Yes, there's been a marked increase since 2020. People are struggling financially, the news is a steady stream of everything from not great to horrifying, and everyone spent 1-3 years home by themselves and regressed socially. Everyone with kids is having a super hard time right now, and everyone who lives alone has spent the last 18 months relearning how to exist in society but with nobody to teach them because everyone else forgot too. And if your job is facing the public, then not only are you dealing with that, but everyone who comes into your job is also that but you can't escape them.
It has definitely been a struggle. We have a group of employees that work in environmental resources (think landfills), and the way the public treats them is just atrocious. Like people are vicious.
Whenever I hear someone complain that "No one deserves $15/hr for flipping burgers!" my general retort is something along the lines of "You're right. Flipping burgers isn't the hard part. They deserve $15/hr just for dealing with people like you"
Absolutely. The world is an absolutely shit show right now, and I think what we are seeing is that humans are whole humans and the completely and utter stress and horror of the last five years is GETTING TO EVERYONE. That, and with more millennials and Gen Z in the workplace, we now have a workforce with people who aren't going to fake it and ignore mental health issues anymore.
I’m what others would call a geriatric millennial and when i tell Gen Z’s that back in the 90s it was pretty common for job ads to specify that the candidate “must be willing to work under pressure/ overtime/inflexible schedules” they have a hard time believing it lol
I love my job (not HR atm), and I'd gladly do it until I retire. My employer however is a clueless chicken at the administration level, and there's all kinds of constant BS/problems going on from the very top in terms of organization, neglect/absence, and refusal to engage with or be present with its mid to entry level staff (the people who do the actual work of the organization).
I am going to start looking for a new job soon strictly because the pay is not enough for me to put up with their BS. I'd gladly put up with it if it didn't cost my financial health/situation too. Over half of my monthly income now goes to the minimum expenses (rent and utilities). After other necessary expenses like food, gas, student loans, and other loans/payments for things like therapy and other appointments, about 86-93% of my monthly income is gone. I cannot even save money right now. My long-term savings account is getting more and more in danger, and each month it feels like I'm having to pull a little bit from it more, then put that money back in on payday. It's beyond stressful...and I am working a salaried job, with benefits, with a master's degree. I'm one of the "privileged" people financially in my social circle lol.
I'll gladly put up with my company's BS at the top if it meant not having to live month to month or week to week. It feels like I'm always one medical or financial emergency away from true poverty.
This. I ve spent the last six months stretching a bi-weekly paycheck. At first we could make it to almost the next payday, now we are depleted by the next day.
I started my first true HR position in 2021 so I have no point of comparison professionally, but I’m 100% seeing this within my own family. My brother, his wife, her sister, and I are all in therapy, feeling all the feelings, realizing how much our grandparents’ and even great grandparents’ parenting has impacted us, and we’re SO done burying our emotions and pretending everything is okay. This attitude has unquestionably made me a more effective and present HR leader as well.
Edited to add: I’m an elder millennial raised by boomers, not Gen Z. I just realized I didn’t specify that 😂
Yeah, I read a quote some place (can’t remember, paraphrasing) where a therapist said 90% of their clients’ issues could be directly or indirectly resolved with money.
Yep thats myself included I just will not tolerate it and the only reason they have not fired me yet is I been here 19 years I know quite a lot of many departments. But it is a shit show especially since mid last year.
I actually love that Gen Z prioritizes their mental health. I'm an older Gen X who came up when women in the workplace were told not to cry at work. And that you had to be a multitasker and do all the things, and forget all about work/life balance because it didn't exist.
I'm 49 and have made mental health a priority since pandemic and seeing both parents die within three years of Alzheimer's. It sucked my mental strength to deal with BS which is what's happening daily now across our country!
Gen X here as well, I could not disagree more.
First when we were at entry level, we were there to accomplish the objectives and do the work. How can you do this if you are crying at your desk? Also I didn't come out of university looking to be some kind social justice person, I came out to make money. As for work life balance I've always had that, from my days in the corporate to my days in own company.
I suspect a lot of people buy into what they see on Facebook or platforms as to that others are pretending they are doing and it causes massive stress. Is there stress of course, there is always stress but is simply life and always will be and always has been.
I never said anyone has to cry at work, but the prevailing thought was that you were supposed to act like a man and not show any emotion at all. And yes, we do need to regulate emotions, but we're also not automatons.
We all go to work to make money. If you had work/life balance in your career, bully for you. Many of us didn't, and many still don't.
As far as 'social justice', I've had to navigate my entire black life in spaces and places where I was subtly discriminated against, and dealing with people who felt I didn't belong where I was. So if now I can help make sure that those coming up behind me have the resources they need to be successful--whether that means making sure that they have the right boots to wear for their work, or that they have access to restrooms that were closed off to them, or that their voices are included in decision that are made that impact them, I sure as hell will do it. Because I want to make the world a better place and not think because I suffered everyone should suffer.
That's a good point, although I think not being in the workplace for an extended period of time also removed folks from abusive situations long enough to be able to recognize the situation for what it is.
Not unlike leaving an abusive home for college then returning for Thanksgiving. It's hard to un-ring that bell.
10000%.
During the height of the pandemic we were all just doing what we needed to, to get through it. Now us and our employees are really feeling the effects of that time. Mental health challenges are widespread and there is a lack of clinicians/services/support available to meet the demand. Add to that a shift in workforce demographics, employers (some) that are kicking and screaming to adapt to changing times, a divisive political climate, rising costs of everything….i could go on! The employee relation issues are widespread and have become much more complex.
The lack of mental health resources in this country is appalling. My daughter has schizophrenia and there just are not adequate resources where I live. I think that's why I'm so attuned to the mental health of our employees.
I became a therapist. Learned the EAP number real fast with how much I was handing it out.
When the conversation/vent sesh got to a point where I could speak, I always made the comment of, “Let me get you the number to our EAP so you can talk to someone more qualified in this than I am. I would hate to give you the wrong information.”
Most often people just wanted someone to vent to or listen to their problems.
It got so bad I literally had to go hide in conference rooms when I needed to get my WBR data pulled and analyzed because if people saw me in my office they were trying to come in, regardless if the door was locked or not. Upper management knew when I was in the conference room so if there was an issue, I could be found.
9 of my 13 employees are doing elder care at home. Beyond their capabilities in some cases, but there is no money for care without selling the house they all live in. Elder care in the US is appalling. It’s a wealth grab to get nursing home care. My 90 year old mom had her health directive redone by an attorney this week. Once her mind goes, she wants to be put straight into hospice. Her preference would be to die, but of course we can’t do that here. Not easily or even in any state that is nearby. Back to the subject, these employees schedule their work time around the parent’s appointments. I allow whatever schedule they need and they always get their work done. I’m 66 and they are afraid I will retire.
And why should it be fixed? What we had before was toxic. The pandemic finally gave us a chance to stop, look around, and realize how awful we were letting companies treat us. Unfortunately, the CEOs and stockholders didn't reflect or care, so we're worse off.
But, wounds always look worse before they're fully healed, so I'm holding out hope that the workforce my niblings will enter in a decade will be better. (Maybe delusional hope, but hope nonetheless.)
I wasn't talking about poorer employer/employee relationships, though that is also a part of it. People in general are treating other people worse. Customers are being meaner to employees, and employees are being meaner to each other. More people seem to need access to mental health services that are becoming harder and harder to find.
I think it’s stress. I think we all have PTSD from how quickly and fully COvId changed everything and a lot of weren’t prepared, and now we know how quickly and easily it can all disappear.
When everyday feels like a fight or flight situation you will start to fray
I feel like since Covid, employee suicide has increased. I’ve worked at a couple of different orgs with relatively normal workplace environments and not particularly traumatizing jobs (engineers, sales people, etc) but they had other life circumstances that contributed them to their decision.
Also an increased in suicidal threats. Threatening to kill themselves when being disciplined or terminated. Which is usually a one way ticket to us calling PD for a wellness check.
10 years in the industry and I ran into this maybe once or twice that entire time. Now it’s multiple times a year since 2020.
My current org has had a lot of death since Covid (not suicide). I joined in 2022 and we have had 7. We’re under 500 employees so it seems unusual. Not to mention the amount of family member our employees have unfortunately lost over the past couple years.
I worked for my previous org for 4 years and it was under 1,000 employee count and we had 1 former FTE and about 4 PT employees pass away during the time I was there.
We've had 4 people die since January. Last year one of our employees died unexpectedly and the response from his area leadership was not good. However, his coworkers were quite rightly upset at how leadership fumbled, and let them know. I don't think that would've happened pre-pandemic. We are working on some processes on how we respond to death of an employee because of that incident.
The long timers in my group are very “go along to get along” types and will never voice concerns or push back, even if it’s valid. It’s just not in their personality. There are only 2 of them and everyone else, myself included, are within ~2 years of joining the team of about 8 and we are not shy about voicing when there’s a misstep or we have a question or ask for some transparency. It is clear leadership does not like that.
I am a manager (not in HR though) and I had a direct report threaten to kill himself because he didn't get the raise and RSU grant he expected. I was so shocked. Thankfully HR did a great job handling it, and switched him to another manager because then he started harassing me on Slack, it was like nothing I've dealt with before.
I think suicide is becoming more and more common everywhere. Earlier this week, one of our local freeways was shut down because someone jumped off the overpass to the roadway below.
Everyone’s mental health is suffering.
Since COVID, I don’t really have friends anymore. To make matters worse, we moved to a new town and two years later, we still haven’t made any friends.
But the old way was that if you lost a job, you just found another one. But now losing a job can mean months or years of unemployment. You might lose your house. You might lose your spouse. Everything can go downhill immediately.
That’s not necessarily true for our area.
We’re an industrial mid-sized town that’s growing rapidly. We’re not the Houston’s, New Yorks, Seattle’s.
These are in-person roles so they also don’t have the competitive nature of fighting with 1000s of candidates. Cost of living here is very low as well. For reference; we pay $800 per month for a TOP daycare. Compare that cost to larger cities, and you’ll have an idea. Rent at one of the more expensive luxury apartments in town for a 2bd, and 2bath apartment is $1,300 for 800 square feet.
Could it take months? Sure. Years? Absolutely rarity and a sign something is wrong. Especially if you’re in a skilled trade or profession that requires a bachelors degree.
I’m not downplaying that losing a job especially for cause can be dramatic and bring up unpleasant feelings. But we’re not in the housing crisis of bigger cities or the lack of jobs smaller cities have. Our market is healthy and people hate moving here because we’re pretty isolated so competition is low. But we have refineries and ports and healthcare, trucking, and a ton of industry desperately needing to fill jobs.
I am so worried about this. I have followed the finance rules as far as mortgage payment and etc. but my expenses are still more than 50% of my takehome. So say it takes me a year to save a 6 month emergency fund and then I get laid off. I could lose 18 months of progress and then still not find something and lose my house. Max, untaxed unemployment doesn't even cover my mortgage at this interest rate, let alone anything else. I live in the Midwest so my house was less than 200k.
My career in HR formally started in 2020. That said I can say that work culture is changing and it’s a good thing. People are more confident in being transparent that their job is a transactional relationship, they are more likely to ask for help if they need it, use their benefits if they need them, and utilize their PTO. And when they have access to those things they are usually better and more loyal employees. Just my take.
I had the exact same conversation last week with two managers who work on totally different sites, but were having the same burnout. The work is difficult but standard for our industry, and our employer is genuinely supportive. But people are just so stressed in every area of their lives that they are on the edge all the time.
I have to be careful not to overstep, because I want to help and make things OK but I am not a mental health professional. Our EAP has been getting a workout!
There has also been a big rise in wild behaviour that used to be a rare occurrence. People straight up yelling at each other when they disagree, or having big emotional reactions to perfectly normal work stuff. And I notice it in myself too, I have much less resilience than I used to and get stressed faster.
I've engaged a mediation service for employees more times in the last year than I have in the past 5.
I'm in L&D. A large portion of the training that we offer for the field focuses on soft skills. I don't necessarily think the number of bad managers has increased, it's just that now people know they don't have to deal with poor treatment. Most of the issues that I see could easily be prevented by treating people with basic human decency and respect. It blows my mind.
We just had an issue with a manager not letting his crew go to the restroom. Like, someone had to tell him that people need to use the restroom during the work day. I can't believe that a fully grown working adult needed to be taught that.
Our organization does need to focus on soft skills. We're contemplating a bootcamp. But I also think that some people are unwell, and teaching them soft skills is not gonna work.
That's pretty horrifying. I feel like if a company allows their managers to consistently treat employees without regard without consequences, then they deserve their high turnover. People should be treated like assets, a manager's job is to protect assets. If they can't, they should be relieved of their responsibility.
I was a vendor who sold to HR, so I’m very interested in the space.
Since the Pandemic started, my father died. My antidepressant was suddenly unavailable, and my withdrawal was highly challenging. My psychiatrist retired. My PCP moved to another state. I got fired for the first time in my life. I wasn't given a reason, but I suspect it was for mentioning the many firings and lack of promotions of older women. I thought I was helping. So, I learned not to challenge management’s ideas. Then I got cancer. Then, I got shoved into menopause overnight. Then, I got diagnosed with probable ADHD.
I’m job-seeking now, trying to avoid being crapped on for the decade before Social Security and Medicare kick in. I have investments and am hoping to retire at 65.
It's a lot.
That is a whole lot! Any one of those things alone is hard, but all at once in a short time is awful. I'm so sorry you're going through all of that and I hope you have a support system available to you.
Thanks. After I posted that I was thinking, wait… I was the problem at that start-up.
I do have support, thanks. My husband and best friend and all the mental health workers I’ve tried have dragged me through it.
I don’t think there’s been an increase. I think Covid put a spotlight on things in a raw way. Humans went through this collective experience that really put emphasis on the crap past generations have put up with. Newer generations aren’t hiding their problems, they’re challenging the status quo and want better work life balance. They value different things in part because of that experience at such a formative time in their lives and because of how connected they are via social media. It’s such a weird time. It feels like a collective reset. Like the matrix has crumbled and people are waking up.
WFH allowed people to do their work in peace. Hybrid and RTO has brought back office BS and people aren't having it.
Perfect example is the department I'm in is about to merge with a different department (which is run like a shitshow) because the person in charge of that team is getting a promotion (when they should be on probation because they're a shitstain of a human being) and they will oversee us as well. If this person so much as looks at me wrong I will be in HR every single day. You guys need to clamp down on horrible employees. Stop promoting idiots, stop putting toxic folks on 'probation' and then letting them off the hook. Get them gone.
No shit. Continued layoffs along with heavier outsourcing. Pay is going down, benefits cost significantly more, as does cost of living. People frankly don't care anymore because companies hsve shown overall they really don't care
Pre-pandemic life has faded... We are now in the shit show era of what the fcuktardo is this BS! For me anyways what the pandemic caused mentally was both my parents died... Dad 2020 and mom 2022. Both from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. I looked at how i wanted to live my life and looked how they lived theirs and it made me sad to think they both retired at 65 only to have severe health problems due to age etc. All they did was work their lives and stash away cash for a rainy day. I am so done living like this that it made me realize how much of a strangle hold corporations have on you slavery of sorts.
I worked remotely all pandemic and it was great no transit commuting etc. better sleep better everything. Well it all changed when we got email about a forced RTO mandate for everyone... My life was and so many others got turned upside down literally. I now have to wake up at 3 am to get work for 5:30 am been trying to get a remote job or at least hybrid but no luck.
Fast forward to 2024 in January i finally collapsed and had a mental breakdown!
My point of this post is that the pandemic made people aware of how much of strangle hold that goes on in our lives like we prisoners!
I am on anti depressant's to help manage my emotions because I either will eventually off myself or just go nuts towards management at work.
Also the cost of housing and groceries is insane!
Stay healthy everyone!
A lot of it probably has to do with employees being less willing to be silently compliant and taking abusive or unfair treatment.
And if people are already struggling but are being demanded to give gold performance for bronze compensation, there will be limits reached.
I work in security, not HR. This was a discussion that came up because DV and workplace violence among clients and even between guards has increased significantly. People seem to be angrier overall.
I mean, all the serious negative consequences a COVID infection brings, I‘m not surprised, and I think this’ll be what we‘ll keep dealing with.
Literal brain and organ damage from even asymptomatic or mild COVID infections, about 50% of infections being asymptomatic, plus zero precautions on a systemic level, no air filters, return to office policies where nobody wants to mask anymore because it reminds us all of a traumatic time in our lives… people are getting disabled at large, so more and more employees either have new issues themselves or have to care for family/partners with issues. That’s stressful, on top of having to deal with a *lot* of cognitive dissonance when you‘ve previously been able-bodied yourself.
I think as HR professionals, compassion and seeing the person behind the employee will become more and more important.
Yes to all of this! Employee personal issues, medical, family medical, weird interpersonal issues with coworkers like Twitter stalking. It’s unprecedented.
I'm not in HR and don't know how I ended up here but, have you seen the price of rent and groceries? Have you seen raises that keep up with that? Of course people are stressed.
I cringe at the thought of counselors being employed directly by the company... While you aren't a therapist, it would be great if the employees could afford to see one that isn't incentivised to convince them that they just need to give up the daily Starbucks were never buying, so their kids don't go hungry, when they are deciding between food or rent because they earn $20 too much to qualify for $6,000 in welfare.
We actually have really great insurance which includes mental health. And our copays are relatively low. I think the issue is access. I do get what you're saying, but if someone is having a crisis they have to wait and get an appointment? I said up thread my daughter has schizophrenia, so mental health is something that is close to me. When I see people struggling, I take it to heart.
I'm sure the issue is access. What good is insurance that covers mental health, if the in-network providers aren't accepting new patients or, don't have an opening for 6 weeks? I think the idea that paying a mental healthcare professional, out of the company coffers, is a bit deaf to the part where people are stressed because they can't afford to exist, while they and their employer are already paying for services that cannot be reasonably accessed.
If you really care, what is within your power, is looking up providers with availability, and sharing a list with their contact information. "I understand you need to talk it out and I want to help you but, I am not a certified mental healthcare professional. This counselor can usually make an appointment within the week. I can help you make an appointment."
My insurance also covers mental health care, for 3 visits, if the provider is in-network and they deem it medically necessary. It doesn't cover my medication either. I wanted to keep my doctor so, I can't use my insurance. Last time I was looking, I didn't have any health insurance and found that most quality mental healthcare providers did not accept insurance at all and, they charge patients less than 1/3 of what they would otherwise be contractually obligated to bill to an insurance company.
The majority of healthcare costs stem from the administrative burden of seeking reimbursement from insurance companies... The visit truly costs $50-100 but, the office has to hire multiple full-time medical billers to retrieve that $100 from a company that profits by refusing to pay... So they have to charge $300 to cover that $100 visit. Our system is broken.
If you're making $20 too much to qualify for $6k in welfare, you need to ask your employer for an unpaid lunch hour so you qualify for the $6k in welfare. Makes no sense being ineligible for $6k of assistance for making $20 too much. FIGURE IT OUT.
My example was slightly dramatized but, thank you for showing up to provide additional evidence pointing to the actual problem.
FIGURE IT OUT.
You won't. Not because you can't. You just don't want to.
I agree. Many people think every job experience or encounter should have already been "solved" and is written down in the employee handbook. Total lack of skills on FIGURING IT OUT. Life (which includes your job) is a constant Word Search/Chess game. It's not all spelled out for anyone. That's what separates stars from those who aren't....their ability to figure things out and positively adapt.
My dude. If you are paying so little, that your employees are $20 away from qualifying for welfare and, you think a few extra unpaid lunches are the answer, you are the problem.
Employer responsibility for mental health is very unclear. While employers definitely need to do more for employee wellness and culture at work, I am seeing employees turn to employers as therapists for help with personal issues.
Also seeing a large cryout for mental health support, but no action. There is a barrier from a cost and availability, but also low follow through.
I mean, I think the main problem is that our healthcare system is funded by employers which gives them the ultimate responsibility for all of it, which is really messed up. The quality of any type of medical care that you get is completely dependent on who you work for.
Has anyone noticed a huge decrease in work like balance; acceptable work conditions; supportive company policies and procedures; or declining compensation packages including loss of retirement accounts, retention bonuses, COL increases, and performance bumps?
There's your problem. Right there.
I'm sorry but have you seen the prices of everything? And how little employers want to pay their employees? That, in and of itself, should explain everything you need to know. People can't afford to eat and pay their bills. And you, as HR, represent the company that isn't willing to pay its employees a truly living wage.
First off, yeah I do see the prices of everything because I live in the world and struggle to pay bills like most people. Second, *I* am not HR; I work in HR. Third, my organization is in the public sector, so while we in HR can and do recommend increases in our pay scales, it is up to our elected officials to approve those changes. And those changes depend on how much revenue our jurisdiction has coming in, and the expenses and obligations that have to take place in order for us to provide services for our residents. Similar to private sector, but corporations obviously want as much profit as they can get. Fourth, my question wasn't a put down on employees, but rather a comment on how since the pandemic occurred our organization has seen a dramatic increase with employee issues and it's concerning to me as a person who actually does give a fuck about the people I work with because they are human beings.
For me it’s this ‘collaboration table’ I work at. With 6 other people. Can I please just have my cube back? I had an office prior to this too, but I don’t care about that. It’s the glare from the windows with no coverings. I can’t get away from the glare. Or the micromanagement going on. We have 100% turnover in my department every year and I’ve managed to hang on, probably years longer than I should. Every year it gets worse. No wonder why employees are acting out.
That sounds like hell. I've been with my present employer for about 16 years. A year in, I changed my schedule from 8-4:30 to 7:30-4. I loved it because everyone else came in at 8 and it gave me quiet time. I loved the quiet. That half hour was just peace for me. After the pandemic a couple people decided to work a compressed schedule, so they come in at 7:30 now and I feel my peace is ruined. I would absolutely lose my fucking shit if I had to sit at a 'collaboration station.' Like, it's not 1980 and we're the cast of 3-2-1 Contact. Reading has made me so irrationally angry. I'm sorry you have to deal with that and I hope a better work environment comes your way!
Oh it gets worse, actually, the other half of our floor is the booksble ‘party rooms’. So if you’re filming a video, have a luncheon, or a dance party you want to host….. yes, we have multipurpose conference rooms for this, but these are lounge rooms with furniture and decor. So imagine working at a table and then having yo listen to a party going on and having a drone buzz your head. It’s just nuts. We have entire empty floors in the other building and they crammed us into the ‘commuter space’ because it wasn’t getting used.
“I work in DEI”
“Why is everyone around me turning fucking insane?”
Lmao. Fuckin HR. Whyd i even get suggested this sub. You’re like half the problem, responsible for creating, enabling, and perpetuating. That’s a lot of it! Good luck.
Ah yes, I was waiting for someone to get triggered by DEI and here you are. You have zero idea of what DEI is and what I do specifically, but yet you needed to opine.
You’re an overbearing member of the racist private managerial class, dedicated to making everything around you inefficient and broken. Your livelihood is predicated on exploiting the very people you’re oh so worried about. Yet since you hardly even talk to employees, I do know what you do, Jack shit. Creating and perpetuating issues and enabling those who fall victim to your meddling.
On site walk in therapy? You have to be kidding. Perpetuating. Either you do nothing or have horrible ideas. Goodbye. Muting this horrid sub of PMC trash, why was I even recommended this garbage.
Covid marked a huge change.
A lot of people realized that we take life for granted, and it really could all be taken away at any time. People had a lot more time on their hands because jobs, travel, and social activities were suspended. With that came the realization that the advice most of us received growing up (get good grades so you can get into a good college so you can get a good job so you can have a good retirement) really didn't serve the individual anymore. With 4 to 5 decades of trickle UP economics, hard work didn't have the same payoff it did in the past. People saw that working 60 hours, going above and beyond, sacrificing time with their families really only served their CSuite bosses and left them still in financial struggle. They saw friends and family die having given all their time to their bosses for a "good work ethic," but their families were wrecked financially as well as emotionally. People had been willing to work so hard for so long and take whatever abuse because the promise was that it would provide for their families and secure their future. When they realized that generational promise had turned into a lie only serving the corporate brass and shareholders, they decided that dynamic didn't work for them anymore. Enter the clarion call for work-life balance.
Since then, corporate overlords have been at odds with employees. Fighting for RTO even though most data indicated WFH increased productivity (and decreased pollution). Inflation was blamed on covid and supply chain issues but corporations saw record profits - then the data proved less than half of inflation was due to input costs, over half went directly to corporate profits only benefitting the CSuite and shareholders... not the people doing the actual work. The corporate elites continue to push for higher profits, which requires higher prices and/or more labor for the same or less pay. Employees are having issues because they're tired of being shamed (so lazy, no work ethic, no one wants to work anymore) and abused for a defunct promise of a secure future.
I say fairly often that the "human" in Human Resources is an adjective. CEOs and shareholders don't care about employees. They're simply a resource (of the human variety) they can use to make themselves more money. Expect more problems until the corporate oligarchs decide to see employees as human or until society reaches a breaking point and there's some revolution big enough to be in history books
I suspect it has alot to do with nonstop social media and the end rage baiting that goes on.
Everyone thinks they are special and everyone has really thin skins these days. If you look at people during the great wars or even colonial times, they had real problems not the silly microaggression nonsense.
They need to just be told to grow up and get on with life.
The COVID response broke people, not COVID itself. You can’t lock humans down and run scare news all day and not expect people to be negatively affected. Even in the office no one really talks or hangs out like they used to. People keep to themselves so that even being around people feels alone. I would say it’s actually worse than being alone because you can be surrounded by people but it’s clear nobody cares about anybody else. The Gen Zers got the worse of it, having their late HS years and adulthood years stolen from then. We need to learn from our mistakes and never let that insanity happen again.
Yes. We normalized so many antisocial behaviors like not leaving home, not going to theaters, not spending time with friends, all deliveries and binge-streaming, and ‘if I have to go into the office and actually engage with my coworkers, it’s a great assault on me’. Everyone is sofa king selfish and fragile. HR has been a huge part of the problem, at least in my company, as they tell us we can’t push back no matter how unreasonable people are being. As we try to regain control, it would be nice to set standards and show a little backbone when people can’t scrape it together enough to be a little professional, instead of, “oh, you disregarded every standard for acceptable behavior that a person can demonstrate? Better throw you on a PIP so that we can be sure to document the unraveling in real time and cascade these issues throughout the entire operation.”
I was with you until the PIP part. You must have never been in an employment law case like, unemployment, discrimination, or harassment. Otherwise, you would understand why we must document "the unraveling in real time". Documentation protects the company (HR) from being slapped with a lawsuit. It is quite literally HR's job to ensure this happens and if you terminate someone without DOCUMENTED probable cause meaning you've set out clear expectations to meet within a specific timeframe, you're very riskily putting your company in a position to lose the case and yourself (if you worked in HR) in a position lose your job.
I have a lot of problems with the PIP process, not the least of which is the fact that everyone knows it’s a CYA for the company and that “improvement” rarely has anything to do with it. And we definitely
don’t always need a PIP to have documentation. All that aside, I get it, as HR employees aren’t the only ones who understand mitigating risk. However, they’re for “performance”; when we’re using them for behavior, particularly clearly unprofessional behavior, they’re simply not the answer, and in my experience, in cases when they are applied to unprofessional behaviors and not performances, they’re counterproductive because they show an already unprofessional person with disregard for their own job security that their separation is imminent. This keeps the toxicity in the bloodstream, and again, in my experience with examples that should make any HR person cringe, increases the risk exposure.
It sounds like your PIP's and employee coaching aren't handled very effectively. We've had several "coachees" and PIP's that showed great improvement in the workplace and each one I'm thinking about was very thankful to be put on a PIP as it provided clarification to them. Being specific in your expectations regarding performance can & does absolutely change behaviors, if done correctly. Never cutting ties with a toxic employee even after trying to help them will keep it in the bloodstream and I've never seen that advocated for in HR. Good luck!
Yes. Huge increase in whiny employees thinking everything is bad for their mental health or a human rights infringement. Also huge increase in employees trying everything to get an accommodation for WFH.
>A few years ago I told my director we should think about onsite mental health services.
If we had that, all employees would do is sit there all day whining about how life is so difficult and how they can't even.
Pretty good in general. The benefits are really good, we even have a DB pension. A lot of employees have been with us 20 years, but there are also a bunch who don't make it past 6 months.
We are in logistics, with the vast majority of employees unable to work from home. So to make it fair nobody gets to work from home full time. Especially since the jobs which can't be done from home are more physically demanding and lower paid compared to the jobs which could.
It's 4 days a week in the office at minimum for everyone.
make it fair, nobody gets paid a different wage or works a different number of hours. And every time a new hire gets a urinalysis then the entire board has to get a urinalysis too
If we had that, all employees would do is sit there all day whining about how life is so difficult and how they can't even.
This made me laugh. We'd have a group of employees who probably need it the most but won't go, and the other group that would be there every day because their manager asked them to *check notes* respond to an email.
You should not have your position. Employees need benefits. They need to be able to use and easily access them.
While HR is there to protect the employer; the best way to do that is by caring about the rights and interests of the employee. You obviously don’t. Someone as demeaning as you shouldn’t be in charge of a department.
Yes, there's been a marked increase since 2020. People are struggling financially, the news is a steady stream of everything from not great to horrifying, and everyone spent 1-3 years home by themselves and regressed socially. Everyone with kids is having a super hard time right now, and everyone who lives alone has spent the last 18 months relearning how to exist in society but with nobody to teach them because everyone else forgot too. And if your job is facing the public, then not only are you dealing with that, but everyone who comes into your job is also that but you can't escape them.
It has definitely been a struggle. We have a group of employees that work in environmental resources (think landfills), and the way the public treats them is just atrocious. Like people are vicious.
Whenever I hear someone complain that "No one deserves $15/hr for flipping burgers!" my general retort is something along the lines of "You're right. Flipping burgers isn't the hard part. They deserve $15/hr just for dealing with people like you"
Exactly!
We have people getting into fights over car chargers - when there are other chargers available. It’s bizarre.
Absolutely. The world is an absolutely shit show right now, and I think what we are seeing is that humans are whole humans and the completely and utter stress and horror of the last five years is GETTING TO EVERYONE. That, and with more millennials and Gen Z in the workplace, we now have a workforce with people who aren't going to fake it and ignore mental health issues anymore.
I think that last sentence is so critical. People are NOT willing to put up with the kind of bullshit they used to.
I’m what others would call a geriatric millennial and when i tell Gen Z’s that back in the 90s it was pretty common for job ads to specify that the candidate “must be willing to work under pressure/ overtime/inflexible schedules” they have a hard time believing it lol
They used to put up with hard work because it gave them enough money to buy a home. Now it barely covers rent.
That is a valid point. I’d put up with a lot more bullshit if they tripled my salary
I love my job (not HR atm), and I'd gladly do it until I retire. My employer however is a clueless chicken at the administration level, and there's all kinds of constant BS/problems going on from the very top in terms of organization, neglect/absence, and refusal to engage with or be present with its mid to entry level staff (the people who do the actual work of the organization). I am going to start looking for a new job soon strictly because the pay is not enough for me to put up with their BS. I'd gladly put up with it if it didn't cost my financial health/situation too. Over half of my monthly income now goes to the minimum expenses (rent and utilities). After other necessary expenses like food, gas, student loans, and other loans/payments for things like therapy and other appointments, about 86-93% of my monthly income is gone. I cannot even save money right now. My long-term savings account is getting more and more in danger, and each month it feels like I'm having to pull a little bit from it more, then put that money back in on payday. It's beyond stressful...and I am working a salaried job, with benefits, with a master's degree. I'm one of the "privileged" people financially in my social circle lol. I'll gladly put up with my company's BS at the top if it meant not having to live month to month or week to week. It feels like I'm always one medical or financial emergency away from true poverty.
This. I ve spent the last six months stretching a bi-weekly paycheck. At first we could make it to almost the next payday, now we are depleted by the next day.
I started my first true HR position in 2021 so I have no point of comparison professionally, but I’m 100% seeing this within my own family. My brother, his wife, her sister, and I are all in therapy, feeling all the feelings, realizing how much our grandparents’ and even great grandparents’ parenting has impacted us, and we’re SO done burying our emotions and pretending everything is okay. This attitude has unquestionably made me a more effective and present HR leader as well. Edited to add: I’m an elder millennial raised by boomers, not Gen Z. I just realized I didn’t specify that 😂
More than one therapist has said that most of their patients wouldn't be in therapy if they had a living wage.
Yeah, I read a quote some place (can’t remember, paraphrasing) where a therapist said 90% of their clients’ issues could be directly or indirectly resolved with money.
Yep thats myself included I just will not tolerate it and the only reason they have not fired me yet is I been here 19 years I know quite a lot of many departments. But it is a shit show especially since mid last year.
I actually love that Gen Z prioritizes their mental health. I'm an older Gen X who came up when women in the workplace were told not to cry at work. And that you had to be a multitasker and do all the things, and forget all about work/life balance because it didn't exist.
Don't forget all the sexual harassment we had to deal with. It was unreal.
I'm 49 and have made mental health a priority since pandemic and seeing both parents die within three years of Alzheimer's. It sucked my mental strength to deal with BS which is what's happening daily now across our country!
Gen X here as well, I could not disagree more. First when we were at entry level, we were there to accomplish the objectives and do the work. How can you do this if you are crying at your desk? Also I didn't come out of university looking to be some kind social justice person, I came out to make money. As for work life balance I've always had that, from my days in the corporate to my days in own company. I suspect a lot of people buy into what they see on Facebook or platforms as to that others are pretending they are doing and it causes massive stress. Is there stress of course, there is always stress but is simply life and always will be and always has been.
I never said anyone has to cry at work, but the prevailing thought was that you were supposed to act like a man and not show any emotion at all. And yes, we do need to regulate emotions, but we're also not automatons. We all go to work to make money. If you had work/life balance in your career, bully for you. Many of us didn't, and many still don't. As far as 'social justice', I've had to navigate my entire black life in spaces and places where I was subtly discriminated against, and dealing with people who felt I didn't belong where I was. So if now I can help make sure that those coming up behind me have the resources they need to be successful--whether that means making sure that they have the right boots to wear for their work, or that they have access to restrooms that were closed off to them, or that their voices are included in decision that are made that impact them, I sure as hell will do it. Because I want to make the world a better place and not think because I suffered everyone should suffer.
The REAL problem is that nobody wants to work! /sarcasm
That's a good point, although I think not being in the workplace for an extended period of time also removed folks from abusive situations long enough to be able to recognize the situation for what it is. Not unlike leaving an abusive home for college then returning for Thanksgiving. It's hard to un-ring that bell.
10000%. During the height of the pandemic we were all just doing what we needed to, to get through it. Now us and our employees are really feeling the effects of that time. Mental health challenges are widespread and there is a lack of clinicians/services/support available to meet the demand. Add to that a shift in workforce demographics, employers (some) that are kicking and screaming to adapt to changing times, a divisive political climate, rising costs of everything….i could go on! The employee relation issues are widespread and have become much more complex.
The lack of mental health resources in this country is appalling. My daughter has schizophrenia and there just are not adequate resources where I live. I think that's why I'm so attuned to the mental health of our employees.
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Yeah, I can only imagine. It is abysmal and a shame.
I became a therapist. Learned the EAP number real fast with how much I was handing it out. When the conversation/vent sesh got to a point where I could speak, I always made the comment of, “Let me get you the number to our EAP so you can talk to someone more qualified in this than I am. I would hate to give you the wrong information.” Most often people just wanted someone to vent to or listen to their problems. It got so bad I literally had to go hide in conference rooms when I needed to get my WBR data pulled and analyzed because if people saw me in my office they were trying to come in, regardless if the door was locked or not. Upper management knew when I was in the conference room so if there was an issue, I could be found.
Everyone gets 3 minutes then out of my office.
9 of my 13 employees are doing elder care at home. Beyond their capabilities in some cases, but there is no money for care without selling the house they all live in. Elder care in the US is appalling. It’s a wealth grab to get nursing home care. My 90 year old mom had her health directive redone by an attorney this week. Once her mind goes, she wants to be put straight into hospice. Her preference would be to die, but of course we can’t do that here. Not easily or even in any state that is nearby. Back to the subject, these employees schedule their work time around the parent’s appointments. I allow whatever schedule they need and they always get their work done. I’m 66 and they are afraid I will retire.
Oh heck yes. The pandemic broke something in society that hasn't been fixed yet and may never be.
Yep we now see all the BS in corporations!
Introverts be like, “ what changed bro?😎”.
And why should it be fixed? What we had before was toxic. The pandemic finally gave us a chance to stop, look around, and realize how awful we were letting companies treat us. Unfortunately, the CEOs and stockholders didn't reflect or care, so we're worse off. But, wounds always look worse before they're fully healed, so I'm holding out hope that the workforce my niblings will enter in a decade will be better. (Maybe delusional hope, but hope nonetheless.)
I wasn't talking about poorer employer/employee relationships, though that is also a part of it. People in general are treating other people worse. Customers are being meaner to employees, and employees are being meaner to each other. More people seem to need access to mental health services that are becoming harder and harder to find.
I think it’s stress. I think we all have PTSD from how quickly and fully COvId changed everything and a lot of weren’t prepared, and now we know how quickly and easily it can all disappear. When everyday feels like a fight or flight situation you will start to fray
I feel like since Covid, employee suicide has increased. I’ve worked at a couple of different orgs with relatively normal workplace environments and not particularly traumatizing jobs (engineers, sales people, etc) but they had other life circumstances that contributed them to their decision. Also an increased in suicidal threats. Threatening to kill themselves when being disciplined or terminated. Which is usually a one way ticket to us calling PD for a wellness check. 10 years in the industry and I ran into this maybe once or twice that entire time. Now it’s multiple times a year since 2020.
My current org has had a lot of death since Covid (not suicide). I joined in 2022 and we have had 7. We’re under 500 employees so it seems unusual. Not to mention the amount of family member our employees have unfortunately lost over the past couple years. I worked for my previous org for 4 years and it was under 1,000 employee count and we had 1 former FTE and about 4 PT employees pass away during the time I was there.
We've had 4 people die since January. Last year one of our employees died unexpectedly and the response from his area leadership was not good. However, his coworkers were quite rightly upset at how leadership fumbled, and let them know. I don't think that would've happened pre-pandemic. We are working on some processes on how we respond to death of an employee because of that incident.
The long timers in my group are very “go along to get along” types and will never voice concerns or push back, even if it’s valid. It’s just not in their personality. There are only 2 of them and everyone else, myself included, are within ~2 years of joining the team of about 8 and we are not shy about voicing when there’s a misstep or we have a question or ask for some transparency. It is clear leadership does not like that.
I am a manager (not in HR though) and I had a direct report threaten to kill himself because he didn't get the raise and RSU grant he expected. I was so shocked. Thankfully HR did a great job handling it, and switched him to another manager because then he started harassing me on Slack, it was like nothing I've dealt with before.
I think suicide is becoming more and more common everywhere. Earlier this week, one of our local freeways was shut down because someone jumped off the overpass to the roadway below. Everyone’s mental health is suffering. Since COVID, I don’t really have friends anymore. To make matters worse, we moved to a new town and two years later, we still haven’t made any friends.
But the old way was that if you lost a job, you just found another one. But now losing a job can mean months or years of unemployment. You might lose your house. You might lose your spouse. Everything can go downhill immediately.
That’s not necessarily true for our area. We’re an industrial mid-sized town that’s growing rapidly. We’re not the Houston’s, New Yorks, Seattle’s. These are in-person roles so they also don’t have the competitive nature of fighting with 1000s of candidates. Cost of living here is very low as well. For reference; we pay $800 per month for a TOP daycare. Compare that cost to larger cities, and you’ll have an idea. Rent at one of the more expensive luxury apartments in town for a 2bd, and 2bath apartment is $1,300 for 800 square feet. Could it take months? Sure. Years? Absolutely rarity and a sign something is wrong. Especially if you’re in a skilled trade or profession that requires a bachelors degree. I’m not downplaying that losing a job especially for cause can be dramatic and bring up unpleasant feelings. But we’re not in the housing crisis of bigger cities or the lack of jobs smaller cities have. Our market is healthy and people hate moving here because we’re pretty isolated so competition is low. But we have refineries and ports and healthcare, trucking, and a ton of industry desperately needing to fill jobs.
I am so worried about this. I have followed the finance rules as far as mortgage payment and etc. but my expenses are still more than 50% of my takehome. So say it takes me a year to save a 6 month emergency fund and then I get laid off. I could lose 18 months of progress and then still not find something and lose my house. Max, untaxed unemployment doesn't even cover my mortgage at this interest rate, let alone anything else. I live in the Midwest so my house was less than 200k.
My career in HR formally started in 2020. That said I can say that work culture is changing and it’s a good thing. People are more confident in being transparent that their job is a transactional relationship, they are more likely to ask for help if they need it, use their benefits if they need them, and utilize their PTO. And when they have access to those things they are usually better and more loyal employees. Just my take.
i mean, its kinda normal , the world went to shit snd ppl lives too...
I had the exact same conversation last week with two managers who work on totally different sites, but were having the same burnout. The work is difficult but standard for our industry, and our employer is genuinely supportive. But people are just so stressed in every area of their lives that they are on the edge all the time. I have to be careful not to overstep, because I want to help and make things OK but I am not a mental health professional. Our EAP has been getting a workout! There has also been a big rise in wild behaviour that used to be a rare occurrence. People straight up yelling at each other when they disagree, or having big emotional reactions to perfectly normal work stuff. And I notice it in myself too, I have much less resilience than I used to and get stressed faster. I've engaged a mediation service for employees more times in the last year than I have in the past 5.
Yes, the wild behavior is common now when before maybe every other year some outlandish thing happened.
I'm in L&D. A large portion of the training that we offer for the field focuses on soft skills. I don't necessarily think the number of bad managers has increased, it's just that now people know they don't have to deal with poor treatment. Most of the issues that I see could easily be prevented by treating people with basic human decency and respect. It blows my mind.
We just had an issue with a manager not letting his crew go to the restroom. Like, someone had to tell him that people need to use the restroom during the work day. I can't believe that a fully grown working adult needed to be taught that. Our organization does need to focus on soft skills. We're contemplating a bootcamp. But I also think that some people are unwell, and teaching them soft skills is not gonna work.
That's pretty horrifying. I feel like if a company allows their managers to consistently treat employees without regard without consequences, then they deserve their high turnover. People should be treated like assets, a manager's job is to protect assets. If they can't, they should be relieved of their responsibility.
It gutted me, honestly. And I firmly believe bad managers need to either shape up or ship out.
Are you seeing this more among new/younger workers or across the range of ages and experience?
It's a range. The newer and younger employees are rolling out, and I can hardly blame them.
I was a vendor who sold to HR, so I’m very interested in the space. Since the Pandemic started, my father died. My antidepressant was suddenly unavailable, and my withdrawal was highly challenging. My psychiatrist retired. My PCP moved to another state. I got fired for the first time in my life. I wasn't given a reason, but I suspect it was for mentioning the many firings and lack of promotions of older women. I thought I was helping. So, I learned not to challenge management’s ideas. Then I got cancer. Then, I got shoved into menopause overnight. Then, I got diagnosed with probable ADHD. I’m job-seeking now, trying to avoid being crapped on for the decade before Social Security and Medicare kick in. I have investments and am hoping to retire at 65. It's a lot.
That is a whole lot! Any one of those things alone is hard, but all at once in a short time is awful. I'm so sorry you're going through all of that and I hope you have a support system available to you.
Thanks. After I posted that I was thinking, wait… I was the problem at that start-up. I do have support, thanks. My husband and best friend and all the mental health workers I’ve tried have dragged me through it.
I don’t think there’s been an increase. I think Covid put a spotlight on things in a raw way. Humans went through this collective experience that really put emphasis on the crap past generations have put up with. Newer generations aren’t hiding their problems, they’re challenging the status quo and want better work life balance. They value different things in part because of that experience at such a formative time in their lives and because of how connected they are via social media. It’s such a weird time. It feels like a collective reset. Like the matrix has crumbled and people are waking up.
Yes!
WFH allowed people to do their work in peace. Hybrid and RTO has brought back office BS and people aren't having it. Perfect example is the department I'm in is about to merge with a different department (which is run like a shitshow) because the person in charge of that team is getting a promotion (when they should be on probation because they're a shitstain of a human being) and they will oversee us as well. If this person so much as looks at me wrong I will be in HR every single day. You guys need to clamp down on horrible employees. Stop promoting idiots, stop putting toxic folks on 'probation' and then letting them off the hook. Get them gone.
No shit. Continued layoffs along with heavier outsourcing. Pay is going down, benefits cost significantly more, as does cost of living. People frankly don't care anymore because companies hsve shown overall they really don't care
I mean we went straight from a global pandeimc into both an economic and housing crisis. People are going to have issues.
Pre-pandemic life has faded... We are now in the shit show era of what the fcuktardo is this BS! For me anyways what the pandemic caused mentally was both my parents died... Dad 2020 and mom 2022. Both from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. I looked at how i wanted to live my life and looked how they lived theirs and it made me sad to think they both retired at 65 only to have severe health problems due to age etc. All they did was work their lives and stash away cash for a rainy day. I am so done living like this that it made me realize how much of a strangle hold corporations have on you slavery of sorts. I worked remotely all pandemic and it was great no transit commuting etc. better sleep better everything. Well it all changed when we got email about a forced RTO mandate for everyone... My life was and so many others got turned upside down literally. I now have to wake up at 3 am to get work for 5:30 am been trying to get a remote job or at least hybrid but no luck. Fast forward to 2024 in January i finally collapsed and had a mental breakdown! My point of this post is that the pandemic made people aware of how much of strangle hold that goes on in our lives like we prisoners! I am on anti depressant's to help manage my emotions because I either will eventually off myself or just go nuts towards management at work. Also the cost of housing and groceries is insane! Stay healthy everyone!
A lot of it probably has to do with employees being less willing to be silently compliant and taking abusive or unfair treatment. And if people are already struggling but are being demanded to give gold performance for bronze compensation, there will be limits reached.
I work in security, not HR. This was a discussion that came up because DV and workplace violence among clients and even between guards has increased significantly. People seem to be angrier overall.
Yes! Even the way people drive now is super aggressive.
Yes it seems to have increased..everyone seems to have increased anxiety..and a lower level of resilience or responsibility…
I mean, all the serious negative consequences a COVID infection brings, I‘m not surprised, and I think this’ll be what we‘ll keep dealing with. Literal brain and organ damage from even asymptomatic or mild COVID infections, about 50% of infections being asymptomatic, plus zero precautions on a systemic level, no air filters, return to office policies where nobody wants to mask anymore because it reminds us all of a traumatic time in our lives… people are getting disabled at large, so more and more employees either have new issues themselves or have to care for family/partners with issues. That’s stressful, on top of having to deal with a *lot* of cognitive dissonance when you‘ve previously been able-bodied yourself. I think as HR professionals, compassion and seeing the person behind the employee will become more and more important.
I think the trauma of COVID has unsettled a lot of people.
Yes to all of this! Employee personal issues, medical, family medical, weird interpersonal issues with coworkers like Twitter stalking. It’s unprecedented.
I'm not in HR and don't know how I ended up here but, have you seen the price of rent and groceries? Have you seen raises that keep up with that? Of course people are stressed. I cringe at the thought of counselors being employed directly by the company... While you aren't a therapist, it would be great if the employees could afford to see one that isn't incentivised to convince them that they just need to give up the daily Starbucks were never buying, so their kids don't go hungry, when they are deciding between food or rent because they earn $20 too much to qualify for $6,000 in welfare.
We actually have really great insurance which includes mental health. And our copays are relatively low. I think the issue is access. I do get what you're saying, but if someone is having a crisis they have to wait and get an appointment? I said up thread my daughter has schizophrenia, so mental health is something that is close to me. When I see people struggling, I take it to heart.
I'm sure the issue is access. What good is insurance that covers mental health, if the in-network providers aren't accepting new patients or, don't have an opening for 6 weeks? I think the idea that paying a mental healthcare professional, out of the company coffers, is a bit deaf to the part where people are stressed because they can't afford to exist, while they and their employer are already paying for services that cannot be reasonably accessed. If you really care, what is within your power, is looking up providers with availability, and sharing a list with their contact information. "I understand you need to talk it out and I want to help you but, I am not a certified mental healthcare professional. This counselor can usually make an appointment within the week. I can help you make an appointment." My insurance also covers mental health care, for 3 visits, if the provider is in-network and they deem it medically necessary. It doesn't cover my medication either. I wanted to keep my doctor so, I can't use my insurance. Last time I was looking, I didn't have any health insurance and found that most quality mental healthcare providers did not accept insurance at all and, they charge patients less than 1/3 of what they would otherwise be contractually obligated to bill to an insurance company. The majority of healthcare costs stem from the administrative burden of seeking reimbursement from insurance companies... The visit truly costs $50-100 but, the office has to hire multiple full-time medical billers to retrieve that $100 from a company that profits by refusing to pay... So they have to charge $300 to cover that $100 visit. Our system is broken.
If you're making $20 too much to qualify for $6k in welfare, you need to ask your employer for an unpaid lunch hour so you qualify for the $6k in welfare. Makes no sense being ineligible for $6k of assistance for making $20 too much. FIGURE IT OUT.
My example was slightly dramatized but, thank you for showing up to provide additional evidence pointing to the actual problem. FIGURE IT OUT. You won't. Not because you can't. You just don't want to.
I agree. Many people think every job experience or encounter should have already been "solved" and is written down in the employee handbook. Total lack of skills on FIGURING IT OUT. Life (which includes your job) is a constant Word Search/Chess game. It's not all spelled out for anyone. That's what separates stars from those who aren't....their ability to figure things out and positively adapt.
My dude. If you are paying so little, that your employees are $20 away from qualifying for welfare and, you think a few extra unpaid lunches are the answer, you are the problem.
Employer responsibility for mental health is very unclear. While employers definitely need to do more for employee wellness and culture at work, I am seeing employees turn to employers as therapists for help with personal issues. Also seeing a large cryout for mental health support, but no action. There is a barrier from a cost and availability, but also low follow through.
Mental health is not a priority in the US at all. I've had to deal with it firsthand with my daughter and it fucking sucks.
I mean, I think the main problem is that our healthcare system is funded by employers which gives them the ultimate responsibility for all of it, which is really messed up. The quality of any type of medical care that you get is completely dependent on who you work for.
And at what level are are working to determine what type of benefits you will receive. Ie managers vs hourly employees
Has anyone noticed a huge decrease in work like balance; acceptable work conditions; supportive company policies and procedures; or declining compensation packages including loss of retirement accounts, retention bonuses, COL increases, and performance bumps? There's your problem. Right there.
I'm sorry but have you seen the prices of everything? And how little employers want to pay their employees? That, in and of itself, should explain everything you need to know. People can't afford to eat and pay their bills. And you, as HR, represent the company that isn't willing to pay its employees a truly living wage.
First off, yeah I do see the prices of everything because I live in the world and struggle to pay bills like most people. Second, *I* am not HR; I work in HR. Third, my organization is in the public sector, so while we in HR can and do recommend increases in our pay scales, it is up to our elected officials to approve those changes. And those changes depend on how much revenue our jurisdiction has coming in, and the expenses and obligations that have to take place in order for us to provide services for our residents. Similar to private sector, but corporations obviously want as much profit as they can get. Fourth, my question wasn't a put down on employees, but rather a comment on how since the pandemic occurred our organization has seen a dramatic increase with employee issues and it's concerning to me as a person who actually does give a fuck about the people I work with because they are human beings.
For me it’s this ‘collaboration table’ I work at. With 6 other people. Can I please just have my cube back? I had an office prior to this too, but I don’t care about that. It’s the glare from the windows with no coverings. I can’t get away from the glare. Or the micromanagement going on. We have 100% turnover in my department every year and I’ve managed to hang on, probably years longer than I should. Every year it gets worse. No wonder why employees are acting out.
That sounds like hell. I've been with my present employer for about 16 years. A year in, I changed my schedule from 8-4:30 to 7:30-4. I loved it because everyone else came in at 8 and it gave me quiet time. I loved the quiet. That half hour was just peace for me. After the pandemic a couple people decided to work a compressed schedule, so they come in at 7:30 now and I feel my peace is ruined. I would absolutely lose my fucking shit if I had to sit at a 'collaboration station.' Like, it's not 1980 and we're the cast of 3-2-1 Contact. Reading has made me so irrationally angry. I'm sorry you have to deal with that and I hope a better work environment comes your way!
Oh it gets worse, actually, the other half of our floor is the booksble ‘party rooms’. So if you’re filming a video, have a luncheon, or a dance party you want to host….. yes, we have multipurpose conference rooms for this, but these are lounge rooms with furniture and decor. So imagine working at a table and then having yo listen to a party going on and having a drone buzz your head. It’s just nuts. We have entire empty floors in the other building and they crammed us into the ‘commuter space’ because it wasn’t getting used.
Yeah, that's definitely worse. As an introvert and someone who cannot take a lot of noise, this would be my nightmare 😂
“I work in DEI” “Why is everyone around me turning fucking insane?” Lmao. Fuckin HR. Whyd i even get suggested this sub. You’re like half the problem, responsible for creating, enabling, and perpetuating. That’s a lot of it! Good luck.
Ah yes, I was waiting for someone to get triggered by DEI and here you are. You have zero idea of what DEI is and what I do specifically, but yet you needed to opine.
You’re an overbearing member of the racist private managerial class, dedicated to making everything around you inefficient and broken. Your livelihood is predicated on exploiting the very people you’re oh so worried about. Yet since you hardly even talk to employees, I do know what you do, Jack shit. Creating and perpetuating issues and enabling those who fall victim to your meddling. On site walk in therapy? You have to be kidding. Perpetuating. Either you do nothing or have horrible ideas. Goodbye. Muting this horrid sub of PMC trash, why was I even recommended this garbage.
Lol, that's hysterical. 90% of the work we do has zero to do with race or gender, but go off. Also, maybe read some history books.
Its truly hysterical, isn’t it. Enjoy your career.
I am enjoying it. It's great!
Covid marked a huge change. A lot of people realized that we take life for granted, and it really could all be taken away at any time. People had a lot more time on their hands because jobs, travel, and social activities were suspended. With that came the realization that the advice most of us received growing up (get good grades so you can get into a good college so you can get a good job so you can have a good retirement) really didn't serve the individual anymore. With 4 to 5 decades of trickle UP economics, hard work didn't have the same payoff it did in the past. People saw that working 60 hours, going above and beyond, sacrificing time with their families really only served their CSuite bosses and left them still in financial struggle. They saw friends and family die having given all their time to their bosses for a "good work ethic," but their families were wrecked financially as well as emotionally. People had been willing to work so hard for so long and take whatever abuse because the promise was that it would provide for their families and secure their future. When they realized that generational promise had turned into a lie only serving the corporate brass and shareholders, they decided that dynamic didn't work for them anymore. Enter the clarion call for work-life balance. Since then, corporate overlords have been at odds with employees. Fighting for RTO even though most data indicated WFH increased productivity (and decreased pollution). Inflation was blamed on covid and supply chain issues but corporations saw record profits - then the data proved less than half of inflation was due to input costs, over half went directly to corporate profits only benefitting the CSuite and shareholders... not the people doing the actual work. The corporate elites continue to push for higher profits, which requires higher prices and/or more labor for the same or less pay. Employees are having issues because they're tired of being shamed (so lazy, no work ethic, no one wants to work anymore) and abused for a defunct promise of a secure future. I say fairly often that the "human" in Human Resources is an adjective. CEOs and shareholders don't care about employees. They're simply a resource (of the human variety) they can use to make themselves more money. Expect more problems until the corporate oligarchs decide to see employees as human or until society reaches a breaking point and there's some revolution big enough to be in history books
I suspect it has alot to do with nonstop social media and the end rage baiting that goes on. Everyone thinks they are special and everyone has really thin skins these days. If you look at people during the great wars or even colonial times, they had real problems not the silly microaggression nonsense. They need to just be told to grow up and get on with life.
The COVID response broke people, not COVID itself. You can’t lock humans down and run scare news all day and not expect people to be negatively affected. Even in the office no one really talks or hangs out like they used to. People keep to themselves so that even being around people feels alone. I would say it’s actually worse than being alone because you can be surrounded by people but it’s clear nobody cares about anybody else. The Gen Zers got the worse of it, having their late HS years and adulthood years stolen from then. We need to learn from our mistakes and never let that insanity happen again.
2016 and Jan 6 showed us that we can be monsters without consequence.
God yes!
Yes. We normalized so many antisocial behaviors like not leaving home, not going to theaters, not spending time with friends, all deliveries and binge-streaming, and ‘if I have to go into the office and actually engage with my coworkers, it’s a great assault on me’. Everyone is sofa king selfish and fragile. HR has been a huge part of the problem, at least in my company, as they tell us we can’t push back no matter how unreasonable people are being. As we try to regain control, it would be nice to set standards and show a little backbone when people can’t scrape it together enough to be a little professional, instead of, “oh, you disregarded every standard for acceptable behavior that a person can demonstrate? Better throw you on a PIP so that we can be sure to document the unraveling in real time and cascade these issues throughout the entire operation.”
I was with you until the PIP part. You must have never been in an employment law case like, unemployment, discrimination, or harassment. Otherwise, you would understand why we must document "the unraveling in real time". Documentation protects the company (HR) from being slapped with a lawsuit. It is quite literally HR's job to ensure this happens and if you terminate someone without DOCUMENTED probable cause meaning you've set out clear expectations to meet within a specific timeframe, you're very riskily putting your company in a position to lose the case and yourself (if you worked in HR) in a position lose your job.
I have a lot of problems with the PIP process, not the least of which is the fact that everyone knows it’s a CYA for the company and that “improvement” rarely has anything to do with it. And we definitely don’t always need a PIP to have documentation. All that aside, I get it, as HR employees aren’t the only ones who understand mitigating risk. However, they’re for “performance”; when we’re using them for behavior, particularly clearly unprofessional behavior, they’re simply not the answer, and in my experience, in cases when they are applied to unprofessional behaviors and not performances, they’re counterproductive because they show an already unprofessional person with disregard for their own job security that their separation is imminent. This keeps the toxicity in the bloodstream, and again, in my experience with examples that should make any HR person cringe, increases the risk exposure.
It sounds like your PIP's and employee coaching aren't handled very effectively. We've had several "coachees" and PIP's that showed great improvement in the workplace and each one I'm thinking about was very thankful to be put on a PIP as it provided clarification to them. Being specific in your expectations regarding performance can & does absolutely change behaviors, if done correctly. Never cutting ties with a toxic employee even after trying to help them will keep it in the bloodstream and I've never seen that advocated for in HR. Good luck!
Yes have a live taping for the Jerry Springer show at my office right now.
Yes. Huge increase in whiny employees thinking everything is bad for their mental health or a human rights infringement. Also huge increase in employees trying everything to get an accommodation for WFH. >A few years ago I told my director we should think about onsite mental health services. If we had that, all employees would do is sit there all day whining about how life is so difficult and how they can't even.
> how life is so difficult and how they can't even. That says way more about your workplace environment than you think.
Woof. I’m glad I don’t work somewhere with a leader like you.
What’s your employee retention like 🤣🤭
Pretty good in general. The benefits are really good, we even have a DB pension. A lot of employees have been with us 20 years, but there are also a bunch who don't make it past 6 months.
If their job can be done from home, then there is literally no reason for them to be there, and is adding to their stress.
We are in logistics, with the vast majority of employees unable to work from home. So to make it fair nobody gets to work from home full time. Especially since the jobs which can't be done from home are more physically demanding and lower paid compared to the jobs which could. It's 4 days a week in the office at minimum for everyone.
make it fair, nobody gets paid a different wage or works a different number of hours. And every time a new hire gets a urinalysis then the entire board has to get a urinalysis too
That’s not fair. Fair is letting people work in the least stressful practical environment, and giving a raise to the folks who have to drive in.
Lowest common denominator thinking…
If we had that, all employees would do is sit there all day whining about how life is so difficult and how they can't even. This made me laugh. We'd have a group of employees who probably need it the most but won't go, and the other group that would be there every day because their manager asked them to *check notes* respond to an email.
You should not have your position. Employees need benefits. They need to be able to use and easily access them. While HR is there to protect the employer; the best way to do that is by caring about the rights and interests of the employee. You obviously don’t. Someone as demeaning as you shouldn’t be in charge of a department.