From Me to We: Renewing a Culture of Community in the Workplace

Renewing a Culture of Community in the Workplace

BY MELANIE OTERO

The year before COVID-19 struck, the documentary The Great Disconnect told the story of another pandemic impacting our health and wellbeing: loneliness and social isolation. This timely documentary raised the question: Is it possible to overcome our culture of disconnectedness and rediscover how truly essential we are to one other? Fast forward to 2021 and the exponential effect of COVID-19 on loneliness and isolation and the emotional distancing brought on by politics and events in the news, and it’s easy to see that we are increasingly becoming a hyper-individualistic society at great detriment to our own health and community wellbeing.

Nowhere is this more evident than the great disconnect in our workplaces. As employers and employees navigate how they come back together again, there is a deeper recognition of the importance of social connections inside and outside the workplace to support mental health, while balancing the imperative for performance to keep organizations afloat. Employers and employees need to be constantly and honestly communicating with one another to figure out, how do we renew a culture of community? We asked three professionals on the frontlines of supporting the Palm Beach County community to weigh in:

• Tammy Fields, Director, Palm Beach County Youth Services • Ljubica Ciric, PsyD, Vice President Child & Family Mental

Health, Community Partners of South Florida • Tawanna Pollock, Child and Family Therapist, Community

Partners of South Florida

The Well: As an employer, what changes have you seen in your workplace culture?

Tammy Fields: The separation has been difficult for me personally, and our employees. I see and feel the stress they are experiencing. Their stress is compounded by the difficulties their clients are experiencing. It weighs on them because they care. We’re also navigating how we communicate about race relations. Our staff is very diverse, which is one of our greatest qualities and helps us serve our community best. When racial incidents happen in the news, we have to recognize that people are responding in different ways, and we have to develop under-

...it’s easy to see that we are increasingly becoming a hyper-individualistic society at great detriment to our own health and community wellbeing. ”

standing, appreciation and empathy for where employees are. There’s still a lot to be learned.

Ljubica Ciric: We amped up to make sure that we stayed connected as a group and one-on-one when we went virtual, but it still hurt the culture. There is so much uncertainty. As an agency, we were supporting employees, but there is still performance you have to measure. How do you push while also supporting employees? We looked at it in the same way we look at therapy. Once we encouraged employees to voice their opinions, their stress decreased. We didn’t make any sudden decisions and we let them know where we were going. They felt heard and involved and we made sure that we were transparent.

The Well: You have first-hand experience as an employee who experienced crises during COVID. How did your employer connect in a way that was important to you?

Tawanna Pollock: Both of my parents died of COVID one week apart. Community Partners of South Florida gave me as much time as I needed, donated toward the funeral arrangements, and understood I needed mental health support and connected me to a grief therapist. My supervisor consistently called and checked in on me, comforting me to let me know it was OK to not be OK after such a complex loss. I knew I didn’t have to worry about losing my job and I could focus on my mental health and wellness.

The Well: As Tawanna’s supervisor, what was most important to supporting her and other employees?

Ljubica Ciric: Communication and constantly checking in with them was critical. We also removed barriers to taking time off whether it was for a death in the family, illness or to take a mental health break. Employees no longer need a doctor’s note for sick time over two days, and we made sure all our supervisors fully understood the Family and Medical Leave Act. We attempted to remove any barrier that would stand in the way of our employees taking care of their physical and emotional health. Even though all our employees kept their jobs, we quickly understood that partners or family members might have been affected by the loss of employment. We made sure that we provided employees with support for rent, utilities, and any other assistance we were able to provide.

The Well: What is one change that has positively impacted your workplace culture and wellness?

Tammy Fields: We start every meeting with three questions: How are you feeling? What is your goal for the meeting today? Who can you ask for help? These three questions help employees identify and share their feelings with their colleagues, have a goal that gives them focus for the meeting or the day, and lets them know there are people they can count on when they ask for help. It’s a framework to understand connections with one another, especially at a time when people feel isolated and detached.

The Well: What can employers learn from your experience?

Tawanna Pollock: Understand we are all human. Be supportive. Listen to employees and be there for them without judgment. Let me know you see me. You hear me. You make me feel special just by doing that.

The Reservoir is a space that celebrates our vibrant community’s customs, culture, holidays, rituals, lifestyle, and social behaviors. To contribute, send your article ideas to thewell@bewellpbc.org with “The Reservoir” in the subject line.