Happy employees don’t leave. And in the tech industry, that saying might as well be etched in silicon. New data from LinkedIn and Microsoft paints a concerning picture—most professionals aren’t feeling very cheery about their work life.
In a survey of 31,000 individuals across 31 countries, the tech giants found 46% of respondents are considering quitting their jobs in the next year. To put that in perspective, that’s higher than the record-breaking numbers we saw during the Great Resignation of 2021.
And remember those headlines about bosses being back in charge? While company leaders might be tempted to celebrate their regained leverage, recent data reveals a hidden anxiety within leadership itself: a staggering 61% of cybersecurity and engineering leaders fear they won’t be able to fill key roles over the next year.
Employee restlessness, coupled with leadership’s hiring anxieties, points to a single, powerful conclusion—the talent shortage is far from over, and the battleground is the work environment itself.
LinkedIn and Microsoft pinpoint three main culprits behind this employee wanderlust: burnout, a lack of learning opportunities, and a feeling of being left behind as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the workplace. If company leaders don’t revise their people strategies soon, the high performers they should be clinging to will walk.
So, what’s the fix? A work environment where your people feel valued, supported, and healthily challenged. A culture that prioritizes well-being, growth, and collaboration.
This isn’t some utopian dream—it’s a strategic approach to retaining your best people. By addressing their core concerns, you can turn the tide of the talent war and build a powerhouse team that grows alongside your organization.
Read on as we share actionable strategies to help you combat burnout, cultivate a growth mindset, and embrace AI in a way that empowers your team.
Building a Better Workplace: 3 Strategies for Success
1. Prioritize Well-Being and Prevent Burnout
The “always-on” culture in many workplaces is a double-edged sword. It might foster great innovation in the short term, but it will most likely lead to burnout faster than you can say “server overload.” In fact, 68% of today’s professionals struggle with the speed of work, with 46% saying they’re completely burnt out. Here’s how to rewrite the script:
- Workload Management: Transparency is King. Ditch the black box. Implement workload management software like Trello or Asana that offers clear visibility into project assignments and deadlines. Encourage open communication so team members can discuss concerns and collaborate on solutions.
Remember, employees aren’t robots—they’re human. Providing them with tools to help them manage their assignments is the least you can do to help.
- Unplug and Recharge: More Than Just PTO. Taking a vacation shouldn’t feel like someone is abandoning their post. Institute core working hours and actively discourage after-hours communication unless absolutely critical. And lead by example! As a leader, you using your vacation time helps to make taking PTO feel like the norm, not the exception.
When employees do take time off, actively discourage them from working while on vacation. Well-rested minds are innovative minds, after all.
- Mental Health Support: Breaking the Stigma. Mental health matters. Normalize conversations about emotional or psychological well-being by offering company-wide workshops on stress management and mindfulness. You might also provide access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) with confidential counseling services. Remember, a healthy team is a happy (and productive) team.
2. Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Forget the one-size-fits-all training approach. Your team craves growth, but not the kind delivered in a monotone lecture. Here’s how to reignite a love of learning:
- Internal Skill-Sharing: Knowledge is Power, Sharing it is Even Better. Empower your senior team members to become mentors. Organizing employee-led lunch-and-learns and workshops gives your team members a great opportunity to share expertise and best practices gleaned from their experience. You could also host an internal hackathon where developers team up on coding challenges and share their favorite efficiency hacks and tools.
- Personalized Learning Paths: Learning Shouldn’t Feel Like a Chore. Work with each employee to identify their career aspirations. Then, craft personalized learning plans that go beyond online courses to help them reach their goals. Think providing subscriptions to industry publications like ACM Digital Library or IEEE Spectrum, sponsoring conference attendance to DEF CON or Black Hat, or funding certification courses relevant to their desired career trajectory.
- Stretch Assignments and Innovation Labs: Failure is a Steppingstone, Not a Dead End. Challenge your team to step outside their comfort zones with occasional stretch assignments that push them to develop new skills and broaden their knowledge base. Take it a step further and create dedicated “innovation labs” where teams can experiment with new technologies like AR/VR or natural language processing, brainstorm wild ideas, and develop prototypes. Remember, a culture of learning embraces calculated risks and celebrates lessons learned from failures. Just look at Google’s innovation lab, “X,” where seemingly outlandish ideas like self-driving cars and internet balloons were born.
3. Embracing AI: Partners, Not Replacements
AI is here to stay, but it doesn’t have to feel like a dystopian robot takeover. Here’s how to make AI your team’s secret weapon:
- AI Upskilling: Demystify the Machine. The best way to combat the fear of the unknown? Education. In fact, an MIT Sloan study found that companies with a strong AI upskilling strategy see productivity improvements of up to 40%. You might consider conducting a training seminar that deconstructs AI—how it works, its limitations, and its potential benefits for your team. Most importantly, focus on how employees can leverage these tools effectively within their existing roles.
- Human-AI Collaboration Workshops: The Dream Team is Here. Humans and AI are like socks—better together. Organize workshops that explore how both can best collaborate to achieve optimal results. Make sure to highlight the unique strengths each brings to the table.Consider a team working on network security, for example. AI can continuously monitor network activity, identifying suspicious behavior and potential malware signatures. However, it takes a human security analyst to understand the context of these alerts and determine if there’s a genuine threat. Together, human expertise coupled with AI’s real-time monitoring allows for faster and more effective response to cyberattacks.
- Employee Feedback Loops: A Two-Way Street. Communication is key. Create open channels where employees can voice concerns and offer feedback on how AI integration is impacting their workflow. Actively gather this feedback and use it to refine your AI implementation strategy, so it supports your employees and enhances their workflows.
Building a Better Tech Workplace: Partner with BCS for Success
Attracting the industry’s best talent starts with a positive and engaging work environment. Our experienced IT and engineering recruiters can find the perfect-fit candidates who value the type of work environment you’re building.
We’ll highlight your company culture during the recruiting process, guaranteeing a strong match from the start. Together, let’s attract, retain, and empower the best tech talent to propel your business forward.