And the bosses, what do they think of these work revolutions which have regularly made the news since the resumption of post-Covid-19 economic activity? “Great resignation”, “Quiet Quitting”, the quest for meaning at work has been discussed at length by employees and collaborators in recent weeks. Affected by labor shortages, affected by geopolitical and above all financial uncertainty, what are the thoughts and responses of the leaders?
Through 22 individual interviews conducted with major executives of French companies such as L’Oréal, Médiamétrie, Danone France or Maif, The Boson Project observatory, a specialist in wage climate issues, offers an excursion into the state of mind of a panel of French leaders, faced with the upheavals in the world of work, accelerated by the health crisis. The results of this investigation were published on Wednesday.
“We wanted to see what is happening on the other side. How managers are dealing with this new relationship to work, with changes in the personal and professional balance of workers. What are they trying to put in place?”, presents Mariana Lagneau, advisory director of the organization. The Boson Project also carries out company audits.
These interviews, accompanied by a questionnaire having obtained a hundred answers, are not intended to represent the opinion of the French ruling class, but allow an incursion into the reflections in force among some.
First lesson, a very large majority of these bosses believe that with labor shortages and falling unemployment, the balance of power has changed. According to them, it would now be in favor of employees, whom they are struggling to attract. “Priority number 1 is recruitment”, sums up Mariana Lagneau.
According to the Boson Project observatory, a certain urgency emerges from the interviews. The leaders say they are ready to test solutions with immediate effect. “The managers interviewed focus more on short-term solutions to attract candidates than to secure positions. Many of them sell flexibility, the workplace, salary grids, in other words, the environment work, more than the tasks themselves”, explains Alix Teupootahiti, also author of the study.
The authors of the study claim to have been surprised to observe a form of “humility”, where some could have indulged in a form of “resentment” in the face of candidates and employees with increased requirements. For the most part, managers say they understand the anxiety and fatigue sometimes reported by employees, and want to revitalize by recruiting, in particular by offering telecommuting, facilitated recruitment processes, and by using freelance services.
Finally, the Boson Project observatory stresses the importance of succeeding in transposing the special attention given by managers to these new wage demands. “We will have to set aside time for sharing, for consensus. If listening is already present, we must now co-construct the transformations”. Which ones? “One of the main challenges is to enable employees to address the major societal challenges in their daily lives, with global warming in mind”, concludes Rose Ollivier, director of the observatory.