I used to believe my greatest strength as an HR leader was that I was approachable. My door was always open. My tone was warm. My responses were measured. People described me as diplomatic and steady. I wore those adjectives like badges of honor. I thought that was leadership. What I did not understand at the time was that I had confused approachability with avoidance. I believed that protecting relationships meant minimizing discomfort. I believed that being supportive meant softening hard truths. I believed that if no one left a room upset, I had done my job well. In reality, I was protecting myself from difficult conversations. It took one leader and a very expensive lesson to make me see that clearly.
Tag Archives: Workplace Culture
5 Ways To Enhance Wellbeing of Layoff Survivors
The majority of current layoffs have been in the tech industry, but there have also been significant layoffs in industries such as healthcare, tourism/hospitality, retail, manufacturing, construction, and transportation/warehousing. Although layoffs have always been an issue, the recent increase is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to supply chain disruptions, an economic slowdown, and inflation. According to the International Labour Organization (2022), the pandemic is estimated to have pushed global unemployment to 200 million in 2022, up from 186 million in 2021. This represents an increase of 14 million in just one year. The ILO estimates that the global labor market will not fully recover from the pandemic until 2025.