Ladies and gentlemen, a new term in internal communications has arrived and this one might be the most fun to say yet.

Polyworking – the practice of holding multiple jobs.

Believe it or not, according to the IOIC’s October IC trends report, 52% of your colleagues are working a second job to supplement their income. Polyworkers have emerged, in some cases because of ambition, but in others in response to economic downturn. Some 41% of them say their extra jobs have reduced their financial stress.

For communicators, this presents a shift in how colleagues view their role and their relationship to the organisation.

Where possible, you need to be cognizant of where you can meaningfully support them. This can mean better signposting and spotlighting of financial and wellbeing initiatives, spearheading campaigns to promote them where possible. Setting clear outlines of effective time management and cohesive working models that work to mitigate burn out.

But not everybody is picking up extra shifts. Another trend dubbed ‘job-hugging’ has seen an increase in the last few months.

Job-hugging – when employees stay in their roles out of fear and economic uncertainty.

Again, communicators should consider the benefits of transparent and direct messaging. Without effective persona mapping to guide your engagement strategy, you won’t speak to colleague concerns, and any job huggers in your rank will simply tune out.

Your strategy should show understanding deeper motivations, even if it goes against typical career development:

• Where can your comms delivery be more receptive to this mentality?
• Can it be more effectively folded into their workflow?
• Can you give them more control over how and when they engage?

These modes of thinking are common when activating frontline employees and in an increasingly technology-focussed comms ecosystem, user experience can be leveraged for more personalised validation and activation.  Ignoring real motivators in your execution will mean any job huggers in your ranks will simply tune out, increasing disconnect and distrust.

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Both these trends speak to the urgency for transparent and honest comms between employer and employees. Conversations around time management and capacity shouldn’t feel taboo and your ability to conduct them speaks to the health of your workplace.

More so, building that trust reinforces and embodies your values when it truly counts.

Outside of office hours is your people’s business but maintaining a more holistic picture of how your colleagues feel coming into work means you can engage them in ways that matter.