The holidays are a particularly difficult time for those who are already struggling with loneliness, depression, and feelings of hopelessness. This can lead to burnout or even suicidal thoughts.
Mike Ivy is not someone you would expect to contemplate taking his own life.
His experience and accomplishments communicate grit and resilience. A trauma, critical care and acute care surgeon by training, Dr. Ivy grew up in the U.S. Navy. His father was a submarine sailor; Mike joined the Navy to pay for medical school and served nine years active duty. Following the Navy, he completed a fellowship at Yale in surgical critical care then held a series of increasingly senior leadership positions at hospitals in Connecticut. Presently, Dr. Ivy is Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the Yale New Haven Health System, which comprises more than 26,000 employees, including 6,685 medical staff.
Pat Farnack, longtime radio host on WCBS Newsradio 880 in New York City, recently interviewed me about the trend toward “brutal honesty” in the workplace and its unintended consequences.
I’ve shared my thoughts about the importance of emotional compensation several times on the blog this year. It’s one of the strategies firms can use to create an environment where employees truly want to be – an essential asset during the “Great Resignation.”
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Forbes senior contributor and career coach Kathy Caprino about a topic that’s on a lot of employers’ minds these days: how to prevent your firm from being negatively impacted by the “Great Resignation.”
On September 21, I’ll be joining the team at Terryberry for a timely webinar discussion on employee retention.
I am excited to announce that I am speaking at The Kevin Eikenberry Group’s virtual event, Virtual LeaderCon. This is a free online event that brings together me and 30 of the world’s top leadership experts talking about the most pressing and emerging leadership and learning topics.
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed again by Pat Farnack, longtime radio host on WCBS Newsradio 880 in New York City.
In the middle of the “Great Resignation,” companies are struggling to attract and retain employees. Studies show that negative emotions in the workplace have been rising. These negative emotions make people less enthusiastic about returning to work and incentivized to seek a more positive experience elsewhere. In our conversation, Pat and I discussed strategies that organizations can use to create a more positive culture that connects and ultimately retains employees.
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
It’s one thing to know something intellectually—to learn interesting new data, to gain an understanding of why something works the way it does, to be inspired by a message—but if it stops there and you don’t develop heart knowledge, then you’re less likely to see meaningful or lasting change as a result. In our busy and full lives we need to engage both our head and our heart if something is going to “stick” and make a difference. It takes assent and action, knowing and doing, to arrive at “I understand. That makes sense. Now that I’ve experienced it, I get it.” Having a personal experience that validates or reinforces the head knowledge is often what it takes to know it in your heart and for the information to sink in and affect your attitudes, your words or your behaviors going forward.
As a growing percentage of the workforce seeks new career opportunities, employee retention has become a major issue facing organizations today. Addressing financial compensation is important, particularly for those lower income workers whose wages have remained largely stagnant, but addressing emotional compensation is another component all organizations need to consider.