Rethink SPECIAL: Retaining and engaging people at work

‘The Future of Trust and Work’ series (Part 2)

This week’s newsletter is the second part of a Rethink Special series on The Future of Trust and Work. You can read part one of the series here.

The focus of part two is a BIG topic –meaningfully engaging and retaining people in the workplace. This series is available to paying subscribers only – you can upgrade to a paid subscription below.

Leaders from companies of all shapes and sizes are talking about two related issues: “How do we keep good people?” and “What do we need to do for people to feel engaged at work?”

But the questions that really need to be asked are:

• What is the root cause of disengagement at work?

• Why doesn’t the ‘organization’ of work have the same meaning or relevance in people’s lives?

• Is it an issue of motivation or a shift in trust, power, or values?

There is a whirling narrative that, as time passes, employees will ‘recover’ from the pandemic and some stability to working patterns will return. I don’t agree. A lack of engagement at work is a systemic problem that will have a big impact on the future of trust. In fact, employee disengagement is a global problem that is costing a staggering $7.8 trillion.

In this Rethink Special, I dig deeper into engagement and retention to provide some fresh thinking and a new language to reframe this profoundly important workplace challenge. Please feel free to apply the ideas and research to your work.

I think you’ll find this newsletter useful if you’re a leader navigating this challenge, if you’re feeling disconnected from your job, or if you’re just curious about the future of work. It’s packed with ideas from philosophy, social science, and organizational behaviour with lots of useful data and study links!

A reminder: The Future of Trust and Work series is only readable for paying subscribers. To read this Rethink Special, it’s simple to upgrade your subscription below.

After the line below:

• Why ‘employee drift’ is something we should all be tuning into

• What ‘hyperobjects’ are and how they are shaping the way we experience work

• How control, connection, and community can reframe what work means