Maintaining engagement in the 3rd year of pandemic fatigue

As the start of a third year of pandemic fatigue sets in, leaders are struggling to maintain engagement as they battle a new wave of Covid disruption.

Deborah Wilson, shareholder and head of careers, leadership development and consulting services at OnTalent tells Digital Nation Australia when it comes to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we have collectively dropped into survival mode.

“I think we all had, and businesses also thought, ‘Well, it's going to be a different year. That's going to be passed behind us.’ Nothing has changed. We've got another year of exactly what we've had,” she said.

Wilson asserts though, that while leaders adjust to the idea that Covid is going nowhere fast, there is at least more realism about what lies ahead.

“It's complex, it's uncertainty. I think we know it's hybrid working, the virtual working, it's here to stay. Leaders are kidding themselves if they think that people want to come back into the office. They absolutely don't.”

As organisations attempt to create a culture that supports this hybrid model, leadership styles are being called into question. While some managers’ skill sets were well suited to an in-person environment, not all have been successful in translating this to the virtual world.

“I think it would be fair to say that those that were reasonably good people managers in an office are still good people managers, they get it. It would be the ones that would be, that I'd say need to be a bit more cautious are perhaps more our introverted types that are happy to just get on and do their work and hope that everyone's okay.”

According to Wilson, if leaders are not able to respond the psychological needs of their employees, they will struggle to retain staff this year.

“Everyone's a bit bored with the last two years, which is why I believe people are moving on and people are seeking new things because if they want something different, so we've got to mix it up this year. We've got to engage our people a bit differently.”

While for some this engagement might be providing more opportunities to involve employees in different parts of the business strategy, it will be unique to each individual, she said.

“I think we've all got to lean in. We're actually just all making an effort to connect, differently and on a different level.”