The start of a new year often brings a surge of enthusiasm fuelled by ambitious resolutions. Employees will enter January with fresh goals, heightened motivation, and the determination to transform their personal and professional lives.

As February rolls in, that initial spark can begin to dim; those resolutions that someone set out to achieve may have started to slip away, and suddenly they find themself feeling deflated as reality settles back in. Change is a great thing, and goals are important to set, but if these goals are not realistic (as many resolutions tend to be!) then this can result in feeling disappointment, frustration, and emotional fatigue.

Emotional Health Awareness Day presents a timely opportunity for employers. Rather than viewing it as a day off or a wellness checkbox, it could be considered a strategic moment for employers to engage with their teams through thoughtful check-ins – essentially, mini coaching sessions that can reenergize your employees, acknowledge their efforts, and support their emotional wellbeing at a time in the year where they may be coming to terms with the reality of resolutions. Here are some of the best ways employers can achieve this:

• Reframe Emotional Health Day as a Focus Opportunity – communicate that Emotional Health Day isn’t just about rest; it’s about reflection and growth. Encourage managers to schedule brief one-to-one check-ins leading up to or following the day. These conversations should be supportive, judgment-free spaces to discuss how employees are feeling and what they need to be at their best.
• Focus on Progress, Not Perfection – many resolutions falter because individuals set overly ambitious targets without recognizing the incremental progress they have already made. During these check-ins, guide the conversation towards what employees have accomplished so far. Celebrate those wins and help them reframe any perceived ‘failures’ as learning experiences.
• Use Coaching Techniques to Empower Employees – employ basic coaching techniques to make these sessions impactful:
  • Active Listening: give your full attention, showing empathy and understanding without immediately jumping to solutions.
  • Powerful Questions: ask open-ended questions like, “What’s been working well for you so far this year?” or “What’s one small change you can make to feel more aligned with your goals?”
  • Goal Recalibration: help employees set realistic, achievable short-term goals.
• Normalize Emotional Ebbs and Flows – remind yourself and your teams that emotional highs and lows are a natural part of life, especially when striving for personal growth. Destigmatizing these fluctuations fosters a psychologically safe environment where employees feel comfortable with their vulnerability and asking for support.
• Provide Resources and Ongoing Support – don’t let the conversation end with a single check-in. Share resources such as access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), workshops or mindfulness apps that can help employees build their emotional health arsenal. As well as this, ensure your regular one-to-one conversations include a focus on what all employees need to be at their best throughout the year to maintain healthy, high performance as part of a supportive culture.

Emotional Health Awareness Day can be a catalyst for meaningful dialogue and personal growth within your organization. By intentionally using this time to connect with your team, you not only support their emotional wellbeing but also strengthen engagement, resilience, and overall job satisfaction. In doing so, you create a workplace where employees feel valued – not just as professionals, but as whole people. If you would like to discuss how we can help support you in offering wellbeing check-ins and mini coaching sessions to your team members, get in touch with me at joanna.tippins@orgshakers.com

How was January for you?

As the new year begins, it is common to feel a bit of a slump after the festive period packed with traditions, colorful lights, and good food.

This feeling, known as the ‘January Blues’ or the ‘Winter Woes,’ refers to a general decline in mood, lethargy, or even a sense of depression during the first month of the year. If December brings a rush of adrenaline, January is when the reality sets in.

For most people, this feeling fades as they get back into the routine. However, for some, it can linger due to factors like financial stress exacerbated by the holiday season or the struggle with seasonal affective disorder (SAD)  during the winter months.

For this reason, employers aiming to re-engage employees often use the ‘Winter Woes’ as an opportunity to focus attention on their wellbeing strategy. This makes a great deal of sense – but it is important to maintain and build upon this momentum rather than let it wane as the year goes on.

And, let’s be honest, we can all be a bit guilty of this at this time of year! Some of us will have signed up for that new gym membership and started taking part in Veganuary only to discover that these resolutions quickly fizzle out. Suddenly the gym membership is just another card cluttering your wallet – and no amount of carrots and hummus can stop you daydreaming about cheeseburgers!

The corporate version of this is a phenomenon known as ‘Wellbeing Washing.’

‘Wellbeing Washing’ occurs when companies express their commitment to mental and physical health but fail to demonstrate this consistently through their actions and practices.

And it’s more common than you might think. Indeed, one study found that more than a third (35%) of businesses are perceived by their employees to be wellbeing washing.

To avoid this pitfall, consistency and clarity are key. Wellbeing has gained significant importance on the corporate agenda, especially in the post-pandemic era. Employers must ensure that their efforts to support the physical, mental, social and financial health of their workforce are consistent throughout the year.

While happy, healthy workers naturally contribute innovative thinking and productivity, a study by Mind found that 60% of employees believe that employer-led wellbeing initiatives would increase their motivation and the likelihood of them recommending their company as a great place to work.

So, in the same way employers should be committing to redouble their wellbeing efforts as they move through January; as we begin February they should be committing to maintain that effort through the year ahead.

If you would like to discuss how we can assist your business with its wellbeing strategies, please get in touch with us.

I think it’s safe to say that most of us have suffered through a breakup in our lives. Whether this be a relationship ending, navigating a divorce, or dealing with a ‘situationship’ gone sour, it’s no secret that breakups are a challenging and distracting time.

In spite of this, what we tend to see in many workplaces is a taboo around the topic.

Despite the fact that these occurrences will have huge impact on an individual, it can feel somewhat awkward and inappropriate to discuss this at work due to its personal nature.

Yet, the reality is that 79% of employees said that a relationship breakdown had an impact on their ability to work. And what’s even more interesting to note is that more than half of these respondents (57%) claimed they did not receive the required support from their employers, ultimately resulting in almost one in ten leaving the company within a year.

From this, it’s clear that how employers support those staff members going through the breakdown of a relationship can be instrumental to minimizing the effect it has on productivity, engagement, and retention rates. This is why having tailored support strategies in place can help to make a real difference. So, here are some strategies that employers should consider:

• Fostering a Culture of Empowerment – the culture of an organization plays such a vital role in helping employees feel comfortable, safe, and like they belong. If employees feel that they can bring their authentic selves to work, they will be much more likely to share when they are going through such an emotionally difficult time. Their workplace should make them feel empowered when they express vulnerabilities like this, and ultimately this will ensure that employers can begin offering proper support to those staff members.
• Impact on Mental Health – 60% of employees said that their breakup caused stress, anxiety, or depression, and a further 23% had to take sick or unpaid leave as a direct result. Your mental health is undoubtedly affected when you go through such an emotional experience, so it’s important for managers to be trained to recognize the warning signs of an employee struggling and to signpost them correctly to their Employee Assistance Program, where they can seek counselling support to help them. However, it’s also important for employees to express that they are struggling as this helps speed up the process of getting the correct support!
• Offering Flexibility – flexibility can be so crucial for employees during this time. With the potential for having to rearrange childcare schedules, or having to find new accommodation, a relationship breakdown can leave an employee needing that flexibility as they find their feet. It’s worth reviewing the company’s policy around compassionate leave as well, and whether this should be applicable for those going through this.   
• Updating Employee Benefits – it’s important for employers to assist with the administrative changes that may have to be considered with a breakup. For example, health insurance may have to be updated to remove certain claimants depending on the context of the split, or updating beneficiary plans accordingly to accurately reflect the current situation. However, employers need to approach this with a level of care in mind and communicate with the employee to find the best time to sit down and do this.
• Reassuring Employees – reassurance can go such a long way when it comes to struggling with a breakup. I know from firsthand experience that being made to feel like an inconvenience or a burden when going through a breakup just makes you feel worse, and for me it ultimately led to my resignation. Ensuring that people managers are trained appropriately so to avoid the prospect of making an employee feel like an inconvenience whilst they navigate this new chapter in their life is so vital for managing the overall impact it will have on the individual and on the wider business.

Productivity levels always ebb and flow, and this is natural. Our personal lives can sometimes overlap with our working ones, and it shouldn’t be the norm of employees to compartmentalize their personal struggles whilst at work. Employers who can recognize the humanness behind their employees are the ones that are going to be most in tune with their workforces, ultimately fostering a sense of loyalty amongst their people that will be hugely profitable in the long run.

If you would like to discuss how we can help design and implement tailored wellbeing strategies for breakups, please get in touch with me at brittany@orgshakers.com

In the workplace, digital communication has become a staple. Emails are now sent in favor of phone calls, instant messages have replaced the slow back-and-forth of physical meetings, and having all of our work needs condensed onto apps on our phones means that we are always contactable at all times of the day.

However, too much of anything isn’t always good, as all these technological advancements do come with a price: ping fatigue.

‘Ping fatigue’ is a type of mental exhaustion which is brought on by constant notifications from work-related tools such as email, instant messaging apps, task management systems and calendar reminders. Employees are battling with a tsunami of pings all throughout their day that can lead to feelings of distraction and overwhelm that ultimately hinder their productivity and wellbeing – even though the goal of these time-saving services is to make life easier. And the lines become even more blurred when we consider remote and hybrid working arrangements, as the boundaries between work and home can sometimes start to blur in an unhealthy way that can make it hard to know when to truly switch off and silence those pings.

Interestingly, cognitive research has found that it takes an average of 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption. In other words, each new notification can actually end up disrupting an entire workflow, even though it is intended to be a gentle ping reminder. With micro-tasks constantly beckoning workers for their attention, this results in employees spiralling into a perpetual state of multitasking that will increase the likelihood of errors and stress.

So, what can employers be doing to help mitigate this rising ping fatigue?

• Establish Clear Communication Protocols – set guidelines for when it’s acceptable to send messages or initiate meetings (for example, only during specific hours or with expectations for a delayed response outside of work hours), and encourage teams to establish specific times in the day for deep work without interruptions. During these designated hours, employees could disable their notifications so that they can focus without feeling pressured by incoming messages.
• Limit Notification Settings – employers should advise employees to customize their notification settings across different platforms so that they only get alerts for critical messages. This could look like prioritizing direct messages over group chats to help minimize interruptions, or setting your applications to ‘do not disturb’ during focused work hours.
• Promote Mental Wellbeing – encourage employees to take regular microbreaks throughout the working day, as this has been proven to help with the management of stress. If employees actively set aside little pockets of time to take a moment for themselves away from their avalanche of pings, this can really help towards the management of their mental wellbeing.
• Provide Awareness Training – make an effort to educate employees around the impacts of ping fatigue, and offer workshops or training sessions on managing notifications, time management, and setting boundaries when digitally communicating.

Ping fatigue is becoming increasingly common in workplaces around the world. Although digital tools have transformed the way we work, they have also introduced new challenges for employers and employees alike. However, when used strategically, and with an emphasis on high-quality work and well-being rather than constant availability, these tools can help organizations foster a healthier and more fulfilling environment for everyone. If you would like to discuss how we can help foster this environment through mitigating ping fatigue, please get in touch with us today!

The theme of bettering ourselves is prominent as we head into a new year. Many of us endeavour to make changes to ourselves and our lifestyles, often spurred on by a new year’s resolution or two. But how do we increase the chance that our resolutions will stick around past January? How can we avoid the February fizzle?

Good news: we know something about managing change from our work lives and those best practices can help us with the changes we want to make outside of the office. When you think about it, rolling out a new performance management system or reworking an internal communications strategy can be straightforward, as they rely on the more technical aspects of change. We create new processes, document new procedures, and train teams on what to do differently.

But when it comes to mindset shifts – getting people to think differently – the challenge is greater. Changing a mindset goes beyond altering the way we do things – we have to alter the way we perceive the world around us, and this requires time, intention, and effort. Adapting a few best practices from change management can help:

• Set a clear objective and definition of success

Ask yourself: Why am I trying to adopt this new mindset? What do I hope to achieve? Perhaps you want to develop a more growth-oriented outlook or become more patient in your leadership style. Without a clear objective, it’s difficult to measure progress or stay motivated.

In change management, we establish clear success criteria and milestones. When managing your own mindset shift, it helps to do the same: define what successful change means to you. Is it when you instinctively approach challenges with curiosity instead of frustration? Or when your team starts to notice and appreciate your more open-minded approach? Defining success helps keep you focused and provides a sense of achievement along the way.

• Prepare your stakeholders and create accountability with supportive partners

Every mindset shift has a ripple effect on those around us—whether it’s our colleagues, friends, or family. Ask yourself: Who are my ‘stakeholders’ in this change? How might my new mindset affect them, and how might they react? Providing some ‘advance notice’ to those affected can help manage expectations and foster support.

Accountability partners can dramatically increase the likelihood of a successful mindset shift. Just as we engage sponsors and champions in organizational change efforts, we can enlist trusted colleagues or friends to act as our personal support network. These individuals can provide encouragement, offer feedback, and help hold us accountable.

• Build in some structure

In the workplace, we implement policies and tools to support technical change, so think about how this can be adapted for personal mindset shifts: structural changes might include setting up reminders, scheduling regular check-ins with your accountability partners, or keeping a journal to track progress and reflect on lessons learned. These reinforcements create an environment conducive to lasting change.

• Be kind and patient with yourself

Finally, be realistic and kind to yourself. Organizational change takes time, and so does personal transformation. Don’t expect an overnight shift. Set realistic expectations for how long it might take for your new mindset to become second nature and remember that setbacks are part of the process…the key is to keep moving forward, one step at a time.

You may be thinking: “Best practices from work?  Really?” This approach may feel like overkill, but it is great way to demonstrate respect for your efforts through good planning. Applying proven change management principles to personal change increases the likelihood that your new mindset will take hold, and come February, those changes will be here to stay.

If you would like to discuss how we can help you build or strengthen a change management mindset, please get in touch with me at gordon.robinson@orgshakers.com or via our website.

Statistically, most of us will have a furry friend waiting for us at home; over half of UK adults and a whopping 66% of US households own a pet of some kind!

It’s very common for our pets to hold a special place in our heart, as they are considered just as important of a family member as anyone else. However, if an employee’s child were to fall ill or be in need, most employers would insist that they go and attend to them…but this isn’t necessarily the case when it comes to pets.

There is a bit of a grey area around the sudden need to have to care for any animal, as they don’t quite fall into the same category as needing to care for a family member…from a technical perspective. But from an emotional perspective, most employees would want to be able to care for their animals’ wellbeing, but it’s more than likely they wouldn’t be afforded the same leniency with paid time off (PTO) to do this.

Until now?

A new bill has recently been proposed in New York which updates the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act to allow workers to use sick leave to care for certain animals. If the bill were to go through, employees would be able to take time off for a “companion or service animal that needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a physical illness, injury or health condition”.  

The proposition of this update stems from the fact that pets are able to significantly reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as lower blood pressure. They can also provide emotional support and a sense of purpose, and so naturally if our pet were to become unwell, an owner would become distressed. This emotional strain can then easily begin to spill over into one’s working life, which will ultimately lead to an impact on focus, productivity, and general wellbeing.

However, there is some division when it comes to the popularity of introducing such a policy; People Management conducted a LinkedIn poll which found that 55% of respondents were in favor of this policy but 45% were opposed, highlighting a significant divide.

In some ways, it might be strange to consider offering PTO to care for pets in the UK when only recently was the Carer’s Leave Act introduced, allowing employees to take up to a week of unpaid leave off to care for a member of their family. If at the moment only unpaid leave is being offered to care for an elderly or unwell family member, than it may seem like a jump to be offering paid leave to attend to a pet.

Or is it simply time for employers to be offering paid leave for both? With some states like New York offering ‘Paid Family Leave’ to care for an elderly parent with a serious health condition, and considering offering PTO for the care of sickly pets, is New York leading the way in understanding what employees need and what would attract them to a workplace?

We will have to wait and see.

The New Year is always a time for reflection, and more often than not, this can lead to us reevaluating what things have been bringing us purpose in our life and where in our lives this purpose can be found. This is where The Purpose Effect: Building Meaning in Yourself, Your Role and Your Organization by Dan Pontefract comes into play.

Dan is a leadership and culture change strategist, a keynote speaker with over two decades of experience at companies such as SAP, TELUS, and Business Objects, and an author to a number of bestselling books.

In his book The Purpose Effect, Dan combines his years of experience with swathes of research on employee engagement to create a work about the three crucial areas of purpose that result in the Purpose Effect: individual, workplace role, and organizational. 

Purpose-driven organizations focus on more than just profits. They align personal, organizational, and role-based purposes, benefiting both employees and society. When these elements align, employees feel fulfilled and engaged, contributing towards better work. If there is a mismatch between an employee’s personal purpose and the organization’s goals, it can ultimately lead to dissatisfaction.

This is where the Purpose Effect comes in, and it arises from three main factors:

1. Personal Sense of Purpose: Employees need to have a motivating purpose. This involves growth, defining life goals, and maintaining ethical behavior. Employees should be continually asking themselves how they are evolving and how they want to be perceived at work.
2. Organizational Purpose: This defines why the company exists. It reflects the company’s principles, ethics, culture, and commitment to fair practices. Fair compensation, performance management, and recognition are essential for aligning employees with a company’s purpose.
3. Role-Based Purpose: Each employee’s role must align with their personal and organizational purpose. When employees see their work as a ‘calling’, they are more likely to engage with said work.

Dan’s book teaches employers how they can find what he dubs the ‘sweet spot’ – this is the intersection of personal, organizational, and role purposes. By achieving this alignment, leaders will be able to foster a community spirit within the organization that will lead to a more productive, motivated workforce, as a company without a clear purpose may struggle to attract and retain top talent.

If you would like to discuss how we can help implement the best strategies to achieve the Purpose Effect, please get in touch with us today!

In the meantime, be sure to grab a copy of The Purpose Effect – you can head over here for the US and here for the UK.

Last year, we asked the OrgShakers team what practices and ideologies they thought employers should be leaving behind as they ventured into the New Year.

Now, as another year comes to a close, we wanted to see what they believe should be left behind in 2024 in order to help propel sustainability and growth in the year to come:

• Our Founder David Fairhurst believes that the end of the year is a great time for HR leaders to be considering their key areas of focus for 2025, and this includes looking at what practices should be left behind in order to foster more innovative, inclusive, and employee-centric workplaces. This could be done by adopting outcome-centered models of managing performance, or placing a greater focus on strategic workforce planning to ensure the workforce is a future fit, or even looking into comprehensive wellbeing strategies to avoid employee burnout, to name a few. But what’s important to remember when looking at new practices is to be realistic, and this can be done by thinking of HR strategic objectives on three levels:
  • What are the basics that need to be maintained?
  • What are the areas that must continuously improve?
  • What are the big moves we need to focus on which will offer a transformative impact?
• Anya Clitheroe would like to stop hearing managers complaining about the Gen Z workforce! This year she has heard so many managers making the blanket statement that Gen Z have been spoilt and they don’t want to work hard or that they don’t show any initiative. Instead, Anya would like them to find a way to engage the younger workforce in a way that interests them. Have they clearly communicated ways of working expectations, and have they found out what does motivate them? At the very least, they need to see that not every Gen Z can be identical in their workstyle preferences!
• Speaking of leaders, Marty Belle believes that employers should leave behind rigidity and paternalistic leadership operating styles. These areas of inflexibility include enforcing Return to Work practices in cases where remote workers are more productive, or only offering fixed work schedules without taking into consideration some workers may not be morning people and would choose to work mid-day rather than early morning. Additionally, more flexible scheduling would accommodate childcare needs and parental involvement in their children’s extracurricular activities.
• Building on this, Lauren Kincaid believes that employers should be leaving behind a one-size-fits all approach when it comes to employment policies and employee benefits. The more personalized the employment experience, the more seen, heard and valued an employee feels, resulting in better employee engagement, loyalty and performance.
• Echoing Marty’s sentiment of rigidity, Sayid Hussein also believes employers should leave behind in 2024 a “9-to-5, in-office only” mentality. With advancements in technology and changing workforce dynamics, it’s time to embrace flexible working arrangements that prioritize outcomes over hours. Trusting employees to manage their time fosters creativity, improves retention, and acknowledges the diverse realities of modern life.
• Speaking of mindsets, Karen Cerrato believes that employers should be leaving behind short-term thinking. Whether at a corporate level or a management level, if we want longevity out of our employees, Kanen believes that need to start thinking strategically and long term. The days of people staying in a job for 10 yrs + “just because”, are long gone; we need to give them a reason to want to stay:  
  • Reactive decision-making: Shift toward proactive strategies that prioritize long-term growth and stability.
  • Underinvestment in talent: Invest in professional development and career growth opportunities for employees.
  • Top-down communication only: Foster two-way communication to engage employees and encourage innovation.
• Amanda Holland believes that employers need to be conducting their final Covid pandemic clean up: it’s time to finish assessing any processes or procedures developed specifically during the pandemic. Operationalize any efficiencies your company will be keeping by ensuring the language is up-to-date and free from pandemic references. Eliminate those policies, processes, and procedures that are no longer needed or applicable.
• Ken Merritt believes that employers should be leaving behind ‘reluctance’. Several companies have been slow to hire and fast to retire because there has been a ‘cloud of reluctance’ hanging over the economy since 2022 – it’s time for employers to be leaving that behind for good in 2024.
• Therese Procter knows that 2024 has been a very challenging year, with the key topics of remote working, political uncertainty, and the skills gap taking many of the highlight spots. But an area that she believes is often pushed down the agenda (whether this be due to the amount of effort and/or cost it requires) is mental and financial wellbeing. That’s why she believes that employers should be leaving behind poor and ineffective mental health support strategies and programs that are outdated and not fit for purpose, and instead take on a fresh approach to wellbeing this new year that better supports mental and financial aspects of life.

If you would like to get in touch with us about any of the points raised by our team, or if you have a different concerns that you were hoping to leave in 2024 and need assistance in shedding it, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!

Equally, if you want some on-demand advice and strategies, why not book in a 1-hour private consultation with one of our seasoned HR professionals? Take a look at our OrgShakers CL!CK service for more details!

From all of us at OrgShakers, we wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

For a whole host of reasons, this time of year can be challenging for some. Because while most of us will be making merry, others will be experiencing a very different set of emotions.

One prominent issue is loneliness. The festive season, especially Christmas, emphasizes inclusiveness and togetherness, can be a stark reminder for some of their own lack of company.

For those with fractured family relationships or who have lost loved ones, the holidays symbolize family, making it hard not to feel isolated. Research conducted by Mind confirms this, with over one-third of people (36%) being too embarrassed to admit they are lonely at Christmas time.

Others may struggle with religious trauma. This time of year can be challenging for those who have been brought up in strict religious households but have been on a journey of faith deconstruction into their adulthood. Being forced to take part in religious-based traditions in order to see their family can leave them feeling emotionally drained and can lead to them feeling the need to pull away during this time.

Overall, more than two in five people feel stressed during the holidays and, according to a YouGov survey, just over a quarter say that the Christmas season actually makes their mental health worse. These stresses inevitably affect working life.

So, how can employers offer extra support during the holiday season?

The most important thing is for leaders to actively listen to their people.

When in a managerial role, it can be very easy to fall into the habit of asking closed questions to staff, such as “Do you have any plans for Christmas?”. Nine times out of ten the answer will be ‘yes’ even if that is not the truth, so managers need to take it a step further. Follow up with, “Oh, what are you up to?” – this immediately signals that you are genuinely interested and want to listen, and therefore you are now more likely to receive an honest answer.

Supporting your employees’ wellbeing is challenging – but essential. Even without all the answers, showing you care by asking the right questions can make a significant difference. Taking accountability for your team and being aware of their struggles can create a supportive environment.

A simple gesture, such as sending out a group text or email on Christmas Day could make someone feel that little bit less lonely amongst the festivities – and could be the biggest gift you give to anyone this year.

If you would like to discuss these topics further, please get in touch with us.

Chinese company Pang Dong Lai made history this year by introducing a new form of paid time off: ‘Unhappiness Leave’.

The 7,000 employees at this chain of shopping malls and grocery stores can now request an additional 10-days of paid time off if they are ‘not feeling happy’ … leave which cannot be overruled by line managers!

This has been introduced to highlight their focus on physical and mental wellbeing, as founder and chairman of the company, Yu Donglai, believes that employees should be entitled to a healthy and relaxed life when working for his company.

So, should companies around the world be considering introducing their own form of Unhappiness Leave?

We know that happier employees are around 13% more productive, and so understanding what you, as an employer, can be doing to foster happiness in your workplace is imperative when it comes to driving the productivity of your workforce.

However, a recent study found that 65% of workers do not use their full annual leave allowance. But much like Unhappiness Leave implies, a key element of fostering happiness is recognizing the importance of time away from the workplace.

Time off from work should not be viewed as an optional thing; employers should be actively encouraging their staff to make use of their annual leave, as it results in a myriad of physical and mental benefits that actually lead to better work and higher engagement overall:

• Benefits for the Mind – when a person is overwhelmed with work, the cognitive impact this can have can result in mental fatigue, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, and impaired problem-solving abilities. Therefore, taking time away from work provides a greater opportunity for rest, relaxation, and better sleep, which can help to unclutter the mind and create more mental space, reducing the likelihood of overwhelm.
• Benefits for the Body – work pressures can see a spike in the stress hormone cortisol, which is a similar feeling that one would feel when in danger. Because the body is unable to distinguish the difference, an increase in the stress hormone actually results in the suppression of the immune system to allow the body to channel its energy to fight or flee from the non-existent danger that it thinks is present. Making time to relax on vacation can help to reduce these levels of stress hormones, allowing the immune system to recover, overall reducing the chances of getting sick.
• Benefits for the Soul – it can seem a bit silly, but taking time to reconnect with oneself can be another great benefit of taking time away from work. We frequently refer to this mental ‘happy place’, and taking time off work can create the space for employees to internally reflect about what it is that truly does bring them joy and nourish their soul.

There are many more ingredients to the recipe for a happy employee, but taking that time for yourself to rest, relax, and rejuvenate is up there as one of the most important. Employers should therefore consider following in the footsteps of Yu Donglai when it comes to his commitment to fostering happiness at work … and maybe it’s worth considering if Unhappiness Leave is something that would benefit your workforce, too.

Grief is often linked directly to death. Our minds will picture someone who has lost a loved one, thus kickstarting the grief cycle – also known as the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance).

But grief is more insidious than many employers and employees realize. Humans can feel grief for a variety of different reasons; we may grieve after a breakup, the time we wasted,  even knowledge or a skill set that has become outdated.

Just as loss comes in many forms, so does grief, and there are many instances in the workplace that can trigger the grief cycle. For example:

• Loss of a Team Member – Employees today are much more mobile – especially with the mass adoption of remote working. Workers may find themselves grieving the loss of a valued team member who has moved on in their career. Or they may grieve the loss of comradery they experienced when they worked side by side rather than virtually.
• Loss of a Leader – When a company leader moves on or retires, the stages of grief can flare to life. Leaders have a significant impact on a company and on team members. When leaders leave, it can take time to adapt to the workplace without them and employees may experience intense grief. To further complicate the experience, employees may be grieving while simultaneously having to adapt to a new leader.
• Loss of Expertise – Individuals can experience acute grief when the work itself minimizes their hard-earned experience or expertise.  New technology can lead to new skills and knowledge, resulting in a previous expert becoming a novice overnight. Constantly changing mandates, policies, or procedures can also prompt the grief cycle when workers lose their standing as the resident expert or go-to resource in a given field, process, or system.
• Loss of a Role – In-house promotions or job changes can result in compounded grieving. The new role has new responsibilities and requirements, which can emphasize a loss of proficiency. Concurrently, the newly promoted is no longer the go-to person for their previous role. This can manifest grief in those employees who relied on them as a resource. Sometimes, employees will deny the loss by expecting the individual to perform portions of their old job as well as the new role.

Sound familiar? These are just a few examples of the low- to mid-level grief employees can experience in the workplace. And while employees are going through this loss, employers may see an effect on productivity, engagement, and wellbeing. These reactions to loss are rarely recognized as grief behaviors and therefore take longer to understand and process effectively.

Employers who intentionally equip their teams with the mindfulness tools they need to recognize, acknowledge, and process their low-level grief can help employees advance to the ‘acceptance’ stage more efficiently, increasing overall employee wellbeing and engagement. Grief management activities can range from offering workshops around change management and grief in all its forms to actively promoting self-care and emotional intelligence. It’s also important for employers to highlight where employees can voice their concerns, reaffirming the wellbeing support available to the workforce.

It can feel silly to use such a heavy word like grief when talking about grappling with seemingly minor loss and change, but feeling loss is a very normal and common feeling that can have long-term, significant negative impact. Knowing how to recognize and manage grief can be a game changer in the pressure-filled retention and engagement arena. It can be the difference between working through a rough patch and being disrupted by a major roadblock.

If you would like to discuss how we can help build grief management skills and mitigate the effects of loss in the workplace due to change, please get in touch with me at amanda@orgshakers.com

We spend about a third of our lives at work, and so it’s therefore not shocking to discover that 75% of workers say they have formed lifelong friendships with their co-workers.

As humans, we naturally seek out connection. Socialising brings with it a wealth of benefits for our health and wellbeing, including better mental health and the promotion of a sense of safety, belonging, and security. But it doesn’t stop there – a study from Gallup also found that having close friendships at work results in improved productivity, retention, and employee satisfaction.

So it’s clear to see that there is a myriad of benefits for employers and employees alike when it comes to the fostering of social connections in the workplace…and yet, when you start to dig a little deeper, you begin to see that the types of employees who are reaping these benefits the most tend to be women.

There has always been this assumption that women will have a close-knit group of pals who they see and talk to on a regular basis. Whereas in contrast, male friendships tend to be less committal, and are usually bound by a shared activity or something transactional (like a sport). Interestingly, there is some psychology behind this stereotype – the intimate, face-to-face relationships between women have a lot to do with the fact that when women are stressed, they release the hormone oxytocin, which is believed to be the reason why women tend to be more maternal and nurturing. As a result of this, female friendships are based on emotional intimacy and connection, unlike male friendships.

However, as we have seen from the above research, the fostering and maintaining of close friendships can do wonders for your mental health. And this is likely why men tend to suffer with worse mental health, and why suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50. A lot of men lack that social security blanket that close friends can offer, and don’t have a space where they can share the more intimate and emotional details of their life. And this stems largely from outdated ideas around masculinity and manhood, and that to share or express your feelings is ‘girly’.

Yet in actuality, it’s healthy! It’s healthy sociologically, psychologically, and even scientifically. One study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that women with early-stage breast cancer were four times more likely to die from it if they didn’t have very many female friends. Conversely, women with early-stage breast cancer with a large group of female friends had a higher survival rate.

Social connection plays a vital role in our lives, and can even be the thing that ends up saving it. That’s why, for employers, it’s so important for them to be encouraging this culture of connection at work – especially amongst their male employees.

A great way of doing this is by starting up a Men’s Network or Group for male employees. This can be scheduled on a regular basis, and will be specifically designed to encourage men to talk about topics that are considered more ‘taboo’ – such as their mental and physical health. Creating that space to do this highlights that there is space for it – and I guarantee you will be surprised to see just how many male employees benefit from having such a space.  

If you would like to discuss how we can help create strategies to foster connection in your workplace, please get in touch with me at therese@orgshakers.com