4 Ways To Make Work More Human

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Recent workplace trends such as the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, and Quiet Firing have been plastered across the news and the internet. Though many consider this just clickbait, these are all symptoms of what many people uncovered during the pandemic. 

 

The pandemic gave us time to reevaluate our lives while experiencing flexibility and a better sense of work/life integration. This led to many professionals recognizing that they were no longer fulfilled in their current roles and needed a change. 

 

Now is not the time for employers to become complacent and believe these trends will end soon. There are many people still looking for that role that makes them truly happy and fulfilled, which means they won’t hesitate to quit if something better comes along. 

 

So, what can businesses do to keep their top talent from walking out the door? Make work more human. Here are four ways you can start to humanize your workplace today. 

 

1. Prioritize Employee Wellness 

 

Showing employees that you care about their health and wellness was necessary before the pandemic, but it is even more crucial now. If employees feel their physical or mental health is at risk in the workplace, they may end up frustrated and upset and won’t feel respected. This could result in them handing in their notice. 

 

For this reason, you must show your team you are doing everything possible to keep them happy and healthy. This means going above and beyond to support their mental and physical health. 

 

Some ways you can prioritize employee health and well-being include:

  • Offering paid sick leave
  • Putting extra safety measures in the workplace
  • Offering better health care benefits, such as health insurance, access to mental health support, free healthy snacks in the break room, and local gym discounts or online subscriptions
  • Creating a culture where employees are encouraged to take time off to recharge 
  • Offering flexible working opportunities, such as working from home or a hybrid working model 

2. Listen to Your Employees

 

One of the most important ways to keep employees happy and ensure they stay within your company for a long time is to create a culture of communication by listening to them. This is particularly important right now because people want to feel heard and understood now more than ever.  

 

An open-door policy lets your team know they can speak to their manager or colleagues if they face any issues or concerns. So it’s essential to engrain this within your culture. 

 

Run regular feedback surveys to ask the workforce about their daily experiences at work. Similarly, encouraging managers to hold regular check-ins with their teams allows them to address any issues before they develop into bigger problems. 

 

Gathering feedback via surveys, annual reviews, and regular meetings gives your HR and management teams helpful insights that mean they can implement real change. This also shows employees you care about their well-being and that you’re willing to make changes to give them the best and safest possible experience at work. 

 

3. Offer Flexible Work Options 

 

We’ve briefly touched on hybrid working styles and flexibility already, but this has never been more important. Some businesses have allowed their teams to operate completely remote since the pandemic if they choose to, while others have begun welcoming people back to the office.

 

However, lots of people got used to working from home or organizing their work around their personal life. Some have even opted to incorporate regular traveling into their working lives. Therefore, if your business refuses to offer flexible opportunities, employees will look elsewhere for a company to meet their needs better. 

 

This could include hybrid working, fully remote work, part-time work, flexitime, or any other form of flexible working that better supports employees. 

 

4. Keep Your Company Culture Alive 

 

Finally, lots of businesses struggled with sustaining company culture during the pandemic. With the workforce now more spread out and possibly even entirely remote, creating and nurturing a great company culture can be tricky.

 

However, you must keep your culture alive to retain employees. Some ways you can do this with remote and hybrid workforces include: 

  • Encouraging collaboration and giving employees the tools to do this. For example, communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams make it much easier for colleagues to work together
  • Starting new work traditions such as virtual drinks, quizzes, or games nights
  • Organizing in-person events so everyone can catch up
  • Creating a solid onboarding process. This might include video conferences with remote workers to help the teams get to know one another
  • Offering a re-onboarding process for those returning to the office after a long period of working from home
  • Offering opportunities for training, development, and team-building activities 

By doing your best to make work more human, you are more likely to find your team will want to stay longer. This also applies to listening carefully to their needs, allowing them to work more flexibly and doing more to support their physical and mental health. 


ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO HUMANIZE YOUR WORKPLACE? DH OFFERS PEOPLE STRATEGIES TO HELP YOUR ORGANIZATION UNLOCK the "HUMAN" POTENTIAL.

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About the Author

Stuart Cookee

Stuart Cooke is the content creator for Irish Parcels which offers solutions for businesses and individual customers looking for postage in and out of Ireland. 

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