We are back with the weekly digest on workplace news trends. Once again, we are looking closer at the wave of lay-offs that, last week, were announced by Mercedes-Benz and Pateron among others.
Also, we are zooming in on quiet quitting that seems to have impacted half of the American workforce, including the C-level. In “Leadership tips”, we share strategies and tactics managers can use to nip the trend in the bud and promote engagement and proactivity in the workplace.
Top stories:
- Patreon lays off its security team
- C-Suite is jumping on “quiet quitting” and Great Resignation bandwagons
- How leaders should go about fostering trust in the workplace
- Examining the business impact of hybrid work as told by numbers
Let’s get to it!
Layoffs
Daily Crunch: Former employee says Patreon has laid off its entire security team | TechCrunch
The speculations started when Emily Metcalfe, a senior security engineer that used to work for the company, announced that the company let her and the rest of the team go in a LinkedIn post. After a while, Patreon confirmed that it had, indeed, laid off its entire security team.
Brazil’s Mercedes-Benz union goes on strike after layoffs announced | Reuters
Following a massive notice of layoff this Thursday – over 3,600 workers, at Mercedes-Benz Brazil, workers are striking. The company’s worker syndicate is calling the layoff “irrational and illogical” especially since the company was still hiring as of last week.
Fashion Startup Pomelo Cuts 8% of Staff as Asia Layoffs Spread | Bloomberg
The startup joins the list of companies that are laying off employees across various functions. Bloomberg reports that the company is cutting 55 employees across various functions.
Scoop: Cannabis Tech Startup Flowhub Cuts About 15% of employees | Insider
Motivated by legal marijuana sales in states like California and Colorado taking a plunge, the startup is laying off a few dozen employees. Apparently, the permanent layoff decision is also motivated by the difficult fundraising climate for tech startups.
Remote and hybrid work
Leaders are designing offices to be more ‘homely’ to entice workers to return | Fortune
Leaders are making changes to office spaces so that employees want to return willingly, not when mandated by upper management. Making offices greener, and more comfortable, as well as prioritizing communal areas over individual workstations are the key trends in office space design.
Inflation and hybrid work ‘skyrocketed’ demand for flexible workspace, WeWork says | CNBC
According to WeWork, as companies face inflationary pressures, they become more nimble about their real estate portfolios and start considering lower-risk ways to expand office estate – such as relying on flex office providers.
Hybrid working: why the office-home balance is still a challenge | Financial Times
According to Nicholas Bloom for Stanford University, widespread hybrid and remote work adoption is the biggest shock to the labor market in decades. It’s then unsurprising that employees still struggle to balance in-person and WFH time and struggle to explain the benefits of getting together to employees.
What We Know Now About the Business Impact of Hybrid Work | TIME
In an interview with professor Bloom, a TIME journalist explores the data that would back up the case for remote work. Drastic improvements are seen in reducing quit rates, improving engagement, and boosting employee productivity.
Workplace trends
Half of the US workforce are ‘quiet quitting’ | Unleash
All data points to a drop in job satisfaction among American workers. Quoting Gallup data, Unleash points out that the engaged-to-disengaged employee ratio is the lowest it has ever been. Moreover, research shows a clear link between “quiet quitting” and eventual resignation.
What keeps women from management roles | Bloomberg
While showing ambition to do well in their positions, women are often not incentivized to ask for promotions and accept management positions. A new Bloomberg article explores the rationale behind the phenomenon.
CEOs Succumbing To The Great Resignation: Prioritizing C-Suite Mental Health | Forbes
While there’s a lot of focus on the Great Resignation among Gen Z employees, a similar exodus among C-suite is overlooked. However, data shows that C-Suite is struggling with burnout and mental health challenges.
Layoff anxiety is on the rise among employees | Harvard Business Review
A growing number of layoff announcements is breeding worry and concern among employees. Now that 80% of American workers are worried about the security of their positions, how should leaders optimize employee experience to fight layoff anxiety?
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