Dr. Nick Taylor, Author at TalentCulture

A New Era of Workplace Safety: Prioritizing Psychosocial Health

For too long, the workplace has been viewed as a mystical place where we bring a version of ourselves that is unbreakable. It’s a version of ourselves that powers through every obstacle, even if it takes a toll on our health. Sadly, it’s a version that is essentially unsustainable. How often have we seen an employee get lauded for “going above and beyond,” even when we know that what we’re saying is just code for working through illness. Or forsaking personal commitment? Or working well beyond reasonable and safe hours? That attitude–celebrating the workaholic, to put it bluntly–is an example of

Employee Mental Health: It’s Not an “Either-Or” Proposition

In a bittersweet lesson, the pandemic has shone a bright light on the inequalities that we’ve lived with for far too long. These inequalities continue to affect the engagement, productivity, happiness, and mental health of so many unique groups within the world’s workforce. People are sidelined because of their gender or gender choice every day, or their cultural, societal, or ethnic background or beliefs. The cumulative impact of being minimized or overlooked because of one’s perceived differences builds barriers to a healthy mind. It also prevents equitable access to resources for mental well-being. Finally, the damage occurs even when the offending

Taking Time Off Won’t Fix Employee Mental Health

For too long, employers have leveraged time off to support employee mental health. We’ve all heard managers or supervisors respond like this to a stressed and weary employee: “You’re feeling tired? Take some time off and recharge your batteries!” or, “You’re feeling overwhelmed? Use your PTO and step away for a bit.” Unfortunately, anxiety and depression are worse for employees during the pandemic. But employers continue to rely primarily on time off as the solution. In fact, some companies are actually increasing the amount of paid time off they’re providing. More than one in five companies are offering employees more vacation

Why Employers are Reconsidering Hourly Workforce Benefits

If there’s a silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s the significant increase in status that the world’s hourly workers have achieved. Hourly workforce and gig employees have discovered they have more leverage today regarding their work hours and wages. Sadly, that recognition has been hard-won. The next chapter in the story could center on the best way for employers to provide this majority segment of the workforce an employee experience that includes accessible and comprehensive well-being solutions, including programs and tools for mental health care. Across the U.S. alone, non-salaried employees (people paid an hourly wage) make up 58 percent

Voluntary Benefits and Why Employers Should Offer Them

The coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated two recent and parallel trends in employee benefits. One is that more employers want to take a holistic approach to employee health and wellness. The other is that employees are increasingly looking to work for companies that show a culture of caring. These trends, combined with other impacts of COVID-19 on the global workforce, have brought the value of so-called voluntary benefits to center stage. Employers should take note if they’re not already. The Current State of Voluntary Benefits Even before the pandemic, 41 percent of workers said they were likely to look for a

The real girl in read - what it means for employee mental health

The Real Girl in Red: What It Means for Employee Mental Health

“Do you listen to the girl in red?” It’s a good question for anyone whose job it is to understand workplace culture and employee mental health. This girl-in-red question has become a coded way for women on social media to ask each other if they’re queer. But for HR and talent leaders, its significance reaches beyond gender identity. The hashtag #doyoulistentogirlinred was created in April 2020. The tag was the outgrowth of Girl in Red, a pop music project of Marie Ulven. She is a 22-year-old Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer. Ulven shot to prominence between 2018 and 2019 with homemade

The Deeper Benefits of Employee Mental Health Programs

Rewind for a minute to the pre-pandemic state of your company culture. How did you measure up in terms of morale? Recruiting? Retention? How about employee engagement, productivity, presenteeism, and positivity? These are all critical attributes companies increasingly evaluate for their value on investment (VOI), a progressive alternative to ROI. In many organizations, the use of VOI is gradually changing the way employers assess the impact of their people programs, including employee mental health programs. Of course, companies had begun to rethink their approach to employee mental health and well-being before COVID-19. Then the pandemic hit. Suddenly life was more about

Worker Resilience: The Ultimate Truth About This Hot HR Topic

It seems like worker resilience has become the HR topic of the day. The pandemic suddenly forced people to work from home last year. Soon after, videoconferencing tore the curtain off the reality of everyone’s daily lives. So we shouldn’t be surprised that resilience is a key theme in 2021. But what exactly is resilience? Does worker resilience really matter? And if it does, why has resilience been such an elusive employee trait for companies to help develop? What Exactly is Resilience? In a nutshell, resilience is what gives people the psychological strength to cope with stress and hardship. The global

Employee Mental Health Needs: Everyone Loses with A Reactive Approach

It’s now starkly obvious that the coronavirus pandemic has changed so many aspects of our lives — not the least of which is the mental health of our employees. Rates of anxiety, stress, and depression are all up. The good news is that many companies have responded by increasing investments in their existing wellbeing programs. A recent survey of 256 companies by the nonprofit National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions found that 53% now provide special emotional and mental health programs for their employees. Some of these programs have garnered media attention: Starbucks began providing access to 20 free counseling or

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Dr. Nick Taylor

Dr. Nick Taylor

A New Era of Workplace Safety: Prioritizing Psychosocial Health

Employee Mental Health: It’s Not an “Either-Or” Proposition

Taking Time Off Won’t Fix Employee Mental Health

Why Employers are Reconsidering Hourly Workforce Benefits

Voluntary Benefits and Why Employers Should Offer Them

The Real Girl in Red: What It Means for Employee Mental Health

The Deeper Benefits of Employee Mental Health Programs

Worker Resilience: The Ultimate Truth About This Hot HR Topic

Employee Mental Health Needs: Everyone Loses with A Reactive Approach

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Dr. Nick Taylor

Dr. Nick Taylor

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