Societal Workplace Shifts Could Conjure More Opportunities According To This Author

Steve Cadigan, author and self-proclaimed “recovering HR executive”, knows a thing or two about taking a creative to support all workers.   

Recently, Cadigan sat down with Allwork.Space’s Future of Work Podcast to explore how the last few years have altered the trajectory of the future of work, what it means to be a future-focused workplace and how employers can retain their workers in the long-term. 

Cadigan began writing “Workquake: Embracing the Aftershocks of COVID-19 to Create a Better Model of Working” as the dynamic between employees and employers began to shift.    

“I saw increasing dissatisfaction among employees and employers with the model of work. It’s an old model that was built for slower times where the pace of change wasn’t as dramatic as it is today.”   

Just as he finished writing the book and prepared to send it to his publisher, the pandemic hit and changed everything. 

Cadigan decided to postpone publishing the book and analyze exactly how this massive societal event would impact the workplace. 

Although there have undoubtedly been significant changes to how employees work, the crux of the issue remains the same: workers are unhappy. The pandemic simply brought this discussion forward. 

So how can leaders address the clear dissatisfaction professionals are experiencing today? Cadigan says it should start with supporting “their entire career journey.” 

“[The] more you do that, I think the more likely [workers] will stay. The more likely they will refer people to you,” said Cadigan. 

“What I’m trying to help organizations recognize you have two choices if you’re not able to fill your jobs: you can keep hunting on the open market, or you can become a place where you grow those skills and you control building your talent pipeline from within, you control building more permeable boundaries with educational institutions in the world instead of waiting.”