Coping with the Consequences of Overhiring
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, homes were transformed into workplaces, schools, gyms, and even shopping malls and grocery stores. This was because of the increased availability of and dependence on digital goods and services. Identifying this trend from the beginning, many companies jumped at the opportunity to quickly scale up.
“Blitzscaling” (a term created by LinkedIn co-founder and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman) describes the accelerated business growth that comes from prioritizing speed over efficiency in order to capture the market at its best. While blitzscaling can strengthen a company’s influence by doing everything faster (i.e. hiring, shipping, spending), this practice has its risks, with some arguing that it is not as sustainable as incremental growth.
More importantly, the human cost associated with the strategy of blitzscaling is something that cannot be ignored since the laid-off employees are the ones that must live with the consequences of over-hiring. This has been made clear in the current state of the economy. In fact, the overhiring and successive layoff trends are most notable in the technology industry.
According to Aaron Terrazas (chief economist at Glassdoor), there are 3 main types of companies who are laying off employees:
Companies who are experiencing an increase in debt because of inflation and rising interest rates.
Companies uncertain about the current economy.
Companies who would have let go of employees regardless of the state of the economy.
With all of this change and associated uncertainty comes additional workplace stressors. These, on top of everyday stressors outside of work make it more difficult to prioritize individual well-being.
This is where Spark This Day comes into play.
Every month, employees with access to the Spark This Day platform are able to discover, set, and then achieve their wellness goals. With the help of individualized pathways designed to address their evolving needs, Spark This Day encourages employees to focus on whole-body health and develop the skills to cope with both workplace and life stressors.