Why leaders should pay attention to the rise in organized labor disputes

In 1919, the United States was gripped by two seemingly unrelated trends: a global pandemic (influenza) and a wave of labor unrest. Four million staff, or one fifth of the workforce, he went on strike this 12 months.

Fast forward a century and it seems that history is repeating itself. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and other multi-layered economic aspects, labor conflicts have shaken various sectors of the economy: staff in the automotive industry, nurses in many statesHollywood writers and actors and journalists everyone went on strike. Unionization movements in technology and other non-traditional sectors arose concurrently. Could this all be a coincidence, or is there something more going on here?

Any significant change in the dynamics between staff and management has implications for the present and way forward for employment in the United States. A deeper understanding of the forces at play could be beneficial to a variety of companies.

Analyzing the similarities and trends from these recent examples, three conclusions emerge:

1. Rewarding work for the company’s success

When business is booming, executives who own shares in the company are rewarded. Workers lower on the food chain typically don’t see anything like this increases in their salaries. This phenomenon is nothing recent; nevertheless, many staff suffered disproportionately hard during the 2008–2009 financial crisis and again during recession resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that the economic situation has improved in several sectors, staff want to recoup lost profits and receive what they consider is their justifiable share.

Such questions motivated the United Auto Workers (UAW), who agreed to a lower pay for recent staff after the Great Recession. The business performance of auto firms had improved significantly, and the UAW wanted to get better lost advantages and increase wages for staff at all levels. Their members, motivated by rising inflation and the use of their collective power, successfully implemented significant wage changes and massive profit increases. Similarly, Hollywood writers and actors have recently entered into significant deals to adapt to changing business models and protect their livelihoods. The query is: did it have to be so difficult?

The takeaway: Today’s workforce is increasingly aware of their company’s performance and has much greater transparency about the earnings of their co-workers and supervisors. They also have more opportunities to mobilize. Work diligently and proactively to understand and design systems where business success can bring greater advantages to employees to avoid the need for lengthy negotiations.

2. Disenfranchised staff

When HBO’s streaming unit modified its name to “MAX” in 2023, it stopped naming writers, directors and producers individually. It worked in the guild representing each faction. Concerns about the adoption of artificial intelligence were addressed in the final resolution on the writers’ strike.

The feeling of disenfranchisement among staff dissatisfied with the direction of their firms or industries was not unique to labor strikes in the entertainment industry. While the stakes may have been higher in Hollywood, many areas of labor are at risk of being interfered with by artificial intelligence in ways in which threaten staff’ livelihoods.

Takeaway: Open communication from management about changes in company policies, practices and direction is essential. Companies must evolve to stay in business; the more transparent management is about this evolution, the less likely it is that employees will feel disenfranchised. Engage directly with them in the process to think through how technology change may help, what problems exist and how to collectively address them to retain key talent and maintain high levels of engagement. With AI in particular, consider what skills can be required as business models evolve, and how you may properly support and train employees to leverage these recent tools to grow what you are promoting.

3. Investors and owners can turn into disconnected from the on a regular basis reality of employees

Increased investment in enterprise capital funds and hedge funds Healthcare AND print journalism — to name just two — fueled efforts to increase efficiency and profits. This has correspondingly resulted in many employees, many of whom began this profession with an altruistic or public service-oriented mindset, feeling that their firms are increasingly disconnected from their day-to-day work and, in some cases, from their values/reasons. to work in the field. Many either abandoned their careers or became disillusioned, feeling that they had misaligned their motivations between the purpose of their work and the processes they were now asked to follow.

The takeaway: The more disconnected management is from the workforce, the more it encourages inappropriate incentives between each parties. Filling the gap is mandatory as industries consolidate and the constant pursuit of efficiency continues. Reduce the knowledge gap between executives in management positions and staff in the field. Understand what motivates employees to do their jobs well and engage them directly in designing simpler and efficient processes – it will translate into higher results, engagement and higher change management as what you are promoting grows.

In summary

How can managers anticipate sources of worker unrest before it reaches levels of concern? The following practical considerations may assist you to achieve one or more of the goals outlined above.

1. Create incentives and compensation models so that everybody wins as business results improve.
2. Keep your employees informed about where business models are changing (e.g. streaming, artificial intelligence, etc.) and proactively consider potential worker concerns and how to address them.
3. Engage employees directly in designing simpler and efficient processes and share your goals more transparently. Listen to their concerns and find ways to improve business results, but worker engagement and alignment are an vital a part of the equation.
4. Demonstrate the value of “walking a mile in the employee’s shoes” – ask leaders to spend time doing their each day work higher to understand their thoughts, areas of opportunity, etc.
5. Implement a system of standard pulse checks throughout your organization to catch problems before they turn into significant.