Does Your Workplace Suck? Yeah, Most Do. But They Don’t Have To.

Workplaces suck.

There, I said it. 

This realization has been creeping on employee after employee for months now: My job is terrible. Why am I tolerating it? 

Remember when the “Great Resignation” was a thing? At the time, I said “resignation” is the wrong word for what we were going through.

Instead, I argued, the Great Resignation should be called the Great Reevaluation. 

Workplaces being terrible is nothing new. But something about 2020 made a critical majority of people snap awake to the fact that, as a community and culture, we’ve been tolerating toxic workplaces. WHY!?

Status quo is safe. “This is just the way things are,” we were told. And if you are an underrepresented person of color, we’ve experienced this is the way things are for us.

Then a global pandemic forced us to realize, wait, I don’t have to commute for two hours every day? I don’t have to wear a suit to do my job well? I don’t have to tolerate microaggressions to my face every day? 

The Great Resignation was merely a symptom of a Great Reevaluation of Life’s Priorities. No, Mr. Employer, your workplace is NOT my priority! The top of my priority list is for my health, my mental health, my children, my partner, my happiness. 

It’s not just us, either: Naomi Osaka quit the French Open — her “job” — to protect her mental health. A few weeks later, Simone Biles did the same. Two of the world’s highest-performing athletes — and two women of color — unwittingly became leaders in the Great Reevaluation. 

If you’re having a hard time recruiting or retaining employees, it is a glaring sign that your workplace sucks — whether it’s the place, that one department with high turnover, the culture, or the benefits (or lack thereof!).

But it’s not universal: some companies barely feel the fluctuations from employer to employee market because they have a terrific work culture. But if you’re struggling with high turnover and low retention, it’s past time to take ownership and responsibility for making your workplace better. 

Status quo is safe, but leaders can be courageous enough to make change.

What are you reevaluating right now? What one policy change could make your team more effective or your department more cohesive? What single update could be the difference between staying or quitting?

 About the author: Stacey Gordon is a Global Talent Advisor, Bias Disrupter and an unapologetic evangelist for inclusion. As the Founder of Rework Work, she anchors action using change management principles while facilitating mindset shifts. She is a global keynote speaker, Top Voice on LinkedIn and a popular LinkedIn Learning [IN]structor reaching nearly two million unique learners who enjoy her courses. You can find Stacey’s book, UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work, at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and wherever books are sold.

Want to work with Stacey live? Consider booking her for your next keynote, leadership development meeting or consulting engagement.