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Doesn’t it seem like every week there’s a new article, hashtag, or viral video about workplace trends? It can be confusing to keep them all straight.

Here are the trends that seem to generate the most interest and engagement from insurance professionals.

“Prepare The Others” P.T.O.

Employees who are denied PTO requests have given this acronym a new meaning. Yahoo’s recent article, “Gimme a Break! You’ve earned some time off. So why won’t your boss let you take it?” talks about the friction between companies and employees fueled by increased requests for time off when one party is understaffed, and the other is overworked.

How this impacts insurance agencies: CSRs and account managers tell my team all the time that they want to leave their employer because the agency is perpetually understaffed. The pressure of working more than one desk is exhausting, not only leading to work/life imbalance, but also to more PTO requests being denied.

As this trend continues, we expect to see more surges in resignations by insurance professionals, especially during the times of the year when PTO requests peak.

#PayTransparency

Also known as #SalaryTransparency, there is a big TikTok account called @SalaryTransparentStreet dedicated to interviewing people on the street to ask for their job titles, salary, and location.

Even more recent is the #PaydayRoutine trend where people share their salaries and living expenses (rent, student loans, food, etc.).

How this impacts insurance agencies: What would you do if one of your employees shared their compensation on social media? If you’re a Baby Boomer or Gen X-er this might sound crazy, but to Millennials and Gen Z-ers, people between 18 and 43 years old, it’s a topic many don’t see a problem being public knowledge.

Quiet Quitting/Quiet Firing

Quiet Quitting (for employees) and Quiet Firing (for managers) is essentially psychological withdrawal. Gallup’s May 2023 poll, “Is Quiet Quitting Real?” says, “Quiet quitters make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce – probably more.” Their additional research showed, “When employees receive meaningful feedback at least weekly, they are nearly half as likely to be watching for a new job,” (Quiet Firing, Gallup, November 2022).

How this impacts insurance agencies: It’s my opinion that for a lot of insurance agencies these issues are two sides of the same dysfunctional coin. If you notice absenteeism climb, it’s a sign your employee could be Quiet Quitting. When a manager lacks the interest or motivation to develop or mentor an employee, they could be Quiet Firing.

Long story short, insurance professionals are part of the 50%-plus category of U.S. employees quiet quitting. It’s closer to your doorstep than you think.

Dry Promotions

When employees are given a bigger title and increased responsibility without a raise, they’re being dry promoted.

How this impacts insurance agencies: This happens all the time to account executives. As the senior person at the top of the client service pyramid, it’s their plate that agencies naturally add management/team leadership duties to – often without a raise. The combination of a massive workload and flat earnings leads to burnout and resignation.

If you’ve given one of your employees a Dry Promotion, then my advice is to do the following immediately: Set up a meeting. Acknowledge and apologize. How you got to this place probably happened over time and was unintentional, but with your awareness today comes a need to remedy the situation.

Ask your employees if they like their workload. If they do, then a raise will remedy the situation. If they don’t, scale back and perhaps still consider an additional short-term bonus in consideration of past achievements. Remember, it’s always cheaper to give that money to a current employee as a retention strategy rather than to lose them to a much more costly new hire and recruiting process.

Topics Trends Agencies