Employer loyalty and workplace culture take backseat amid pandemic

Take for example the recent outing of an email sent by Applebee’s franchise exec Wayne Pankratz. With the subject heading “why gas increase is good for hiring,” Pankratz wrote to other employees at Apple Central LLC, “Most of our employee base and potential employee base live paycheck to paycheck.” and “Any increase in gas prices cuts into their disposable income. As inflation continues to climb and gas prices continue to go up, that means more hours employees will need to work to maintain their current level of living.”

Pankratz also noted that the company is no longer “competing with the government when it comes to hiring” as stimulus cheques and unemployment have wound down in the U.S. He noted, “People who (were) relying on unemployment money will simply have less money to spend. It will force people back into the workforce.”

Ironically, Pankratz signed off by saying, “Most importantly, have the culture and environment that will attract people.”

The email was leaked publicly.

According to Vice News, Pankratz’s leaked email caused a “mass resignation” at a Kansas Applebee’s.

Business Insider reported the Chief Operations Officer at Applebee’s said, “The individual has been terminated by the franchisee who owns and operates the restaurants in this market.”

The obvious lesson here is that all employees of every stripe and level should consider “internal” emails public. We are operating in a society where wrongdoers will be held to account, most often firstly in the court of public opinion. If this email had not been leaked, Pankratz may well still be employed.

The email leak itself points to a sea change in workplace culture. Dirty laundry will be aired. Skeletons will be outed from their closets.

While the email was toxic and created legal liability, some would also argue that the leaking of it was insubordinate by the leaker.

Clearly, the pandemic has forced employer loyalty and workplace culture into the backseat while a worker revolution takes the wheel.

Employers must tread a fine line between insisting on loyalty and encouraging transparency.

Employers are clearly facing a crisis when it comes to building new workplace cultures following the pandemic, rising inflation rates, and supply chain disruption.

Organizations must take steps to carefully and mindfully build a workplace culture that is not window dressing. It must be believed, it must be the essence of your organization, and it can’t be an oxymoron.