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Management is such a juggling act. If we managers didn’t have any employees, our jobs would be a breeze. The environment of economic class plays a huge role in the success of the employees we supervise and manage.

Employees living in daily instability—meaning they don’t have enough resources for the day, let alone tomorrow—come to work worrying about paying the rent, not getting evicted, having enough gas in the car, childcare issues, and more. A hundred percent is not given to the job.

Employees living in stability, meaning they have enough resources for the day and a short time in the future, are thinking about the future, achievement, and work. They may not give 100% either, but they have more bandwidth to do so.

Most individuals who are in management are also thinking about achievement and work. As managers, we have so many future-oriented things we pay attention to, including safety and liability concerns such as falls, injuries, food, medications, OSHA, and HIPAA. We focus on policies and procedures, including evaluations, changes because of laws, and administrative needs. Time management is important as well, and it is integrated across teams and complex systems.

Society has normalized stability and planning. Employees who live daily instability are solving problems all day long, but in a reactive mode instead of a proactive mode. Many are just figuring out how to make it through the day. The chart below illustrates what we expect from our employees coming into our workspace each day (left) and what is really happening (right).

There is a disconnect in mindset, habits, and patterns just from the environment we live in and what we must do in that environment to be successful. It may be as simple as how I complete a task versus how you complete a task.

If you are ready to learn more about yourself and your employees and increase your productivity and retention, we have a book and training that assists with that. Join the live online Workplace Stability workshop on May 6, 2022. Learn more and register today.

About the Author: Ruth K. Weirich, MBA is an author, trainer, and management professional experienced in business operations efficiency and profitability. She is also a past president of aha! Process, an education and training company specializing in economic class issues. Contact: rkweirich@ahaprocess.com; ahaprocess.com.