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How Do You Connect Employee Engagement and Happiness?

December 4, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Happiness, Employee Performance /by Randall Diamond

People often assume happy employees are also engaged. But is that really a safe bet? Sometimes with the best intentions to improve happiness in the short term, leaders make decisions that hurt their business in the long term. And when a business suffers, its people do, too. So, what can you do to achieve better outcomes? Recognize that while both employee engagement and happiness matter, engagement should be your priority. Here’s why…

The Pursuit of Happiness Engagement

Naturally, we want employees to be happy. (Employees want the same thing.) But it’s important to understand that employee happiness is a fairly consistent outcome of engagement — not the other way around.

This relationship is easy to prove. We’ve all had an employee or colleague who unfortunately was fired for continually underperforming, despite seeming happy and “engaged.” Of course, job fulfillment and engagement are directly correlated. But the trouble comes when we conflate these two concepts.

For a healthy business and happy employees, it’s important to focus first on engagement. Happiness will follow. And knowing how to measure both is the key.

Engagement, Meet Happiness

Employee engagement is radically different from happiness. It’s also significantly more complex. Think of engagement as the degree to which an individual is connected to, identifies with, and supports their organization. Note that this definition says nothing about employee satisfaction. Rather than being motivated by perks or extrinsic rewards, truly engaged employees are genuinely interested in their company’s success. They are invested and they want to see it thrive.

Beneath the surface of engaged employees, you’ll often find a “noble cause” that aligns with the company’s mission and surpasses personal satisfaction. Through this commitment, employees gain a sense of ownership, accomplishment, and pride — the stuff of happiness.

Engaged employees directly contribute to overall business success in small and big ways. As a result of their collective efforts, the organization grows, new challenges and opportunities materialize, and the wheel of engagement keeps turning.

However, maintaining this flywheel’s momentum can be tricky. Effective leaders enhance the employee experience by providing variety, opportunities for growth, and a sense of direction. These are all great ways to steer engagement (as well as happiness).

But how do you know when people need more? How can you tell when engagement is at risk? If you focus first on measuring happiness, you’ll lose the forest for the trees. Instead, you need to consider both happiness and engagement, separately.

Measurement: Mind the (Survey) Trap

HR knows how to answer big questions with employee surveys. But you’ll want to avoid becoming overly dependent on surveys. That’s because they provide very limited insights, and the strength of the data is largely relative to the strength of the survey instrument.

Determining levels of engagement requires a detailed examination of multiple trends and factors. So for best results, you’ll want to go beyond questionnaires when measuring employee engagement or happiness.

Engagement Metrics

As you dig deeper, here are several useful indicators to consider:

1. Interpersonal Relationships

Leaders, do you encourage staff members to foster friendships? It’s widely recognized that strong workplace connections encourage teamwork and cohesion. In fact, 80% of people with close friends at work say they feel a strong sense of belonging to their organization. And 76% say friendships make them more likely to remain with their employer.

To understand the influence of relationships in your organization, develop metrics that answer questions like these:

How many friends or positive work relationships do your employees have, on average?
What proportion of people in your organization feel they have a reliable mentor?

2. Voluntary Overtime

Every organization has its share of people who get by with a bare minimum of effort. And in recent years, this behavior has been on the rise. Now, according to Gallup, “quiet quitters” represent at least 50% of the U.S. workforce.

Meanwhile on the other side of the coin, what about those who are willing to go “above and beyond” or proactively dedicate extra time to get work done? It’s safe to assume these employees are highly engaged. But too much discretionary effort can lead to burnout and unhappiness.

How often do employees contribute extra time and effort?

It’s vital to keep an eye on both ends of this effort/engagement spectrum. The key is to measure individually and often. Then be prepared to talk with employees about unusual changes in their behavior, and their comfort with self-imposed increased workloads.

3. Collaboration

If employees give themselves the time and space to collaborate only when leaders or clients require it, your organization is likely to be lacking in engagement.

No business wants to force unnecessary meetings on people. That’s a costly move, and it’s only likely to promote disengagement. On the other hand, informal and formal group conversations are vital to help team members align and move forward successfully.

How often are employees or teams scheduling meetings to share ideas, brainstorm, or plan their work?

A good indicator of engagement is to gauge how often people willingly make an effort to get together on a casual basis or for work-related reasons.

What About Happiness?

Happiness is much simpler to measure than engagement. This is where a good standalone survey can be effective. Strive for a survey cadence that is frequent enough to achieve at least 50% participation. Weekly, if your survey is short — three questions or less. Biweekly or monthly, if the question set is longer.

Try asking people how they feel by focusing on real-world emotions with questions like these:

At the end of the workday, do you feel completely drained, or do you have the energy to relax and enjoy yourself?
Are there any day-to-day tasks you dread, or that you think we could help simplify or improve?
What do you find most rewarding about your role?

Thoughtful, personalized questions lead to useful insights. When employees recognize that you care about them and are genuinely interested in their happiness, they’ll help you understand what you can do to improve their experience.

Get Happy Engaged

If your organization faces issues like poor productivity, high turnover, or negative company culture, don’t try to fix it by emphasizing employee happiness. Instead, invest primarily in engagement. Happiness will follow.

Start by recognizing the difference between these two key dimensions of work life. Then think outside the box to measure both effectively. Don’t rely on old, templated engagement survey tools — or focus on satisfaction metrics alone. Instead, invest in developing and implementing a thoughtful strategy that measures both engagement and happiness.

Then, by evaluating engagement and happiness on an ongoing basis, you’ll be prepared to proactively detect and address workforce issues that influence overall business performance.

Earned Wage Access: Why HR Leaders Shouldn’t Fear This Breakthrough Benefit

October 31, 2023/Compliance, Employee Benefits, Employee Happiness, Employee Well-Being, HR /by Jim Colassano

The pandemic and inflationary conditions are putting extraordinary pressure on workers to provide for their families. In fact, the U.S. government estimates that nearly 40% of citizens would struggle to cover the cost of a $400 emergency. What’s more, 60% of survey respondents told Bankrate they’re falling behind in saving for an unexpected expense. Even people with full-time jobs are struggling financially, and many are at risk of running out of cash between pay periods.

As a result, a growing number of employers are responding with creative solutions. Historically, bi-weekly or monthly payroll processing has been the norm. However, this can create problems for employees who live paycheck to paycheck, especially when unexpected expenses arise.

Are Payday Loans the Answer?

One solution involves payday loans, where employees borrow money from a third-party provider using their upcoming paycheck as collateral. However, there are predatory companies in this space that charge desperate people outsized fees. Even reputable payday loan companies charge hefty interest rates that are likely to create even more financial strain.

Thankfully, there is another opportunity for employees who are living on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. It’s called earned wage access.

What Is Earned Wage Access?

This benefit ensures that people receive the money they’ve earned before the day they normally would receive their paycheck. How does this help? Imagine one typical scenario:

While waiting in the supermarket checkout line, one of your staff members realizes they don’t have enough money to cover all their groceries. After using their phone to request immediate access to a specific amount of money, the employee finds available funds in their checking account before they even get to the register.

In addition, thanks to advances in real-time payment infrastructure, human resource teams can offer this kind of benefit without changing the way they process payroll. By working with your financial institution and payment processors, you can implement earned wage access via real-time payments, instead of through traditional ACH payments.

5 Benefits of Earned Wage Access

Earned wage access is attractive to employers and employees, alike. Here are 5 compelling reasons why:

1. Employees Increasingly Expect it

During the pandemic, people who were laid off or needed an extra income stream often turned to gig-based jobs. Many gig economy companies pay people daily, or immediately when they finish a job. So, not surprisingly, these workers now prefer similar payment terms for their full-time jobs.

2. It is a Strong Recruiting Tool

Earned wage access is quickly becoming the norm. 70% of middle-market companies already offer this capability, and about 25% are planning to implement it soon, according to a 2022 Citizens Bank payments survey. In today’s competitive talent market, this growing trend puts companies at a disadvantage if they don’t provide it.

3. It Helps Boost Employee Retention

Once employees are onboard, earned wage access helps reduce “quiet quitting” as well as other forms of job dissatisfaction and disengagement that contribute to turnover. In fact, according to research from DailyPay, 59% of people with on-demand access say it motivates them to go to work. As a result, employers that offer this capability have improved their tenure rates by as much as 73%.

4. It Gives Employees Peace of Mind

78% of people with access to earned wages say it helps them pay bills on time and avoid late or overdraft fees. When people have instant access to the money they’ve earned, it helps them avoid falling behind on bills or experiencing other money burdens.

This means they’re less likely to be distracted by financial worries throughout the day and are more likely to focus on their job responsibilities. In fact, 74% of users say access to earned wages has helped reduce financial stress.

5. It Enhances Financial Wellness

Organizations naturally want to avoid putting employees in financial jeopardy. This is why many are educating staff to think of earned wage access as a “break-in-case-of-emergency” option, rather than a standard way to manage their income.

To support this mindset, many employers introduce earned wage access in tandem with financial literacy training. This helps employees learn about on-demand pay within the broader context of personal financial management.

As a result, they begin to view earned wage access as a “fallback” option in unusual circumstances, when immediate access to extra cash is necessary. In fact, according to one survey, 51% of users say on-demand wage access has helped improve their financial health, and 50% say it has helped them become more disciplined about spending.

The Bottom Line on Earned Wage Access

To recruit and retain talent in today’s challenging labor market, employers are increasingly turning to unique, practical perks that make life easier for employees. This is why earned wage access is quickly changing from a nice-to-have advantage to a must-have benefit for employers who want to remain competitive.

Fortunately, introducing this special pay option doesn’t require HR and financial teams to do anything differently. All you need to do is ensure that your organization works with payment providers who offer this service. As you roll out earned wage access, you can expect employees to respond with a stronger commitment to their work, and a deeper desire to remain with an employer that cares about their family’s financial health.

How to Choose the Perfect Wellness Incentive Provider

October 24, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Benefits, Employee Experience, Employee Well-Being, Health and Wellness, Healthcare and Benefits /by Kathryn Felke

In today’s competitive post-pandemic world of work, HR and business leaders recognize that employee wellbeing is a must-have for a strong, successful organizational culture. This is why wellness incentives have emerged as a powerful tool to attract and retain top talent.

By enhancing employee morale and engagement, strong wellness incentives help boost retention and productivity. Ultimately, company performance improves, as well. What else should you consider about wellness incentives? Take a closer look:

Understanding the Power of Wellness Incentives

In recent years, the number of people struggling to manage mental, physical, and emotional health has risen dramatically. Naturally, these issues are spilling over into our professional lives. As a result, most employers no longer treat wellness programs as optional perks. Instead, many organizations now consider wellness programs a strategic investment that fosters employee wellbeing and organizational growth.

This isn’t just wishful thinking. Studies show that a healthy workforce is more engaged and productive. In fact, companies with carefully designed wellness programs experience lower healthcare costs, less absenteeism, and higher employee satisfaction levels.

What’s more, a holistic approach to wellness (integrating physical, mental, and emotional health), demonstrates that people are valued as individuals. This resonates deeply with employees, who increasingly place work-life balance and personal wellbeing above other priorities.

But all wellness solutions aren’t created equal. So what does it take to find a wellness incentive provider that meets your particular needs? Here are steps that lead to successful outcomes:

7 Steps to Find the Ideal Wellness Incentive Provider

1. Identify Your Organization’s Needs

As you embark on a journey to select a wellness incentive provider, it’s crucial to assess your organization’s specific challenges and requirements. Start by defining your wellness requirements based on factors such as company size, employee demographics, industry practices, and standard wellness program benchmarks.

However, it helps to dig deeper. You can pinpoint specific issues that need attention by gathering intelligence from multiple internal sources. For example, conducting surveys, analyzing health data, and gathering ongoing employee feedback, can provide the insights you need to better reflect employees’ concerns and interests.

Whether you focus on reducing stress, promoting physical activity, or supporting mental health, staff input can align your wellness initiatives with their priorities as well as your organization’s mission and values.

2. Evaluate Potential Providers

The market for wellness incentive providers has grown substantially in recent years, so the number of available choices may seem overwhelming. However, not all providers are created equal. You’ll want to thoroughly research potential partners to ensure your organization reaps all the benefits you want to gain from a wellness program.

Because first-hand experience can offer valuable insights, it’s a smart move to ask trusted peers and industry networks for recommendations. Once you have a reasonable shortlist, take the time to investigate each provider’s expertise, reputation, and track record in delivering effective employee wellness solutions.

It helps to develop a qualification scorecard mapped to your organization’s priorities. For example, consider factors such as the range of services each vendor offers, as well as their ability to customize programs, their technology capabilities, and the level of customer support they provide.

3. Tailor Your Program Offerings

Today’s workforce is increasingly diverse. Team members bring a variety of interests, backgrounds, and needs to the table. That’s why one size does not fit all when it comes to wellness incentives.

A successful program offers a menu of options that cater to these differences. For instance, while some employees might be motivated by fitness challenges and step competitions, others may benefit more from mindfulness workshops or nutrition seminars.

The right provider should be able to craft a program that resonates with your employees and encourages broad participation. By recognizing and responding to individual preferences, you create a more inclusive and effective wellness initiative that will appeal to a spectrum of employees.

4. Consider Technology and User Experience

In today’s digital age, technology plays a pivotal role in the success of wellness programs. In fact, a highly accessible, user-friendly platform can make or break program adoption, engagement, and momentum. The wellness incentive provider you choose should offer a seamless digital experience that simplifies program enrollment, participation, and progress tracking.

Whatever technologies are at the heart of your program — mobile apps, wearable devices, online platforms — should be intuitive and easy to navigate. This helps employees develop a sense of empowerment and motivates them to integrate wellness activities into their lives. A provider with robust, well-designed technology can ensure that wellness becomes an integral part of employees’ daily routine, rather than a chore.

5. Prioritize Culture Fit and Communication

A wellness incentive program should seamlessly integrate with your organizational culture and values. Look for a provider that understands your company’s ethos and is prepared to design initiatives that resonate with your workforce.

Effective communication is a linchpin of these programs. The provider you choose should help you craft compelling communication strategies to raise awareness, engage employees, and drive participation. Working hand-in-hand, you can develop and deliver regular updates, newsletters, and workshops that create a sense of community and enthusiasm around wellness, fostering an environment where people feel fully supported and valued.

6. Measure and Demonstrate ROI

To secure buy-in from stakeholders and justify your investment in wellness incentives, it’s imperative to measure and demonstrate return on investment (ROI). Establish clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your organization’s objectives.

Be prepared to track metrics such as increased productivity, reduced healthcare costs, decreased absenteeism, and improved employee morale. The right wellness incentive provider will assist you in collecting and analyzing data, offering insights into the tangible benefits your organization reaps from the program. Effective data-driven reporting not only showcases your program’s success but also guides future adjustments for even better outcomes.

7. Don’t Forget Contract Terms and Pricing

When finalizing your partnership with any wellness solution provider, pay careful attention to the contract terms and pricing structure they offer. A fair, transparent contract ensures a fruitful relationship that benefits both parties. Focus on these factors:

Negotiate agreements that align with your budget and long-term goals. Inquire about any hidden costs that might arise during program implementation or expansion.
Also, keep scalability in mind. As your organization grows, your wellness program should have the flexibility to adapt and accommodate a larger workforce without disproportionately increasing costs.

A Final Note on Wellness Solution Providers

In the evolving landscape of workplace trends, wellness programs have become a cornerstone of employee satisfaction and organizational success. By understanding the power of wellness incentives, identifying your organization’s specific needs, and carefully evaluating potential partners, you set the stage for a program that will enhance employee wellbeing and elevate business performance.

Through tailored wellness programs that cater to diverse employee preferences and effectively leverage digital technology, you can create an environment where wellbeing is not just a buzzword but a shared commitment. In addition, by ensuring a strong cultural fit, incorporating ongoing communication, and measuring ROI, you will strengthen your program’s foundation, so your organization can successfully foster employee wellbeing now and in the future.

Grind Culture Isn’t Working. How Can Wellness Win?

October 23, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Benefits, Employee Burnout, Employee Well-Being, Health and Wellness, Mental Health Awareness, Winner: Impact Award for Content Excellence /by Erin Rouble

The Problem With Grind Culture

In recent years, “hustle” and “grind” culture have become equated with drive, ambition, and success. The logic is that if you are not incessantly working, you won’t meet your goals. Grind culture also ties a person’s worth to the product they produce. However, it comes at the expense of individual wellbeing.

The fact is, hustle and grind culture can seriously damage long-term physical and mental health. Often, people don’t even recognize how toxic grind culture can be until it directly erodes their own wellbeing.

Grind culture is especially prevalent in the corporate world. For example, a Deloitte study found that employees and C-suite executives, alike, feel exhausted and stressed. Specifically, about 1 in 3 people say they constantly struggle with fatigue and poor mental health.

Regardless, leaders are far more optimistic than employees about how their organizations are managing this challenge. For example, while only 56% of employees think executives care about their wellbeing, a whopping 91% of leaders say employees know they care.

This gap is causing companies to perpetuate grind culture at the expense of everyone’s health and wellbeing. Over time, overwhelming work-at-all-costs environments lead to multiple unwanted outcomes:

Increased stress, absenteeism, and burnout
Decreased productivity, quality, and job performance
Higher turnover rates

How can employers reverse this kind of toxic spiral — or avoid it altogether? First, let’s look at why workplace wellness is so powerful. Then, we’ll explore some ways that business and HR leaders can take proactive steps to squash toxic grind culture.

Benefits of Prioritizing Wellness

What is Wellness?

The terms wellbeing and wellness are often used interchangeably to describe a person’s overall physical, emotional, and mental health. But these concepts aren’t synonymous. Gallup explains the difference:

Wellness is “a healthy lifestyle beyond acute illness” that is shaped by cumulative lifestyle choices and habits.

Wellbeing, on the other hand, “encompasses the broader holistic dimensions of a well-lived life.” This includes physical, career, financial, social, and community wellbeing.

So, wellness is only one element of wellbeing — but it is a vital element. It’s also important to recognize that the various aspects of wellness are interconnected. In other words, if our mental, physical, or emotional health deteriorates in some way, other aspects of our health will be affected. Ultimately, this jeopardizes overall wellbeing.

The habits we adopt inside and outside of work directly influence our ability to feel good and perform at our best each day. And because most of us spend our waking hours on the job, employers need to prioritize workplace wellness and wellbeing.

The Business Case for Wellness

Employees who feel good physically, mentally, and emotionally are likely to have a positive attitude that fosters trust and collaboration – two hallmarks of a healthy work culture. But there are tangible benefits, as well. Primarily:

1. Decreased Health-Related Costs

Stress and burnout aren’t constant threats when you structure and manage work in a reasonable way. This helps employees find the necessary mental and physical energy to show up, concentrate, and contribute on a consistent basis. Certainly, it’s essential to offer healthcare support and personal time off. But happy, healthy, engaged employees don’t rely as heavily on these benefits. As a result, you’re likely to see fewer sick days, leaves of absence, and chronic conditions.

2. Increased Productivity

Employees who feel healthy, safe, and supported are significantly more productive. When people don’t feel overscheduled, overwhelmed, or micromanaged, they’re free to focus on doing their best during work hours. This improves efficiency, effectiveness, and quality — which together can elevate your bottom line.

3. Reduced Recruiting Costs

A healthier work culture leads to lower turnover. This translates into lower recruiting and training expenses that would otherwise be spent on replacing and onboarding lost talent. A culture of wellness also elevates your employer brand, which means you can attract and hire new talent more quickly, easily, and cost-effectively when the need arises.

How to Promote Workforce Wellness

Managers and HR leaders play a key role in guiding “grind culture” employees toward a culture of wellness. Whether your organization is big or small, everyone will need to be willing to help foster an environment where employees feel supported.

Here are 5 ways to replace grind culture with a healthier work environment:

1. Sufficient Paid Time Off

Taking time away from work is essential for mental rejuvenation. It promotes self-care and helps prevent burnout, which can be detrimental to individuals, teams, and the organization at large. Giving employees the autonomy to use their paid time off as they see fit demonstrates trust, which in turn, builds a strong employer-employee relationship and a healthy work culture.

To determine how much time off to provide, consider multiple scenarios: sick days, vacations, flexible days for caregiving or other personal needs, and an option for unpaid days when paid time off is depleted.

2. Flexible Schedules and Breaks

Although most businesses must operate during specific hours, the traditional 9-to-5 model is not for every employee. Consider scheduling that accommodates various personal responsibilities and lifestyles.

For example, you could let people choose their preferred daily start time — such as anytime between 8-10 a.m. — as long as they work the total required daily hours. By staggering start and end times, you can support different schedules and increase productivity. At the same time, your business can extend its hours of operation, which can improve your customer experience and top-line performance.

In addition, consider flexible break times. Some employees want a 60-minute lunch break, while others may prefer multiple shorter breaks throughout the day. Letting people decide how to allocate their break time isn’t likely to hurt your business. Instead, this flexible approach can boost morale, improve productivity, and help employees feel trusted.

3. Appropriate Equipment

Providing employees with the right tools and equipment is important for wellness. Whether they are working in an office or from home, when people have everything they need to function smoothly, they’ll be more comfortable and efficient.

This can include ergonomic chairs, dual monitors, adjustable desks, specialized software, or tools. Regardless, ensuring that people have easy access to the right equipment can reduce physical strain and mental stress, while promoting productivity.

4. Embrace “Work From Anywhere” and Flexible Hours

The recent remote work trend demonstrates that many jobs can be performed from anywhere. Offering a “work from anywhere” policy can reduce commute-related stress and personal expenses while giving employees an opportunity to choose the work setting that best suits their goals and preferences.

Letting employees work from home is especially attractive for parents who want to stay close to their young children throughout the day. But this kind of flexibility appeals to others as well. Many employers are finding that it dramatically improves job satisfaction, work quality, productivity, and retention.

5. Regular 1-on-1 Check-ins

Mandated check-ins by supervisors can play a pivotal role in gauging employee wellbeing. Project updates and deliverables are important. But it’s also essential to gather feedback about employee mental and physical wellness and work concerns.

By ensuring that managers regularly communicate with team members in a relaxed setting, you can help them identify issues earlier and address concerns head-on. It’s helpful to let employees determine the meeting agenda and remind managers that their mission is to listen and follow up on a timely basis.

Embed Priorities In a Wellness Policy

To demonstrate your company’s commitment, you’ll want to document your workforce wellbeing agenda and procedures in a formal policy. This gives the HR team responsibility for enforcement, support, and guidance as managers and employees navigate things such as time off requests.

Also, when these recommendations are formally documented, it ensures that employees won’t be reprimanded by managers or leaders who may want to choose short-term project deadlines or deliverables over employee wellness.

Lead by Example

Above all, for a culture of wellness to take hold, managers at all levels of the organization need to lead by example. It sets a positive precedent if managers take vacations, take sick days when needed, and show compassion towards team members.

Also, understanding that employee wellness isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor, it’s important to remain open to suggestions. By welcoming novel ideas and exhibiting genuine interest in collaborating with team members, managers create an environment where wellness is not just encouraged but actively practiced.

By implementing clear policies and fostering open communication, you can ensure that your most valuable asset — your employees — are happier, healthier, and more engaged. It’s an investment that’s well worth the effort.

How Can Employers Better Support Working Parents?

October 16, 2023/Employee Benefits, Employee Burnout, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Retention, Employee Well-Being /by Lynn Perkins

Currently, about 40% of people in the U.S. workforce are parents whose kids are under 18 years old. With soaring childcare costs and limited government assistance, many organizations know it’s important to support working parents more fully. However, no standards have been established that define the kind of benefits these employees should receive.

While some companies provide comprehensive perks like paid family leave, free on-site childcare, lactation support, and family health care, others offer nothing. And sadly, research reveals that 44% of working parents think their employer does not care about their family’s financial wellbeing.

Still, one question remains on employers’ minds: Will providing more benefits and policies for parents lead to better business outcomes? New research says yes.

Key Facts About Today’s Working Parents

Earlier this year, an UrbanSitter study explored the challenges working parents are facing. These findings underscore the impact of seismic changes that are redefining modern organizations.

1. Parents Are Struggling to Adjust

From pandemic health concerns to remote work demands — and now return-to-office requirements — working parents continue to struggle as they navigate ongoing work trends. Now, unfortunately, the situation has reached an abysmal low:

Last year, 46% of working parents missed 10 or more work days to address caregiving issues.

Many attribute these missed days to family needs arising from a particularly strong surge in cold, flu, RSV, and COVID-19 cases during the previous fall and winter.

Additionally, an alarming 52% of working parents say they or their partner have had to make career changes due to caregiving issues.

2. The Stress is Showing

Hands down, for working parents, the need to juggle work and home responsibilities is the number one cause of stress. Caregiving issues and financial strain round out the top three sources of stress. No wonder nearly half (46%) of working mothers, a quarter of their partners, and more than 1 in 10 children are currently seeking therapy.

3. Federal Funds Are Running Dry

Adding further fuel to the fire, the government pull-back of pandemic relief childcare assistance in September is projected to cause 3.2 million children to lose childcare due to program closures.

This so-called “Childcare Cliff” and its ripple effects will have widespread implications. From parents being forced to quit or reduce hours so they can care for their children, to the financial impact it will have on organizations that lose valuable contributors, the drain on U.S. talent is bound to be felt across the employment landscape.

What Working Parents Need

Despite these gloomy statistics, our research suggests a clear path forward. When employers invest in benefits and policies to support working parents the situation improves. Specifically, absenteeism declines, productivity increases, employees feel supported, loyalty improves, and company culture gets a boost.

For example, when caregiving benefits are available:

Working parents miss 68% fewer workdays.

77% of new parents return to work after childbirth, significantly surpassing the industry average of 57%.

What’s more, 87% of survey participants said they would be more likely to stay with their current employer if they had access to caregiving benefits.

Ignoring the data – and the resounding call for comprehensive support – is no longer an option. Simply put, businesses that prioritize working parents’ needs will attract top talent and retain a more dedicated workforce.

5 Strategies for Employers to Support Working Parents

1. Prioritize Childcare Benefits and Stipends

Studies show that working parents desire childcare benefits more than any other financial reward — even performance-based bonuses or 401(k) contribution matching. This means employers should offer whatever childcare options they can reasonably afford.

Programs can include access to trusted in-home care or third-party centers, or even stipends managed through a reimbursement program. Various solutions are available to employers, so any company can implement a program that aligns with its budget and workforce preferences.

2. Embrace the Power of Flexibility

Employers can make a tremendous difference by offering working parents more freedom to determine the best way to balance work and family demands.

For instance, offering flexible schedules enables parents to choose work hours that suit their family’s needs. This gives them the ability to participate in school activities and manage doctor appointments without jeopardizing their work commitments.

3. Respond to Remote Work Preferences

Many parents strongly prefer remote work options over full-time return-to-office mandates. When this is the case, hybrid work models can be a viable compromise.

Numerous companies are finding success with flexible schedules based on 1-2 days per week in the office. Others are experimenting with more creative structures. For example, some alternate 1-2 in-office weeks with 1-2 remote weeks, so parents can more closely align their schedules with school holiday weeks.

4. Innovate with a 4-Day Workweek

Other non-traditional work arrangements are highly attractive to talent right now. For example, the 4-day work week is gaining momentum among many employers.

To understand why this strategy is becoming more mainstream, consider the case of online thrift store, ThredUp. Since the company moved to a 4-day workweek in 2021, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

A year later, 93% of the company’s workforce said their overall productivity had increased. In addition, the retention rate among corporate employees reached 96%. Plus, 60% of newer employees said the shorter workweek “tipped the scale for them” when choosing to work for ThredUp over other companies.

5. Offer More Holistic Support

Expanding care benefits to include a broader spectrum of services can further ease the burden working parents face. For example, assistance with tutoring, pet care, senior care, and household needs such as housekeeping and errands helps parents stay focused and more productive when they’re working.

What’s more, this more expansive approach not only benefits working parents, but also non-parent employees who are caring for pets or elderly family members.

A Final Note on Supporting Working Parents

In a world where the demands of home and work have intensified, employers must acknowledge the critical role they play in working parents’ lives. By taking tangible steps to provide comprehensive support, businesses can create an environment that nurtures the wellbeing of working parents and also helps their organizations thrive.

Employers that invest in these strategies are seeing tangible benefits, with increased employee retention, productivity, innovation, and overall business performance. The choice is clear. Now is the time for employers to set the course for a brighter future by empowering working parents to succeed.

Toxic Cultures Are Crushing Workforce Wellbeing. What Can Employers Do?

October 9, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Burnout, Employee Well-Being, Health and Wellness /by Christina Gialleli

Toxic cultures are like dark clouds looming over the world of work. Wherever they go, they wreak havoc with employee wellbeing. That’s not an overstatement. For example, consider what one recent technology industry survey revealed:

45% of tech employees said their work environment is so toxic it affects their mental health, while 48% said it takes a toll on their physical health.

Among those who work in toxic cultures, 43% use sick days or personal time off to take a break from all the negativity.

45% of employees in these environments say they’ve been pushed into “quiet quitting.”

Statistics like these are alarming, especially for organizations that are struggling to attract and retain qualified talent. To understand the issue better and find out how to create a happier, healthier workplace for all, read on…

How Toxic Cultures Erode Employee Mental Health

Today’s work environment is so fast-paced and demanding that it’s easy to overlook signs of toxicity. But left unchecked, these symptoms can cascade into serious consequences that harm individuals as well as overall workplace wellbeing.

Recognizing key issues is the first step toward developing a healthier culture. Here are four common warning signs you don’t want to ignore:

1. High Stress Levels

Toxic workplaces are a breeding ground for stress. Often, employees find themselves constantly navigating through a minefield of negativity, unrealistic expectations, and hostile interactions.

Stressful environments are more common than you may think. In fact, 79% of U.S. workers struggle with work-related stress, according to the American Psychological Association.

The persistent pressure to meet unattainable goals — coupled with a lack of support or recognition — leaves employees grappling with chronically elevated stress levels. This prolonged exposure to stress not only takes a toll on mental health, but also contributes to physical health issues such as hypertension, insomnia, and intestinal tract disorders.

2. Burnout

A combination of stress, overwork, minimal autonomy, and a lack of appreciation create a perfect storm that fuels employee burnout. Constantly pushing people beyond their limits to meet unreasonable demands can leave them emotionally exhausted, disenchanted, and disengaged from their work.

Because it diminishes mental and physical wellbeing, burnout goes hand in hand with absenteeism and employee turnover. As a result, team productivity and organizational performance also suffer.

3. Poor Work-Life Balance

Toxic work cultures often blur the boundaries between work and personal life. Employees may find themselves constantly tethered to their jobs, with little time or energy for personal life.

A lack of boundaries between work and life plays havoc with mental health. It can compromise an individual’s quality of life and leave them feeling overwhelmed and isolated. This inability to detach from work-related stressors can also contribute to sleep disturbances and anxiety, further intensifying mental health challenges.

4. Low Job Satisfaction

One of the most obvious symptoms of a toxic workplace is low job satisfaction. This usually develops when people don’t feel respected or appreciated, and they aren’t offered opportunities to develop and grow. This means enthusiasm and motivation slide, and engagement follows.

Over time, a lack of job satisfaction can erode employee mental health. When this reaches across a team or an organization, it also puts workplace harmony, productivity, and innovation at risk.

How to Heal Toxic Cultures

Creating a workplace that puts employee wellbeing first is not just a corporate responsibility — it’s a necessity. By fostering a healthy, supportive work environment, companies can safeguard mental health across their teams, which translates into high job satisfaction, productivity, and talent retention.

Here are some strategies and tactics to help develop a work environment that is more respectful, inclusive, and supportive:

1. Promote Open Communication

Encourage employees to speak up when they encounter toxic behaviors or instances of workplace misconduct. Create formal and informal processes and channels where people can openly discuss issues. Also, for situations that require discretion, provide a safe platform where anyone can report a problem and know that leaders will act on their input.

2. Implement Feedback Mechanisms

Establish processes and tools to gather and assess regular feedback. For example, conduct periodic anonymous surveys and informal one-on-one sessions. This gives employees multiple ways to express their thoughts, feelings, and concerns about the work environment. By seeking input on workplace culture, policies, and practices you’ll have a foundation for meaningful change.

3. Prioritize Leadership Training

Invest in leadership and management training programs that underscore the importance of creating a respectful, inclusive work environment. Equip leaders with the skills they need to identify and address toxic behaviors. Also, focus on helping them develop emotional intelligence so they can be role models for a positive workplace.

4. Offer Mental Health Support

Provide resources and programs aimed at supporting employee mental health. Include access to counseling services, stress management workshops, and initiatives that promote work-life balance. By showing a serious commitment to workforce wellbeing, you’ll elevate employee trust and commitment.

5. Emphasize Employee Recognition

Implement employee appreciation programs to acknowledge and reward employees for their efforts and contributions. When executives, managers, and peers express genuine appreciation for hard work, it boosts morale and contributes to a more positive work environment.

6. Provide Professional Development Opportunities

Show you care about the future of your employees. Proactively invest in their skill development and career growth. When people feel that their employer actively supports their aspirations, they’re more likely to remain loyal and view their workplace in a positive light.

7. Offer Flexible Work Arrangements

Open the door to flexible work options, such as remote/hybrid work models or flexible hours. This kind of flexibility can help employees better balance their work and personal lives. As a result, it helps reduce work stress, avoid burnout, and enhance job satisfaction.

8. Don’t Forget Conflict Resolution Processes

Establish clear and fair methods for conflict resolution. This ensures that you can address workplace issues or disputes in a timely, effective way. A structured approach can prevent problems from escalating and negatively affecting the work environment.

Encourage Self-Care Education

Toxic cultures can be overwhelming in many ways. Although it’s important for organizations to implement employee wellbeing initiatives, it’s equally important for employees to learn how to take care of themselves.

Educating individuals about mental health and wellbeing can empower them to build the resilience they need to more effectively navigate today’s challenging work world. Consider a curriculum that focuses on topics like these:

1. Coping With Stressful Situations

Training sessions that teach employees how to identify stress and cope with it are extremely useful. During training, focus on techniques for managing work stress, such as mindfulness, time management, and brief relaxation exercises. For example, teach people to recognize their own stressors and develop personalized strategies for dealing with them.

2. Prioritizing Self-Care

Educate employees about the importance of self-care and how to incorporate it into their daily routine. Emphasize the value of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, getting adequate sleep, engaging in regular physical activity, and practicing healthy eating habits. Provide resources and tips for self-care practices that improve mental and emotional wellbeing.

3. Resolving Conflict

Be sure to help employees develop effective conflict resolution techniques that emphasize open, respectful communication. This can help participants discover how to identify and address workplace conflicts constructively — whether it involves colleagues, supervisors, or clients. Through your employee training system you can offer guidance on negotiation skills, active listening, and finding common ground during regular 1:1 meetings.

4. Building Mental Health Awareness

Plan workshops or events to raise awareness about mental health issues and reduce the stigma surrounding this topic. Employees need to recognize signs of mental health challenges in themselves, as well as their colleagues. Make sure you provide information about available mental health resources and how to seek help when needed.

5. Boosting Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence training can enhance an employee’s ability to understand and manage their own emotions while affirming others. Effective training often includes strategies for developing adaptability, problem-solving skills, and a growth mindset. All of these contribute to increased resilience while on the job.

6. Setting Goals

Everyone can benefit from learning how to set and achieve personal and professional goals. A great way to do this is by guiding employees through the process of creating actionable plans, tracking progress, and celebrating successes. Ultimately, this fosters a sense of accomplishment and motivates people to dig deeper and aim higher.

It’s Time to Let Go of Toxic Cultures

Bottom line: Workforce wellbeing is the key to a loyal, thriving, high-performing workforce. When you commit to building a positive culture that genuinely cares for team members, you’ll benefit in multiple ways:

Happy, healthy, well-supported employees are more content and effective in their roles. They’re also significantly more valuable team players who are willing to embrace business goals.

When employees are equipped to face the challenges of modern work life, they engage more fully, work more productively, contribute more creative ideas, and are more eager to share in their organization’s success.

Ultimately, fostering a culture of wellbeing is a win-win proposition. A workforce that is mentally, emotionally, and physically present and engaged will thrive — and will help your business thrive, as well.

Employee Experience: 5 Paths to a More Human Work Culture

October 6, 2023/Career Development, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Well-Being, HR, Leadership /by Meredith Fish

Anyone who says being a leader is easy is simply not being honest. Leadership is hard. Yes, I said it. And that shouldn’t shock anyone. After all, modern managers are expected to be nearly super-human. They’re responsible for inspiring people, bringing out the best in their teams, and getting positive results. And naturally, they play a crucial role in shaping the employee experience.

Effective leaders create a positive work culture that fosters engagement, enhances job satisfaction, and increases productivity. Innovative work processes and technology can help. But the most influential leaders rely on more than KPIs, annual performance reviews, and cool digital tools to shape individual and organizational success.

Instead, these enlightened leaders put wellbeing and productivity at the center of their employee experience strategy. All of this sounds good, doesn’t it? But it is much easier said than done.

This article challenges leaders to focus on five factors that drive employee experience in today’s complex work environment:

Empowerment
Purpose
Recognition
Positivity
Growth

To uncover areas for improvement, consider these questions…

1. Do Employees Feel Empowered as Individuals and Part of a Team?

For any organization, balancing individuality and teamwork is a delicate art. Do you provide an environment where employees feel free to express themselves openly and authentically, as members of a cohesive, supportive team?

Aim for a Sense of Belonging

The desire to feel connected with others is part of the human condition. In childhood, we begin to fulfill this need by forging relationships with family members and groups of friends who accept us for who we are.

Similarly, at work, a sense of belonging develops when we feel free to show up and contribute as ourselves. In fact, extensive research reveals a strong relationship between authenticity, psychological safety, trust, and a sense of belonging. By behaving openly and authentically, you give peers and team members unspoken permission to do the same. What’s more, by letting go of unnatural roles, everyone has more energy to focus on what really matters.

Breed Trust Through Authenticity

As a leader, you can set a powerful example for others by sharing your own personal and professional setbacks and successes. This lays the foundation for a more genuine, relatable team atmosphere. Employees who see their leaders as real people with strengths, weaknesses, and a desire to learn, they’re more likely to open up, collaborate, and take calculated risks. Ultimately, this can drive creativity, innovation, and growth.

2. Do People See Purpose in Their Work?

How well do employees understand the significance of their efforts? When people understand how their jobs support an organization’s broader mission, they become more motivated, engaged, and committed to their work.

Connect Tasks With Meaning

We’ve all had moments of reckoning at work when we suddenly wonder, “Why am I doing this? Why does this matter?” Don’t wait for this to happen to your employees.

When assigning projects or responsibilities, you have a unique opportunity to share meaningful context. Don’t hesitate to underscore the impact you believe your team members will have on your department, your organization, your customers, or the community at large.

Frame Work as a Fulfilling Endeavor

We all want our efforts to mean something. In fact, research confirms that when employees understand how their daily efforts fit into the bigger picture, they’re more motivated and fulfilled.

Speaking to the value employees bring to the table can deepen their commitment to their job, their team, and the organization as a whole. So, remember to regularly remind people about their significance and acknowledge their contributions.

3. Do You Make Recognition Integral to Work Life?

Celebrating employee contributions strengthens their connection to the organization. Ultimately, this leads to better performance, higher profits, and stronger retention rates. How well do you respond to this need?

Acknowledge Excellence and Effort

Recognition is a core pillar of employee experience. That’s why you’ll want to acknowledge team members on a regular basis.

We all crave validation, but every situation is unique. So take time to think about the most effective approach. Some public acknowledgments resonate for some people, while others prefer a personal note or private 1-on-1 conversation.

Acknowledging excellence boosts morale, builds engagement, and reinforces a sense of value. So don’t hesitate to share a simple “thank you” or reward people formally through a recognition program,

Encourage Everyone to Participate

At WorkRamp, we’ve created a #Props Slack dedicated to employee recognition. We encourage all employees to use this space to express gratitude, brag about team members, share accomplishments, and celebrate work wins. It’s one of our most popular Slack channels, and team members of all levels regularly contribute.

4. Is Your Environment Positive and Inclusive?

Company culture directly affects employee employee wellbeing and productivity. A supportive, collaborative workplace attracts and retains top talent, motivates people to excel, drives job satisfaction, and leads to organizational success. How can you build a better culture?

Cultivate Positivity

A positive culture helps employees feel comfortable and supported, which boosts job satisfaction and wellbeing. As a leader, you can set the tone for this kind of environment. To move the meter, you’ll want to embrace change, champion open communication, and ensure fairness whenever possible.

Promote Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance can be elusive, especially these days, when more employees are working remotely or in a hybrid mode. However, by helping team members balance personal and professional priorities, you can help employees gain a stronger sense of wellbeing.

There are multiple ways to encourage self-care. For example, you can remind people to take breaks, use their vacation time, and unplug during off hours. By supporting healthier habits, you can help team members become more focused, motivated, engaged, and productive teams.

Prioritize Diversity and Inclusion

Promoting workplace diversity and inclusion is not just a moral imperative — it’s a strategic advantage. Embracing diverse perspectives and backgrounds enhances employee engagement. It also fosters creativity, problem-solving, and innovation, all of which can lead to better business outcomes.

By building a diverse environment where all voices are heard, you can avoid bias and foster a more inclusive workplace where employees feel valued and respected. Organizations that excel at this tend to attract and retain talent much more effectively than their counterparts.

5. Are You Committed to Employee Career Goals?

Do you emphasize employee growth? Research consistently shows that employees prefer to work with employers that invest in their future by offering professional development opportunities. This boosts employee morale and job satisfaction. At the same time, it means employers have a more skilled, motivated workforce, with people who are prepared to contribute to the organization’s future success.

Commit to Ongoing Growth

When you actively help team members work towards their professional goals by providing continuous learning and growth opportunities, you can expect to see improved morale, satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

These opportunities can take various forms. Initiate regular conversations to understand each team member’s aspirations. Then work with them on an ongoing basis to identify relevant educational paths, stretch assignments, cross-skilling and upskilling opportunities, and mentoring relationships that will enrich their daily work lives and expand their capabilities portfolio.

Employee Experience: A Top-Down Imperative

No doubt about it. Leaders have a direct impact on employee experience — for better or worse.

If you have a leadership role, you can help improve your organization’s culture. It won’t happen overnight. But by focusing on building an environment of authenticity, purpose, recognition, inclusion, and career growth, you can help team members feel more valued, fulfilled, and engaged. And over time, with a consistent commitment to these elements, your organization can improve productivity, retention, and overall organizational success.

It’s not easy. But I assure you, it is worth the effort.

Employee Benefits Communication Success Strategies

October 3, 2023/Employee Benefits, Health and Wellness, Healthcare and Benefits, HR Communications, Open Enrollment /by Tarek Kamil

In the aftermath of the pandemic, employers have received a massive wake-up call — in more ways than one. Who knew so many people would rush to quit their jobs when The Great Resignation rolled through the workforce? And who thought organizations would still be embroiled in return-to-office battles, after everything we learned about remote work during the lockdown?

We’ve all felt our share of disruption in recent years. And with so much uncertainty around health and wellbeing, many employees are realizing just how important health benefits are. No wonder Pew Research found that, among people who quit their jobs in 2021, nearly half (46%) left primarily because benefits like health insurance and paid time off were lacking.

As a result, many employers have been racing to rethink their benefits packages. It makes sense for any organization that wants to attract and retain strong talent. But providing a comprehensive benefits package is not enough. You also need to be sure people understand what you offer and know how to make the most of what’s available to them.

This is where employee benefits communication can make a huge difference. In what ways? Let’s take a closer look at why and how the right strategies and tactics help…

Why Employee Benefits Communication Matters

You can provide the world’s best benefits package, but if people don’t know about it, you’re bound to miss the mark. This is why clear, consistent communication should be an integral part of your benefits strategy. Employees deserve to make informed decisions about the benefits they use. And it’s in your best interest to demonstrate your commitment to their wellbeing.

Employee benefits communication is more than just broadcasting information about healthcare plans, retirement savings programs, and other perks. It serves as a bridge between employers and employees by fostering workforce trust, engagement, and satisfaction.

Too often, employees don’t fully grasp the breadth and depth of their benefits package, or they’re unaware of recent updates and additions. For example, it’s not hard to imagine scenarios like these:

A staff member doesn’t realize they’re eligible for paid time off, so they forego much-needed opportunities to relax, recharge, and focus on personal priorities. Their stress level rises. putting them at risk of burnout.

Another employee avoids preventative medical care because they don’t know it’s covered by their health insurance plan. This delay causes an undetected condition to take hold.

Missed opportunities like these add up. And the negative impact reaches beyond employee health and wellbeing. It can also lead to costly unintended consequences when people feel exposed and unsupported, and they decide to leave.

In the wake of Covid, it’s even more important for employees to feel like they’re in the loop. Not only are healthcare costs continuing to rise, but people are more concerned about their health and wellbeing. In fact, 77% of survey respondents told CVS Health that the pandemic prompted them to pay more attention to their health in general, and 50% said the 2020 quarantine helped them achieve their health goals.

But on the downside, nearly 1 in 4 CVS survey respondents said they don’t understand their out-of-pocket medical care costs, and they don’t know how to interpret information published by their health plan provider.

By clearly communicating benefits, you can ensure that employees are more aware and invested in managing their wellbeing. This, in turn, can improve workforce productivity and loyalty.

Employee Benefits Communication in Recruitment

The first step in showing potential employees you truly care starts with effective benefits communication during the recruitment process. Most job candidates seriously consider benefits when choosing an employer, so showcasing your benefits package can differentiate your company and help seal the deal.

Be sure to clearly articulate the breadth and depth of your benefits in recruitment materials and job postings. This includes detailed information about health insurance, retirement plans, vacation policies, and any additional perks or unique offerings.

To make this information more coherent and memorable, you may want to publish a guide or brochure. Also, to extend your reach, consider using multiple communication channels.

For example, in addition to job postings and company websites, try leveraging social media platforms, employer branding videos, and employee testimonials to make your benefits offering more visible and enhance its perceived value. Digital outreach can help you tap into a broader pool of candidates with visually compelling content that is easy to access and understand.

How to Plan Benefits Communication

The annual enrollment period is naturally when organizations focus on benefits communication. But ideally, this is a continuous process. That’s why you’ll want to develop a year-round plan:

1. Before Open Enrollment

Create a communication roadmap to ensure that employees will have access to the information they need at the right time, so they can make informed decisions. This plan should outline key messages, relevant channels, and timelines for key events, as well as content development, production, and delivery.

Keep in mind that you’ll want to build awareness and anticipation among employees prior to open enrollment season, so they’ll be more prepared to engage when the time comes. Also, consider providing early access to educational resources and tools so people have ample time to familiarize themselves with available options and make informed choices.

2. During Open Enrollment

Targeted, ongoing communication is crucial throughout the open enrollment cycle. Plan to utilize various channels, such as email, intranet portals, and in-person meetings. This should ensure that employees receive consistent, personalized information about benefits options, relevant plan changes, and important deadlines.

Employees also appreciate opportunities to ask questions and seek clarification, whether through HR representatives, benefits fairs, online forums, or dedicated helplines. By maintaining open lines of communication, you can address any concerns promptly and provide the support people need to make informed decisions.

In addition, a benefits guide can be a particularly powerful tool, not just during enrollment but throughout the year. Think of it as a comprehensive resource with detailed information that clarifies various available options, along with eligibility criteria, enrollment processes, and frequently asked questions. You may also want to include real-life examples and case studies to help employees envision various benefits in action. This guide can be produced in print as well as digital formats, to meet diverse content preferences.

3. After Open Enrollment

Even after enrollment closes, you’ll want to reinforce the value of your organization’s benefits throughout the year. For example, you can provide timely updates when plans or processes change. Also, you can communicate about wellness activities, events, and resources, as well as employee assistance programs, and other support services.

In addition, it helps to offer feedback channels, as well as dedicated resources to assist employees who need help to access benefits and use them effectively. Regularly promoting these services reminds everyone that you care about their health and wellbeing.

Top Trends in Employee Benefits Communication

When planning, developing, and delivering benefits communication, consider these hot trends:

1. Personalization

Because individuals have unique communication needs and preferences, personalized communication is an increasingly important trend. By leveraging innovative AI technology, you can tailor benefits communication to individual life stages, topic interests, content preferences, and more. This customized approach elevates engagement and helps people better understand and appreciate the benefits available to them.

2. Multichannel Approach

With the rise of digital communication, it’s essential to adopt a multichannel strategy. By integrating diverse communication channels such as email, intranets, mobile apps, and social media platforms, you can reach employees across different generations and work environments. As a result, benefits information becomes more readily available when and where employees want it.

3. Gamification

Gamification techniques make benefits communication much more engaging and interactive. This includes quizzes, challenges, and online simulations that help educate employees about their benefits. By infusing an element of competitive fun, gamification encourages active participation, boosts knowledge retention, and improves the overall effectiveness of your communication efforts.

4. Simplified Language

To enhance comprehension and eliminate confusion, employers are moving away from complex jargon and using simplified language in benefits communication. By focusing on clear, concise messaging you can ensure that employees understand the details behind each benefit. This empowers them to make better-informed decisions.

A Final Note on Benefits Communication

Above all, keep in mind that successful benefits communication is an ongoing process that requires regular evaluation, adaptation, and feedback from employees. Working hand-in-hand with other internal communication efforts, benefits communication plays a vital role in shaping employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Ultimately, by relying on modern practices, you can develop and implement a communication strategy that resonates with your workforce and enhances their health and wellbeing.

Employee Experience by the Numbers: Top 5 Concerns

September 26, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Recognition, Employee Retention, Healthcare and Benefits, Talent Analytics /by Jose Andres

In recent years, employee experience has taken center stage as a primary indicator of organizational success. As a result, HR and business leaders increasingly want to understand which employee experience concerns are top of mind for today’s workforce.

Gone are the days when a stable job with a reasonable salary was the only key to employee satisfaction and retention. Now, employers recognize that a more holistic approach yields numerous benefits. For example:

Satisfied employees tend to be more productive, innovative, and loyal.
Employees who are committed and engaged, become powerful company advocates, not just internally, but among public circles, as well. This kind of support leads to a more positive employer brand.
A strong employee experience helps attract and retain top performers.

Recently, we conducted a survey to explore today’s biggest employee experience concerns and their underlying factors. Based on input from more than 10,000 employees at nearly 100 technology companies, this employee experience report paints a comprehensive picture of how people feel about their jobs and work environments.

Whether you’re an HR professional seeking to improve your organization’s talent strategy or a business leader aiming to provide a more fulfilling work environment, these findings can help you drive positive change. Specifically, the survey revealed 5 issues that deserve more attention…

Top 5 Employee Experience Concerns in 2023

1. Compensation is Lacking

Fair, competitive salaries are essential to attract and retain top talent. However, many organizations don’t seem to meet expectations. In fact, 46% of survey participants told us they deserve a salary increase.

If financial constraints make it difficult to offer direct salary increases, creative alternatives may fill the gap. Strategies like these may help:

Expand Benefits Choices

Adding more options can make a significant difference. For instance, practical perks such as meal vouchers, childcare discounts, and transportation subsidies are highly appealing to some staff members. Diverse choices add flexibility to your compensation framework while helping more employees feel valued and supported.
Emphasize Intangible Benefits

Quality of life is deeply important to many employees. You can appeal to their interests with solutions that address post-pandemic work-life challenges. For instance, develop a formal remote work or hybrid work program, try implementing a 4-day workweek or flexible work schedule, or offer extra vacation time as a company-wide bonus option.
Manage Private Healthcare Coverage More Effectively

Healthcare coverage is the cornerstone of a holistic compensation package. It promotes employee health and wellbeing, while serving as an attractive incentive for job candidates. However, as healthcare costs continue to rise, access to quality care is at risk. Negotiating better insurance packages on behalf of your staff can position your company as an industry leader.
Facilitate Training Scholarships

Many employees recognize the value of continuous learning and skill development. Adding subsidies for professional development and continuing education to your compensation scheme encourages professional growth while preparing team members for the future of work.
Encourage Performance-Based Bonuses

Does your organization have a well-defined bonus program? Fair, equitable financial incentives are a dynamic mechanism that motivates people and reinforces achievement. By linking goals to rewards, you inspire employees to excel while advancing your organization’s agenda.

In summary, salary remains a critical concern. However, because employee experience is complex, a multifaceted compensation strategy makes sense. Think of creative ways to circumvent internal constraints so you can keep your workforce motivated, satisfied, and engaged.

2. Stress is Overwhelming

Persistent stress erodes physical and psychological wellbeing. As a result, unrelenting work stress drains employee motivation, productivity, engagement, and performance.

Remarkably, 33% of employees told us they suffer from work-related stress. Employers can’t afford to ignore this issue. But what actions are helpful?

Invest in Wellness of All Types

Employee wellbeing touches all facets of life, including mental, physical, emotional, financial, social health, and beyond. Ideally, all these dimensions work together to support people throughout their professional lives. By offering a variety of wellness programs, you can help employees build the strength and resilience they need to adjust and move through personal and professional challenges.
Promote Awareness and Education

If people don’t understand what causes work stress, they’re likely to struggle. Raising awareness about warning signs and skills to deal with these challenges helps people act on their own behalf. For instance, you can offer classes and resources about mindfulness and stress reduction, as well as time management, communication, and delegation techniques. By developing skills like these, employees learn how to recognize and respond to factors that trigger stress.
Establish Channels for Open Dialogue

Healthy cultures foster open communication. This includes opportunities to acknowledge employee issues and actively address those concerns. Collaborative conversations about stress and its causes not only lead to better solutions but also strengthen the bonds between employees and the organization.

The ramifications of chronic stress transcend the individual experience, casting a shadow over workforce productivity and morale. By fostering a culture of wellness, you can ease stress for individuals and create an environment where employees thrive.

3. Work-Life Balance Doesn’t Exist

Healthy work-life integration drives employee commitment, motivation, and performance. At the same time, it relieves work stress, which can increase job satisfaction.

Our survey revealed that 26% of employees think work encroaches on their personal life. That’s not ideal. How can employers reduce this statistic?

Commit to Flexible Work Solutions

There are many viable possibilities. Flextime, remote or hybrid work models, and 4-day workweeks can help steer employees toward a more harmonious work-life coexistence.

As heated return-to-office debate continues, post-pandemic organizations have reached a critical crossroads. Standard work models may seem “safe,” but many employees no longer think they’re realistic.

In terms of work-life balance, flexibility helps people thrive professionally without compromising personal priorities. This can reduce work stress and elevate job satisfaction. If your company is still on the fence about return-to-work mandates, carefully weigh the potential consequences of ignoring work-life balance.

4. Employers Impose Too Many Needless Rules

Managing internal mandates consumes valuable time. Even worse, they can undermine your team’s ability to perform at its best. At least this is what we heard from 25% of employees who say their company enforces too many rules that serve no purpose.

Clearly, this gap needs attention. A possible solution is to involve employees in decisions about policies and procedures. By actively seeking input, you’re more likely to uncover redundant or needless standards. In addition, you can confirm which rules are crucial to operational excellence and gain broader support for enforcement.

When streamlining processes, constructive feedback is a powerful tool. It can help improve organizational efficiency. At the same time, it cultivates a sense of ownership among employees, which can foster a culture of continuous improvement.

5. Recognition is in Short Supply

When people aren’t recognized enough for their effort and results, their motivation and satisfaction levels suffer. And unfortunately, too many employers are missing the mark. In fact, 31% of respondents told us they prefer more frequent recognition.

Overcoming this challenge requires proactive measures. One strategy is to develop a formal process that encourages managers to share more meaningful recognition on a more consistent basis.

For example, programs that incorporate gamification techniques have proven highly effective. Some organizations also include peer recognition in their programs. This adds a dimension of mutual appreciation while reinforcing a sense of teamwork and camaraderie.

By prioritizing interpersonal workplace dynamics, recognition programs can boost morale and strengthen organization-wide engagement and performance.

Employee Experience Concerns Matter

Today’s post-pandemic workplace is shifting in multiple ways. Employee expectations and career aspirations are changing rapidly. It’s essential for companies to understand and respect these dynamics.

As you consider the 5 employee experience concerns we’ve outlined, what should you keep in mind? Organizations that prioritize these issues and respond thoughtfully are better equipped to attract and retain talent. Also, they’re creating cultures that thrive on adaptability, appreciation, and wellbeing. In short, they’re preparing now for continued success.

If you build your workplace on this foundation, you can look forward to being much more successful in the years ahead, as well.

Offboarding: How to Give Employees a Fond Farewell

August 22, 2023/Employee Experience, HR, Leadership, Talent Management /by Pam Loch

One of your employees just handed you a resignation letter. What happens next? Are you prepared to set your company’s offboarding wheels in motion?

Situations like this might keep you up at night, especially when a valued staff member decides to move on. It’s natural to worry about how your team will fill the knowledge gap, and how soon you’ll be able to replace an employee who seems irreplaceable.

But sometimes these concerns create unexpected tension between you and the employee who, until this point, enjoyed working at your company. You may want the exit to go smoothly, but despite your best intentions, this kind of transition can go awry. It may even disrupt your work environment and put unnecessary strain on the rest of your team, which can damage morale and productivity.

No employer wants a team member to leave on a negative note. That’s why it’s useful to develop and implement a well-crafted offboarding plan. But what does that look like? First, let’s look at what this process can help you accomplish.

Why Is Effective Offboarding So Important?

Offboarding is an integral part of the departure process for employees, as well as for your business. The right steps can help you:

Manage the practical aspects of shifting the employee’s responsibilities to others
Gather work-related feedback, so you can identify key issues and improve
Minimize security risks (for example, by removing employee access to company accounts and recovering company assets)
Prevent legal issues (such as contract or compensation disputes and wrongful termination)
Part ways on the best possible terms

By addressing each of these concerns, you can close the employee’s chapter at your company in good faith.

Is It Really Over?

But what if the story isn’t yet finished? What if a departure could be avoided? Offboarding discussions may expose unresolved issues with an employee’s pay, holiday entitlement, pension contributions, benefits, work schedule, location, and more.

If you discover that someone is disgruntled but not fully committed to leaving, you may have the potential to fix these issues and avoid an unnecessary departure.

The key is to pay close attention. Is unhappiness or dissatisfaction with your company motivating someone to leave? If you identify the root cause and resolve it quickly, will the employee reconsider? Each situation is unique. But you may find it worthwhile to address these issues so you can keep a valued employee onboard.

Managing Employee Exits With Grace

Above all, don’t assume an employee’s departure is a personal rejection of you or your company. Staff members leave for many valid reasons. Another company may have offered an irresistible pay increase, a compelling promotion, or more attractive benefits. Or maybe it’s time for a career change.

By keeping this in mind, you can manage offboarding in a respectful way that motivates a departing employee to cooperate in handing off responsibilities with minimal upheaval.

Always try to keep the situation professional and treat the employee fairly, regardless of the reason for their departure. Helping people maintain a positive relationship with your company is important for multiple reasons. It minimizes negative internal consequences and potentially avoids public discord. Also, it reinforces the integrity of your employer brand and preserves your ability to attract strong talent in the future.

Ultimately, when an employee chooses to resign, you cannot stop them from leaving. And if the relationship turns sour, it is often best to let people go, rather than become upset or try to strike a deal.

Watch for Warning Signs, Even Before Offboarding

Sometimes, the first sign of trouble may come long before an employee actually resigns.

For instance, when you meet with a team member for a casual one-on-one conversation, or to discuss a specific concern or disciplinary measure, what response do you receive? Does the employee arrive late, avoid answering questions, appear disengaged, or show other signs of a negative attitude?

If it’s clear this employee is disgruntled, you’ll want to address the issue immediately, honestly, and with an open mind. Perhaps you’ll find that this person doesn’t feel sufficiently supported or compensated. Their actions could be a form of “quiet quitting,” where they refuse to go above and beyond.

By encouraging clear, honest communication, you may be able to address the individual’s specific concerns in a way that improves the employee experience for others, as well.

On the other hand, if a negative employee has already handed in their notice and isn’t interested in discussing solutions, it’s important to let them go. Invite them to an exit interview and do what you can to encourage them to attend.

Offboarding Checklist

To successfully manage an employee’s exit and avoid costly claims, be sure to take these steps:

Always acknowledge the resignation or exit situation with a letter explaining logistical steps. This should include the date an employee’s contract will end, the amount of any remaining annual leave, pay arrangements, and instructions for returning any property or equipment.

Remind employees before they leave about any contractual obligations that apply, which may include confidentiality clauses and post-termination restrictions.

Revoke the employee’s access to IT and security systems. This protects you from anyone who may try to change or delete information before they leave.

Emphasize that they are not permitted to remove or share proprietary data or confidential information. Provide a list of documents and details you need from them before they leave, including passwords and relevant client or customer information.

If appropriate, conduct an exit interview to clarify any unresolved issues and gather useful feedback. Venting at this meeting can be a type of therapy for exiting staff and provide valuable insights you may want to act upon.

Top Tips for Handling a Difficult Exit Interview

Instead of treating an employee’s exit interview as the full stop at the end of their time with you — or only an opportunity to uncover issues that may be causing them to leave — use this time to collect actionable data you can share with others in your company who want to improve your work culture and reduce future turnover. These guidelines can help:

1. Think of This as the Opposite of a Recruiting Interview

Instead of asking questions about why an employee wants to join the company, you’re asking why they want to leave. This type of conversation may seem uncomfortable, but it is vital. When someone chooses to leave your company, you’ll want to know why. People rarely leave for trivial reasons, and their feedback could provide insights into your company culture or team dynamics.

2. Schedule Exit Interviews on an Employee’s Last Day or Soon After

Why is the timing important?

Any sooner, and they might hesitate to share honest feedback while still onboard.
Any later, and they may feel distant and disengaged. When this happens, you run the risk of receiving feedback that isn’t as accurate, specific, or complete.

3. Keep it Casual

For example, if you can meet at a nearby cafe, the conversation will feel more relaxed and less like a formal work session.

The way you handle this interview is also important, particularly if you’re facing a difficult situation with an irate employee. Try to listen more than you talk. Avoid responding to feedback. That’s not the objective of this process. You’re not trying to defend the business. Instead, you want to learn as much as possible about how the departing employee perceives things.

4. Take the High Road

Keep in mind that retaliation of any kind is likely to worsen the situation. Even if you want to match the employee’s behavior, resist the temptation. If it becomes difficult to remain calm, consider pausing or adjourning the interview. If you anticipate a volatile discussion, ask a peer to remain close, and request assistance if needed.

5. Document Everything

Remember that you are responsible for the meeting’s tone and agenda. Try to stay focused on your purpose as a fact-finder. Make a note of any unexpected issues so you can return to them later in the discussion. Or reschedule the meeting for a later date if you need more time to gain closure. Make a note of any physical action such as slamming the table, shouting, or storming out of the meeting, so the minutes and outcome of the meeting can reflect the nature of the discussion. Finally, always follow up in writing to document events and outcomes.

How to Ensure a Smooth Departure

For productive handoffs, many organizations turn to trained HR consultants for assistance. This is especially useful if you’re new to the offboarding process or you don’t have sufficient internal resources available to ensure its success.

Relying on specialists for help is a very effective way to be sure that a departing employee can leave your organization on the best possible terms, and a replacement will be ready to step into their role. In addition, you’ll sleep more soundly, knowing you’re prepared to fill the open position with a suitable candidate as soon as possible.

Using Employee Perks to Beat Inflation

August 18, 2023/Employee Benefits, Employee Happiness, Employee Retention, Featured, Podcast, Podcast Recap, Podcast Recaps /by Meghan M. Biro

Sponsored by Abenity

Employee perks are like mom and apple pie. Who doesn’t love them? Still, employers may hesitate to invest in “extras” like perks programs in this shaky economy. But perks and discounts are much more than just a fun way to help employees feel special. They’re also a smart talent strategy.

Want proof? Here are several impressive statistics:

60% of job seekers told Glassdoor that perks are a big factor when they’re choosing to accept a job offer.

When companies prioritized employee engagement (including meaningful benefits and perks) 31% saw increased productivity, while 80% saw reduced turnover, according to Brandon Hall Research.

Perks Aren’t Just for Big Companies

You may be thinking only large-scale employers can afford to offer great employee perks. Or if you’re on a tight budget, you may think offering a complete program would be too costly. But actually, that’s not the case. If you check out this podcast conversation, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised…

Meet Our Guest: Ben McIntyre

I’m excited to introduce you to Ben McIntyre, Client Success Manager at Abenity — an innovative employee perks and discounts company. Ben and his team help organizations of all sizes provide employees with meaningful savings that help stretch their earnings further. This means employees can afford more necessities and nice-to-haves, as well.

As a big fan of creative perks and benefits, I want to know more. So let’s dig in!

Why Employee Perks Matter

Welcome, Ben. Why are perks and benefits so important now, for employees and employers alike?

As prices continue to rise and employers look to the year ahead, they’re concerned that pay raises won’t be enough to help employees overcome inflation.

But perks can make a difference. They provide added purchasing power, both for things employees need to do, and for things they want to do more.

This crosses into financial wellbeing. But perks tie into other benefit areas as well. Physical wellbeing is an example. Some employers have had to cut back on subsidies for gym memberships and related benefits. But we have an entire health and wellness category that can touch physical and mental wellness.

An Innovative Approach to Perks

You have such a cool platform. I’d love to hear why your founders, Brian and Tim Roland, started this 15 years ago…

At the time, Brian worked for a cell phone service provider, offering employee discounts to large companies. And of course, he wasn’t the only one sharing exciting perks with these employers. But although HR teams appreciated it, they found it a burden to maintain accurate information and communicate with employees about all these perks.

So Brian and his brother built a platform where employers could centralize all their perks and discount offers in one place. It gave merchants and employees direct access to the platform, as well.

Over the years, we’ve expanded on that with our own network of national and local offers. And now, we have over 1 million redemption locations with savings in 12 categories.

Why Some Employers Hesitate

This seems like such an easy, low-cost way to show appreciation. What issues prevent companies from adding employee perks to their benefits package?

One of the biggest obstacles is probably the time people think it takes to offer great perks.

For example, we’re working with a large university that previously devoted a full team member to managing all of its perks. But now, almost all of that person’s time is available for other priorities.

What Undecided Employers Should Know

Right now, I’m sure many organizations are on the fence about investing in new benefit programs. What would you tell them?

No matter what size your organization may be, your employees will stretch their payroll dollars further than the cost of offering this benefit.

For instance, last week I was looking at the savings for a large healthcare provider we serve. Their employees saved $30,000 last year on Disneyland tickets! And that’s just one merchant out of thousands.

Plus this is really flexible. No matter what a person’s income and expenses may be, they always want to save money. And along the way, they want to feel special and appreciated.

Perks can help make that possible.

Learn More About Employee Perks

For more insights about how organizations can make the most of employee perks, listen to this full podcast episode. And be sure to subscribe to the #WorkTrends Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

You’ll also find tons of helpful resources on the Abenity blog.

And anytime you want to continue this conversation on social media, follow our #WorkTrends hashtag on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Let’s talk!

How to Boost Workforce Mental Health, Even on a Budget

August 11, 2023/Employee Benefits, Employee Burnout, Employee Happiness, Employee Well-Being, Health and Wellness, Mental Health Awareness /by Ann Wyatt

In today’s fractured, post-pandemic world, workforce mental health has emerged as a critical concern for business and HR leaders — and with good reason. The urgency of this issue is reflected in staggering statistics from multiple sources. For instance:

Last year, 56% of global employees told Gallup they struggle with stress and wellbeing, while another 9% said they were suffering.

That same Gallup research reveals particularly troubling trends in the U.S. Since 2021, the proportion of those who are struggling increased from 38% to 45%, while suffering rose from 2% to 4%. At the same time, those are thriving dropped from 60% to 52%.

The business consequences of this malaise are significant. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depression is estimated to cause 200 million lost workdays a year, at a cost to employers of $17 to $44 billion.

No wonder workforce mental health has become a pressing concern among business leaders. For instance, when Willis Towers Watson asked U.S. employers to identify their top priorities for the next three years, a whopping 67% replied, “Enhancing mental health and emotional wellbeing programs and solutions.” This means leaders are just as concerned about this as they are about the cost of managing their company’s healthcare plan!

Unfortunately, despite widespread interest in addressing this challenge, many organizations are operating on tighter budgets these days. As a result, it’s difficult for employers to offer effective workforce wellbeing solutions.

However, cost issues aren’t stopping resourceful HR teams from moving forward. In my role at HealthFitness, I work with a variety of companies that have developed budget-friendly strategies to address employee mental health challenges. To learn about some of the most successful approaches I’ve seen, read on…

5 Low-Cost Ways to Support Workforce Mental Health

1. Innovate to Avoid a High Price Tag

Some companies are relying on their creativity to support mental wellbeing without breaking the bank. For instance: One tech firm has introduced a “Days for Me” program that lets every employee choose four days a year to focus on self-care.

Another company in the biopharmaceutical industry has implemented a “Mental Health Ally Program.” The program features Mental Health First Aid training that helps employees recognize and respond to colleagues’ needs. Specficially, through scenarios and videos, this skills-based certification course teaches employees a 5-step action plan, so they can identify and address signs of mental health and substance use issues. The certification is valid for three years and can be renewed online. This makes it easy for people to develop important knowledge and skills they can continue to apply as they move forward in their careers.

2. Optimize Employee Assistance Programs

I also see organizations expanding existing employee assistance program (EAP) benefits so they can improve access to valuable mental health support. For example, some employers are shifting to on-site EAP services so access to help is more convenient.

Others are increasing the number of covered EAP appointments they offer each year. One energy company we work with has increased covered EAP appointments from 5 to 8 per year, per household. This simple step gives employees more options at a minimal additional cost to the company.

3. Sponsor Company-Wide Time Off for Wellness

Dedicating paid time off for all employees to focus on mental health is a particularly powerful way to encourage workforce wellbeing. Plus, when everyone is out of the office at the same time, people are less likely to become anxious about work piling up in their absence.

You may be familiar with some tech industry companies that have implemented variations on this concept, such as Global Wellness Days, Global Shutdowns, or No Meeting Fridays. The options are endless, but the point is to provide the entire workforce with designated opportunities to recharge and prioritize self-care. By encouraging this kind of behavior across the organization, employers are cultivating a culture that values work-life balance and mental wellbeing.

4. Design Stress-Reducing Spaces

Another low-cost idea — establish special areas in the workplace that help employees decompress and mitigate stress. For instance, some employers are setting up de-stress stations in common areas with puzzles, games, and mindfulness activities. These spaces offer employees a convenient place to relax and unwind when they need a break.

One company provides an on-site dog park for employees, so their trusty companions have room to roam during the workday. Other organizations offer designated meditation areas with comfortable seating, restful lighting, and minimal distractions, so people can take some time to calm their minds when they feel anxious or overwhelmed.

These simple measures are effective at enhancing employee wellbeing and productivity. Yet they don’t require a significant financial investment.

5. Lead by Example

Finally, it probably goes without saying, but HR and business leaders play a crucial role in championing workforce mental health. Of course, offering mental health benefits is important. But the most compelling way to advocate for wellbeing is to lead by example.

Increasingly, leaders are engaging people in honest discussions about mental health at work. By sharing their own stories, they can inspire employees to prevent, detect, manage, and resolve work-related stress, anxiety, burnout, and other challenges. And by making mental resilience and self-care a personal priority, they help others recognize how important these issues are.

Ultimately, by demonstrating a genuine commitment to wellbeing and fostering a supportive work environment, leaders can set the tone for the entire organization.

A Final Note on Workforce Mental Health

Addressing mental and emotional wellbeing on a limited budget is an ongoing challenge — there’s no doubt about it. However, smart organizations are seeing results by making the most of the resources they already have. It may involve something as simple as establishing spaces for stress reduction, adding a new course to educate employees about mental health support, or offering designated time off for self-care. Regardless, even small steps can help organizations make big strides.

Mental health challenges may be on the rise. But many organizations are discovering that it’s possible to develop a healthier, happier, more productive workplace, even when budgets are tight. Real progress starts when HR and business decision-makers take the lead in demonstrating a commitment to workforce mental health and building a supportive culture. How is your organization responding to this need?

What’s New About Working Remotely?

July 21, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Experience, Featured, Future of Work, Podcast, Podcast Recap, Podcast Recaps, Remote Work /by Meghan M. Biro

Sponsored by Poll Everywhere

Working remotely is nothing new. Yet somehow, it has changed. Wait. Weren’t we just (finally) getting comfortable with Zoom meetings and 4-day workweeks? What exactly is different? And why should leaders be paying much closer attention right now?

Well frankly, the stakes are getting higher. Even during today’s economic headwinds, the market for qualified talent remains remarkably tight. And let’s face it — if you lose strong people because you don’t see eye-to-eye on remote work, replacing them will be costly, time-consuming, and may even end the same way.

How Can Working Remotely Succeed, Going Forward?

Maybe it’s time to shift your work structure. Maybe not. But here’s the bigger question: Whatever you do, how will you know if you’re moving in the right direction?

Every company is unique — no matter what the work structure may be. The tradeoffs you need to consider are specific to your team. So it makes sense to engage people in honest, open conversations about how to map their work expectations with your organization’s mission and business realities.

How can you make that happen? Let’s talk with someone who understands this process from the inside out…

Meet Our Guest: Robert Graham

Please join me in welcoming Robert Graham, CEO of Poll Everywhere — a SaaS company that offers live online polls and other interactive feedback tools that help organizations gather and act on valuable insights from employees, customers, and other stakeholders.

Robert is a software engineering expert and serial solo entrepreneur who is passionate about empowering his team — all of whom are working remotely. He’s also interested in helping other leaders grow their teams personally and professionally, while building successful companies. I’m interested in that, too, so let’s get started!

What People Want From Work Now

Welcome, Robert. To set the stage, tell me your perspective on the modern workplace. What are you seeing?

We see people being more interested in a relationship with work that is tied to a mission, especially for Millennials and Gen Z. And these expectations are defining what employers need to provide.

There’s a video by Simon Sinek that talks about how we all used to be more involved with “third places.” People were members of a church or a softball team or community groups.

But now we spend a lot of that time online or watching Netflix. So we’re looking to work to fulfill more aspects of our lives.

Motivations Haven’t Changed

You recently published a LinkedIn article about engagement and working remotely. What should employers consider about these issues?

Key features of the modern workplace haven’t changed much. However, our relationship to them has changed a lot, and our context has also changed a lot.

For example, you and I are able to do this podcast remotely. A lot of our work can be done remotely now. And that’s mostly about new tools and processes that make it possible.

But as Daniel Pink says, people are motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Those things haven’t changed much, even though the environment has changed quite a bit.

So if you want people to feel engaged while working remotely, you need to get them connected to those intrinsic motivators. How do you build a remote culture and teach managers to be effective in that setting? There are so many trade-offs.

The Value of Continuous Listening

How can organizations respond to these changes?

Doing this really well requires curiosity and consistent listening. Because when you try new things you’ll make some mistakes. Or sometimes the context will shift, so what worked previously may no longer be right for your organization or your people.

It’s important to find ways to build systems that encourage new ways of working, and promote people who work effectively when things are changing. That’s especially important if your organization is growing.

Where Listening Fits In

Whether people are working remotely or not, how can listening help improve employee engagement?

Start by asking yourselves if your organization has a clear purpose. Have you communicated it? And do your people believe in it?

And another part of that journey starts with asking your team what motivates them. Do they feel they have autonomy? How can you enable them to be more autonomous? Do they feel they’re able to grow and develop mastery over their work? Do they feel connected to a purpose?

Every organization is going to start in a different place with those questions. And that’s why this process depends on listening.

Learn More About Working Remotely 2.0

For more insights from Robert about how organizations can adjust to today’s changing workplace, listen to this full podcast episode. And be sure to subscribe to the #WorkTrends Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Also, to continue this conversation on social media anytime, follow our #WorkTrends hashtag on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Let’s talk!

8 Ways Companies Are Becoming More Inclusive This Year

July 17, 2023/Company Culture, DEI Diversity Equity Inclusion, Employee Experience, HR /by Brett Farmiloe

Is your organization striving to create a more inclusive work culture? If so, you’re not alone. Many HR and business leaders are committed to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). But some strategies are more successful than others. What methods are actually moving the meter these days?

To understand what works in the real world, we asked eight business executives to tell us about effective DEI changes they’ve implemented during the past year. Their collective answers read like a best practices playbook:

Improve Meeting Policies to Support Wellbeing
Review and Revise Job Offers
Establish Employee Resource Groups
Share Diverse Employee Experiences
Shift Pay Structure to Base Salary and Bonus
Introduce Mental Health First-Aid Support
Prioritize Leadership Paths for Women
Intentionally Redesign Teams for Diversity

For details about these ideas, read the responses below…

How to Become More Inclusive: 8 Examples

1. Improve Meeting Policies to Support Wellbeing

As part of our commitment to workforce wellness, we addressed recent employee feedback about excessive meetings and pandemic-related burnout. Specifically, we emphasized the importance of taking small actions to reduce meeting frequency and duration, so we could ease stress for everyone. For example:

We send regular calendar blocks so everyone can conduct brief “meeting audits.” This is when employees use our Meeting Decision Tree tool to review upcoming meetings and determine the necessity.
We’ve recommitted to scheduling meetings only within core business hours (9:00 am – 4:00 pm) to promote reasonable work-life balance and family time in the evenings.
We’ve designated Friday afternoons as meeting-free time. This enables people to focus on creative assignments, catch up on projects, and prepare for the week ahead.

Our new practices and resources are improving wellbeing. They’re also facilitating better collaboration, problem-solving, productivity, and innovation.

Natasha Miller Williams, VP, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Ferrara

2. Review and Revise Job Listings

During the past year, we have intentionally revisited the way we write job ads. We’ve always made sure our offers are inviting, clear, concise, and accurate. However, we felt it was time to address other details so we could hopefully increase diversity among candidates.

The results are visible to the naked eye. Now, I am super happy to look at our diverse teams, knowing that our attention to rephrasing may have made it easier for people to join us.

These were our priorities when reviewing and improving job listings:

We used truly gender-neutral language.
We highlighted the importance of skills, so it’s clear that this is the decisive factor in our hiring decisions.
We listed job requirements only if they were absolutely necessary. You never know if needless demands are unintentionally excluding people.
Finally, we reviewed job titles and descriptions to ensure that they are truly inclusive and free of biased language.

Piotrek Sosnowski, Chief People and Culture Officer, Life And My Finances

3. Establish Employee Resource Groups

Our organization has been attempting to improve inclusivity by enhancing our approach to diversity and inclusion training. For example, we have created employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide a safe space for employees based on their identity or shared experiences.

These ERGs serve as proactive networks that help members build communities, collaborate professionally, and work together on initiatives that promote inclusivity across the organization. They also help our organization understand uncommon experiences and points of view, while ensuring that everyone is respected at all times.

Michael Alexis, CEO, teambuilding.com

4. Share Diverse Employee Experiences

For any organization that wants to build a more welcoming culture where everyone feels they belong, raising awareness about inclusivity is vital. However, it’s not always easy to understand the difficulties that other people face — especially when those difficulties aren’t highly visible.

This is why we’ve been providing opportunities for employees from across the organization to share their unique stories. Specifically, we invite everyone to discuss the unique difficulties they face, along with advice on how peers and managers can be more helpful. They also answer questions from others in the organization.

By sharing employee experiences, we’re spreading empathy across our organization. This helps team members build stronger bonds and creates a more positive, inclusive work environment.

Max Wesman, Chief Operating Officer, GoodHire

5. Shift Pay Structure to Base Salary and Bonus

Although our industry traditionally pays employees on a commission-only basis, we’ve adopted a compensation package that includes base salary plus a performance bonus. This gives employees better financial security and peace of mind. Also, we feel it helps ensure our clients receive the best impartial advice from every agent.

What’s more, this move promotes more inclusivity. That’s because sponsorship and mentorship are integral aspects of mobility for people of color and other underrepresented employees. But commission-only pay can derail vital team relationships and breed a culture of competition that further divides people.

We encourage our people to collaborate in establishing performance metrics that will promote better team cohesion and move us collectively toward our DEIB goals.

Anthony Martin, Founder and CEO, Choice Mutual

6. Introduce Mental Health First-Aid Support

During the last year, our organization has focused heavily on promoting employee mental health. In particular, we’ve focused on making our workplace safe for people with any kind of neurological difference, such as ADHD, dyslexia, or autism.

As part of this effort, two of our staff members completed mental health first aid training. Now, people across our organization know that if they’re struggling, they have somewhere to go where they will be heard and supported but not judged.

This effort has been very well received. In fact, it’s been so successful, we’ve recently trained two more mental health first-aiders.

Matthew Stibbe, CEO, Articulate Marketing

7. Prioritize Leadership Paths for Women

People expect modern organizations to provide an inclusive work environment. And this responsibility for creating a welcoming work environment for all falls on the management team. This is why we’ve essentially created a women in leadership program designed to help women from all backgrounds achieve their professional aspirations.

Unfortunately, many businesses don’t promote single mothers into leadership. That’s because they assume women won’t have the time or commitment to succeed. But in my experience, these women tend to be more driven than average.

Long ago, I started my company as a single mother. I understand firsthand just how hard it can be to juggle personal and professional life. But I also know how committed women in this situation are to keeping their promises to customers, employees and family members.

Our organization wants to reward this kind of commitment. That’s why we assist women of all ethnicities and backgrounds as they work towards a degree or a leadership position in our company. We want to help women in our company shoot for the stars and reach them.

Kathy Bennett, CEO and Founder, Bennett Packaging

8. Intentionally Redesign Teams for Diversity

We recognize the value of diverse perspectives and experiences in driving innovation and fostering a more inclusive work environment. So, one action we’ve taken this year to enhance diversity involves remixing our teams.

Specifically, we deliberately redefined the composition of teams across departments and projects. Our goal was to better represent the diversity of our workforce within smaller groups. Therefore, when reassigning team members, we considered factors such as gender, ethnicity, age, and skill sets.

By intentionally rethinking the composition of our teams, we’ve aimed to break down silos, encourage collaboration, and promote the cross-pollination of ideas. By bringing together individuals with different perspectives, expertise, and life experiences, we hope we’re better positioned to harness the collective intelligence and creativity of our workforce.

Kimberley Tyler-Smith, VP of Strategy and Growth, Resume Worded

Belonging: Where Does It Fit Into Your Work Culture?

July 10, 2023/Company Culture, DEI Diversity Equity Inclusion, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Retention, Employee Well-Being /by Gisele Marcus

We all share a deep desire for belonging. From Abraham Maslow to Brené Brown, experts agree that this “indescribable feeling of being welcomed” is a fundamental need. Even the earliest behavioral scientists recognized that the need to belong is an integral aspect of the human experience.

Cut to today. The year is 2023, and the state of the global workplace is … confusing. For example, in the United States, people spend a massive portion of each week at work. And increasingly, we’re questioning the way we manage our careers.

All around us, full-time employees are shifting to part-time work, office workers are becoming digital nomads, and teams are dissolving. The apple cart has been tipped. And frankly, no one is really sure where all these changes will lead.

Despite this season of flux and indecision, employers can help people find clarity. By prioritizing an inclusive work environment, leaders can create an authentic culture of belonging that attracts talent from all walks of life.

Belonging is not just a powerful talent acquisition strategy. It’s also an effective way to engage people, whatever their values may be. It appeals to everyone, from full-time employees to contingent workers, no matter whether they work onsite, offsite, or in a hybrid capacity.

How Inclusion Impacts Employee Retention

Workforce inclusion and retention are deeply intertwined. According to a Deloitte survey, 80% of full-time employees consider inclusion an important factor when choosing where to work. It also remains significant throughout the entire employment relationship. In fact, 23% of respondents told Deloitte they’ve quit a job where inclusion was lacking.

These statistics speak not only to inclusion’s influence on recruitment, but retention, as well. When people feel included, they’re naturally more engaged. And although engaged people care more about their work, they’re less likely to suffer from anxiety or burn out.

A genuinely inclusive work environment promotes a sense of belonging. And a sense of belonging lifts team morale. As a result, businesses benefit in multiple ways. For example, inclusive organizations tend to be more productive and more profitable. This means fostering an inclusive work environment is not just a good thing to do. It’s also a good business move.

All of this ties back to people who feel included and engaged. So the message is clear: If your culture is inclusive, people will feel more connected to your organization and invested in your success throughout their relationship with you.

How to Foster an Inclusive Work Environment

What strategies and practices help build a culture of inclusion and belonging? Focus on these fundamentals:

1. Educate Around Diversity

Diversity and inclusion are closely linked. But diversity alone is not enough to move the needle. After all, what’s the point of creating an inclusive environment only for one kind of person?

Instead, ensure every member of your workforce is welcome to bring their authentic selves to work. This starts by consistently communicating your commitment to diversity, and illustrating that commitment with action. In other words, look for ways to openly support and celebrate different skill sets and abilities, backgrounds, accessibility needs, gender identities, and ethnicities.

Leaders can also educate employees by raising awareness and encouraging people to interact in appropriate ways with co-workers. For example, neurodiverse team members may need noise-canceling headphones to stay focused and productive at work. Or on Zoom calls, hearing impaired participants may need to rely on captioning. Educating teams about these adaptations and how to apply them will help everyone feel more receptive and comfortable.

2. Prioritize Inclusion, Even in Stormy Weather

In this time of reshufflings and resignations, your commitment will be tested. Maintaining a culture of inclusion and belonging is essential, even when your business is facing a downturn.

In times of crisis, many leaders may default to outdated practices, especially when managing reductions in force and communicating about these decisions. But remaining open and intentional about layoff practices can help you keep your inclusivity promises.

Above all, insist upon treating all employees with an equal level of respect and appreciation throughout disruptive organizational changes. This tells everyone that the way you let go of team members is just as important as how you hire and retain them.

3. Offer an Environment of Care

Inclusion not only means people feel welcomed at work, but also that your organization cares about the quality of their employee experience. Demonstrating care can take numerous forms. For example, you could:

Reserve time each day for wellbeing check-ins or social activities that promote team care and bonding.
Reward employees for inclusive, caring actions toward others.
Ensure that everyone receives training on how to develop emotional intelligence skills and put them into practice at work.

The possibilities are limitless. But whatever mix you choose for your organization, keep in mind that creating an environment of care reinforces a sense of belonging. So the sooner you craft this agenda, the better. Also, the sooner employees experience a sense of caring, the better.

Start with the onboarding stage, or even earlier. Think about how you can help applicants and news hires understand how much your company values and prioritizes inclusion. Then consider how you can keep checking in periodically to ensure employees’ needs are being met and they’re actually developing a sense of belonging.

A Final Note on Inclusion, Belonging and Employee Retention

For better or worse, the nature of your work environment directly influences workforce recruiting and retention. If you learn how to foster a culture of belonging, you’ll attract, engage and retain people who appreciate sharing their talent with an organization that makes them feel wanted.

Making a meaningful impact on your culture may require you to invest more time, attention and funding to inclusion. But, as many employers have discovered, it is well worth the effort.

How Proactive Support Lifts Employee Engagement

May 2, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Well-Being, Leadership /by Kristen Wrigley

For more than two years, employees have slowly — and sometimes reluctantly — returned to their workplaces. Leaders have been trying to instill a sense of normalcy within their organizations, even as team members grapple with new and ongoing challenges. But in many situations, a critical element is still missing: personal, proactive support. Let me explain…

Today’s world is a challenging backdrop for us all. Inflation is hitting everyone’s pocketbook. The economy isn’t healthy. And geo-political instability remains a constant. Meanwhile, daily life goes on. No wonder employees sometimes seem distracted. Whether people are dealing with challenges with work, family or other areas of their lives, they often need support from their employers.

But today’s workers expect more than just generous healthcare plans and personal time off. They are looking for flexibility — not only to work from home, but to focus on family matters when necessary. They’re interested in professional guidance. And they want the kind of transparency and feedback that will help them thrive professionally and personally. In short, they’re looking for genuine, proactive support.

Where did this start? Let’s take a closer look:

The Rise of Quiet Quitting

The tumult of recent years led us all to re-examine professional norms. Workers began openly asking deep questions like these:

“Do I need to commute to an office each day, when I can accomplish more by working from home?”
“Is my current job as personally fulfilling as I would like it to be?”
“Does my employer give me what I need to excel in my role?”

Not surprisingly, we saw the Great Resignation wave in 2021. And that gave way to last year’s “quiet quitting” surge, when some workers decided to contribute only the minimal level of effort necessary. This trend caught-on fast. In fact, by the second half of 2022, more than 50% of U.S. workers had joined the “quiet quitter” ranks, according to Gallup.

The Next Wave: Conscious Quitting

But dissatisfied workers can’t remain quiet for long. Indeed, as former Unilever CEO, Paul Polman predicted early this year, “An era of conscious quitting is on the way.”

To get a handle on this shift, Polman commissioned a survey, called the Net Positive Employee Barometer. The results reveal that a majority of U.S. and U.K. employees are dissatisfied with corporate efforts to improve societal wellbeing and the environment.

Nearly half of respondents said they would consider quitting if their employer’s values didn’t align with their own. In fact, one-third have already quit for this reason — with even higher resignation rates among Generation Z and Millennial workers. Here’s why:

Younger workers believe they should rethink their commitment to an employer if the organization doesn’t demonstrate important values. Primarily, this includes Generation Z employees (born between 1997 and 2012). They’re highly socially aware. And by 2025, they will comprise almost 30% of the global workforce. They have also normalized the idea that workers can make demands on their employers.

Boomers and Generation X workers are also questioning workplace norms, although they’re less vocal about it. These workers were raised to “dress for the job you want”, “go above and beyond,” and “always be respectful.”

So we’re seeing a natural generational transition, hyper-accelerated by COVID and the Great Resignation. Workers are challenging the status quo. They’re looking for employers to meet them where they are and give them what they want.

But employers need to realize engagement is not one-size-fits-all. Multiple generations are involved, with different people at different points in their careers.

Proactive Support Starts With Awareness

If an employee is tuning out, do you know why? If you’re unsure, it’s time to dig deeper. When an employee performs at 85% capacity, their behavior could be about your organization, about their own circumstances, or a combination of factors. Regardless, it deserves an honest assessment. For example:

Is your infrastructure designed to encourage employee success?
Do you provide the kind of culture and resources that help people perform at their peak?
How well do the employee’s skills and knowledge fit their role?
Is the individual struggling with a personal crisis, such as a divorce?
What other factors may be influencing the employee’s behavior?

Employee engagement depends on an environment that promotes work-life integration. Unlike so-called “work-life balance,” work-life integration acknowledges each employee as a whole person (not just a 9-to-5 version). In daily life, this means employees are free to run an errand or tend to a family member during work hours, if needed.

This kind of freedom comes when employers trust their people to make wise choices about how to get the job done.

Mapping the Work-Life Territory

To empower people this way, HR and business leaders must clarify employee roles and responsibilities, and be sure they’re aligned with broader objectives. To get started, consider questions like these:

What are your company’s goals?
Do these goals cascade down and across your organization, so teams and individuals understand how their role (and associated responsibilities) contribute?
How do employees feel about their objectives?
Do you sense a gap between expectations and employee buy-in?
Are you actively listening to employees? Do you understand their mood, morale and daily experience?
How do you gather input and confirm employee sentiment?
Do you demonstrate that you’re paying attention?

How Proactive Support Works

Engagement is never perfectly consistent. In any given year, engagement will dip at some point for some people — even among high performers. This may be a response to work challenges, the organizational environment, or even personal issues, such as caring for an ill parent.

An environment of open, honest communication and support should offer enough elasticity to account for these dips.

Likewise, an individual’s capacity for engagement evolves and changes over time with their role. For example, a recent college graduate’s engagement “peak” is likely to look different than someone with 20 years of business experience.

If a dip in engagement does require intervention, start by gathering input from the individual, so you can identify the root of the problem. Often, you’ll find that an engagement drop coincides with an energy drain in the work environment. For instance:

Is the employee’s valuable energy being spent on the wrong things?
Are people required to do “focus work” in a noisy, chaotic office?
Have collaboration or communication tools become a distraction?
Are low performers or disgruntled team members creating a dysfunctional group dynamic?

Look for other signs that deserve further investigation. If a vocal person is suddenly quiet during meetings, take note. If someone stops volunteering for projects, take note. If someone is less responsive to requests than usual, take note. Talking with a core group of people (including an employee’s manager, the HR team, and co-workers) can provide a view into an employee’s contribution to the company and can shed light on issues that may not be obvious.

During the Dips: Stay Flexible, Observe, and Act

Whenever you diagnose disengagement, you’ll want to treat it with a direct approach. Earlier, I mentioned keeping a pulse on employee experience. One-on-one employee/manager meetings are key here.

A manager might say to a remote employee, “I’ve noticed a change in your availability recently. It’s been difficult to reach you over the past few weeks. Is something happening that I can support you with?”

Keep probing. Does the employee seem unaware of an issue? Is contact or communication eroding with others on the team? Could the organization take steps to help the individual re-engage? If not, does the employee no longer seem to believe in the company’s mission?

Once you know the answers to questions like these, it’s important to follow-through quickly with affected employees and leaders. The worst thing you can do is nothing at all. Unanswered issues tend to arise in pockets. But negativity can be contagious, and it can spread rapidly across an organization.

Final Thoughts on Proactive Support

Success in the future of work requires more buy-in than ever. Workers want to feel good about supporting their company’s mission. They want to believe their company trusts them and supports them, in return.

Relying on a holistic, proactive approach to the employee-employer relationship will earn you the kind of buy-in that keeps your team members engaged and motivated.

More People are Tuning in to Music at Work. Why?

April 28, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Experience, Employee Happiness, Employee Well-Being /by Stephanie Badouix

Music is a great unifier. In our private lives, shared tunes always have a way of bringing people together to sing, dance, laugh and socialize. Now, we’re hearing more music at work, as well. Why? Multiple factors are driving this increasingly popular way of enhancing today’s work environments.

In the past, employees became accustomed to hunkering down at their desks and “Takin’ Care of Business,” as the 70’s song says. But things are different now. These days, employers are looking for fresh ways to draw employees back to the office, get them connected, and keep them engaged with work.

This is why we see growing interest in interactive jukebox music experiences like TouchTunes Unlimited. By offering easy access to a customized work soundtrack, employers can improve performance while simultaneously enhancing company culture.

Imagine how you could boost morale by inviting employees to collaborate on a digital jukebox playlist. And then think about how uplifting it would be when teams gather and connect around this modern workplace watercooler.

It’s a simple way to lighten the mood, while improving productivity throughout the workday. Here are the top ways music in the workplace can leave a lasting impact on your employees and your company culture:

Biggest Benefits of Music at Work

1. Music Boosts Productivity

With 8 hours in a traditional workday, 40 hours in a typical work week, and 52 weeks in each year, staying productive at work can sometimes feel like an uphill climb. Even with flexible work schedules and hybrid work models, many people are back in the office on a regular basis. But staying focused and on task for hours each day isn’t easy.

Interestingly, the 8-hour workday hasn’t always been a standard. In fact, similar to the current push for a 4-day workweek, the 8-hour workday started in the early 1900s as a way to make work more sustainable for factory employees who often worked 10-16 hours a day.

Of course, no matter how much time people spend at work, it’s important to make every hour as productive as possible. And sometimes, it takes extra creativity to keep teams energized and motivated. This is where it helps to play music at work..

For instance, pop songs not only spark a little toe-tapping, but they also motivate us to step up our work pace. In fact, research shows that 58% of data-entry team members work faster when listening to pop music.

Also, playing music in a shared workspace encourages more frequent breaks throughout the day. A quick dance break fills the moments between meetings. A certain song sparks a bit of chatter about fond memories. A brief discussion about which song the jukebox should play next. Then, people get back to business.

These “microbreak” moments aren’t a waste of time. They’re an easy way to boost productivity without disrupting work flow. In fact, research shows that our minds perform better when we switch between focused and unfocused mental states. This can actually spark more creativity and improve decision-making.

2. Music Reduces Stress

Creating a business environment where employees have a healthy work-life balance is crucial now. In the aftermath of the 2020 pandemic, millions of workers have walked away from jobs, searching for something different.

In response, employers are stepping up and focusing on workforce retention. Mental health has become a top priority because it directly influences employee wellbeing and job satisfaction. In fact, 78% of survey respondents told Mental Health America that work stress affects their mental health.

Music is proven to have a profound effect on mind and body. For example, Stanford researchers found that slow, soothing melodies and tempos reduce stress levels by quieting the mind. This kind of music also relaxes our muscles and shifts our mood away from feelings of anxiety.

3. Music Combats Isolation and Fosters Connection

We live in a world where digital tools, social media and instantaneous communication surround us. Yet, with many people still working remotely or on a hybrid schedule, employees are experiencing more loneliness than ever. In fact, one study found that 72% of workers feel lonely at least once a month, and 55% experience loneliness on a weekly basis.

It’s time to encourage human connection and collaboration by using technology more creatively. This is especially important now, because many people are seeking more meaning from their work. For instance, McKinsey says 70% of employees believe their work should bring a significant sense of purpose to their lives.

Increasingly, people are turning to collaboration tools to stay more connected with others. In fact, Gartner found 80% of workers rely on collaboration tools, up 44% since 2019. But as your organization implements new software and systems to keep employees connected and engaged, consider looking beyond the computer screen.

Music at work has the power to bring people together in meaningful and memorable ways. The sound of favorite tunes from a blend of genres — rock, country, pop, Latin and hip hop — do more than stir our emotions. They create a common language that can define and reinforce any company culture for the better.

This is why I suggest that employers ditch the isolation of earbuds and hiding in cubicles for hours on end. Instead, invite teams to participate in selecting music that will motivate them throughout the day.

What better way to foster genuine human connection than a digital jukebox, available to all whenever the mood strikes? The fun of music at work can revitalize coffee breaks, lunch time and group meetings, when employees come together and bond over their favorite songs.

Final Thoughts on Music at Work

Music certainly has its place at work. It deserves to be shared, enjoyed and powered by employees who sometimes spend 40 hours (or more) each a week together in an office, warehouse, retail store, or other work environment.

Digital entertainment solutions are bringing the music people love to the modern workplace. The concept is simple. The impact is real. When you invite music into your workspace, everyone who listens can benefit.

Can the Corporate Fitness Center Make a Strong Comeback?

April 11, 2023/Employee Benefits, Employee Burnout, Employee Experience, Employee Well-Being, Health and Wellness, Healthcare and Benefits /by Ann Wyatt

These days, many facets of work life are changing. But here’s one trend you may not have been expecting to see: The return of the corporate fitness center. Why is this happening?

Many employers are requiring staff to return to the office for at least several days a week. In fact, 77% of Fortune 100 companies have already adopted hybrid work schedules.

As a result of this shift, employees are expressing interest in reconnecting with colleagues they saw only on Zoom calls during the pandemic. With the days of forced remote work behind us, people naturally want to strengthen work relationships. And smart employers are responding in creative ways that build a sense of community.

This shift opens the door for a corporate fitness center comeback. However, the fitness facility of 2023 looks a bit different than you may recall from the past. Today’s corporate fitness center is becoming a community hub of sorts for employees who share an interest in health and wellbeing.

Inside the New Corporate Fitness Center

You’ll still see employees showing up at the corporate fitness center for individual workouts. But you’ll also see them participating in a variety of other activities such as:

Small group training sessions
“Buddy Sessions”
Wellness challenges of all sorts
Educational classes, seminars and series

Some are even involved in workshops with registered dieticians who are helping them embrace a lifestyle of holistic health and wellness.

In the broader health and wellness industry, boutique and specialized fitness gyms are already doing an excellent job of delivering programs like these. In fact, they’ve hit a new gear recently, primarily because they’re able to develop a “tribe” culture, where people work together and hold one another accountable for reaching their goals.

I think we’ll see corporate fitness centers fulfilling that same need in 2023. Here are 3 key ways they’re already rising to the challenge…

3 Fresh Corporate Fitness Center Moves

1. Growth in personal and small-group training

In the fitness centers we manage for clients, we’re seeing a huge surge in employees signing up for personal and small group training opportunities. As I mentioned above, this trend is largely driven by employees’ desire to reconnect and build deeper bonds with their colleagues. But another factor is involved here, too. People are looking for the special kind of accountability and support that comes with peer-to-peer programs.

As an employee at one of our client sites recently explained: “My workout motivation starts in the fitness center. I love my gym friends and the staff! We all need community, and the fitness center community is so important to me. I didn’t realize how much I missed being physically present here during these past few years.”

Requests for personal training are also exceeding pre-pandemic levels at many of the corporate fitness centers we manage. And we’re finding that employees are looking for more than just physical training during these sessions.

We know we’re serving savvier fitness consumers who have clear expectations about what they want to gain from membership in a corporate fitness club. And we’re expanding our scope to incorporate more facets of wellbeing into these programs. For example, we now include education and support for stress management, sleep education, and nutrition basics.

2. More collaboration with employee clubs

Partnering with existing on-campus interest groups is a great way to tap into audiences that are already connected and engaged. For example, we recently helped a technology industry corporate fitness center collaborate with multiple employee clubs for the company’s “Spirit Week” activities and annual 5K run.

Also, for one of our medical technology clients, we partnered with on-campus veterans clubs to engage members in customized fitness challenges. For Navy vets we arranged a rowing challenge, while Marines performed tire flips, and Army vets focused on push-ups. Then we pivoted the military fitness challenge to a 1k/5k run, so hybrid workers could easily participate from anywhere, anytime, depending on their schedules.

3. The rise of hybrid fitness memberships

I think we’ll also see corporate fitness centers get creative in how they deliver services to employees. They’re already doing this with so-called “hybrid memberships.” This relatively new kind of membership model gives employees a chance to tailor their wellness activities to their schedule.

Let’s say your employees work on a hybrid schedule where they’re at the office two to three days a week. On those days, it’s easy to workout at the on-site fitness center, where they get a great club experience as well as opportunities for social interaction. Then, on days when people work remotely, they can participate in virtual fitness activities from home.

This way, they can join live or live-streamed fitness classes, and also tap into on-demand content for convenient access to activities no matter where they’re located. Also, with these new hybrid memberships, they can now visit local yoga, boxing and pilates studios, so they can fit workouts into their schedule whenever and wherever it makes sense for them.

We’re seeing lots of enthusiasm for this model — combining on-site sessions, partner gym networking and at-home workouts — with the corporate fitness center as the hub of all these wellness activities.

Final Thoughts

The overarching theme here is convenience and simplicity. Whether employees are working on-site, remotely or in hybrid mode — we want to help them stay active and maintain healthy habits. Now, corporate fitness centers can support these goals in more ways than ever. Keeping things simple, accessible, and fun is the key to consistency.

I know from experience that with benefits, “more” isn’t always better. It’s really about benefits that are relevant, useful, and easy to apply. And with the advances we’re seeing in corporate fitness centers, I think wellness programs will soon become even more valuable and popular among employers and employees, alike.

12 Ways to Prioritize Employee Wellness

April 10, 2023/Employee Benefits, Employee Experience, Employee Happiness, Employee Well-Being, Health and Wellness, Mental Health Awareness /by Brett Farmiloe

Organizations have long considered employee wellness a priority. But in the wake of the pandemic, it’s more important than ever. Here’s why: 99% of organizations are facing talent challenges. And after years of disruption, workforce wellbeing is on especially shaky ground. Investing in wellness could go a long way to restore employee confidence and commitment.

Indeed, even before Covid, research found that when employers made workforce wellbeing a priority, they could significantly boost productivity and other key business metrics.

That’s why we asked HR and business leaders to answer the question: “What are some effective strategies to prioritize employee wellness?” From simple in-the-moment exercises to formal, ongoing programs, the answers are as diverse as the individuals who responded. Here are 12 of the best ideas we received:

Involve Employees in Wellness Program Design

Hire a Chief Wellbeing Officer

Promote Integrative Breathing Practices

Empower People to Embrace Healthy Eating Habits

Suggest Simple Mental Fitness Routines

Cultivate Better Communication Skills

Encourage 5-Minute Clarity Breaks

Check-in to Understand Wellness Needs

Schedule Regular Health Screenings

Train Managers in Soft Skills

Conduct Employee Wellness Challenges

Include Financial Wellness

To learn more about how your organization can make the most of these ideas, read the full responses below…

12 Ways to Make Employee Wellness a Priority

1. Involve Employees in Wellness Program Design

The most successful employee wellness programs address individual needs while supporting overall workforce health goals. Programs designed without employee input lead to low commitment and participation.

To avoid this, assess employee needs upfront to identify factors that influence their health. This helps you prioritize offerings that employees are likely to find worthwhile. It can also open the door to innovative ideas you might not otherwise consider.

As a baseline, conduct an anonymous organization-wide intake survey that asks employees to identify key wellness issues and objectives, as well as tools and resources they think can help them achieve their goals. If possible, also arrange face-to-face conversations or online public forums so people can discuss ideas with others if they choose.

Then use this input as a guide to define, develop, implement, promote and manage your initiatives. Continue to seek regular feedback. Also, be prepared to make modifications. This collaborative “continuous improvement” approach can lead to a more robust, effective program that both employees and management take pride in.

Monique Costello, Wellness Educator and Functional Medicine Coach, Happy Eats Healthy

2. Hire a Chief Wellbeing Officer

Many companies are building more robust, healthy corporate cultures where employees feel valued and respected. But true corporate resilience requires an intentional, integrated effort. It starts with leadership’s commitment to improving and sustaining employee performance and wellbeing. And increasingly, we’re seeing this agenda as the primary responsibility of an emerging role: Chief Wellbeing Officer (CWO).

CWOs are not only the go-to person for all employee wellness issues. They also work in concert with other executive officers across the organization to lead by example, supporting an environment of openness, advocacy, shared values, and collective purpose.

In the wake of the pandemic, many CWOs are focusing heavily on burnout and its effects on individual wellness and performance. To address this complex issue, initiatives often integrate multiple elements, such as adjusted work policies, targeted educational workshops, 1:1 health/resilience coaching, enhanced mental health resources, break rooms, workout facilities, and more.

Viktoria Levay, Corporate Wellness Coach and Resilience Trainer, LÉVAY

3. Promote Integrative Breathing Practices

Excessive stress has a negative impact on every functional system in the human body. So, for organizations to help employees achieve maximum health benefits, wellness efforts should be accessible to all and easy to integrate into daily habits. A thoughtful workforce breathing program can offer that kind of benefit.

Proper breathing techniques can improve physical health as well as productivity, creativity, and mental acuity. A holistic breathing program can improve employee health outcomes on an individual and team level while elevating overall workforce wellbeing. For lasting results, design, implement and maintain this program with a top-down, inside-out approach.

What does this look like? Make a lasting commitment to promoting effective breathing practices. And be sure to share progress so employees will want to continue this habit.

Lisa Charles, CEO, Embrace Your Fitness, LLC

4. Empower People to Embrace Healthy Eating Habits

Everyone needs to eat, but some of us make better food choices than others. Educating employees about how to nourish themselves with smart nutritional habits can help them prevent chronic health conditions. It also improves work productivity, performance, and wellbeing.

Here’s a strategy for motivating employees to incorporate a healthy diet into their daily lives: Offer live cooking sessions with a health coach. Participants can taste nutritious alternative foods and learn how easy it can be to cook healthy meals. They can also find out how some foods reverse chronic diseases such as type-2 diabetes and heart disease in as little as eight weeks.

And here are bonus benefits: Research says that employees who eat together feel better, have more sustained energy, and are more engaged and productive at work.

Claudia Grace, Health and Wellness Coach, Claudia Grace

5. Suggest Simple Mental Fitness Routines

Negative thought patterns can increase stress, which in turn, causes attention, engagement and productivity to decrease. But through education, you can help employees intercept these troubling thoughts, and shift to a positive mindset. People who consistently apply these techniques can strengthen their focus, improve their health and achieve peak performance.

When employees feel triggered by a conversation or stressed about a challenging workload, they can take a mental time-out and engage their senses for 10-15 seconds. Anyone can activate this mental “reset” process by focusing intently on a nearby object. Pay attention to its color, shape, texture and small defining details. Then shift focus away to a distant sound, such as a conversation, a ringing phone, or a passing car. Another helpful exercise is to slowly rub two fingers together for several seconds. Notice the temperature and texture of your skin as you move your fingertips.

These micro-meditations help shift your focus away from negative thought patterns and reduce unwanted stress.

Lisa Hammett, Success Coach, Author, and Motivational Speaker, Success Coaching

6. Cultivate Better Communication Skills

As kids, we all learn how to talk. But sadly, very few of us are taught to communicate well. So as adults, we bring bad habits and patterns from those early years into our work lives. Even when we’re aware of these issues, many of us aren’t sure what we can do to achieve better results.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is one of the best toolkits for improving communication. By investing time to understand NLP, people can begin to recognize why they respond to situations the way they do. It also helps them listen to teammates to improve understanding, rather than listening to reply.

Everyone wants to be heard and understood. That’s why building these skills can work miracles for organizations that want to encourage better relationships among employees. By strengthening communication, teams can work effectively to grow a happier, more profitable organization.

Christina Beauchemin, Founder, Let My Legacy Be Love, LLC

7. Encourage 5-Minute Clarity Breaks

Here’s a simple strategy. Recommend that employees replace a daily coffee break with 5 minutes of meditation. This can reduce stress and anxiety while increasing focus, clarity, and productivity.

The process is simple to teach. Ask participants to set a timer, close their eyes, sit up straight, and keep both feet on the ground. Inhale deeply through the nose, hold that breath, and count to 7. Then exhale slowly through the mouth, relaxing the shoulders, belly, and hips. Keep your attention focused on your breath and repeat this cycle at least 5 times.

Simple, but not easy. The mind may wander, but when it does, just return to focusing on the rhythm of your breath. People who rely on this routine will soon look forward to these relaxing brakes. There is always time to grab coffee later!

Dani Sheil, Wellness Coach, Dani Sheil

8. Check-in to Understand Wellness Needs

Do you have a finger on the pulse of wellness in your organization? Take time to survey employees, so you can get a realistic sense of challenges that affect their health and wellbeing, and the kind of support they would appreciate. Even if your organization doesn’t have a large budget, this process can provide information that will help you focus your efforts where you can make the biggest impact.

If you don’t have resources to conduct a formal survey, start by integrating questions into existing processes, such as team meetings or performance reviews. The more you engage people in conversations about this, the more effective you can be.

Aileen Axtmayer, Career Coach and Corporate Wellness Speaker, Aspire with Aileen

9. Schedule Regular Health Screenings

With access to periodic onsite health screenings, employees can easily monitor their health and catch potential issues early on. Screenings can cover a range of health metrics, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. Establishing this kind of baseline for each employee provides the information they need to define reasonable health goals.

Regular check-ins can also help motivate individuals to work toward positive change and remain accountable for managing their habits on an ongoing basis. Ultimately, prioritizing employee wellness through annual health screenings can lead to a healthier, happier, and more productive workforce.

Benan Yuceer, Founder and Head Coach, BeYu Wellness

10. Train Managers in Soft Skills

Managers play a key role in ensuring that teams have a healthy work environment and access to resources that help them stay healthy and thrive. Organizations can help by ensuring that managers develop the soft skills needed to help employees manage their wellbeing.

Training managers in areas such as empathy, emotional intelligence, communication, collaboration, and adaptability helps them better understand team members and help them in their individual wellness journeys. Managers with effective soft skills are able to proactively support employees and provide a sense of belonging — both of which are important components of overall wellbeing.

Sonia Hunt, Health and Wellness Futurist, Speaker, Coach, and CMO, Sonia Hunt

11. Conduct Employee Wellness Challenges

Time-based activity routines can help individuals develop their fitness capabilities and create opportunities for friendly competition. For example, you can set-up step tracking tools and challenge employees to walk at least 10,000 steps a day for at least 15 days a month.

Reward participants who achieve this goal with a small perk. For instance, let “winners” leave work an hour early on any day they choose. Create a Wall of Fame to celebrate all monthly achievers. Over time, you can also recognize those who consistently meet challenge objectives.

Because these challenges are time-based, they can help employees structure their schedule more efficiently. They can even lead to improved efficiency and discipline in other aspects of their lives.

Anjan Goswami, Founder, Mynd Your Fitness

12. Include Financial Wellness

Few people enter the workforce with a robust financial education. Currently, four out of five workers live paycheck to paycheck. In fact, 76% of workers told PwC that financial worries negatively impact their productivity. And 55% of these employees spend 3 or more hours a week focusing on finances while at work.

For a happier, healthier, more productive workforce, smart employers are adding personalized financial education tools and resources to their overall wellness agenda. An emergency savings program can help. This makes it possible for employees to contribute a portion of their monthly income to a separate account designated for emergency funds. This not only relieves some money management concerns, but also can be a creative recruitment incentive that attracts higher-quality talent to your organization.

Julie Weidenfeld, President and Chief Wellness Officer, Peak Wealth 360

Does Your Staff Feel Safe at Work? Here’s How to Help

April 3, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Experience, Employee Safety, Health and Wellness, Workplace Empathy, Workplace Safety /by Shannon Walker

The Problem

Can you confidently say that 100% of your employees feel safe at work? For business and HR leaders, ensuring the health and safety of everyone on the job is imperative. But sometimes, reality has other plans.

Fraud, misconduct, harassment — even the most prepared organizations may face these challenges at some point. That’s why it’s vital for employees to feel free speaking up. Whenever issues arise, a speak-up culture can help you respond more swiftly and effectively. It also helps employees feel safe, which in turn, leads to increased overall wellbeing and productivity.

Over the years as a risk management consultant, I’ve discovered that ensuring people feel safe at work is no easy feat. But the following practices can help your organization establish and maintain a sense of psychological safety:

The Solution

1. Start With a Comprehensive Anti-Retaliation Policy

A zero-tolerance anti-retaliation policy can act as a baseline for all employees — including C-suite executives — to guide expectations around retaliation in the workplace. But what exactly does anti-retaliation really mean in an HR context?

In organizational settings, retaliation presents itself through actions such as marginalizing or shunning people, impromptu negative performance reports, and regularly assigning unwanted work shifts to targeted individuals. Illegal retaliation can even go so far as firing someone for speaking up. A zero-tolerance policy ensures that any person responsible for retaliatory behavior will be terminated.

Rather than disciplining people who speak up, managers should be encouraged to address employee concerns with understanding and act swiftly to investigate and resolve the issue. Anything less, and employees may be too scared of possible retaliation to report a problem.

The policy should clarify key factors, such as:

Specific types of conduct that should be reported,
How your organization facilitates the reporting process,
Actionable process steps, and
How this policy complies with local laws and regulations.

The zero-tolerance principle should also apply to discussions about workplace discrimination allegations, because this can result in unintentional retaliation. Finally, to ensure that your policy reflects new needs as your organization grows, review your documentation periodically and update it accordingly.

2. Implement Anonymous Reporting Tools

An anonymous reporting system is a broad term for tools such as help lines and intake forms that make it easier for employees to report misconduct. Anonymity is vital because it adds a layer of protection that further shields those who speak up.

Organizations can invest in an in-house reporting system or outsource this process to a third-party provider that specializes in managing and tracking reports. An outsourced system helps employees feel safer, because they know others in the organization won’t be able to undermine or dismiss their concerns.

Also, implementing multiple reporting tools can be beneficial. Creating multiple reporting avenues encourages employees who need to report an issue or incident to speak up in a way that is most comfortable for them.

For example, in addition to offering a helpline, some organizations also provide an online intake form in various languages so it’s accessible to more people. Often, reports submitted through online forms contain sensitive information that some individuals may not be comfortable communicating out loud. Or a safe space may not be available where people can speak confidentially, so the online form serves as a trusted alternative.

Of course, implementing these tools is only the first step. It’s also important to provide ongoing education, training and monitoring to ensure that everyone in your organization understands the policy and how to use any reporting tools you provide. To ensure widespread adoption, this educational process must be a top-down effort across your organization. It must also serve as a cornerstone when onboarding each new member of your workforce.

3. Train Managers in Conflict Resolution

As an executive or HR leader, you’ve most likely been involved with conflict mediation as a fundamental aspect of the managerial role. In fact, 85% of U.S. employees have reported some level of conflict at work. You can help mitigate this by ensuring that lower-level managers develop conflict management and resolution skills. This can support a more cohesive strategy for spotting issues sooner and getting to solutions quicker, so you can avoid having to deal with situations after they’ve reached a boiling point.

Understanding the root cause of a conflict is often the first step in resolving these issue. The most common conflict triggers are workplace stress, clashing egos, lack of support, or poor leadership. There is room for middle-level management to identify potential issues before they escalate, engage with staff, reduce conflict directly, and evaluate how they can improve workflow management to better support their teams.

Disputes between managers and employees will still need to be handled with bias-free executive attention. However, the more conflict management and resolution training managers receive, the more likely employees will believe to trust “open door policies.” Ultimately, this can reduce conflict and increase well being across your teams.

4. Ask Employees for Feedback

You won’t know if people are satisfied with your efforts to help them feel safe at work unless you ask. That’s why you’ll want to find a viable method to gather feedback and channel key insights to decision-makers. By periodically gathering and acting on feedback, you can continuously improve employee satisfaction and retention over time.

But keep this in mind: Research says 78% of employees are willing and happy to participate in workplace feedback surveys. Yet, only 50% think their input will lead to meaningful change. This means you’ll want to be sure you close the loop if your survey reveals gaps or weaknesses in your policy or process. Otherwise, you could undermine your entire strategy.

When People Feel Safe at Work, Wellness and Productivity Follow

The ideal solution combines clear guidelines with anonymous reporting tools and conflict resolution training for managers, in conjunction with employee feedback surveys. Each mechanism works in tandem with the others to create a more holistic approach to maintaining well-being in the workplace. When thoughtfully implemented, this approach can increase trust and confidence across your organization.

Once you implement a zero-tolerance policy alongside anonymous reporting tools, training and feedback, you’ll be able to address areas of concern more proactively. Over time, you can expect to improve productivity and retention because you’ve invested effectively to foster an environment that supports workforce wellness and safety.

Employee Appreciation Day: Why Not Celebrate All Year?

March 3, 2023/Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Employee Happiness, Employee Recognition, Employee Well-Being, Podcast, Podcast Recap, Podcast Recaps /by Meghan M. Biro

Sponsored by Workhuman

How often does your organization acknowledge team members who deserve recognition? Certainly, Employee Appreciation Day is an ideal opportunity to thank everyone. But an annual pat on the back isn’t nearly enough to move the meter on employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention.

So, what does effective recognition actually look like, and how can Employee Appreciation Day help? According to today’s #WorkTrends podcast guest, companies that get recognition right treat it as an ongoing conversation where everyone is invited to participate.

Makes sense. But what kind of impact can employers expect? The numbers are impressive. For example, research shows that when we regularly acknowledge employees, they’re 90% more likely to be happier at work. They’re also 70% less likely to burn out. And they’re 60% more likely to stay onboard. To find out more about what’s driving these outcomes, tune in now…

Meet Our Guest: Derek Irvine

Had a blast discussing this topic with Derek Irvine, SVP of Strategy and Consulting Services at Workhuman! Derek is a foremost expert on recognition and the human side of business. I can’t think of anyone who’s better qualified to help us understand how to make each day feel like Employee Appreciation Day. So please join us as we dig deeper:

Why Appreciation Matters

Welcome, Derek! You’ve studied employee appreciation for years. What does science tell us about its value?

Actually, appreciation is like a natural medicine. When someone sincerely thanks us at work, it releases happy hormones. It boosts our health and wellbeing. So in a way, Employee Appreciation Day is like a wellness day.

Unfortunately, however, research says 80% of people aren’t appreciated enough. This means they’re more likely to become disengaged or quit. So this is important. But it’s something we can fix.

Factors That Support Appreciation
How does Workhuman honor Employee Appreciation Day?

Of course, we acknowledge all of our employees and celebrate as a team. But for us, every day is Employee Appreciation Day. So we’re committed to a continuous dialogue. And our reward strategy is built on three foundational blocks:

Fair Pay: People need to feel appropriately compensated for their contribution.

Ownership: We aren’t a public company, but everyone has a real stake in the company’s success.

Recognition: These are the spontaneous moments when we acknowledge people for reaching a milestone or supporting our values.

Appreciation as a Cultural Priority

Spontaneous. I love that word. What other steps can companies take to build a culture of recognition?

In addition to being spontaneous, it’s also important to be intentional. Because most people I talk to agree that they should show more appreciation. And then, other priorities take over, so taking the time to say “thank you” constantly falls from the top of their to-do list.

You’ll want to put a drumbeat in place to be sure this intention won’t slip off of your agenda.

Getting Started

What would you say organizations should do to make Employee Appreciation Day more meaningful for everyone?

Well, it could be a great day to launch your all-year initiatives. So maybe you could recognize people at a special gathering. But then also announce your commitment to change your organization’s habits and explain how you intend to create a culture based on ongoing recognition.

That’s my top recommendation because it will help your organization pivot in a more positive trajectory, and it will have a lasting impact.

Tools That Enhance Appreciation

How can technology help employers make recognition work better?

Using technology to thank people may seem odd. But it can help in several ways.

It can provide a nudge that reminds managers to reach out to people at specific times. But beyond that, with a platform like ours, you’ll create a fantastic repository of all the human connection stories that are happening in your organization.

You also have a huge data pool you can use to understand your culture better. For example, you can ask: What words are people using? What skills are being celebrated? Are particular leaders being recognized for skills we hadn’t seen? Are there dark spots in the organization where people aren’t being thanked at all?

Insights like these can be a powerful way to enhance your work culture with more intention…

For more insights from Derek about why and how to make every day feel like Employee Appreciation Day, listen to this full podcast episode. And be sure to subscribe to the #WorkTrends Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Also, to continue this conversation on social media anytime, follow our #WorkTrends hashtag on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Simple Ways to Help Remote Employees Feel Connected

February 28, 2023/Company Culture, Editor's Picks, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Happiness, Employee Recognition, Employee Well-Being, Featured, Remote Work, Winner: Impact Award for Content Excellence, Workplace Empathy /by Brian Gomes

Sponsored by Social Flowers

What a difference three years can make! I’m sure that’s what many remote employees are thinking these days. Before the pandemic, only 6% of people worked remotely in the U.S. Now, after peaking at 60% during the height of the pandemic, that number has leveled off to about 30%. But we’re all still learning how to navigate this new work-from-wherever terrain without leaving anyone behind.

Why Remote Work is Here to Stay

I understand why people want to continue enjoying the flexibility of working from a distance — even for a few days a week. Remote work remains popular because it offers advantages to employees and employers alike. For example:

BENEFITS FOR REMOTE EMPLOYEES:

Less commute time
Higher productivity (90% say they’re more productive)
Better mental health (74%)
Increased happiness with work (In fact, 61% would accept a pay cut to continue)

BENEFITS FOR BUSINESS:

Lower overhead costs from less office space
Increased work output (4% more hours each week, on average)
Lower absenteeism (52% are less likely to take extra time off)
Potential savings in employee pay (People value working from home as much as a 5-7% pay increase)

Remote Employees Face Real Challenges

Despite the flexibility and freedom of working from anywhere, working at a distance also has its drawbacks. For instance, research says many remote employees struggle with social isolation and disengagement. Specifically:

52% feel less connected with coworkers
24% feel lonely
85% want to feel closer to colleagues
Only 32% feel engaged in their work
21% struggle to stay motivated

To ensure remote work strategies succeed in the long term, leaders need to help people feel more connected. But that’s not always easy to accomplish from a distance.

Helping Remote Employees Feel Connected From Afar

It’s natural for remote employees to feel disconnected and lonely sometimes. After all, work relationships play a vital role in keeping employees happy, healthy, and productive. So, how can leaders bridge that gap? Start with stronger support and communication. For example:

1. Clarify Remote Work Expectations

McKinsey says remote employees who receive detailed information are 5x more productive and 3x less likely to experience burnout. That’s a good reason to articulate your vision, policies, and practices so people understand how they fit into your overall work structure and strategy. Be sure to capture this information in documents, videos, and other reference materials that are regularly updated and available to all.

2. Think Outside the Virtual Meeting Box

Many employers have learned the hard way that online meetings aren’t the only remote work solution. In fact, 56% of employees say these sessions are too frequent or too long, and 42% say they feel Zoom fatigue. Avoid overload by promoting the use of asynchronous chat and collaboration tools like Slack. Also, let people choose when and how they want to conduct team meetings or 1-on-1 conversations.

3. Leave Room for Face-to-Face Communication

There is no substitute for in-person meetings. They are the fastest, most effective way to build trust and strengthen relationships. Even if you can bring people together only for an occasional planning, training, or team-building event, you’ll find it’s worth the investment.

4. Support Social Interaction

Connections won’t flourish with all work and no play. Encourage your entire staff to develop relationships by organizing online lunches, coffee breaks, and fun online events. Offer digital community tools and resources so everyone can casually exchange information and ideas.

5. Double Down on Appreciation

When organizations celebrate together, employees are 20x more likely to feel connected and want to stay on board. That’s an impressive reason to acknowledge personal and professional milestones. Set up a channel on Slack or Microsoft Teams for managers and peers to honor individual and team achievements, as well as birthdays and other life moments. Also, if you’re a manager, lead by example. Take time to acknowledge individuals, personally.

A Powerful Way to Connect: Send Flowers

I’ve discovered sending flowers is one of the simplest but most effective ways to help remote employees feel connected. Research says all humans have a basic need to be recognized. And the most successful kinds of recognition are timely, genuine, personal, and meaningful. Receiving flowers ticks all of those boxes.

How Flowers Made a Difference in My Life

As a flower delivery business owner, I’ve seen first-hand how flowers can play a key role during life’s most important moments. But I didn’t truly understand how much they mean until my father passed away.

My immediate family had ordered arrangements for the casket and the funeral service. But I was really touched when extended family and friends also sent flowers.

Initially, I was surprised. But upon reflection, I was grateful so many people wanted to express how much my dad meant to them by sending gorgeous arrangements. Through their efforts to honor his life with the beauty of flowers, I felt a deep emotional connection that remains with me to this day.

Social Flowers: An Easier Way to Connect With Remote Employees

I created Social Flowers so others could feel this same kind of connection. The idea is simple. We make it easy to send flowers to anyone, anywhere, anytime — even if you don’t know where they’re located.

When ordering, you simply enter the recipient’s email address or mobile number. They receive a link to choose where and when they want to receive their flowers, which a local florist delivers.

You can send flowers to celebrate a birthday, a work achievement, or just to brighten someone’s day. This service ensures that you can be present for all the important moments in a remote employee’s life.

How Social Flowers Works

How to send flowers to remote employees - an easier way As we’ve developed our business, I’ve relied upon Social Flowers, myself, to solve logistical problems that can make it difficult to send flowers.

In one case, I knew my friend Nancy was having surgery. I didn’t know the exact date of her procedure, or if she was staying at the hospital overnight, and I didn’t want to bother her. I knew where she lived, but I hadn’t been to her home in years and I couldn’t find her address. Fortunately, I did have her mobile number, so I used that to send an arrangement through Social Flowers.

After I placed the order, Nancy accepted the text notice and chose to receive the delivery at her house. Soon afterward, I received a “Thank you!” text from her. It’s gratifying to see first-hand how this modern tool makes it so much easier to keep in touch and support others when they need it most.

Closing Note

Helping remote employees feel connected doesn’t need to be complicated. Even small gestures can make a big difference — whether people are face-to-face in an office, or are working together from a distance.

It’s the same lesson I learned from my father’s funeral. With sincere intent and just a bit of thoughtful effort, you can lift anyone’s spirits anytime. Chances are, that gesture will bring you closer together in a way neither of you will forget.

Virtual Travel Benefits Are Taking Off. Here’s Why

February 13, 2023/Digital Workspace, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employee Happiness, Employee Well-Being /by Brittany Palmer

Work Norms Are Changing

In 2019, about nine million U.S. civilians worked from home on a regular basis. Then the pandemic arrived. Nearly overnight, remote work became a necessity for a vast number of employees. In fact, by 2021 the U.S. remote workforce had tripled to nearly 28 million people.

Now, as Covid fades, the nature of work is taking another interesting turn. Many remote workers don’t want to rush back to the office. Instead, studies say anywhere from 50% to 72% of employees prefer working from home at least some of the time.

As a result, flexible work schedules are becoming a norm among employers that want to be competitive in talent recruitment and retention. As part of this strategy, organizations are embracing new benefits to attract and engage remote and hybrid employees. And among these innovative perks, one of the most creative and popular is virtual travel.

Why The Time is Right to Rethink Benefits

In general, working from home has been helpful for employers and employees, alike. Remote workers report lower stress levels, higher productivity, and higher overall engagement. It is even credited with reducing employee churn. Yet remote work still poses several key issues. For example:

Blurred Work Boundaries
Research indicates that many home-based workers fail to distinguish between personal and professional priorities. Without clear boundaries, people tend to work excessive hours, which in turn, can lead to burnout.

Social Isolation
Another challenge involves communication among distributed team members. Remote workers tend to experience more isolation and loneliness. This is especially important for employers to consider when determining how to build trust, camaraderie, and collaboration, especially in an environment where some people work remotely, while others work onsite or in a hybrid mode.

How Virtual Travel Benefits Help

Virtual travel adventures address some of the most problematic aspects of remote and hybrid work life. These experiences are an easy way to bring employees together and engage them in a shared immersive adventure, no matter where they work. That’s why many employers are adding virtual travel to their portfolio of benefits and perks.

Here’s how the concept works:

By simply logging into their computers at a convenient time, work teams can instantly jump into a captivating live tour of some of the world’s most amazing locations. From coffee farms in Costa Rica to UNESCO Heritage sites such as the Vietnamese town of Hoi An, companies can theme these team-building experiences around key destinations of interest, heritage months, or holidays.

Tours are led by live, qualified local guides who share helpful cultural context throughout the tour and answer questions in real time while interacting with participants. This helps everyone feel more connected with each other and with the location they’re exploring, as if they’re on the ground, walking through the destination together.

This kind of tour can transform getaways from costly once-a-year (or once-in-a-lifetime) vacations into fun group events that are available to all, anytime. And because these adventures are virtual, they’re a sustainable alternative to airline flights and road trips.

Why Virtual Travel Benefits Are So Appealing

By integrating virtual travel with employee benefits, companies can plan and produce formal team bonding exercises or offer employees virtual “time off” so they can casually connect. These programs offer multiple advantages. For example, they can:

Improve team morale by providing staff with time for relaxation.
Foster a more inclusive culture by extending a high-quality travel experience to all workers, regardless of their location.
Create new team connections and strengthen existing relationships through shared learning experiences.
Give employees opportunities to explore the world in memorable ways with co-workers, friends, and family — without depleting their bank accounts or PTO.
Open employees to new cultures and perspectives they might not otherwise be able to encounter.
Offer individuals and teams a unique and enjoyable reward they can look forward to as recognition for their work contributions.

Providing virtual travel to employees as a way of showing appreciation doesn’t have to be limited to periodic team meetings. Companies can also enroll individuals in recurring virtual travel events and add them to a diverse portfolio of ongoing benefits. This is an excellent way to make new-age perks accessible to all while diversifying benefit options.

Digital Perks Appeal to All Ages

Here’s another reason why virtual travel is gaining traction. Right now, the workforce is in a unique position, with five generations working together. To keep employees engaged, organizations must balance the various needs, interests, and expectations of today’s extraordinarily diverse workforce.

From the youngest Generation Z interns to retirement-age Boomers and beyond, each age group brings its own unique idea of work culture, compensation, and benefits that resonate.

Yet virtual travel is one benefit that crosses all generational boundaries. It’s an inclusive experience that everyone can enjoy. And it brings people together on common ground.

There’s Never Been a Better Time for Virtual Travel

In this era of economic and business uncertainty, companies that invest thoughtfully in benefits that help attract and retain engaged employees can build a competitive advantage. For example, according to Gallup, employers with higher levels of engagement enjoy a variety of advantages, compared with low-engagement organizations:

41% lower absenteeism
40% fewer quality defects
17% higher productivity
23% higher profitability

Virtual travel is just one way to elevate engagement. But its value is clear. All it takes is a relatively small investment. But this can open the door for employees who want to explore the world outside their cubicle or home office without depleting their savings or PTO.

What Hybrid Worker Preferences Reveal About the Future of Work

February 7, 2023/Company Culture, Digital Workspace, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, Employee Well-Being, Future of Work, Hybrid Work, Remote Work /by Cheryl Cran

We don’t need research to tell us the future of work will be much different from pre-pandemic norms. But Covid isn’t the cause. Disruption was happening before 2020. The pandemic merely focused our attention and accelerated the rate of change. So, where is work headed next? It’s impossible to chart this course without considering hybrid worker preferences.

This is why my firm, NextMapping, recently conducted extensive research to explore factors that are redefining the workplace. The result is our 23 Trends For Future of Leadership 2023 Report, based on data from client surveys and online polls, combined with insights from McKinsey, Gartner, and the World Economic Forum.

Wellbeing Remains a Central Concern

Our analysis uncovered a single overarching theme — worker wellbeing. People want work that is flexible enough to fit into their lifestyle. In fact, they’re willing to make professional adjustments to address this priority. And because the market for talent remains competitive, employers need to make workforce wellbeing a priority, as well.

How does this translate into hybrid worker preferences? We see clear trends in how people want to work, where they want to work, and who they want to work for. There’s no doubt that hybrid work is here to stay! These data points make a compelling case:

66% of workers worldwide prefer to participate in a hybrid workplace.
26% of U.S. workers currently operate in some kind of hybrid mode.
40% of workers say they’re more productive working remotely. However, 52% prefer hybrid work over a fully remote model.
People consider in-office work important for networking, team camaraderie, and enhanced relationships. They also think onsite work can improve training, learning, and knowledge sharing.
Remote work is perceived as helpful for including workers from various locations and completing projects or tasks with minimal interruption.

Hybrid Work is Not One-Size-Fits-All

There are multiple ways to define hybrid work, as these statistics suggest:

People want to structure their own hybrid schedules. Most would rather choose their in-office days, with 76% preferring to work in-office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays.
Workers want fewer meetings, and they want each meeting to be more effective. In fact, 66% say ineffective meetings reduce their overall productivity.
People prefer accessible leaders who are strong coaches. This is so important that 81% of workers say they quit a job to leave a “toxic” boss at some point in the past three years.
Workers want an employer that invests in their future. 55% note that their company provides learning roadmaps, growth opportunities, and succession plans.

Overall, our findings indicate that hybrid workplace success depends on leaders who are comfortable managing the unique and variable needs of people who are operating in multiple work modes. It requires flexible, agile leaders who can adapt to diverse personalities and work styles. These leaders need higher-order soft skills. I call them super crucial human skills.

How Leaders Can Support Hybrid Worker Preferences

To better understand how to lead more effectively in this new environment, let’s look closer at hybrid worker preferences:

1. More Scheduling Choice

Knowing workers want to choose the days they work on-site and offsite, leaders will benefit from conducting ongoing conversations with individual team members about scheduling that works best for them.

Some leaders have proximity bias. In other words, they want everyone to be in the office because it’s their preference. Proximity bias creates a barrier that keeps leaders from listening to employees and developing trusted relationships.

Some leaders have told me they don’t think people are working as hard when they work remotely. This, too, is a bias. Leaders can’t be effective if they base decisions on inaccurate performance data and make assumptions based on personal biases.

2. Fewer and Better Meetings

I know several hybrid work leaders who have fallen into the trap of booking more meetings because they think this improves inclusion. But it’s time for everyone to re-evaluate meeting practices with a more discerning eye.

The rise of virtual meeting tools makes it easier to schedule more meetings. But less may be more. When does a topic or project truly deserve a meeting? Who really needs to attend? Could a modified approach lead to better results?

Ideally, every meeting has a “why” and a facilitator who is ready to make good use of participants’ time. Some creative thinking can help you build a more effective agenda and achieve useful outcomes.

For example, polling and survey tools (such as PollEverywhere and SurveyMonkey) can help you gather worker insights about subjects that require team input. This means you can sidestep some meetings intended to gather verbal input. In other cases, these tools can help you prepare an agenda that will make meetings more productive.

3. More Access to Leaders

Hybrid workers prefer accessible leaders who are great coaches with high emotional intelligence. This is an excellent opportunity for leaders who want to coach and inspire their teams more effectively. But leading with high emotional intelligence requires great skill.

The hybrid workplace has increased the need for leaders to adapt to a combination of in-office communication and virtual communication. In the past, we called these capabilities soft skills. But for success now and in the future, I think we should reframe these skills as “super crucial human” skills.

The ability to pivot and navigate uncertain waters, while also remaining open and caring is the most critical skill development challenge for leaders in 2023.

4. Deeper Involvement in Future Plans

Lastly, workers prefer to know “what’s next” when it comes to their future. Organizations that offer a roadmap of growth opportunities, succession plans, and talent mobility enjoy higher workforce retention. These practices will become even more important, going forward.

Leaders can collaborate with their team members to help co-create a professional path that is flexible and fulfilling. When workers feel that their leaders care about their future and are invested in helping them succeed, it strengthens their commitment to their leaders, their work, and their organization.

This is Only One Leadership Priority

No doubt, hybrid workplaces will continue to shift and require everyone to adapt. But we see other important trends emerging this year, as well. For instance, automation will have an increasingly important role in helping people produce better-quality work. Also, leaders will benefit from shifting their perspective from “me” to “we.”

To learn more about all 23 trends we’re tracking for 2023 and beyond, watch our research summary video:

Which Corporate Fitness Trends Will Shape 2023?

December 27, 2022/Employee Benefits, Employee Experience, Employee Well-Being, Health and Wellness, Healthcare and Benefits, Winner: Impact Award for Content Excellence /by Ann Wyatt

Content Impact Award - TalentCulture 2022 As a corporate fitness professional, one of my favorite activities at the end of each year is to set aside time to look back at what has unfolded over the past 12 months. It helps to review what has worked for our clients (as well as what didn’t work so well). An open-minded, reflective analysis is always a good way to put things into perspective before considering new possibilities and mapping a game plan for the New Year.

As part of this process, I’m constantly tracking what’s happening with corporate fitness trends. So much has changed over the past few years, thanks to the pandemic and the increase in remote work, it’s important to keep ahead of what no longer seems as relevant or useful and what is gaining traction. And in looking toward the year ahead, all the signals indicate that much more change is still to come!

So, fasten your seatbelts and let’s look at how employers can prepare for the future. Based on trends I’ve been following, along with my direct experience with our teams and our clients in recent months, here are 3 emerging priorities that are likely to define corporate fitness in 2023:

1. More Personalized Training

Get ready for a big surge in employee demand for more personalized services — things like personal training and small group training. Multiple factors are driving this corporate fitness trend. For example:

Early in 2022, as people slowly started to emerge from a more sedentary pandemic lifestyle, I started hearing that employees were looking for help to get back on track with their fitness and wellness goals. Not surprisingly, during the Covid years, many people developed some unhealthy habits — especially in terms of diet and fitness. The isolation of working and living at home full-time didn’t help, either.

Many people are now looking to break out of that cycle and are longing for a stronger sense of community. So, prepare to see an upswing in more intimate training environments that give employees broader support and guidance, along with opportunities to connect with others and share their journey through community experiences.

Also, my clients confirm that employees are interested in wellness goals that involve more than physical workouts, alone. People want to get back in shape, but they also realize the importance of focusing on things like sleep, nutrition and stress management. And this means they’re increasingly interested in a more holistic approach to health and wellbeing. These objectives are often easier to achieve with programs that include individualized coaching.

Digital tracking tools can also be helpful in supporting people in their wellness objectives. Already, more than 20% of Americans are using wearables that provide convenient access to personalized health and fitness data. Many people want to use this data more effectively to develop tailored workouts and lifestyle management programs that will help increase their training efficiency, improve their daily habits and elevate their health outcomes.

2. More “Hybrid” Fitness Program Memberships

Another thing I’m starting to hear often from our clients is that their employees are looking for a seamless, connected fitness experience that aligns with their busy lifestyles. They want to workout where they want, when they want.

This is where “hybrid memberships” come in. These relatively new programs provide employees with a combination of corporate fitness center access and virtual fitness classes, along with partnerships with local yoga, boxing and Pilates studios.

With these hybrid memberships, employees can workout at their corporate gym, at home or on the road when they’re traveling—all with the convenience of one membership rather than having to cobble it all together themselves. It’s the best of all worlds. And it’s bigger than just a brick-and-mortar fitness center—it’s a program.

Here’s one example: Kevin is a financial services professional in Indiana who comes into the office three days a week. During those visits, he goes to the on-site fitness center to lift weights. Typically, he talks with several fellow employees while he works out. It’s a great social experience. On the other two weekdays he works from home. On those days, he works out with a virtual fitness class through an app that’s connected to his fitness center and the same staff he knows and trusts. Over the weekend, he takes a spin class at a local studio that contracts with his company through the hybrid health program. Again, this hybrid program lets Kevin work out where he wants, when he wants. It’s all built into his schedule!

Inclusive hybrid memberships like these give employees the convenience, choice and variety they’re asking for. Plus, it provides access to the kind of connectedness and community people need with engagement that is hard to find elsewhere.

3. More Active Time Outdoors

We’re also hearing loud-and-clear from clients and employees that they want to get outside and move! A recent survey from the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry and McKinsey & Company, asked employees this key question:

“In which sports/physical activity categories do you expect to see a lasting increase in participation vs. pre-COVID-19?”

Of the 12 categories listed as potential responses, 84% of survey participants picked “outdoor activity” as their first choice.

Obviously, survey results like these underscore just how massive the pandemic’s impact was on corporate wellness programs. Over the past year, some companies started to experiment with fitness activities and events designed to get employees outdoors. Now it appears that this trend is catching on and may be here to stay.

For instance, one of our clients — a leading insurance company — has invested in a mobile open-air fitness trailer from BeaverFit. This makes it possible for employees to participate in healthy outdoor activities on a daily basis. Combined with programming delivered by on-site fitness professionals, this open air program is flourishing. And workforce wellbeing is improving as a result of employee participation in regular activities with physical and mental health benefits.

Final Notes on the Future of Corporate Fitness

These three corporate fitness trends are only a few of the emerging ideas we can look forward to seeing in 2023, as the space continues to evolve. With more personalized programming, more flexible options, access to innovative digital tools and a broader range of creative fitness locations, employee wellness is poised to make an even stronger comeback in the coming year. I look forward to seeing other innovative trends emerge that we aren’t even thinking about yet!