Workers need hope, and people leaders can help give it to them

It seems people around the world are feeling pretty hopeless, and they’re looking to their leaders for help.

Hope ranks as the top need that people have of their leaders—including their workplace leaders—according to a recent Gallup report. Some 64% of global adults want leaders who instill in them a sense of hope, followed by trust (27%), compassion (5%), and stability (5%).

What’s the hullabaloo over hope? “When people can see their future in the midst of a crisis, they can get through that crisis a lot easier. They can see their way through it, and it takes a leader to help people with that,” Jim Harter, chief workplace scientist at Gallup, told HR Brew. Amid times of uncertainty, he said employees need leaders who can help them focus on what’s next for them and their organization.

“That’s probably why [hope] comes out as the dominant,” Harter said. “People with hope feel better about their overall life, and they’re less likely to be in a suffering kind of state.”

What can HR do? Hope doesn’t just come from “inspiring messages,” Harter said. It comes from a positive company culture, where managers talk with their employees about their strengths and careers, and how these connect to their business’s mission.

“It takes really good managers also to think with the individual employee and help them see how their work, that they’re doing every day, connects to that bigger purpose…That’s how hope gets built,” he said. “It gets built through me being able to see how my work connects to something bigger…because most people come to work wanting to make a difference.”

Managers and people leaders can also give employees hope by helping them achieve a “state of flow”, in which they’re absorbed in their work without feeling stressed or overwhelmed, Harter said.

“People want high challenge situations, but do they have the resources? Do they have a manager who helps them do what they do best and helps put them in a position where they can get done what they want to get done?” he said.

So, that’s the hullabaloo. Giving employees hope can be a simple, yet impactful, strategy for helping them through tough times.