After the pandemic, and now, in the midst of an international crisis, workers are profoundly changed

We are going through a period of profound social stress, which began with the isolation created by pandemic in our homes, from the widespread use of smart working , from the loss of sociality at work and from new rules and fears in private life.

We have been convinced for decades that the highest form of personal and social fulfillment was a good job position, the achievement of a power, large or small, a positive social visibility, the result of one's position hardly won over the years and, finally, a financial well-being that underpins our success.

For these reasons and, probably, for others that are completely personal, we have sacrificed ourselves to an intense work activity, dedicating all the forces available to our goals, far beyond what could be contained in an employment contract.

An idea of self-denial to work socially accepted and evaluated in a normal and positive way by all, the legacy of a concept of individual hard work and responsibility within society.

But then Covid came, the companies emptied, many workers were parked at home, waiting for the 'epidemic passed, others were organized for remote work, completely changing the relationship between the company, the worker and the workplace.

The employees who continued to work from home have stripped off the clothes and masks they often wore with them, the lack of sociality concentrated the effort exclusively at work and not also in the work context, creating a lowering of personal tensions.

The workers have had the opportunity, through the experience of remote productivity, to rethink the business model in which they lived, the contradictions, the efforts made over the years, the satisfactions and burning bitterness suffered, the spite and marginalization sometimes felt, the past and current motivations, the economic implications and the time that is spent inside a company than the one outside of it.

Many have taken stock, have experimented with new priorities, created a new relationship with the money earned, with wishes, ambitions and future projects.

Upon returning to the companies the workers were no longer the same as two years before, each marked by their own transformations, some more profoundly due to the loss of relatives or friends, with different centralities with respect to the past and new expectations.

A completely new context also for managers, who had to continue to manage the workforce and develop strategies to start a new career together.

On this particular occasion, the executive division distinguished itself in two categories:

the first who became aware that it was not possible not to consider what the world, and the workers had experienced, trying to have an empathic and communicative approach with the workforce, in order to consider new management strategies that take into account the accumulated stress load, to understand how to avoid dangerous breaking points.

Managers who improvised themselves as psychologists, whose intent was to understand how the individual worker had changed, what new expectations he could have and what problems he brought with himself, what his ambitions were and how they could be made to coincide with company growth, in short, to create satisfaction and belonging to the group.

The second category of managers continued to relate and manage employees as if nothing had happened, relying on the team's dedication to work , on their sacrifices in terms of intellect and time and encouraging them to run as before, even more than before given the time lost during the covid, making them understand every day that they had to thank the company for keeping their place.

This second category did not realize that its army is made up of people who no longer see in their uniform the only satisfaction of their life, trying, day by day, an ever wider rift.

The awareness of a lower motivation that people found in a company managed by distant managers, without the ability to communicate effectively, with the lack of listening to your group can create a phenomenon called Quiet Quitting.

The Quiet Quitting is an attitude on the part of workers which, summarized, means making the minimum effort possible within the correct terms of the employment contract, without being dragged into the consumption of their mental energy and time for the company.

A model of approach to work that is highly destabilizing for companies, if you don't understand it in time and if the correct tools are not found to stem it and avoid it.

There are no warnings, threats, allusions to salary increases or other bonuses that can solve the problem, as the worker is not violating any rules and money carrot no longer holds as it once did.

If the manager does not understand that a profound dissatisfaction has arisen in his team, where workers do not have the opportunity to express themselves, to fulfill themselves, to derive pleasure from what they do, within the company, the employees have two ways: to change jobs or to stay by applying Quiet Quitting.

For managers it is important to understand that the world has changed, that the anxiety and difficulties outside the company have transformed especially young people, the most proactive and dynamic of a company, and that relationships and work environments must be different and managed in a more collegial and empathic way.

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.