Sometimes We Just Don’t Get It!

Monday Message from Jerry Houston, President and CEO of HPISolutions

Normally my goal is to write the weekly Monday Message from Jerry on the preceding Thursday each week.  That said, here it is Sunday, a full week before this message is due… WHY, you ask?

One of my weekly routines is to watch CBS Sunday Morning.  If you have never, tune in.  You will find it worth your investment of time.  However, I am not here to promote the show, rather I want to talk about something else.  Sometimes I hang in and watch Face the Nation, which on this day I did.  Best Selling Author, Daniel Pink (4 bestselling books on NYT), is a sales and business expert and the question to him was whether business leaders are understanding the NEW NORMAL, and especially in terms of the impact of the COVID shutdown on the future of work.

During the interview, he quoted the CEO of Morgan Stanley as stating, “if people can go out to restaurants, they can certainly show up to the office.”  Mr. Pink was surprised and taken aback at the lack of clarity that this attitude conveyed, and perhaps you agree.

Here are some facts:

1. We are at the highest level of turnover churn in decades.
2. Millions of people, especially women, have left the workforce, notably because work from home fits better to their lifestyle.
3. Unemployment overall is at 5.5%, and among college-educated professionals, it is at a staggering low of 3%.

I will defer to all of you to determine if demanding that workers return full time to the workplace is the right course of action for organizations, or not.  If you want to attract and retain people, think about your return-to-work policies very carefully.

Have a Great Week!