The changes continue. Exhausted by the pandemic, the world is now grappling with Russia's war against Ukraine. Latin America was the region hardest hit by the pandemic, accounting for 30% of the world's COVID-19 deaths despite representing only 8% of the global population. The reconstruction process requires continued focus on the emergency rather than the post-pandemic rebound seen in the developed world. Similarly, the region will be economically impacted by the war at various strategic points (food prices, energy shortages, and financing blockages). Argentine companies operate within this environment, which is further complicated by the region's ongoing economic crisis.
Technological disruption is also a permanent feature. The digital revolution today is not just about relevant information reaching us through digital channels in an accelerated, disorganized way, mixed with false or fictitious content. The post-pandemic era finds us with many more transactions, commercial exchanges, and professional interactions that are entirely digital.
In this uncertain context, organizations are seeking to build a new stability, a new security, a new well-being. A carefully managed work environment, with a redefined and compelling purpose. The latest webinar organized by the Master's Program in Communication for Change Management addressed this major challenge of our time. Universidad Austral, presented by its director, Dolores Pereira Vázquez as “a conversation about how to manage the well-being of work teams when we are immersed in contexts of unprecedented change.”
Organizational psychologist Julio Marolla presented a tool for measuring burnout, that state of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion resulting from overload, stress, and chronic dissatisfaction, which increased dramatically in the region and the country during the pandemic. This tool measures the level of risk in three variables associated with burnout.
The first is exhaustion, which, when prolonged, produces anxiety that becomes chronic. The second is depersonalization, an exaggerated emotional detachment that can be interpreted from the outside as cynicism. The third is low motivation: demotivation and hopelessness, which employers may interpret as a lack of commitment.
To these factors, Marolla adds two more recent ones: interpersonal friction—problems with bosses and peers—and hyperconnectivity—the inability to disconnect from screens. Consequences of this pathological fatigue in the workplace include lack of concentration, absenteeism, anxiety, and negative effects on mental and physical health.
Because there is a direct relationship between burnout and the "negative leverage of workload" (due to poor practices such as micromanagement or excessive control), organizations are reviewing their hierarchical structures and leadership styles. Walter Gerboles, People Analytics, Organizational Design, and Wellness Manager at Telecom, also participated in the webinar. The fact that his title combines the functions of People, Organizational Design, and Wellbeing is significant in itself. In a recent survey of the positions held by graduates of my communications faculty, I identified new roles that reflect companies' evolving concerns: Culture Managers, People Experience Managers, Emotional Intelligence Managers, Talent Acquisition Managers, People and Change Managers, and Change Management Managers, among other positions.
At Telecom, Gerboles says, they've taken a holistic approach to well-being. In addition to initiatives designed to support employees during the pandemic (such as a 24/7 contact line, toolkits, and content to enhance the remote work experience), they positioned well-being as a strategic avenue, encompassing psychological health and safety within the concept. Recognizing that well-being is the primary factor in choosing and retaining a job, more so than the value proposition or compensation, the company focused on empowering leaders to "help them help others."
Indeed, both speakers agreed that leaders also experience stress and must adapt to constant change, for example, by being flexible in the face of digital disruption. The leaders that the current context demands must provide reassurance to their people through empathetic communication. They must foster a sense of belonging to an environment that people enjoy being a part of. The goal is to bolster trust through care and constructive feedback, while being aware of the devastating effects that unintentional incivility (such as sarcasm or public reprimands) can have.
Stress can lead to the paradox of resisting help, even after having asked for it. This is an expected emotional response in someone who has asked for help, and upon closer examination, it is a way of acknowledging the concern shown to them. These situations require refinement in the art of communication, as they are developed collaboratively.
The conversation extends to employees' families, to social dialogue, to the changing environment that demands adaptive responses from the organizational culture. Indeed, the structure always lags behind social change. But changing mindsets will require redesigning positions (to avoid confusing positions with roles), schedules (to keep pace with the demands for autonomy and work-life balance), and even buildings (to avoid confusing work with the place itself).
