Tackling Workplace Disruption: How Automation Helps You Survive, and Thrive

Finding yourself glancing at LinkedIn more frequently these days? You’re not alone. More than 19 million workers in the United States have quit their jobs since April 2021, a record pace disrupting businesses around the world. It’s a similar story in the Asia Pacific region.

The ongoing workplace trend, known as The Great Resignation, describes a mass exodus of employees due to Covid-19 concerns or because their companies did not provide adequate remote-work support.

The Great Resignation is a tremendous cause of concern for employers - especially if you are looking to upscale your business or planning to expand your operations well into the future. In this article, I dive into the complex causes of The Great Resignation and consider how automation can be used as a panacea to address this long standing problem.

The Enduring Impact of The Great Resignation

With the relaxation of Covid restrictions in many countries and regions, The Great Resignation has persisted with no signs of slowing down. Resignation letters are continuing to flood employers’ desks, with a record 4.53 million workers in the US quitting their jobs in March 2022.

I find it even more concerning that workers are still resigning in droves even despite the onset of a global economic downturn. Many reports support this trend, suggesting that many more workers are planning to give notice in the coming months.

According to a global study released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, one in every five employees stated they were "very or very likely" to have a job change in the next year. In a separate study of 1,000 workers in the UK, over one third are considering a career change in 2022.

Millions of workers globally have left voluntarily for greater autonomy or meaning in their employment, with many of these changes tied to Covid-19 lockdowns. Others went for better pay elsewhere as the labor market tightened.

And many of those who can’t bring themselves to leave their jobs are seriously cutting back on their productivity, a phenomenon known as “quiet quitting”. Clocking in and doing the bare minimum is often the result of demotivation or poor working conditions, and the issue is widespread across different industries. According to research by Gallop, half of all workers in the United States are quiet quitting.

Business leaders worldwide are scratching their heads trying to find ways to address the problems of the Great Resignation and quiet quitting. Many will continue to face challenges for one simple reason — they don’t understand why their employees are disenchanted or feeling devalued in the first place.

More than Bonuses: Sense of Purpose in Employment

If the experience of living with Covid-19 has taught us anything, it's that workers want to focus on the human side of work. Employees are burnt out, and many are upset. They desire to rediscover and revise their sense of purpose in their employment. They seek social and interpersonal relationships with their coworkers and managers. They want to feel a sense of belonging. They want income, benefits and perks, but they also want to feel valued by their companies and supervisors. They want real relationships, not just transactions, even if they are not always in person.

Business leaders put their companies at risk by failing to comprehend what their employees are running from and what they may be drawn toward. Because many companies are addressing the issue similarly—failing to engage in a more meaningful employee experience and failing to meet new needs for autonomy and flexibility at work—some employees are deciding to leave traditional forms of full-time employment.

Company Woes: Automation to the Rescue

While there is no one-size-fits-all answer, companies can think of different ways to ensure success. This could be a good moment to make some modifications to your business model based on what your employees value.

For instance, automation is an excellent way to address the issue of employee burnout while also increasing employee satisfaction. Businesses can use automation strategies to improve operations and the customer experience to support employees.

Before we realize it, massive changes in macroeconomics and global competitiveness are already taking place. We must shift how we think about work and the people-technology relationship. Workers must be given the tools to enable them to perform more, create more value, and feel more empowered (and engaged). Businesses must implement innovative technical solutions to supplement (rather than replace) people.

Laiye’s Work Execution System, or WES, is a new and innovative solution with a unique, holistic ecosystem and approach. It features integrated components and, more importantly, the foundation and essence of the human-technology collaborative alliance.

WES improves efficiencies, prioritizes high-impact operations, empowers your workforce, and positively impacts and increases accuracy, predictability, compliance, and speed.

This new perspective revolutionizes workflows and makes the workplace more fulfilling for employers and employees, as digital and human workers interact harmoniously.

Deploying Laiye AI-powered RPA (robotic process automation), for example, can help businesses overcome mundane, repetitive tasks while increasing an organization's overall operational speed. The employees are not replaced. Rather, they are liberated from monotony and allowed to focus on areas requiring human thought, allowing them to move up the value chain.

Furthermore, automation is similar to a time machine, as you can speed up your work processes. Instead of forcing your employees to work overtime, automation makes it possible to get more done with a smaller workforce. Employees can still clock out on time, and they would not feel too dissatisfied.

Automation will Humanise the Workplace

To summarize, automation is a no-brainer option for eliminating some of the drudgeries and exertions that lead workers to feel burnt out and dissatisfied. 82% of CEOs support this strategy, citing greater staff productivity and satisfaction as primary motivators. In fact, 92% of the responders to a poll said their automation projects improved employee satisfaction.

Automation frees employees from mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on more important responsibilities. Firms seeking to recruit and keep top talent can utilize automation to offer a better employee experience, combined with increased compensation and flexible schedules to turn the Great Resignation into the Great Upgrade.

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