Microsoft's Satya Nadella speaks out on employee well-being as workdays lengthen

Employee well-being is at risk as workdays become extended, often spilling over into the night, and despite hybrid work concessions, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said.

Mr Nadella, who was speaking online at this week's Wharton Future of Work Conference, said about one-third of white-collar workers are experiencing a third peak of productivity late at night, based on keyboard activity.

Typically, productivity greatly increases before and after lunch time. But this third surge phenomenon magnifies how remote work has seemingly further broken down the boundaries between job and home lives.

“We think about productivity through collaboration and output metrics, but well-being is one of the most important pieces of productivity,” he said.

“We know what stress does to workers. We need to learn the soft skills, good old-fashioned management practices, so people have their well-being taken care of. I can set that expectation, that our people can get an email from the chief executive at the weekend and not feel that they have to respond.”

The coronavirus pandemic brought about a drastic shift for companies, most notably how to continue operations through hybrid work means. This has, however, taken a heavy toll on employees, highlighting the importance of addressing mental and physical health issues.

Two-thirds of employees who are considering leaving their jobs claimed their employers have not fulfilled promises early on in the pandemic to focus on employee mental health, according to a Harris Poll commissioned by online therapy provider Talkspace.

About a quarter of employees believed their physical health has suffered because of their job, while at least 25 per cent were underperforming regularly because of stress, the study said.

Employees under 35 and working mothers were having greater reactions to stress and were most likely to change jobs or careers, or will quit altogether in the next six months.

Mr Nadella was referring to Microsoft's Work Trend Index 2022 report last month, which studied how remote work affects collaboration. That data will be used to improve its Teams platform.

The report showed that the workday span for the average user rose more than 13 per cent, or 46 minutes, since March 2020. After-hours and weekend work has grown at an even faster pace at 28 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.

Time spent on communication has also surged. Meetings — the virtual format of which had become popular because of the pandemic — are still consuming a big chunk of work time. The Microsoft study showed that since February 2020, the weekly meeting time for the average user rose by 252 per cent, while the number of weekly meetings was up 153 per cent.

The average user sent 32 per cent more chats each week in February 2022 compared to March 2020, and that figure continues to climb, it said.

The study also showed that employees are ready to stop e-mailing and start connecting.

While 48 per cent said they wanted to spend less time on things like answering emails and scheduling meetings and more time networking, 30 per cent of leaders felt that networking-related activities drive business impact.

Mr Nadella said at the conference that company leaders needed to set clear regulations and expectations for workers so that they are not pressured to answer emails late at night.

Asked if he avoided sending emails during weekends, Mr Nadella candidly said: “I am learning every day.”

To reap the benefits of social capital, leaders need to make time and space for employees to build their networks and deepen relationships beyond the transactional in a hybrid world, the report said.

“When work-life balance is out of whack, most people cut out relationship-building for more urgent matters,” Constance Noonan Hadley, an organisational psychologist who studies workplace relationships, said in the report.

“Regardless of remote status, building relationships will still feel like a luxury workers cannot afford unless there is a shift in how time is prioritised and valued by managers.”

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