Leadership lessons from the #AntiWork movement – creating a sense of fulfilment, achievement and purpose is key to holding on to talent (and how to do this)

If leaders pay attention to internal psychological resources that people need to succeed, they can create ‘brain friendly’ environments where employees flourish, and attract and retain talent, says Sam Mather

The #AntiWork movement has been trending globally – with employees sharing messages from managers that inspired them to quit their jobs and sparking a debate about work-free lifestyles. It’s no surprise some employees are anti-work right now.

The human brain is hardwired to move away from discomfort and pain (both emotional and physical), towards comfort and safety. It’s a very effective survival mechanism. Research shows that feeling psychologically safe can improve well-being, optimism and the ability to problem solve and be innovative. To begin to feel safe, the brain has some fundamental needs. The need to feel a sense of control over what you do and how you do it.

An element of consistency in life, the ability to connect with other human beings and a sense of fulfilment, achievement, and purpose. The Covid 19 pandemic removed many of these elements of safety. And the absence of the most basic of emotional needs has created a collective realisation as to what is important. And for some, what’s important cannot be found in today’s workplaces.

But we can change this.

Providing employees with external job-related resources such as job security, rewards, constructive feedback, and empathetic supervisor support has been shown to be motivational, contributing to job satisfaction and protecting against burnout. However, often little attention is paid to the internal psychological resources that people need to succeed. If organisations can create brain friendly environments where employees flourish, they will attract and retain talent.

So, what are they key factors for creating a brain friendly organisation?

1Ensure employees feel in control

Leadership theories have long advocated for empowerment, collaboration, and delegation.  And they were right to do so. From the age of two, we hate being told what to do so the command-and-control leadership style merely poses a threat. Only when we are in control of ourselves, and our destiny, will we feel safe.

From a team perspective this means ensuring everyone can contribute and have their say without fearing repercussion (which could be anything from being laughed at to bullied). Even if individuals’ ideas are not taken up, just being heard is more likely to generate engagement.  Leaders need to ensure that all team members have an opportunity to contribute, not just the loud ones.

2Build trust

If something is contradictory, out of the ordinary or unexpected, the brain will err on the side of caution and assume it is a potential threat. The brain has a strong ‘error detection’ capability. Conflicting messages, incongruency between word and deed as well as constant direction changes all result in the brain recognising the inconsistency. And that’s a threat.

Team members themselves need to develop consistency in doing what they say they will, taking accountability for their actions. In doing so trust is developed. Emotional consistence is important. Not knowing if you will be dealing with Jekyll or Hyde can be perceived by the brain as a threat. Teach the team to behave in an adult-to-adult fashion and manage those emotions.  Ensure consistency across teams: psychological safety can be determined vicariously: your boss might keep you safe but seeing the lack of safety generated in another team, dilutes the benefits in the safe team.

3Avoid a blame culture

We have all had a moment when we have been given ‘feedback’ and our defences have risen. This is the brain telling us there is a potential threat: a threat to our competence. Something that was (and still is!) key to our survival. People will go to great lengths to disguise a perceived threat to their competence, especially in organisations in which failure is penalised.

A blame culture is sure to create fear so create an environment of learning and growth rather than win/fail. Work together to continuously improve errors. Provide people with the opportunity to develop the skills they need; not just hard skills such as IT and job related skills, but ‘soft’ skills such as wellbeing, emotional control and resilience.

Although research shows that the majority of our Psychological Safety comes from the environment around us, individuals still have a role to play in their own Psychological Safety.

4Create a sense of connection

We are social animals. There is safety in numbers. This plays out in organisations in the form of cliques – ‘in groups’ and ‘out groups’ and even between functions or departments. We have a hardwired drive to be connected to a group or person. Changing teams, a new boss, merging departments, these are all threats to the safety we gain through connectedness.

Allow teams to get to know each other. On a personal level. Team away days are often dismissed as frivolous, but they allow the development of personal connections and mutual trust. The brain rewards such connections by releasing oxytocin: the hormone that bonds people together. Ensure that as a leader, disruptive, negative or individuals who do not live the values are provided an opportunity to change or leave.

5Set a mission

Finally, we need to know WHY we are doing something. We have finite physical, emotional and cognitive resources. If you want me to invest them in something, then there needs to be a good reason. Otherwise I may be wasting resources needed to survive.

Create a vision and mission for your team that fits with the organisational vision. Get the team working to one overall goal and purpose that is meaningful for them.