Job news is everywhere right now. The jobs report was released last week, showing lowest unemployment rate in decades, even as tech companies continue to lay off workers. The Great Resignation that began in 2021 continues, but recent reports have come out citing those who left their jobs feel regret about their decisions. Companies continue to update and mandate return to office policies as the pandemic wanes and a recession looms. All of this can lead to a very charged workplace.
Team morale is an outsized contributor to product team efficiency and outputs. How individuals feel about their employer, their position, their work life contributes greatly to their success on a product team. Even though these larger conversations might not feel like they directly impact a backlog or a sprint, they certainly affect the individuals managing that work.
This graphic by @lizandmollie of how we do and could measure success on the job is telling.
All workplaces are different. And what you need at different times in your life and your career might be met or not by your current workplace. Employees should understand what their true needs are and if the workplace can meet those needs or not, either now or in the future. Sometimes reframing the discussion in these terms can help an employee who was feeling anxious understand their stability; conversely it can also help an employee on the fence decide what is right for them.
This is not to take any responsibility away from the company. As product leaders, we should continue to positively affect the culture of a company in all the ways that we are able, advocating for our team members, their advancement, and their work life quality. Companies should of course be changing and adapting to an evolving workforce as well.
If possible, let’s continue to help contextualize the bigger picture to our product teams, and hopefully create a more stable engaged team by doing so.
STAND-UP EXERCISE
Begin by showing your team the above graphic from @lizandmollie. Explain the concept of needs and priorities with a job changing over time or based on life circumstance.
Ask folks to on their own (not publicly) assign a percentage to their career priorities based on the list - Pay, Benefits, Title, Balance, Flexibility, Impact, Passion. Feel free to adjust categories, especially as it makes more sense culturally/regionally - countries with more standardized federal/state benefits might not have that as category, for example. After giving folks time to tally their responses, ask them to move a dot into the bubble that aligns with their number one priority right now. If you feel comfortable generalizing, you can talk about how this might compare to the company’s ability to respond to these needs/priorities.
Encourage folks to talk to their manager about their job priorities if they haven’t already. This is a good exercise to encourage folks to do every 4-6 months, to see if anything has changed for them.
