The year 2023 has brought great anxieties to workers, with rising inflation and threats from artificial intelligence. What can leaders do to calm these anxieties and get the best out of their teams in 2024? Jazzy Jasiulek, Daniel Jolles, Nikita, and Grace Lordan asked over 1,400 professionals about their top anxieties and share how leaders can address them and create more resilient and productive teams in 2024

Jasiulek, Jazzy

Jolles, Daniel

Lordan, Grace

Nikita, Nikita

English

LSE Research Online

The three biggest workplace anxieties of2023The year 2023 has brought great anxieties to workers, with rising inflation and threatsfrom artificial intelligence. What can leaders do to calm these anxieties and get the bestout of their teams in 2024? Jazzy Jasiulek, Daniel Jolles, Nikita, and GraceLordan asked over 1,400 professionals about their top anxieties and share how leaderscan address them and create more resilient and productive teams in 2024.In 2023, the world experienced the explosion of AI tools, rising inflation and incomeinsecurity. For many, wages have not kept pace with the increase in prices, and the techindustry’s job cuts that started in 2022 continued to ramp up throughout the year.Meanwhile, many workers are facing fears about what rapidly developing AI tools willmean for their roles.While a dash of anxiety in some situations can motivate us towards a goal, the effect oflarge and sustained anxieties at work is mostly negative. Anxieties about our work canlead to distraction, stress, exhaustion and ill-being, preventing us from performing at ourbest or progressing our professional goals.We asked over 1,400 professionals across the US and UK to share their biggestanxieties and what their leaders could do to resolve them. Here are the three big themesthat emerged for 2023 and how leaders can respond to them in 2024.1. Job fitThe number one anxiety for employees in 2023 was the ability to meet the specificdemands of their job. Many felt burdened by the complexity of their work or simplyquestioned their ability to perform the job effectively. Lack of autonomy and being‘forced’ into tasks for which they hadn’t developed the right skills prevented many frommeeting role expectations or delivering for their customers. Many professionals say that2023 has left them fearful of being stuck doing a job they simply do not enjoy.Page 1 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 02/01/2024Better support from leaders and colleagues was a common suggestion for how thisanxiety could be eased, as well as more attention from leaders in creating an open,inclusive culture. Yet, a surprisingly large proportion of respondents viewed their lack ofjob fit as their personal responsibility. Rather than simply expecting leaders to redesigntheir jobs for them, employees said they wanted the trust and opportunity to find theirown way.This echoes the trend towards ‘job crafting’, which involves leaders workingcollaboratively with their teams to turn “the job [an] employee has into the job they want“.Tweaking a person’s job role to align with the work they find most impactful andengaging can ease anxiety by removing complexity and increasing autonomy, improvingboth wellbeing and professional development.2. Wage instabilityOne-fifth of workers listed wage instability as their top source of workplace anxiety. Manyheld fears about becoming unemployed or their wages losing purchasing power. Othersspoke about shouldering additional responsibilities while watching their pay effectivelydecrease due to the rising costs of living.Although resignations have dropped significantly since the ‘great resignation’ of 2021,salary freezes and rising inflation have left many employees yearning for their leaders torespond with increased salaries. This desire for higher salaries will surprise no one, buthow managers can best respond might.Salary benchmarking against market rates is often promoted as good housekeeping forleaders, and benchmarking can lead firms to make modest salary increases and improveretention, particularly in lower-wage positions. However, for leaders unable to raisesalaries, simply being transparent about rewards comes at little material cost. Thistransparency raises the perception of fair pay and can reduce salary inequalities.Many employees said they were prepared to accept other benefits when salaryincreases were not possible but did not want these to be tokenistic. A ‘pizza party’ inplace of a ‘cost-of-living adjustment’ can be expected to backfire. However, flexibility inthe form of remote work or compressed schedules is seen as highly valuable. Specificbenefits linked to firm products (discounts, access) or unique opportunities (travel,Page 2 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 02/01/2024humanitarian) can also boost retention.3. Workload pressureThe third most common employee anxiety of 2023 was workload pressure. Layoffs, pooremployee retention, and inexperienced new hires were all seen to have made for moreunrealistic expectations about work volume. The majority of employees experiencingworkload anxiety wanted their leaders to redistribute work, while some felt there waspotential to reduce workloads by improving cumbersome processes.Overwork can lead to poor decision-making, team conflict, and even negative healthconsequences, leading people to disengage. Throwing money at the problem can havemixed results. Bonuses might be helpful in jobs where work is repetitive or requires littlecreativity. In complex environments, high bonuses linked to performance might alsoincrease pressure to perform, increasing conflict, reducing work quality and heighteningworkload anxieties.In complex work environments where skilled teams navigate uncertainty and differentpoints of view, thriving under workload pressures may require a distinct leadershipapproach. Paradoxical leadership is an emerging approach aimed at helping leadersbalance opposing demands, including ‘decision control vs. autonomy’, ‘corerequirements vs. flexibility’, and ‘team uniformity vs. individual needs’. This approachensures that teams are clear on goals but have autonomy in how to achieve them. It alsomeans offering flexibility but maintaining ultimate decision control and drivingperformance standards. Thus, for skilled teams, embracing a paradoxical leadershipeffectively balances control and autonomy, and constraint and flexibility. This can resultin increased engagement and enable teams to perform well and even excel in in highworkload situations.As we bid farewell to 2023, many leaders will be looking to calm the prevalent workforceanxieties and get the best out of their teams in the New Year. To help achieve this, wesuggest leaders employ job crafting to help their teams achieve a better ‘fit’ with theirjobs. Transparent communication and fair compensation can ease anxieties brought onby the increased cost of living. The higher workloads in 2024 could make it the year ofthe ‘paradoxical leader,’ where those who balance control and autonomy, as well asconstraint and flexibility, can support their skilled teams to thrive. Navigating the dynamicPage 3 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 02/01/2024landscape of 2024, leaders armed with an understanding of these anxieties andequipped with strategic responses can pave the way for a more resilient and thrivingworkforce. This blog post represents the views of its author(s), not the position of LSEBusiness Review or the London School of Economics and Political Science.Featured image provided by Shutterstock.When you leave a comment, you’re agreeing to our Comment Policy. Page 4 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 02/01/2024

The three biggest workplace anxieties of 2023

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/121198/1/businessreview_2023_12_20_the_three_biggest_workplace_anxieties_of_2023.pdf

The three biggest workplace anxieties of 2023

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

LSE Research Online