Employee Well-Being

A Mediaplanet Guide to Boosting Employee Wellness

Employee Well-Being

Arianna Huffington The author and businesswoman shares tips on how companies can prevent stress and burnout in their employees

Discover how focusing on improving employee mental health impacts a company’s bottom line Business motivational speaker and author Chester Elton talks about how the pandemic has affected employee engagement

SEPTEMBER 2021 | FUTUREOFBUSINESSANDTECH.COM

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Workplace Engagement Is Getting Personal A leading expert on employee engagement discusses the rapidly evolving relationship between employer and employee.

Employee engagement — loosely defined as the emotional commitment a worker has towards their employer — is low in the United States, hovering at just 36 percent. Worse, 13 percent of employees are what’s known as “actively disengaged” and likely to spread their discontent to coworkers.

Chester Elton has been speaking and writing on the subject of employee engagement for decades.

A business motivational speaker and co-author of bestselling books like ”All In,” and ”Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results,” Elton discusses the new reality of employee engagement.

What is the value of employee engagement?

With employee engagement, you have a better attraction for talent, you have less turnover, and more productivity. However, workplace engagement has been in steady decline for 20 years. Even though this information has been out there for forever, I’m shocked by how few companies really embrace it and can execute it.

What’s challenging that engagement?

The employer-employee compact is broken. In my generation, if you had four or five jobs, it was a bad sign. Now, nobody cares that you have only been at a company for a year before moving on. Work is so fluid. I have no doubt that my kids will have 15 different jobs at least.

What needs to change?

So many companies make a lot of short-term decisions, and it tends to erode what they’re trying to do. What are your aspirations as a company?

You want to treat your employees well; you want to provide a great service for your community.

But then your ambitions get in the way. To hit the quarterly numbers, you suddenly have to lay off 10 percent of your employees — that destroys trust and engagement.

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How the Mental Health of Workers Impacts an Organization’s Bottom Line The pandemic has wreaked havoc on individuals and families trying to acclimate to a new normal. With so much focus on the preservation of physical health, mental health has taken a backseat.

The impact of the global pandemic has been felt by business at large, as well as in the personal lives of workers. The stress and economic strife have forced many organizations to redesign operations to meet fluctuating demands.

Lasting effects Economic uncertainty has exerted immense financial pressure on people and organizations. With career life invading home life seemingly overnight, the lines between work and life have become nonexistent. Additionally, access to recreational activities were limited during the lockdown, depriving people of much-needed stress relief outlets. Ongoing social upheaval and inflamed political discord has added another layer of anxiety to combat.

Prior to the pandemic, workplace mental health was garnering increased attention.

As many as 80 percent of people can be expected to be diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lives. As the United States workforce wrestles with mental health challenges, workplace performance suffers.

A key to change More businesses are understanding that it is in their best interest to deploy mental health initiatives to support workers. Workforce mental health and organization performance are clearly intertwined.

With an emphasis on well-being, employers report seeing lower absenteeism, improved retention of talent, and improved employee morale.

While the expansion of mental health programs and benefits are important, workplace culture is also a key component in the advancement of mental health. Having a culture that advocates for and supports the preservation of mental health requires

eschewing the stigma of mental illness that pressures people to conceal their struggles. It means encouraging employees to monitor and preserve their mental health by prioritizing work breaks, vacation time, and mental health days.

Support systems When workers are healthy both mentally and physically, the work environment is more productive and positive. And organizational healthcare costs go down. Designing the right workplace wellness programs is essential. Having an employee assistance program can fill some of the gaps in mental health support and be a resource for employees navigating personal life issues.

Empathy is key to truly understanding employees’ challenges and opening a space to process negative experiences. Validating workers experiences helps build trust and establish connections.

Business needs to see workers as whole people, not simply talent in a body. Putting the “human” back into human resources means understanding the physical, emotional, and mental needs of the people who do the work. It takes both mental and physical health for workers to perform to their potential. Humans carry a ton of responsibility.

If we can help them be their best, everyone benefits. n Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, President and CEO, Society for Human Resource Management

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Publisher Isabella Nielson, Adrienne Macaluso Business Developer Abraham Freedberg Managing Director Luciana Olson Lead Designer Tiffany Pryor Designer Celia Hazard Lead Editor Mina Fanous Copy Editor Lauren Hogan Director of Content and Production Jordan Hernandez Cover Photo Thrive Global\ All photos are credited to Getty Images unless otherwise specif ied. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve USA Today.

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Why It’s Essential for Employers to Create a Caring Culture

It’s no longer a secret that juggling the demands of work and domestic life was a pre-existing issue worsened by daycare, school, and office closures brought on by the pandemic. And the reality is, the pandemic will subside, but workers’ care responsibilities won’t.

Care.com — the world’s largest online platform to find care for children, pets, and seniors — released its latest installment of research on the intersection of care and work, evolving from their Work + Life Report, released in February 2020, detailing the choice between family and career has had significant consequences for both workers and employers, and their Future of Benefits Report, released in February 2021, sharing the benefits

employers are newly prioritizing as a response to the pandemic’s impact on work. Their next piece of research, titled The Workplace Culture and Care Report, reveals whether these changes were temporary solutions to address the global health crisis or a permanent, seismic shift in workplace culture going forward.

Supporting employees Pre-pandemic, the Work + Life Report showed 73 percent of respondents felt they’d let down someone who needed their care due to work obligations.

Employers felt the brunt of this as a result. In the last decade, lost productivity due to informal caregiving for children and the elderly, including absenteeism, workday adjustments, and more cost U.S. businesses $82.2 billion annually.

Fast forward to COVID19, workers and employers have been grappling with more work-life challenges.

The global pandemic forced rapid and massive change as employers tried to accommodate remote workers, including many workers who are simultaneously working and parenting full-time.

To see how employers were readjusting their benefits packages to better accommodate the new way in which we all work, Care.com’s Future of Benefits Report found 50 percent said their organization planned to newly offer or expand childcare benefits and 42 percent planned to do the same with senior care benefits in the near future. Additionally, 41 percent of HR leaders planned to expand mental health benefits in the coming year.

“Employers simply must play a role in supporting their employees far beyond salaries,” says Natalie Mayslich, general manager of consumer and enterprise at Care.com, calling this, “the rise of the ‘caring enterprise,’ where HR and business leaders no longer simply measure how well they support their employees but put services in place to make sure that they’re truly keeping their teams’ welfare in mind.”

Employee satisfaction, retention, and attrition When you lead with empathy and compassion for employees, a company culture thrives. To better understand the relationship between workplace satisfaction and cultures that successfully demonstrated caring and

empathy, The Workplace Culture and Care Report surveyed 500 HR leaders and 2,000 fulltime American workers.

The report finds that majority of employees — 52 percent — rank “nurturing, supportive, and empathetic” or “family-friendly” as workplaces they most desire. And not only are these types of work environments the ones employees desire, but they also actively seek them as well. Forty-five percent said that “family support” is an attribute that they actively look for in a workplace culture.

The good news is that employers are increasingly recognizing this evolving relationship between family-friendly benefits and a successful work environment, but the report finds there’s still progress to be made.

“Our new research reveals that 63 percent of employers say childcare benefits would improve recruitment and retention, yet only 19 percent offer them,” says Mayslich.

“Put simply, when you care for your employees holistically, they’ll stay, and new talent will be eager to join your team.

It’s a win-win for employers and employees, both current and prospective.

She says the benefits and work environments seen this year, “must be a fundamental, permanent shift in how we address the needs and wants of today’s worker, and it must be supported from the C-suite on down.” n Kristen Castillo

To learn more, visit care.com/careatwork.

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Workplace Engagement Is Getting Personal How did the pandemic impact employee engagement?

There’s a massive shift to personal engagement happening very quickly because of ”the Great Resignation.” All of a sudden, there’s an incredible shortage of employees. A company has to be much smarter in their flexibility, and say they are not going to equate hours worked with productivity. It’s time to equate productivity with productivity.

What steps can companies take to improve employee engagement?

Today, there’s only one characteristic leaders and companies need to have: empathy. If you don’t have this, it’s game over.

The way you communicate with your employees has to be ridiculously positive because everything else that they get through their phone is ridiculously negative.

Communication within the company that’s uplifting, engaging, and positive — that’s a big thing. Something else companies have to do in terms of technology is shut it down. What I mean by that is you can’t be asking your staff to do stuff after hours and on the weekends.

The brain needs a break.

Where does employee feedback fit in?

The trick with feedback is that you have to prove that you did something with it. The feedback loop has to go both ways. It’s not enough to make the changes — you have to tell everybody the changes that were made.

Only 1 in 10 employees feel safe talking about anxiety, and yet 75 percent of millennials and Gen Z have said they’ve left a job recently due to a mental health episode.

Why do they leave? Because it’s not safe to talk about.

One of the best ways to deal with that is empathy, but it’s also gratitude. Leaders who lead with gratitude and use it to tamp down anxiety get phenomenal results, and when people are happy at work, they are 150 percent more likely to be happy in their personal lives.

The future of employee engagement and great companies is gratitude. It’s a better way to lead, and it’s a better way to live.

Jeff Somers

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Steps Employers Can Take to Establish a Healthy Culture A healthy workplace culture often comes down to clear policies and an investment in human resources. Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, discusses how organizations can change their culture by elevating the voices of their employees.

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healthy workplace culture — one that is fair, inclusive, high-functioning and free from harassment — is a critical business asset and the greatest employee wellness benefit an employer can provide.

Company culture means more than having a nice place to work.

It’s what keeps talented employees in place and performing, and talent is what differentiates the winners and losers in business today. Every decision our organizations make strengthens or weakens the culture.

Healthy cultures are inclusive — open to anyone who can bring needed skills and live the values the company aspires to.

That means thinking beyond diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, age, etc., to embrace talent from non-traditional educational and work backgrounds.

Would your organization consider talented applicants who don’t have college degrees, a solid employment history or a clean criminal record? Hiring bias has no place in healthy workplaces.

Can culture be enforced?

Can organizations change their culture?

Yes, but to change it, leaders must first take time to learn what employee culture their employees experience, versus what they want it to be. Then, they can begin creating a strong statement of values that feels right to their people and their business practices, and start living it from top to bottom. They can hire for it, promote for it, and fully inhabit it.

A healthy culture is supported by clear, pragmatic policies, as well as employee education and training about acceptable behaviors in the workplace — critical in the era of #MeToo. But beyond enforcing the rules, leaders must also agree on the guiding principles of the organization and enforce them. A “rulesplus” approach bridges the gap between what is legal or compliant with policy and what you really want your employees to

experience. For example, there is a vast gray area between what the law calls harassment and other harmful behaviors that drive good people away.

How will you know your culture is working?

In a healthy workplace culture, when toxic behaviors — such as discrimination, harassment or abuse — are observed or experienced, the community takes over and shuts it down, with a message that the behavior will not be tolerated by anyone at any level.

A healthy culture tells the wrong people, “You don’t belong here.”

Your best resource in understanding and changing a company culture is your HR team. A talented, certified HR leader can ensure you have the smartest policies and the best training available to create and maintain healthy cultures. HR can be the one to make tough calls and stand up to bad actors, no matter where they rank.

An investment in HR is an investment in better workplaces for a better world. n

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s the workplace expands beyond the office into people’s homes and other non-traditional spaces, mental health programming has never been more important. A recent study found that 83 percent of employees had a more positive work experience as the result of an employer-provided well-being program, and 84 percent said these programs made them feel more positive towards their employer.

“Including mental health programs as part of workplace programs and practices promotes self-care, coping skills, and overall employee wellbeing and wellness,” notes Dr. Rachel O’Neill, vice president of clinical network and quality at Talkspace, a leading provider of online and mobile therapy. “It also helps support a psychologically healthy workplace, which may result in increased employee satisfaction and productivity. Employees who have access to mental health programs are more likely to feel supported and valued by their employer.”

Inclusivity One mistake many companies make is providing a “one-size-fits-all” solution for well-being and mental health programming. “Inclusivity is a core component of psychological safety — that is, the feeling of comfort and security among managers and coworkers — in the workplace,” O’Neill explains. “Mental health and well-being programs should consider the unique needs of employees when constructing workplace programs to support mental health.” Talkspace, for example, offers online therapy — for adults, teens, and couples — psychiatric support, and lasting relationship counseling tools, among other services, to give clients a wide range of options to support their mental health journey.

This means identifying programs that highlight issues of equity and inclusion, as well as those that focus

Inclusivity Is Key to Employee Mental Health and Wellness Mental health programs in the workplace improve employee satisfaction and productivity — but the key element is inclusion. on timely issues that may be impacting employees. To ensure that a mental health offering will be useful to employees, O’Neill recommends the direct approach. “It may be helpful to directly poll employees to determine the types of mental health and wellness programs that they believe would be most beneficial,” she suggests. “For example, some companies may be navigating hybrid workplaces, and could benefit from learning strategies to help balance working from home and working in the office. Conversely, a workplace that employs a

large number of parents and primary caregivers could benefit from sharing strategies to help balance work/life demands.”

Choice is a powerful component of a successful mental health offering as well. “Consider programming that can help employees access a continuum of services,” O’Neill says.

“Workplace webinars and workshops are a great way to begin to introduce conversations related to self-care and coping skills, while core solutions like online therapy can offer ongoing support.”

Behavioral health benefits for employees The shift to remote work due to the global pandemic had a powerfully negative impact on mental health.

Research has shown that daily interactions with other people are crucial to our sense of happiness and well-being — and isolation can have a devastatingly negative impact on our mental and physical health. The shift towards hybrid and remote work has accelerated the rise of telehealth in general — and mental health services in particular. Accessing healthcare via mobile devices, online, and using virtual tools has become the new normal for many, and mental health is no exception.

The key is finding the right partner to help develop a mental health program that offers employees a range of services that can be accessed no matter their location, background, gender, or age. Talkspace offers employers a benefits solution for mental health that provides virtual direct care services from a national network of fully-credentialed licensed therapists and prescribers, representing 100+ areas of expertise.

“All care is delivered through our private and secure digital platform, which also includes education and self-serve tools,” notes O’Neill. “With Talkspace, members can send their therapist private text messages anytime, or attend a live session with their psychiatric prescriber from anywhere.”

For O’Neill, the bottom line when planning a mental health program is simple. “The best approach to mental wellness is one that employees use,” she says simply. n Jeff Somers

To learn how Talkspace can provide mental health solutions for your business, visit business.talkspace.com.

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From One CEO to Another: Remember Your Employees Are More Than Just Workers The CEO of the Total Rewards Association at WorldatWork, Scott Cawood, Ed.D., offers some of those opinions through suggestions to HR and business leaders.

Why is employee engagement so important for overall business success?

It’s clear business success and engagement are directly correlated. Every person in an organization decides when to deliver good, lousy, or outstanding service.

What fundamentally keeps the needed outcomes alive in an organization is its people, so whether those people are engaged determines the fate of nearly every interaction, transaction, and outcome.

An elevated employee experience, driven in part by a dedication to well-being, yields an elevated customer experience — and an elevated margin.

Shifting Benefits to Meet Employee Needs

Can you describe the connection between employee engagement and well-being?

Well-being is so much more than the “professional” side of a person. Employers need to stop looking at their people as just employees; rather, they need to see the whole person. People have lives, issues, pets, hobbies, and sometimes more important things than just their work. For well-being to succeed, it’s best to focus on building better people instead of building better employees. Sure, we can keep putting employees through yet another communication course, but what if taking a step back to look at the entire person, not just the employee, helped you discover hidden talents your organization needs? Imagine the impact that can have on both the person and the organization.

If employers are looking to boost employee engagement, what are some key ways businesses have done this and do this where it has made a real impact?

First, fire your bad bosses. Studies show they are a drain on the system and are driving your great people to lousy outcomes. Or worse, they leave. Next, be sure every person knows why what they do matters to critical organizational outcomes. If they can’t see what they do in the larger picture, they won’t be engaged and will likely leave. Finally, focus on the full person and not just the employee. If you create an inclusive culture that lets every person be themselves, then that automatically helps to engage the full power of that individual. I always try to create a workplace where you can be the same person at work that you are at home. Finding that particular balance is hard, but if you struggle with it too much, more likely than not your workplace has too much politicking going on.

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Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRMSCP, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR association, explores how the benefits landscape has transformed to meet employee needs in 2021 and beyond.

What are the biggest changes to benefits offerings?

Employers have had to take a hard look at their benefits offerings. Remote work was already trending upward, but the pandemic truly required employers to be innovative, agile, and flexible about how — and where — we work.

SHRM research found 52 percent of employed Americans would choose to work from home permanently given the option, with over a third accepting a salary cut if it meant they could work remotely full-time.

This is a significant change in employees’ perspective, and it requires organizations to reevaluate their benefits against a set of different employee retention and talent recruitment criteria.

How are employers learning to better support employees?

It sometimes takes a crisis to rethink the way business works. Employees’ unique needs have certainly become more visible to their employers in the last year. To that end, people managers and organization leadership are learning to support employees in new ways, including reshaping existing benefits and adding new ones, strengthening wellness coverage for staff, and creating a renewed focus on mental health resources.

Supporting the mental health of employees is critical for many HR professionals — and this is a positive devel-

opment and silver lining.

HR must ensure employees understand the mental health resources available to them; they shouldn’t have to unearth these policies for themselves.

Telehealth services and employee assistance programs are benefits many employees very well might be discovering for the first time. While EAPs typically provide clinical counseling, many workers may be unaware they can also include child or eldercare, referrals, legal and financial counseling, and even resources for pet care.

What other employee benefit trends should we expect?

Overall, I believe employees are seeking more support as we all figure out what the new world of work will ultimately look like. Workers will continue to look to HR for guidance to better understand their workplace benefits and how to use them effectively.

We will also see additional changes to workplace policy to meet another need that ranks high among employees. Forty-one percent of HR professionals believe they can make an impact in 2021 by adapting flexible schedules and leave policies to better fit the needs of working parents, or those with eldercare responsibilities.

While some of the benefits I highlighted may be temporarily implemented at some organizations, I believe many will become a permanent fixture in benefits packages. HR professionals will continue to adapt, evolve, and innovate to better support our workforce today and into the future. HR will be there each step of the way, guiding workplaces through the ongoing change that is sure to remain. n

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Hybrid Work Is Here & Feeling Good Is Everywhere

As employees look to more accommodating work policies, the same goes for flexible and inclusive wellbeing solutions.

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How Better Internal Comms Create a More Engaged Workforce Craig Smith is the lead consultant and owner of The Big Picture People, which helps leaders show their workers why what they’re doing matters by understanding and articulating their organization’s big picture.

He also hosts the “Engaging Internal Comms” podcast.

On your podcast “Engaging Internal Comms,” you talk about why internal communications and employee engagement are strategic priorities for companies. Can you explain why these areas are so important to so many organizations?

You can go back many years and see the connections that have been made between business performance and having an engaged and committed workforce. There’s also been a continuing trend of relatively low engagement within organizations.

I think organizations are now recognizing that we need people who are engaged and who understand what they do and how it contributes. I think more people, and certainly the newer generations of workers, are coming into the workplace and expect to come for more than just the paycheck.

What is something you see organizations doing with their internal communication “system” that has a negative impact on their employees’ engagement? What changes can be made here?

Looking at it from an internal comms perspective, I think a lot of people who come from media backgrounds tend to see it as a broadcasting role. And that’s fine — I think clearly writing copy and creating well-edited content is really important. However, I think that the expectation now is that if we’ve got download and push at one end, and then dialogue and pull at the other, there’s now more of an expectation that we will enter into a dialogue with people, and it will be more of a two-way conversation.

I think a lot of what we learned from the social media world versus just the traditional broadcasting style is that if we want engagement, we have to get a conversation going.

And we have all of these great modules at our disposal — you’ve got Microsoft Yammer, Workplace by Facebook, and you’ve got all these fantastic tools technology is providing.

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The Impact of the Pandemic on Workplace Norms How has the pandemic altered workplaces, upended the rules of employer-employee relationships, and evolved how the world works forever?

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o answer these important questions, The Academy of Management (AOM) gathered leading global workplace scholar experts to showcase research-based insights and make sense of the pandemic’s workplace evolutions. The association created the panel to provide actionable research-based insights to guide organizations and employees during the pandemic.

Prior to, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, AOM scholar members, Peter Bamberger of Tel Aviv University, Adam M. Kleinbaum of Dartmouth College, Tsedal Neeley of Harvard Business School, and Jennifer Petriglieri of INSEAD, have studied the hybrid work revolution, employer-employee relationships, work-life balance, what trends might be more pervasive in a post-pandemic future, and more to help enhance employee well-being and engagement. The scholars are globally recognized as experts on the topics of the workplace, remote work, work relationships, and generally how organizations and employees interact.

The workplace’s pandemic reset The panel shared data that has shown that today’s workers, who are either working remotely or in-person during the pandemic, are the most stressed that they have ever been.

The scholars explained why and how this has happened, what organizations can do to mitigate stress and worker burnout for their workforce, and how worker wellness is one of the most important areas for companies today to focus on.

Insights into the future “The companies of the future that are going to win the talent war are going to be those who recognize that there is a work life divide — and treat people and their lives holistically, while leading with a focus on what is best for their employees not only at work but overall,” Jennifer Petriglieri of INSEAD said. “Companies who don’t do that are going to bleed talent.”

The panelists also discussed what the future of work looks like, and how organizations, employees, and the world can best prepare for it.

“My advice to organizational leaders is that if inequality was a problem before the pandemic, it has certainly been accelerated by the pandemic. This is something that if organizational leaders don’t pay attention to, it will come back and bite them big time,” Peter Bamberger of Tel Aviv University said.

The digital revolution In addition, panelists detailed how the nature of work is changing in lockstep with the pandemic and the digital work revolution.

“In the same way that COVID accelerated the virtualization of work, it has also accelerated the digitization of work, where reliance on data, technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic processing, and automation have advanced in extraordinary ways across many companies,” Tsedal Neeley of Harvard Business School said. “If we get this hybrid work right, which speaks to the nature of work that’s changing, we are going to be better prepared to deal with the digital revolution that is right around the corner.” n The Academy of Management

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Experts Discuss Upcoming Trends in Employee Health and Wellness

Richard Branson Founder, Virgin Group

Amanda Lannert CEO, Jellyvision

Richard Branson and Amanda Lannert share their insights into ways organizations can establish a company culture of flexible working and employee health.

Are there any initiatives or upcoming trends in employee health and wellness that you personally support?

Richard Branson: First and foremost, I believe in flexible working. It is important that employers appreciate their employees’ work-life balance and give them the flexibility to work around their personal lives. We have embraced flexible working since 2013 and allowed our people to work from home or remotely and stagger their working hours if they wish to. We trust our employees to work wherever and whenever they like as long as they get their work done on time and at a high-quality level; other Virgin companies may decide to follow this model in the future.

I also support unlimited leave. In my book, I wrote about how we were introducing an unlimited vacation policy, which is currently applicable to the 170 people at Virgin’s headquarters, Virgin Management, and our not-for-profit foundation, Virgin Unite. This allows our people to take as much vacation time as they feel they need each year, as long as they take a minimum amount of vacation to ensure they are getting time to rest and recharge. This gives our staff the flexibility to take more vacation time than

previously possible, like during a special year when somebody gets married.

Amanda Lannert: The pandemic drove major shifts in employee health that are here to stay. Virtual health solutions, leveraged only occasionally prior to 2020, will continue to grow in popularity. Mental health is health and companies must start asking themselves how they contribute to — or detract from — the mental health of their employees. And employee benefits need to evolve to meet the demands of employees who may not be building trust in the office, which means delivering value is going to require new approaches by HR. The bottom line is that when it comes to supporting employees’ health, traditional approaches will fail to get employees what they need, when they need it.

At Jellyvision, we believe it’s time to shift our approach. Let’s stop pushing mental health benefits during Mental Health Month, and start pulling employees in by providing guidance when they submit a claim for an out-of-network provider. It’s time to engage employees at the moments when their benefits are top-of-mind, and show them better ways to navigate the complex world of healthcare.

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In what ways can other employers/ organizations encourage a culture of health and wellness?

RB: It’s a lot harder to try and convince people that they’re looking at a good brand, rather than simply being a great one. I suggest the following: • Put people at the center of your business. Your employees are by far the best advocates for your business.

Make sure they feel valued and cared for so that they love your business just as much as you do.

• Choose the right talent and keep them. People are what make the cogs turn in a business. A business simply can’t succeed without the success of its people, so not only should you pick the right people, but you should do everything in your power to help them grow and develop. Don’t second guess them; empower them.

• Listen to your staff. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to listen to your staff.

People can be your best asset, or your most fierce opposition, so making sure you know how they feel and getting them on board is important. Nobody likes a dictatorship.

• Be bold. Try new things: When it comes to testing out new ideas in the workplace, it can feel like a bit of a gamble. Nobody can predict whether

or not it will work in the long term, but then again, how do you know until you try? You also need to get senior people to practice, push, and encourage any health and wellness policies a company has come up with to make sure everyone is making the most of them.

• Create a workplace that generates its own legacy. If a business is good, does good, and makes others feel good, then it creates its own legacy.

AL: Before we make meaningful steps toward a culture of health and wellness, we have to start by recognizing some hard truths.

First, people just don’t care until it’s personal. They’re not thinking about their wellness benefits until their kid breaks an arm, they need to visit a therapist, or they’re faced with a pandemic.

And second, the system lacks trust.

People aren’t forthcoming about their health data and employees have a natural distrust of the providers and vendors who offer benefits information.

Even employers are seen as having ulterior motives.

Prior to improving the health and wellness of our employees, we need to recognize and solve for these problems, and that starts by cultivating genuine benefits engagement. n

The Future of Your Employees’ Mental Health Employee care is critical as the workforce and the world battle and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Have you considered what your workforce needs from an employee assistance program (EAP)?

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he COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated another epidemic that has long been plaguing the U.S. workforce: isolation and loneliness. The pandemic forced many employees to work from home, cutting them off from the camaraderie and resources only available in the physical workspace.

This had a massive impact on our nation’s mental health, with nearly one-third of adults reporting feelings of anxiety or depression in June 2020, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally,

more than 1 in 10 adults said they had considered suicide, which was double the rate from the previous year’s report.

In the workforce, this mental health epidemic affects engagement, productivity, retention, and absenteeism, but beyond the business sense, employers have an obligation to care for both the physical and mental well-being of their employees.

Employee care By giving members 24/7 access to a network of over 1,800 chaplains, Marketplace Chaplains has represented the best in employee care since 1984.

“It’s kind of like having a lifeboat right beside you every step of the way,” said Jason Brown, chief marketing officer at Marketplace Chaplains.

Whether it’s guidance, assistance, or just a caring person who’s willing to listen, chaplains have long been used by hospitals, police and fire stations, sports teams, and many other societal institutions.

Marketplace Chaplains brings the tried-and-true services of chaplains to the workplace — this includes their proprietary MyCHap app with embedded video chat, allowing employees to get in touch with their Chaplain Care Team face to face, from anywhere, 24/7.

PHOTO: MARKETPLACE CHAPLAINS

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“A chaplain says, ‘My time is your time, and what is important to you is important to me,’” Brown said. “I’m not going to judge you, I’m not going to criticize you; I may not even have a solution. But you know what, I’m going to listen, and I’m going to care enough to follow up with you and help you all I can.”

Better benefit Marketplace Chaplains improves upon and helps workers get more out of their EAPs. For example, professional therapy counselors can be a great resource for employees, but studies show it takes as many as six sessions to build the trust

it takes to achieve tangible results. These programs also tend to be reactive, rather than proactive, meaning they’re mostly used after an incident has already happened.

By making over 5,000 workplace visits across North America each week, Marketplace Chaplains lays the groundwork to build a relationship of trust between workers and chaplains.

“You never know how many people — if we weren’t there and hadn’t helped somebody — would have started going down the path of suicide or theft or spousal abuse or leaving the company,” Brown said.

And while EAPs can carry utilization rates as low as 7 percent, more than half of employees who have access to Marketplace Chaplains take advantage of the benefit.

“We help get employees connected into their other benefits, and to use an EAP,” Brown said. “We actually bolster those usage rates.”

Back to basics As your organization grows, it can be difficult to offer the same level of employee care you had when you were just starting out. Marketplace Chaplains helps bring that human element back to your business.

“It’s not an event, it’s not self-help, it’s not a program,” Brown said. “It’s an ever-present resource.” n Dustin Brennan

Learn more about how Marketplace Chaplains can help your employees feel and be their best by visiting mchapusa.com.

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How to Create a Company Culture That Sets You Apart Kathryn Minshew is the founder and CEO of The Muse, an online platform that helps job seekers find employers that align with their values and vise versa.

We asked her about the employee engagement and company culture initiatives that really matter to today’s workers.

What challenges have you seen companies face as employees are working from home?

Companies have always relied on their culture to compete for talent, but in

the last few years many have been allowed to become a bit lazy, assuming that a ping pong table or free snacks “counts” as a great culture or workplace. But with everyone working from home, companies have been forced to articulate their culture and values more explicitly, without relying on their office spaces, perks, or free food to do it for them. We’re seeing a trend toward greater authenticity, with companies relying on short, homemade videos of employees talking about their jobs and workplaces, rather than glossy, highly produced brand videos.

What are some strategies companies can employ to prevent employee burnout and retain top talent?

It’s a lot less expensive to keep your current employees happy and productive than to lose them and have to hire new ones. It’s why at The Muse we’re very focused on helping employers not only hire great people but also keep them. In fact, I believe companies need to completely rethink their relationship with talent — to understand what draws people to choose them as an employer, what keeps them happy, and what causes them to leave.

When we start working with a new partner at The Muse, we often encourage them to go through a process of tapping their current employees for insights and data about what it’s really like to work there. We have a software platform that does this, but for companies that are running their own process, you can ask questions like, “What differentiates us from other places you’ve worked?

What works well for you about how we get work done here?

What might frustrate a new employee? What traits about how we work are most likely to cause someone to love

working here or hate working here?” As much as possible, you want to identify what makes you different — and encourage your employees to be honest about the good and the bad.

Then, understand which aspects of your workplace and culture you want to change, and be clear and transparent in the steps you’re taking. It’s also critically important that you accurately and authentically communicate culture to candidates and prospective hires outside the company so people can make informed decisions about whether you’re the right employer for them. Again, it’s so much less expensive in the long run to invest in getting the hiring process right rather than rushing it or trying to convince a candidate you’re something that you’re not — and paying the price later on. n

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Why Enterprises Need a Robust Video Communication Platform To be successful, enterprises must remain connected with employees. Forwardthinking employers are realizing the benefits of engagement — including higher retention, 21 percent more profitability, and 17 percent more productivity according to Gallup.

However, with virtualized offices, work-at-home mandates, and decreased travel, it’s never been more challenging to cultivate engagement. And a one-size-fits-all approach will

no longer suffice.

Four distinct generations of employees occupy the workforce, leading to an infinite number of work styles and engagement preferences.

Which means employers are having to solve for engagement issues they’ve never addressed before.

“True engagement is about the organization, specifically employees knowing how their efforts he lp the company achieve its goals,” said Eric Rudolf, VP of GTM at Brightcove. “Non-engaged employees

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—those who don’t understand the ‘why ’ —are more likely to float, drift, get disenfranchised, become negative, lose motivation, and lose productivity. And many organizations do not possess the infrastructure or strategy to engage each employee on their own terms.”

The power of video Even as some return to offices, many want the convenience of working from home — while employers need to maintain engaging cultures.

To accomplish this, enter-

prises need access to an array of communication tools, and more specifically video tools.

“The true power of video is that it puts control of the engagement process in the hands of employees, which is where it should have been all along,” Rudolf said. It also removes the requirement of being physically present to benefit from engagement-related activities, enabling the true hybrid work environment most organizations will be required to support going forward.”

With the Brightcove platform, executive teams, internal communications staff, and HR departments can easily create, manage, and deliver live or on-demand content that drives engagement to any employee around the globe. And video gives employees the power to engage when they want to be engaged and turn off when they want to be turned off. n Dustin Brennan

Brightcove transforms the way enterprises engage global employee bases. Visit brightcove. com/en/products/ enterprise-video-suite to learn more.

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4 Ways Leaders at All Levels Can Support Employee Mental Health Mental health challenges don’t discriminate based on seniority level, and there certainly has been no shortage of stressors lately.

I

’d be hard-pressed to find someone who could honestly say that their mental health hasn’t been negatively affected over the last 18 months. The lines between the personal and professional continue to blur, making it impossible to compartmentalize. As leaders — from the CEO to an individual contributor who mentors a junior team member — we all have a part to play in supporting each other.

In a mentally healthy workplace, leaders at all levels should understand, visibly and proactively support, and normalize mental health. Here are a few actions that we recommend at Mind Share Partners, a national nonprofit that’s changing the culture of workplace mental health through public awareness, professional communities, and strategic training and advising to leading companies: 1. Share your story Opening up about your own challenges, whether explicitly mental health related or not, gives employees permission to do the same. This is one of the most powerful things that all leaders can do. It normalizes that ups and downs are part of the human experi-

ence. Even a small amount of vulnerability can open the door for employees to feel comfortable reaching out and seeking help when they need it.

2. Model mentally healthy behaviors Employees look to their leaders to gauge what is truly permissible at work. Even if a company provides unlimited paid time off, if a manager never takes vacation, it’s unlikely that her direct reports will feel like they can take one, either. Leaders at all levels can lead through their actions by marking activities that are supportive of their mental health on their calendars or intentionally talking about them. These can include breaks during the workday for exercise, meditation, or therapy appointments. Leaders can hold “no meeting” days, set hours for focused work, and sign off during non-work hours and vacations.

As a leader, prioritizing self-care and boundaries will signal to employees that they can do the same.

3. Educate yourself and your teams At a minimum, it’s critical for leaders to make everyone aware of the mental health benefits and other resources available at their organization. These

supports cannot be overcommunicated. Ideally, all employees should also be trained on what mental health is and isn’t, how it shows up at work, how to talk about it, and how to be an ally to others. This is a chance to manage culture, not crises. A proactive, preventive approach with a management lens works best.

4. Promote flexibility Everyone has navigated their own unique set of challenges over the last 18 months, from managing their kids’ virtual school to living alone. Even when the pandemic ends, employees will continue to have varying needs. It’s essential for leaders to have conversations with each of their direct reports to understand their specific preferences and working styles and then create new team norms. This is true inclusion and will enable employees to perform at their best. Needs will shift over time, so checking in regularly will set everyone up for success and sustainability.

As we continue to reimagine workplaces and work itself, let’s prioritize mental health. Leaders of all kinds have a critical role to play. n Kelly Greenwood, Founder and CEO, Mind Share Partners

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P H OTO : T H R I V E G

LO B A

L

Combating the Stress and Burnout Epidemic in the Workplace

During the pandemic, stress and burnout moved to the center of our conversations about workplace health, and employee well-being quickly shot to the top of nearly every company’s agenda.

W

hen I laun c h e d Thrive Global in November of 2016, the topics of stress, burnout, and employee well-being were still on the fringes of our conversations about work. As Thrive grew, so did awareness about employee well-being and resilience. More and more company leaders were in once we’d show them the science demonstrating a direct connection between well-being and productivity.

Meanwhile, stories about stress and burnout steadily

moved from the lifestyle section of newspapers to the business pages. In 2019, the World Health Organization declared burnout to be an “occupational phenomenon,” and added it to its international classification of diseases.

As each year passed, more and more people became desperate to change the way they work and live. And then the pandemic hit. Suddenly stress and burnout moved to the center of our conversation, and employee well-being quickly shot to the top of nearly every company’s agenda.

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The new normal Leaders now realize that employee well-being isn’t just something that’s nice to have — it’s an essential strategy for success. Companies are aware that human qualities like focus, empathy, collaboration, and resilience are critical to being able to thrive in times of uncertainty and disruption. But as the past year has shown us, we can’t access these qualities when we’re stressed or burned out. We can’t engage in strategic, longrange thinking when we’re just trying to make it through the day or the next hour.

Now, as we are preparing for an uncertain hybrid future, it’s clear that employee well-being must be the foundation on which we build the workplace of the future. And what’s also clear is how limited and inadequate our pre-pandemic thinking about well-being was. Well-being is not a warmand-fuzzy perk. It’s not about ping pong tables, in-house DJs, catered buffets, or healthy snacks in the common area, as valuable as those can be. It’s not something we give ourselves as a reward to make up for burning ourselves out.

Working towards the future At Thrive, we’ve built a methodology using cutting-edge science and years of testing and iterating to crack the code on behavior change, moving people from awareness to action. Since we launched in 2016, we’ve helped employees at more than 100 organizations in over 40 countries boost both well-being and productivity with Thrive’s Microsteps — small, science-backed steps to help build healthy habits.

Across our customer base, we’re deploying our continuous, real-time behavior change ecosystem. At the core is the Thrive app, which helps users discover and track Microsteps, and acts as a behavior change coach in their pocket. It’s reinforced by webinars that spark and sustain culture change, and internal and external marketing campaigns that amplify the voices of company leaders and employees at every level.

With most companies moving to an ever-evolving hybrid model of work, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine work and productivity — not going back to the way things were, but shaping an employee experience that prioritizes human skills: empathy, resilience, collaboration, team building, and creativity. It’s clear that the workplace of the future is going to be defined by constant change. And it is equally clear that these qualities are what allow individuals and companies not just to navigate uncertainty and change, but to grow, get better, and thrive. n Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Thrive Global and The Huffington Post

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Why Companies Are Giving Time Off to Fight Burnout Over the summer, Nike gave its corporate employees an extra week off to prioritize their mental health — nonprofits like Mental Health America and the National Alliance on Mental Illness did the same.

This past summer, sports apparel giant Nike closed its offices and gave corporate employees an additional week of time off in order to focus on well-being.

“Our senior leaders are all sending a clear message: Take the time to unwind, destress, and spend time with your loved ones. Do not work,” wrote senior manager Matt Marrazzo on LinkedIn. A pair of mental health nonprofits did the same.

Both Mental Health America (MHA) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) gave employees an additional week of paid time off to prioritize their mental health, acknowledging that it has been a difficult 18 months living during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognition “When companies recognize that employees are people first, and that those people have been through a tough year and a half, that makes employees feel seen. We know from our research that feeling seen and validated can go a long way toward preventing burnout,” Schroeder Stribling, president and CEO at Mental Health America, said.

Earlier in 2021, a Mental Health America survey of 5,000 employees across 17 industries found that most employees were experiencing signs of burnout. Eighty-three percent said they felt emotionally drained by their work.

A time of change On top of that, the majority of employees surveyed said they were seeking new employment opportunities. Over 56 percent reported that they spent time looking for a new position, compared to 40 percent of respondents in 2018.

“Employers that want to prevent rapid turnover and address burnout, which should be all employers, should take note of these company-wide mental health breaks,” Stribling said. “They should be thinking about how they can create a workplace that offers a mentally healthy environment and psychologically safe place for employees.”

In 2019, Mental Health America created the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, a certification program to recognize employers that are committed to creating mentally healthy workplaces. The program not only recognizes excellent workplaces but also educates companies about what they need to do in order to create workplaces of mental health excellence.

Taylor Adams, Director of Workplace Mental Health, Mental Health America

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Going the Extra Mile for Remote Employees When it comes to mitigating risk and prioritizing the health of all employees during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, health and safety measures like social distancing and mask wearing can’t be overemphasized.

But physical health and safety is only one part of a workplace pandemic response. Mental health resources must be at the forefront of employee wellness, says Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRMSCP, president and CEO of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) — the world’s largest HR association.

There are many employees struggling to work from home.

How can employers help those working remotely?

Let’s face it: When work is home and home is work, it’s harder to develop relationships, collaborate, and even nurture workplace culture. Employers must acknowledge their role in supporting employees and encourage an environment where people feel safe to share their struggles.

Transparency is key to creating a positive workplace culture — especially in times of challenge and change. If your team is working from home — or even if you’re in the workplace — it’s important to communicate. For example, at SHRM, we host biweekly calls to update all staff at the organization.

These calls are an opportunity to connect, for employees to ask questions about returning to the office, and to discuss challenges or other aspects of working from home. Not only is it a promise made to the team, it is a commit-

ment I believe is essential to managing during this difficult time.

Stress is universal right now, from job stability, to health, safety, and family matters, and these issues are likely to persist beyond 2021. Lessen uncertainty with clear internal communications plans and, most importantly, follow through.

How should employers monitor employee well-being?

Employee wellness should be top of mind, and employers must recognize that mental health is just as important as physical health.

In fact, SHRM research found 1 in 4 workers frequently feel down, depressed, or hopeless — yet more than 1 in 3 workers reported having done nothing to cope with these feelings.

Signs of stress include irritation, anxiety, and lack of motivation, and 22 percent of employees report having trouble concentrating. Employers should keep an eye out for key indicators through regularly scheduled check-ins.

Encourage remote workers to turn on their cameras during virtual meetings. Staff surveys can also uncover employee struggles and needs, especially for those less inclined to speak up.

How can we help employees cope?

It’s important to make sure employees have access to and understand the mental health resources available to them. Telehealth and employee assistance programs can offer the support needed for a remote workforce.

Encourage employees to speak with someone they trust about their concerns and emotions, even encouraging them to get a regular mental health check-up in the same way they schedule an annual physical. It is critical to provide resources that allow workers to feel safe and supported while reducing stigma around mental health in the workplace.

You can also model healthy behaviors, like maintaining a regular schedule and creating a clear distinction between work and personal time. Emphasize tips for stress relief, such as exercise and workday breaks, and normalize seeking help when it is needed.

How can we increase employee morale?

As an employer, it’s important to recognize and reward the good work being done — perhaps now more than ever. With many workers now remote, traditional methods may not be feasible.

However, that shouldn’t deter you from recognizing a job well done.

Now is the time for employers to go the extra mile to support their employees.

Small gifts and meal deliveries are great ways to boost spirits. If the company is facing financial difficulties, consider alternative methods of appreciation. Give your team a few extra hours off on a Friday. Send a thank-you card to team members or an email to the company outlining a job well done.

Recognition doesn’t need to be elaborate. Thoughtful, sincere gestures can go a long way in making employees feel valued and engaged while working remotely. n

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MODERN HEALTH

Leading Experts Share Challenges in Human Resources During the Pandemic Nikki Salenetri HR Vice President, Gympass

Chris McLaughlin Chief Marketing Officer, LumApps

Arianna Huffington Founder and CEO, Thrive Global and The Huffington Post

John Adcock SVP of People Operations, Care.com

During the pandemic, the relationship between employers and employees has changed dramatically. HR professionals have to keep up with the changing environment, especially with the increase in popularity of hybrid work.

What is the main challenge HR professionals and managers are facing today when it comes to overseeing a hybrid workforce?

John Adcock: Onboarding new team

members and fully immersing them into the culture of the organization continues to be a challenge of a hybrid workforce.

Whether you’re trying to teach them a skill, bolster relationships, or build excitement, there must be investment in

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fostering a culture that gives remote and in-office employees an equal and shared voice. At Care.com, we’re seeing success with things like virtual coffees, HR office hours, and both work and non-work-related conversations via Slack.

Chris McLaughlin: At LumApps, we like to talk about engagement, enablement, and empowerment — the three pillars in HR that help with considerable challenges such as employee development and retention. Keeping

a pulse on the mood of the workforce has become more difficult and more important at the same time, and creating and maintaining a solid culture is difficult to do without “water cooler chats.” In a time of change, the goals are both to keep teams connected without being in the same physical location, which means ensuring that remote employees have the same experience and get the same information as those that are in the office, providing employees tools for collaboration that are effective without being disruptive, and ensuring that the company is well-positioned to achieve targeted business outcomes.

CM: First, the direct cost of a disengaged employee is between $4K to $10K annually on average. A properly engaged and enabled workforce is 50 percent more efficient, and the average cost savings for a large enterprise can be in excess of $25 million per week. Ultimately, companies with strong employee experiences are 2.2 times more likely to achieve their targeted business outcomes and 1.6 times more likely to outperform their competitors.

Arianna Huffington: We now know an enormous amount about how stress and burnout affect us, both at home and at work. The science is clear that when we prioritize our well-being, we’re more creative, productive, and resilient, and we make better decisions. Well-being isn’t just a perk; it’s a competitive advantage. And there’s a direct connection between the health of a company’s bottom line and the health and well-being of every company’s most important resource — its people. So in the same way well-being boosts our immune system, culture serves as a company’s immune system, giving it the resilience to meet inevitable challenges.

Nikki Salenetri: In general, employees who are more engaged and satisfied with their organization are more likely to be more productive.

This connection has been cited by a variety of organizations, from Forbes to Harvard Business School. In addition to improving employee p r o d u c t i v i t y, engagement has many other positive effects, like engaged employees being more enthusiastic, positively influencing other employees, providing better customer services, and, of course, lower turnover and absenteeism.

Can you speak on the relationship between employee engagement and a company’s overall productivity?

JA: The reality is, most employees want to work hard, produce excellent work, and support their team members. However, increased employee engagement is not something that leadership can simply squeeze out of their employees; it’s something they will willingly give when working in a culture that excites them and supports what they need to be their most productive self.

AH: My turning point came in 2007, when I collapsed from exhaustion and broke my cheekbone. I had bought into the idea that burnout was just the price we have to pay for success. But I came to realize that that’s just a collective myth. So I learned everything I could about the connection between well-being and p r o d u c t i v i t y.

And I made a lot of changes to my life based on what I found out. I started getting more sleep.

I started meditating again.

And I became much more deliberate about building in time to recharge.

The reality is, most employees want to work hard, produce excellent work, and support their team members.

However, increased employee engagement is not something that leadership can simply squeeze out of their employees.

What was the turning point that made you realize your workplace burnout was beyond the point of comfort?

Where should leaders start when it comes to implementing employee engagement and well-being practices into their team’s routine?

JA: I’m a staunch advocate of human-centered design for solving HR problems.

At Care.com, we conducted one-on-one interviews with employees across the organization to better understand the benefits and risks of having our people work hybrid.

From there, we addressed some of the issues head-on. For example, we heard an abundance of meetings were causing burnout and fatigue, so we implemented a strict three-hour no meeting

block on Tuesday afternoons, and we’re already hearing favorable feedback.

CM: We are convinced that the most important thing is to listen to the teams’ feedback. It’s necessary to do this frequently to avoid building up issues and to make sure employees have multiple avenues to provide feedback to management. It seems important for leaders to co-construct action plans based on feedback in order to respond precisely to the expectations of the teams and thus increase the engagement score.

What is one piece of advice you have for company leaders who feel a disconnect within their employees?

CM: Listen and communicate. It is crucial to react quickly and to understand where the feeling of disconnect comes from in order to take the necessary measures. Provide the environment, both in office and digitally, and tools for your employees to communicate with each other and leadership. Identify issues early and collaborate with the affected teams for solutions.

NS: Talk to them. The best way to understand how your employees are feeling and to bridge any gap is by creating an environment where they feel comfortable sharing feedback with you.

Find the way that works best for your organization — whether that’s through anonymous surveys, focus groups, informal chats, etc. However, once you have this feedback, it’s critical that you refer back to it when implementing initiatives and making changes so that your employees know that you are listening to them, even if this means explaining why a decision was made that was different from their feedback.

If your employees do not feel seen or heard, they may begin to provide less feedback over time. This transparency will help to reinforce an open and communicative culture. n

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