President's Blog

I’m sorry.

It is often difficult for us to say this to a family member or close friend we have wounded and to whom we owe an apology. Our pride, inclination toward sin, and plain old stubbornness, can make the path to owning up to something we did wrong feel like climbing Mount Everest. As Catholics, we know that expressing contrition for our wrongs is required by our faith, and is  spiritually and emotionally cathartic. We are in communion with one another. When we offend someone, we must apologize. The same is true in the business world.

When reading a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, How to Apologize to a Customer When Something Goes Wrong, I was reminded that we have to apologize to anyone we offend, not just family and friends. When we let down a customer, we have to apologize as well. For Catholics, it is an issue of justice: an aggrieved party deserves it. For business people, it is also good for business. From the article:

The service recovery paradox is a phenomenon in which a customer who experiences a problem with a product or service, but has that problem effectively resolved, is more likely to have a positive impression of the company than a customer who never experienced any problems. Essentially, when a company is able to effectively recover from a service failure, the customer’s satisfaction can actually increase beyond what it would have been if the failure had never happened.

Owning up to our acts and omissions with offended customers can strengthen our relationships with them. Similarly, we know from personal experience, that when we apologize to friends and families, the result is often more healthy relationships.

How do we go about making amends with customers? The article suggests five steps that businesses can take when apologizing to customers:

1. Restore lost value;
2. Acknowledge responsibility;
3. Explain the problem;
4. Describe how you will fix the issue; and
5. Express your regret.

I am struck by how this list parallels an examination of conscience. We need to examine our consciences in our private lives and our professional lives. These five steps are a way to make sure we are being accountable to customers. Consider it a customer experience version of an examination of conscience!

In his encyclical letter, Rich in Mercy Pope Saint John Paul II explained,

Society can become ‘ever more human’ only when we introduce into all the mutual relationships which form its moral aspect the moment of forgiveness, which is so much of the essence of the Gospel. Forgiveness demonstrates the presence in the world of the love which is more powerful than sin. Forgiveness is also the fundamental condition for reconciliation, not only in the relationship of God with man, but also in relationships between people.

Forgiveness has a place in the business world. Let’s be more confident in apologizing to customers when they deserve an apology. It can help evangelize our faith, strengthen trust, and deepen our relationship with God.

What is good for the soul is inherently good for business!

I recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal, Women’s Return to the Workforce Piles Momentum on a Hot Economy. As I read it, I kept thinking about my wife, with whom I have the privilege of raising six children. She makes my day job possible, because she works ceaselessly -- with faith, love, and patience -- to ensure our half-dozen children get everything they need. What my wife does for our family every day is work, as well as fulfill a vocation for her and serve as an inspiration to me. The WSJ article was interesting because it highlighted the return of women to the workplace outside of the home, with significant economic implications.

As the article written in March reveals,

[w]omen have gained more jobs than men for four straight months, including in January’s hiring surge, pushing them to hold more than 49.8% of all nonfarm jobs. Female workers last edged higher than men on U.S. payrolls in late 2019, before the pandemic sent nearly 12 million women out of jobs, compared with 10 million men.  

These trends are worth digesting. More reading on the topic turned up a March Washington Post piece, Single women take an outsize role in the workforce — and the economy. From their reporting:

Single women — whether divorced, separated or never married — are more likely to be working than married women. The share of never-married women who are working or looking for work has risen nearly two percentage points in the past decade, even as the overall labor force participation rate has declined.

But their lower wages mean they have less spending power.

Also worth noting from the article: 52 percent of American women are unmarried, and the number of single-women households is rising fast. The Pew Research Center adds another dimension to understanding the changing role of women in the workforce. As Pew shared in September 2022, "[w]omen have overtaken men and now account for more than half (50.7%) of the college-educated labor force in the United States, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data."

In his apostolic letter, Mulieris Dignitatem (On The Dignity and Vocation Of Women), Pope St. John Paul II wrote,

[t]he Church gives thanks for all the manifestations of the feminine "genius" which have appeared in the course of history, in the midst of all peoples and nations; she gives thanks for all the charisms which the Holy Spirit distributes to women in the history of the People of God, for all the victories which she owes to their faith, hope and charity: she gives thanks for all the fruits of feminine holiness.

As Catholics and business leaders, we must put at the forefront our gratitude for the gifts possessed by women, be conscious of the challenges many women face in the workplace, pay just wages, and be aware of workplace and economic trends that impact women. We must cultivate respect and admiration for women whose work is in the home, and for those who work outside the home. As women are increasingly returning to workplaces outside the home, Catholic business leaders must lead the way in acknowledging the contributions of women wherever they are working, and in helping them to fulfill their vocations.

The COVID lockdowns forced many businesses around the world to rethink how they got work done under unprecedented constraints. American businesses were no exception. As the economy returns to normal, many workplace practices that were in place before and after the lockdowns are being analyzed, and likely will be for some time. Traditional employment is being reimagined in some quarters. A recent study from the United Kingdom reported that a trial of a four-day workweek by over 40 companies was a success. Could a shortened workweek be the next British Invasion?

A significant trial of a four-day workweek in the United Kingdom helps shed light on the issue. As The Wall Street Journal reported,

In one of the largest trials of a four-day week to date, 61 British businesses ranging from banks to fast-food restaurants to marketing agencies gave their 2,900 workers a paid day off a week to see whether they could get just as much done while working less, but more effectively. More than 90% said they would continue testing the shorter week, while 18 planned to make it permanent, according to a new report from the study’s organizers.

That is a significant data set to examine the value of a four-day workweek. Not every business is the same, and the comparison of British to American businesses isn’t precisely apples to apples. But there are lessons to be learned from the results. Lot’s more data and analysis to read in the article and the linked report.

Is a four-day workweek without any drawbacks? Certainly not. Boston University’s BU Today spoke with BU business school lecturer Constance Hadley, who identified some potential issues with a four-day workweek, which include:

Some key issues to define and consider are (a) how much time it takes to achieve productivity, and whether there are any time savings by compressing the workweek, and (b) how much work is dependent upon collaborative work that requires coordinating schedules across individuals on one less day a week.

I worry a lot about creating even longer, more hectic days, with spillover effects on the three days off, like you spend the first half of that fifth day just recuperating and cleaning up your inbox. There will also be knock-on effects on the rest of the team if everyone is just shifting their meeting times to one less day a week, or worse, if people are taking different days off from each other. It could mean longer stretches of meetings on those four days, which are also a cause of burnout and dissatisfaction.
 

If you want to try a four day workweek at your business, Harvard Business Review has A Guide to Implementing the 4-Day Workweek that has six steps you can take to make a four-day workweek a reality for your employees. As the author explained, “[w]hile no change comes easily, leaders willing to embrace models like the four-day workweek will find the experimentation well worth the effort.”

Decisions we make as business leaders can always benefit from being rooted in the Magisterium. Obviously, the Church doesn’t enter the debate on a four day workweek, but she does have insights on labor. In his encyclical letter, Laborem Exercens, Pope Saint John Paul II wrote,
 

The word of God's revelation is profoundly marked by the fundamental truth that man, created in the image of God, shares by his work in the activity of the Creator and that, within the limits of his own human capabilities, man in a sense continues to develop that activity, and perfects it as he advances further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation.

This understanding of work can help guide our decisions when addressing work schedules. Ideally, our work can bring us closer to God, further develop the virtues in us, and enhance our sense of community. Whether or not our work occupies four or more days a week, our journey toward sanctifying our labor and relationships with our employees and coworkers should not be restricted to a calendar.

Quiet quitting. If you are in the business world, chances are you have wondered about this phrase. It doesn’t mean that you will arrive at the office one day to suddenly find empty desks and no employees.

Quiet quitting is an old problem, framed in a new way, that can indicate a wide range of employee issues. As an article in Forbes explains,

While these behaviors are not new, they are amplified in the current environment due to labor market disruption combined with employee coping and survival strategies resulting from exhaustion from the pandemic, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, severe staffing shortages, isolation from remote work, anxiety from returning to workplaces, reduced employee purchasing power caused by inflation, and dependent care challenges.

How does quiet quitting manifest itself? The Wall Street Journal reports that it shows up when “some young professionals reject the idea of going above and beyond in their careers, labeling their lesser enthusiasm a form of ‘quitting.’ It isn’t about getting off the company payroll, these employees say.” Quiet quitting can be understood as employees taking a paycheck, while putting in a minimal amount of effort, for a variety of reasons related to workplace issues and issues external to the workplace.

How widespread is the problem? Very, according to Gallup. From Bloomberg: According to Gallup’s survey in June of over 15,000 full-time and part-time US workers, some 50% of respondents met the definition of quiet quitting, a term that has bubbled up to describe a prevalent worker mindset at a moment when the pandemic has upended employees’ priorities and companies’ workplace policies.

The study found that the share of engaged employees held steady at 32% and those who were actively disengaged rose to 18%, up from 17% at the beginning of the year.

So, employees in the workplace are doing the minimum they need to do at work, and there are many of them.

What is a manager or business owner to do?

MIT Sloan Management Review connected with experts, and discovered five steps that managers can take to proactively and productively address quiet quitting:

• Rebuild the Psychological Contract With Employees
• Foster Employee Voice Through Supportive Relationships
• Understand What It Means to Offer High-Quality Work
• Recognize and Show Respect for How Employees Have Changed
• Help Employees Rebuild Connections to Teammates and Culture

Quiet quitting can serve as an opportunity for businesses to examine how they are interacting with their employees, be responsive to employee concerns, and seek to understand the underlying causes of quiet quitting.

Understanding quiet quitting gives businesses and managers the chance to anticipate employee issues, and create a culture of communication with employees that can lead to better employee retention and improved productivity. Quiet quitting can be turned into quality outcomes, if managers can identify the signs of quiet quitting, and proactively address them.

One of the best ways we can combat employees not giving their all at work is to be diligent workers ourselves, to sanctify our labors, and to be understanding managers. In a word, our work can help us give good examples to others. Saint Josemaria Escriva taught that, "[p]rofessional work is also an apostolate, an opportunity to give ourselves to others, to reveal Christ to them and lead them to God the Father."

Quiet quitting can give way to cheerful work that can lead us and others to God. Time to get to work!

In my last blog post, I discussed the challenges and opportunities presented by remote work in a world where COVID is receding, and employees and employers are reconsidering their relationship with one another. Remote work is a relatively new consideration in the business world. Navigating a work-life balance is an evergreen issue in the workplace. The struggle to achieve a work-life balance is reflected in the discussions about remote work. But what is work-life balance, and how can it be achieved?

Work-life balance seems easy to define: an equilibrium between work and personal life that allows employees the space to reach their professional potential and obligations to their employers while providing people with non-work time to pursue their other obligations, hobbies, and have time to recharge. Others may have different definitions, but this one sets up some parameters that can be widely agreed upon. Then there is the age-old question, do we work to live or live to work?

The debates on work-life balance are evolving, and have been accelerated by employers and employees questioning long-held assumptions about the workplace as a result of COVID. As Forbes points out, leaders in the workplace need to provide for their team members a definition of work-life balance that is relevant to the current business environment. Then this clarity can serve as a guidepost to employers and employees alike. It can be useful in crafting policies, attracting and keeping talent, and, if adopted as a company value, can guide employee behavior at all levels of the organization.

The key is leaders need to be willing to have these conversations with their employees. Setting reasonable boundaries matters, both for employee performance and retention. As a Harvard Business Review article about a work-life balance study explained, “our research showed that achieving better balance between professional and personal priorities boils down to a combination of reflexivity — or questioning assumptions to increase self-awareness - and intentional role redefinition.”

So achieving a work-life balance means defining what that means and promoting flexibility by management and employees. In the business world which often relies on hard data, this type of analysis can seem, well, squishy and not results-oriented. That doesn’t have to be the case. As another study discussed in Harvard Business Review explains, “we believe that companies that educate their leaders on the organizational benefits of providing employees with a healthy work-life balance will see better results than those that focus solely on designing formal policies.”

As Catholic business leaders, we need to be conscious of what Pope Saint John Paul II wrote in his encyclical, Laborem Exercens (Through Work) constitutes a foundation for the formation of family life, which is a natural right and something that man is called to. These two spheres of values - one linked to work and the other consequent on the family nature of human life - must be properly united and must properly permeate each other. In a way, work is a condition for making it possible to found a family, since the family requires the means of subsistence which man normally gains through work.

Once work-life balance is analyzed from this perspective - as a foundation of and condition for the creation and sustenance of family life - we begin to have richer and more nuanced discussions about the employer-employee relationship. Hopefully, these discussions lead to outcomes that respect and enhance the dignity and roles of employees, and their obligations to those who pay their wages.

Defining terms, having conversations, and looking for best practices that enhance work results are keys to making progress toward finding a work-life balance structure that helps create happy employees and good business results. That balance isn’t a perk for employees. It is a requirement for employee retention and the company’s bottom line. And it is consistent with the teachings of the Church.

Before COVID, remote work was an exception to how work got done in the United States. For many, remote work meant answering work emails and working on documents during vacation. During COVID, remote work became more mainstream by necessity. Now that many American employers and employees have experience with remote work, and the threats from COVID are receding, the question arises: how should the American workplace be structured now?

According to the Pew Research Center, 60% of Americans have jobs that cannot be done remotely.[1] Remote work is largely an option available to thos whose work can be done largely via computers and virtual meetings. The U.S. Census Bureau found that:

More than a third of U.S. households reported working from home more frequently than before the pandemic, but the percentage who made the switch varied widely across sociodemographic groups.

Households with members who teleworked more frequently reported higher levels of income and education and better health than those in which no one changed their typical in-person work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

How widespread is remote work? Pew reports that almost 60% of Americans who say their work can be done from home are working from home, but interestingly, 83% of them were working from home before Omicron spread.[3] It would seem to be the case that many Americans who are able to work from home are doing so.

Where are some pain points associated with expanding and normalizing working remotely? Real estate is a key concern for employers. It is not profitable to have office space that is leased long term or owned by a business be unoccupied? Before COVID, many businesses were resistant to the technology that made remote work feasible, and instead invested in legacy office space models. The cost to transition to a more mobile workforce could be high for those businesses tethered to brick-and-mortar office spaces.

Certain management styles emphasize time employees spend at their desks and equate that with productivity. There has traditionally been pressure for employees to stay at their desks for long periods of time so they could be seen by their managers to be working, even when their main tasks had long been completed. Some managers want to have their employees constantly in their figurative field of vision.
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[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/02/16/covid-19-pandemic-continues-to-reshape-work-in-america/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.