How are you dealing with your staff and clients’ malaise?

“This is a more subtle kind of mental health issue because it can creep up on even the strongest of individuals. A lot of CEOs are saying to me, ‘I’m done with work-from-home. I was fine for 18 months, but now I’m showing signs of a lack of engagement’. Management and leaders can be particularly hard hit because we’re used to doing management by walking around and having hallways conversations or observing how things are working, and you can’t do that right now. And, I think wealth professionals are dealing with an extra layer of that.”

While Keating is monitoring this malaise in his shop, he noted it may be one of the drivers behind the “great resignation”, where people feel they need a change.

“I’m seeing more of it in my companies than in 35 years, and we have a very high average tenure,” he said. “But, what I’m seeing is people saying, “I need change, I need change, I need change. I think that, in part, the great resignation is driven by this little bit of malaise. People say, ‘I like being at home, but I don’t know what’s wrong that makes me just feel blah’. They can’t even nail it down. And what I worry about is that we’ve seen more instances of people just outright saying, ‘I can’t work right now’ and taking doctor-recommended six-week week breaks off work.”

Keating suggested that advisors can take a few steps to prevent this creeping up on them, especially as they deal with clients increasingly feeling this ennui. Teams should talk about how they’re doing, so they can pick up any changes. It’s also important to structure conventional workdays with breaks while they’re still working at home, and ensure that they have the proper internet and cyber-secured computers in a good work environment to work at home. They should never store confidential client documents on the kitchen table, where family can see them.

He also regularly asks staff at meetings how they’re doing and has his managers carefully monitor the amount of time that staff are putting in, ensuring that they’re taking proper breaks, and calling those putting in extra-long hours to encourage them to strive for more work-life balance and spend more time with people whom they enjoy.

Read the original article at https://www.lifehealthpro.ca/rss/