No. Not the kind of rain that had male R&B singers in the 90s dancing in the rain or on their knees begging for forgiveness in music videos. Though I wish it was, ‘cause man, those were the days. And now I sound like my parents. Yikes! But I digress. The kind of rain common of hurricanes when they cross the shoreline and decimate whole communities. The ones we send up prayers for. Where disaster relief may or may not make it in time to help and all the toilet paper and bread vanish from stores only to appear days later on the Facebook marketplace at a 10x markup. Disasters you can’t run from because you have nowhere else to go or that you choose to stay through. Because you fear the loss of job and/or income (Lian, et al., 2022) if you leave—like it’s a no-call no-show. Or you otherwise have no choice but to endure. Hurricanes are like that, as are the changing political winds. Though unprecedented in my lifetime so far, many of our elders know the change in weather all too well—especially those from historically marginalized groups. At best they are indicative of a tumultuous and uphill battle ahead and at worst, impending doom—for some more than others.
As such and as suggested in management research, “disasters” can lead to a decline in employee performance due to induced anxiety from the uncertainty. Combined with the ever-changing employment landscape, employee identification with an organization is also likely to suffer (Grant, Dutton, & Rosso, 2008; Lian, et al., 2022) during the period that follows as a result. These uncertainties affect not only morale but also an employee’s sense of security, and their commitment to the organization may weaken as they experience a loss of control over both their work and their future. Undoubtedly then, employee well-being is an important part of not only workplace culture but workplace outcomes as well. So, during tough times especially, employees need to feel a sense of trust in their employer.
As American business theorist and economist W. Edwards Deming (1994) wrote, “Trust is mandatory for optimization of a system. Without trust, each component will protect its own immediate interests to its own long-term detriment, and to the detriment of the entire system.” Trust is what binds the organization together, enabling it to function cohesively and withstand both internal and external pressures. So when faced with such challenges as the present, it becomes evident that the role of trust is paramount in sustaining organizational resilience. If companies want to better stand the rain and strengthen commitment to the organization, then it is important that continued intentional efforts are made that induce greater trust.
Here are some quick tips to do this:
1. Transparent Communication: Provide open and honest communication about the direction of the company and employee roles. Transparency reduces uncertainty.
2. Empower Employees: Listen to employees and give them a say-so when feasible. This will help employees feel included.
3. Empathy and Support for Well-being: Employees are human. Show empathy and genuine concern by acknowledging employees’ stress and the challenges they face.
4. Lean into Fairness and Equity: Further establish fair and equitable practices as central, by demonstrating fairness in decision-making, including how resources are allocated.
5. Offer Additional Support: Create programs that offer employees support, such as mentorship, mental health resources, or other relevant opportunities to those affected.
6. Be Consistent and Reliable: If you make a promise, follow through with it. Full stop.
The storms that are surely a-brewing—economic, social, political, and environmental—will test organizational commitment to its employees, its profits, and its overarching purpose. So for the foreseeable future, companies not only need to consider their angle with DEI and other workplace initiatives but also recognize that building trust is critical towards improving employee resilience in the face of crises. Accordingly, it must become a core organizational competency. Only those that build strong foundations of trust and support will thrive. Handling the aftermath of these storms requires a careful balance of accountability, empathy, and action to rebuild what was shaken. By establishing trust as a bedrock of the employee-employer relationship, companies can not only preserve performance but also foster loyalty and unity in even the most difficult times. In the end, it is those organizations that prepare to stand the rain and face these winds head on that will succeed in uniting people around common goals and values, allowing them to emerge stronger, more agile, and ultimately, more equitable on the other side.
An additional note from the author.
As it pertains to changing political headwinds, I have a specific ask, especially for those of you holding a position of power within organizations. The request is this: hold space for those grieving. For it is not simply an ideology nor a theological or philosophical belief system that they are parting with. They are grieving the impending loss of the ability to take up space and of their rights being stripped away-a result that has been all but promised. Grappling with the realization that there are more people filled with hate and vitriol than love. That more than half of our population still believe that certain demographics are unfit to hold positions of authority-even those they share the demographic identify with-no matter how qualified. People who want to see the rights of others diminished at worst and at best are ignorant to the impact their choices have-including on the people they care about and on themselves. Rights that countless people before them fought and died for, for decades if not centuries. Please hold space for these employees because that pain and grief is real and deep and sad and infuriating…and unnerving.
References
Deming, W. E. (1994). Foreword. In J. O. Whitney (Ed.),The trust factor: Liberating profits and restoring corporate vitality: New York: McGraw-Hill.
Grant, A. M., Dutton, J. E., & Rosso, B. D. (2008). Giving commitment: Employee support programs and the prosocial sensemaking process. Academy of management journal, 51(5), 898-918.
Li, J. K., Du, C., Wu, W., Xia, Y., & Lee, C. (2022). Disaster or opportunity? How COVID-19-associated changes in environmental uncertainty and job insecurity relate to organizational identification and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(5),
693.
