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Pressure on companies leads to “CEO exodus” in the US; understand

Inspire your team. Deliver results. Keep costs under control.

These have always been the primary responsibilities of leaders and managers at work. But his job duties have become more time-consuming and complex thanks to the stresses of the pandemic, social justice issues, geopolitical earthquakes, rising numbers of layoffs and now recession fears.

Keeping employees focused and happy through it all — while striving to accommodate everyone’s scheduling needs, health concerns and personal obligations, as well as the demands of their own bosses — has been, to say the least, difficult.

“We have never been here, where the entire workforce is going through social, economic and psychological changes,” said attorney Claire Deason of the law firm Littler Mendelson PC, who advises clients on their remote work arrangements and the impact of the pandemic. in the workplace.

It has changed the way leaders – from CEO to middle management – ​​think about work and what they really want in their lives.

C-Level Blues

A recent survey of 2,100 respondents from four countries conducted by Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence found that “nearly 70% of executives are seriously considering leaving for a job that better supports their well-being.”

The vast majority of executives (81%) said improving their well-being is now more important than getting ahead at work.

Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2022, global outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas found that 668 U.S.-based CEOs left their positions, making it the highest January-May total recorded since the company began tracking monthly changes. of CEO in 2002.

“The exodus of CEOs continues. Economic conditions, rising inflation and recession concerns are causing boards to rethink leadership and leaders to rethink whether they want to address these challenges,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at the company.

Middle managers in a difficult situation

When it comes to middle management, a survey conducted earlier this year by Gartner of 1,000 mid-level leaders in 13 countries found that about a quarter said they feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities and 25% said they don’t feel mentally engaged at work. .

Among other things, they are now under pressure from the leadership to “get back to normal,” even as the lives and perspectives of the people they manage no longer fit pre-pandemic normal.

In addition, managers themselves have their own personal pressures and mental health strains to contend with.

And like so many other employees, they may also want to work more flexibly.

But when it comes to working remotely, many companies have different rules for higher-ups than for lower-level ones, Deason said. Senior executives are often expected to be in the office.

And managers looking to move up the hierarchy may feel they should do the same, even if they prefer to work from home and are already managing a team that works remotely most of the time.

Another big stressor for middle managers: Many are relatively new, hired after a wave of older managers decided to retire early during the pandemic, Challenger said.

“They are learning to be managers of remote teams. And there isn’t much wisdom or experience they can get from [gerentes mais antigos]. This is exhausting,” he noted.

More balance ahead

There is also more pressure on managers to keep teams together when employees have more power than ever before and layoff rates are at record levels. And the last five-month layoff rate was the lowest on record since Challenger began tracking it in 1993.

“Companies have clung to people and hate to let them go in this environment,” Challenger said.

He anticipates that the buoyant job market could start to cool down a bit by the end of this year, amid concerns about the economy.

But this cooling can only moderate the abandonment rate, not cause it to plummet. And it may increase layoffs, but not by much.

If both levers move as Challenger predicts, it could resolve at least one of the exhausting ambiguities managers and executives have had to deal with lately: how many days people will work in the office versus remote.

Until now, there has been a huge disconnect between what employers want and what their employees want. “Employers who go hybrid might think four days a week and employees think it should be zero,” Challenger said.

“As the job market cools, we will move closer to a new post-Covid balance.”

Source: CNN Brasil

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