vulnerable.
Cognitive shortcuts can serve you really well when you are seeking fast, simple solutions such as where to order lunch or what route to take to your destination. Challenges arise, however, when leadership unconsciously uses cognitive shortcuts for complex decisions such as returning to the office.
The uncertainty about the best time to return to the office together with the myriad of pressures on decision making create the perfect conditions to lean on cognitive shortcuts.
According to Gleb Tsipursky, Ph.D., writing for Scientific American, employers tend to believe that working in-office is better than either a hybrid model or fully remote employees. This is despite repeated survey results showing that employees prefer working remotely.
In my NCD workshops, we teach how to hack the tendency for cognitive shortcuts by pausing, questioning our thoughts, and getting more detailed information in order to determine if the decision being made is correct or the most comfortable one.
Do any of these cognitive biases sound familiar to you?:
Familiarity Bias: You are more comfortable with the in-office work model because that is what you know the best.
Confirmation Bias: You’ve not looked at the data or evidence about productivity, goal achievement, or employee happiness that comes from working remotely because the evidence just might not support your belief. Instead you seek or listen to evidence that confirms your belief.
Anchoring Bias: Your own experience involves working in an office. Therefore you are basing your decision on what you have experienced as successful versus looking at new options.
False Consensus Bias: You aren’t taking the time to intentionally confirm what others prefer because you are assuming everyone feels the same way you do.
Functional Fixedness: We’ve always done it this way so it’s only logical we’d go back to the office. When you are buying into this bias, it makes it difficult to see new possibilities and options.
Sunk Cost Bias: You don’t want to make change even if it is for the better because of the investment already made. “We’ve invested so much in this office space, of course we are going back.”
Which of the cognitive bias may be influencing your decision making?
I certainly am not qualified to make the decision on whether the return to the office is right for you or not.
But I am qualified to encourage you to look at the decision making process and be certain that it is intentional and takes into account data, staff opinions, and the exploration of new possible scenarios.
Want to Learn More?
Download my free Guide to Cognitive Shortcuts.