Jul 11, 2022 23:00:00

What is Microsoft's 'new indicator' of how to work after a pandemic?

With the pandemic, many companies are starting to work remotely or in a hybrid of work and home, and Microsoft says, 'The

new coronavirus has permanently changed the way we work and learn .' In a new report released on June 24, 2022, Microsoft advocated 'employee thriving' as a new indicator of the success of workplace operations after a pandemic.

Why Microsoft Measures Employee Thriving, Not Engagement
https://hbr.org/2022/06/why-microsoft-measures-employee-thriving-not-engagement

So far, Microsoft has emphasized the index of ' Employee Engagement '. As the word engagement, which means 'engagement' or 'engagement of gears,' is used, employee engagement describes how strongly an employee feels a strong attachment or connection to the company. It is said to be an indispensable concept for estimating staff motivation and productivity.

However, Microsoft's talent analysis team, which spends several months conducting employee engagement surveys each year, finds that even with good employee engagement scores, employees are distressed when they analyze the survey responses. I noticed that there is a gap between the measurement result of employee engagement and the actual situation.

So Microsoft's Dawn Klinghoffer and Elizabeth McCune worked with

Glint , an employee engagement measurement service, to conduct a short, targeted employee survey that reduced the survey span from one year to six months. As a result, Mr. Klinghoffer and others are able to feel the voices of employees more closely and respond clearly and promptly.

Inspired by research on 'THRIVING AT WORK' conducted by Gretchen Spreitzer and others at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Klinghoffer and others finally decided on 'employee prosperity.' We have arrived at a new indicator that means 'employee thriving'.

Klinghoffer and colleagues define employee sliving as 'being energized and able to do meaningful work,' and 'realizing that all employees are pursuing a sense of purpose.' It is for driving myself every day so that I can do it. '

Employee sliving was created in the wake of changes in the working environment due to the new coronavirus infection, but it does not mean only recovery from the effects of a pandemic or comparison with pre-pandemic sentiment scores. The aim is to produce better results overall.

When Klinghoffer and others actually conducted a survey of employee sliving, Microsoft employees rated the degree of 'sliding' in the company as 77 out of 100 points. Came out. Regarding this result, Klinghoffer et al. 'It is a powerful number, but it also means that more effort is required.' In addition, when the degree of 'sliving' is decomposed into three elements, 'meaningfulness of work (79 points)' and 'vitality (79 points)' are higher than 'motivation (73 points)'. I understand.

In addition, a free-form survey to explore the reasons for this result revealed three themes.

◆ 1: Corporate culture is important
According to the survey, both employees who were 'sliding' and those who weren't mentioned culture, but the content was very different. First, 'sliding' employees mentioned a collaborative environment with colleagues, teamwork, an

inclusive culture with autonomy and flexibility, and generous benefits. Specifically, it was highly evaluated for its ability to have frank and unbiased conversations on difficult topics and its emphasis on finding solutions.

Employees who are not “sliding”, on the other hand, say they are experiencing a lack of vertical organization, bureaucracy and collaboration. These opinions exude a lack of independence and a sense of being a mechanical gear, which is the exact opposite of employee sliving's philosophy of being 'motivated and energized to do meaningful work.' The situation was highlighted.

◆ 2: Manager is important
Microsoft employees appreciated the role the manager played during the pandemic. Almost all employees answered 'I agree' with the item 'My manager treats me with dignity and respect' in the questionnaire, and the score was 93 points. In addition, items such as 'Manager's effectiveness (87 points)' and 'Manager's career support (85 points)' also scored high, which is a strong indication that the manager contributes to the success of the company. Klinghoffer and colleagues point out.

◆ 3: Sliving and work-life balance are different
Klinghoffer and colleagues emphasize that it is important not to confuse 'employee living' with 'work-life balance.' The former is about the work of the employee, while the latter is about the employee's private life. For example, a young employee who is dissatisfied with a lack of roles may not find the work worthwhile even if the work-life balance is good in terms of working hours and workload, and those who have a big project may not find it worthwhile. Klinghoffer and colleagues point out that they may be feeling fulfilled in the workplace at the expense of short-term work-life balance.

In fact, Klinghoffer et al. Reported that 56% of employees had good 'sliding' and 'work-life balance', and 'sliding' but 'work-life balance' scores were not good16. As a result of comparing the% employees, it was found that the employees who had good scores had the following characteristics compared to the employees who did not.
・ Working hours are short.
・ Collaboration time is short.
・ The concentration time is long.
・ The scale of the internal network is small.

The results show that increased collaboration has a negative impact on employees' perceptions of work-life balance. Collaboration isn't bad in nature, but too intense collaboration is work-life. It's important to keep in mind how it affects balance, and managers and subordinates must be careful that such situations do not last 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. ' rice field.

Klinghoffer and colleagues also commented on the findings from this study: 'We know that this is just the beginning of a journey to understand'employee living'in our organization. For example, the most common respondent who did not 'slive' was 'feeling alienated,' so we feel that inclusion is part of the corporate culture for all teams. We will focus on being able to do it. '