"Now this will fix the labour market..."

Are employees the main building blocks of a company? Are they worth caring about? Are they worth developing? In any case, the following story is worth reflecting on.

Not so long ago, less than six months ago, I was talking to the CEO of a large multinational company and he literally said to me, "Geoff, we need to have a crisis, because people are so out of their minds. Everybody here is talking about well-being at work, and how people should feel good at work, but it seems to me that people want a lot of money, but it stinks to work."

I was surprised by his words as basically his company is performing well and is efficient, but he said that in many cases he finds that his staff are not all equally efficient and some are pulling the strings, many are just "travelling on the company."

This year we assessed the entire staff team from a sales and engagement perspective. This was followed by a process of development. Then, the economic impact of the epidemic "broke out", schools were closed and home offices started to be ordered. A few days later I asked him:

- "Well, how do you see the situation?"

His first reaction was:

- "Now that's going to fix the labour market."

I wonder what do you think, is he right?

Over the past period, we have approached many managers and HR leaders and offered our help in assisting staff to deal with the impact of the situation.

We know that health workers are in a difficult situation, but shopkeepers, drivers, customer service workers, etc. are not exactly in the best of situations. Becoming and remaining resilient in such a situation is not easy.

For many, there has been no real change. For some, it's the problem of homeschooling, for others it's the slow internet... However, even if the mental distress is not immediately felt by everyone (although I would point out that the telephone helplines are glowing at an unprecedented rate), the crisis is being felt. You can sense that something very bad is coming. The only question is to what extent. There is talk in the media of hundreds of thousands of unemployed, so one can conclude that they are certainly expecting many people to lose their jobs.

We also try to help them with our job search and self-motivation webinars.

In such circumstances, how is it worth looking after your staff?

Is it worth investing money in your staff?

Is it worth caring about the mental health and stability of your staff?

When the economy and society get back on track, what state are/will they be in?

Is it worth caring about whether they can really give of themselves to the maximum at the restart?

We think YES.

Do you think it is worth taking care of your colleagues?

And if so, how?