Keynote speaker Pete Blank shares how to bring enthusiasm back into the workplace at monthly luncheon

Employee passion is at an all-time low in the U.S, said Pete Blank, development manager for the personnel board of Jefferson County. 

The "Great Resignation," the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of employment engagement are to blame, he said. 

“There is this study that was done by a company called the Work Passion Company,” Blank said. “The Work Passion partnered with Training Magazine and they found out that passion has gone down, which is no surprise because it was a study done back in 2012. You have a pre-COVID, post-COVID thing going on but I want to give you some keys today.” 

Blank said statistics show today’s employees want meaningful work, growth opportunities, distributive fairness and autonomy. People want to feel like they are serving a purpose when they come to work everyday, he said. 

“You don’t have to be a purpose-driven organization to sell the purpose of your company, I don’t care if you’re in the public or private sector, you have to have a purpose to come to work everyday,” Blank said. 

He said employees don’t only want the opportunity to grow, they also want to feel like they can make their own decisions within the company and that work is distributed fairly within the company. 

In order for business owners to tackle the unfulfillment their employees may feel, Blank said, they need to focus on connecting their employees with other colleagues, giving positive and constructive feedback and treating all employees with equal importance. 

“It’s not just doom and gloom,” Blank said. “It’s ‘Yes, it’s doom and gloom’ and ‘what can I do about it.’”