But sometimes they’re not.
You also have a workforce of human beings with complex feelings and emotions. Confidence can wobble. Motivation dips. There can be disengagement. Lack of concentration. Slow delivery. Targets are missed. There can be a whole range of complex challenges running through your business culture. And they all come from social pain.
Here are the most common cultural challenges around social pain that we solve with our clients:
Low Resilience
Your people are expected to do more with less – they’re stressed out, burnt out and unhappy with nothing left in the tank.
Poor communication
Your people feel unsafe and disconnected, so they’re not giving feedback, saying what they really mean or being honest about what they need.
Tick boxing
Budget cuts, cost saving and an unrealistic sense of urgency drive short term ‘tick box’ solutions that don’t deliver and leave your people feeling frustrated, miserable and stuck.
Political correctness
Your people feel unable to handle issues around diversity, inclusion and performance management. They’re gripped with fear around getting it wrong and suffering the consequences.
Resistance to change
Your people are angry, afraid and resentful of relentless business change, so can’t or won’t make the decisions they need to move the business forwards.
Silo working
Self-preservation driven by fear or lack of clarity leads to isolation. Your people don’t trust anyone, so become unwilling or unable to collaborate and share ideas.
Disconnected Leadership
Your people feel misunderstood, unheard or unable to influence due to the breakdown of trust and connection between senior leadership and the wider organisation.
Depression is predicted to be the biggest health problem in the world by 2030. Absenteeism, presenteeism and leavism are on the rise. Mental health is a ticking time bomb for employers, if we continue to ignore social pain at work.