Are We Adapting to the Post-Pandemic Labor Market?

More than two years after the pandemic transformed the labor market, employees are becoming increasingly aware of factors that have an impact on their performance, such as their motivation level.

After living in a state of extreme anxiety and stress caused by the lockdowns, employees are taking a step back to reflect on whether their job makes them feel happy and motivated, and the factors that make them want to stay or quit their job to seek new employment opportunities.

Even before the pandemic, the World Health Organization classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon, defined as a syndrome that causes employees to feel physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, increased mental distance from their job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to their job, and reduced professional efficiency and productivity.

Lately, this phenomenon has been the subject of many discussions because, while many employees are experiencing unusual levels of exhaustion or feel discouraged after having made a significant effort to stay productive and engaged, others feel that the source of their burnout comes from switching to a home office work model, where they were under a great deal of pressure to take care of their family and household while fulfilling their work obligations.

This was corroborated through an OCCMundial survey, which revealed that the emotional state of employees is negatively affected by their return to the workplace, since they are overcome by discouragement, burnout, fatigue, and dissatisfaction.

This is where we discuss how important it is for both companies and employees to have the ability to adapt to change. Last April, OCCMundial interviewed 9,500 people and 588 companies for the Adaptabilidad Laboral Post-Pandemia en México (Post-Pandemic Labor Adaptability in Mexico) study, which revealed positive data regarding the ability of employees and companies to adapt to the changes caused by the pandemic.

Both job seekers and companies agreed that some of the motivating factors for staying in an organization and retaining talent include good compensation and benefits, a positive work environment, good work-life balance, recognition, positive leadership, a personal career plan, and an inspiring organizational culture.

However, the study also found that 7 out of 10 employees will keep their job only until they find a better one, and only 5 percent of those who wish to continue with their current job in the medium  and long term plan to do so for the next two to three  years.

We believe that, given the high unemployment rate, the Great Resignation will not happen in Mexico anytime soon; but we could be wrong, particularly concerning the most qualified talent with the best skills and abilities.

Therefore, when inquiring about why employees would leave their current job, the study revealed that 6 out of 10 would do so for a better salary and benefits, and a similar number would leave for better development opportunities and new motivating factors. 

Moreover, 36 percent of companies expressed that there has been an unusual wave of resignations in their organizations and that the reasons are similar to those mentioned by employees, but they added the high levels of stress and the need for change.

Learning the unsettling fact that employees would leave their current job, despite feeling motivated, has led us to reflect on what companies are doing to learn more about the new expectations and preferences of their employees, how to keep them motivated, and retain their best talent.

It is important not to feel that we are exempt from the mass resignations taking place in other countries because while it is not happening in Mexico to the same extent, the qualitative impact could be the loss of our best employees.

The good news is that it is never too late to take action. The first step is understanding what motivates employees to stay at their job and that their preferences and expectations have changed. The next step is to listen and stay informed about what they value most. Both internal and external mechanisms are used to gather detailed information about their reasoning for staying or leaving their job.

However, what is most important is for companies to get to know their people. To offer employees a good combination of motivating factors and build their engagement, companies must tap into their needs and include them in the organization's business objectives. Above all, companies must be empathetic to their concerns when physically returning to the office.

Following these steps to gain insight into the motivating factors and priorities of employees will allow companies to build a stable work team to boost productivity and drive success for the company.

*The author of this article is the Chief Operations Officer of OCCMundial, the leading employment website in Mexico. Since 2015, Sergio has been instrumental in driving the company’s annual double-digit growth, opening business offices in 13 states throughout Mexico, and becoming a key element of the recruitment process of SMEs. Before his role as COO, Sergio was the company’s Business Director and CFO, and in 2011 he launched OCCEducation, a business unit that offers educational options for all levels and specialties. Before joining OCCMundial, Sergio held several positions in finance at Procter & Gamble for over 12 years where he was stationed abroad, and he also worked at Convermex. Sergio Porragas graduated with honors from the Universidad Nuevo Mundo and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialty in finance.