Repairing the cracks in a fractured workplace

Companies who show they are actively working together with their employees have higher levels of morale in the workplace.

The sentiment was discussed during The Economist’s Innovation At Work Global Week event.

Employees were seen to respond well when companies use inclusive language such as “we” and “our” when discussing the organisation, as it promoted a sense of unity amongst staff.

In contrast, former Twitter vice president Bruce Daisley cited examples whereby senior leaders agitated their employees by creating distance.


Further stories about employee morale:

HR professionals find employee morale has risen during pandemic

Care for HR teams has been overlooked during pandemic

UK workers become 'zombies' as morale slumps


These included Facebook executives working remotely from the likes of Thailand and New Zealand in much more extravagant conditions when compared to the regular workers.

Daisley also highlighted the leadership pay gap at Google as a source of tension, where the CEO earns more than 1000x more than the average salary at the company.

Studies also showed generational differences were causing issues among employees.

According to research conducted by recruitment company Robert Walters, 60% of workers are reporting challenges regarding working with people from different generations.

Millennials were a group found to be at the centre of the tension as 37% of other generations believed that millennials complained too much about long commutes or missing out on time with family. Incidentally, 55% of millennials surveyed wanted more flexibility and remote working.

With regards to dealing with conflicts between employees, workplace organisation Acas found that strong engagement between employers and employees led to better conflict management in the workplace.

The company estimates that workplace conflicts cost businesses £28.5bn per year. This leads to half a million people resigning every year at a cost of £11.9bn.

The CIPD adds that of the 10 million people suffering work conflicts every year, 56% develop stress, anxiety and even depression in some cases as a result.

Acas CEO Susan Clews stressed the importance of three C’s when it comes to mitigating conflict. Set the right culture where employees are heard, build capability to prevent conflicts that arise, and engender confidence amongst employees.