How can today’s employee mood inform us about the future of our organizations? Exploring the J-curve phenomenon in relation to employee engagement and turnover.

In a recent Linked-In post from friend and colleague Douglas Brown, he shared that 51% of employees are looking for a new job.  That’s a pretty damning account about the state of our current national workforce.   It is also pretty aligned with the current rate of employee engagement, at last looksie it was about 39%. 

Organizational Behavior (the study of how people function together in our organizations and culture) is comprised of five social sciences, political science being one of them.   Within political science, there is a phenomenon known as the J-curve.  The J-curve posits that there will be a tipping point.  That tipping point will occur when the state of expectations are no longer working in accordance with human needs.  If Org Behavior is rooted in political science, does the J-curve apply to our organizations? 

I believe the answer is yes.  For nearly 30 years, organizations have been asking for their employees to share their voice through employee engagement surveys.  For the same 30 years, those of us working in the field of Organization and  Leadership Development have been telling those same organizations that there is a better way.  Yet, we still see the same tired, outdated, negative behaviors among leadership that allow a toxic culture to develop and in some cases even flourish.  Our employees don’t want more money – though its nice, we want, rather need to be treated as humans: respected, motivated, and heard.  People –humans, your employees--  are tired of the stress, frustration, and anxiety. 

Is your organization prepared for a  J-curve moment?  Even without a lot of employee change, the damage is being done.  Even without having left the organization, many of those  employees have already left you.  Its not too late, you can turn the ship. It may be difficult, you may not like the process, you may be challenged.  Its time however to re-envision leading, and provide an organization where our humans feel connected, inspired, and ready to work for you. 

There's a high-cost of turnover. There's also a high cost to complacency. Are you prepared for the mass exodus or are you ready to face the challenge of really leading? There are lots of us who are happy to help.