A column by Olivier Buisine, consultant, Regulate, former president of the IFPPPC (French Institute of Bankruptcy Practitioners).
According to a study published by DARES, the rate of resignations reached 2.7% of the employed population in Q1 2022. Are “large resignations” a fundamental trend or a mere epiphenomenon? In reality, the figure of 500,000 resignations perhaps raises the question of the search for meaning in work.
Individual achievement at work no longer necessarily depends solely on financial compensation for time spent for the benefit of the employer. Employees are also citizens who seek more meaning in their work and an alignment between their own values and those of the company.
The search for meaning at work also contributes to a new dimension in the perception of the company’s overall performance.
Recruitment and management issues
Taking meaning at work into consideration is now one of the components of ’employer branding’ for attracting the best profiles within companies.
Taking into account the personal concerns of the individual, the company’s impact on the environment and the transparency of its activities is also a new business that employers also need to consider in retaining and retaining employees in office.
Companies must also adapt the skills of their management within the framework of a new management method sometimes defined as “enlightened”, which consists in providing specific managerial responses to the new social needs of their employees and to recent technological developments in work organization (digitalization tasks, teleworking, etc.).
Purpose and company with a mission
The company may also set goals that go beyond just financial performance in order to meet employee aspirations. Pursuant to article 1835 of the civil code, in its formulation resulting from the law of 22 May 2019, the company by-laws can therefore specify a raison d’être, consisting of the principles with which the company adopts and for whose observance it intends to allocate resources in carrying out of your business. A company with a mission is characterized, for its part, as a company that has social and environmental objectives. It adopts practices that take into account the social and environmental impact, which is at the heart of its economic model.
According to the Observatory of companies with a mission, 900 companies with a mission have been referenced to date. The timid beginning, since the introduction of the Pacte law, can perhaps be explained by the lack of tax incentives to implement such an approach, which represents a cost for the company (training of employees in CSR, place of implementation of reporting, development of management , etc.).
Skills sponsorship
The company can also second an employee as part of a philanthropic project. Provided for in article L. 8241-3 of the Labor Code, skills sponsorship is therefore the donation of professional or personal skills by voluntary employees, during their working hours and in agreement with their employer, to in favor of a general interest.
Expertise sponsorship can come in two forms. The company undertakes, as part of a service, to carry out a specific mission, which it will manage, for the benefit of an organization of general interest. The company can also issue a labor loan. It then provides an organization eligible for sponsorship with one or more employees.
This device is comparable to a donation for the company and benefits from advantageous tax conditions.
Impact of teleworking
The Covid-19 crisis has also led to a significant development of teleworking. The new management challenges lie in maintaining the motivation and involvement of employees in the case of remote work as well as in the methods of monitoring the tasks entrusted to them.
At the same time, the digitization of work or the development of platform workers are also leading companies to ask themselves how to “humanise” tasks and maintain a connection with other employees in the company.
In conclusion, the search for meaning at work perhaps marks even more the differences in the treatment of employees according to the size and sector of the company as well as the level of qualification. Some employees risk being excluded from these managerial innovations. The recognition of the individual and the consideration of his personal aspirations in connection with the company’s objectives certainly appear more difficult to decline within the fabric of TPE-PMI (catering, construction, crafts, etc.).
