A Healthy Humanized Culture for All
As new challenges emerge with the pandemic, it is important to review what a healthy organizational means. It’s essential that we explore how to humanize an organization within the new givens. Let’s first start by defining what a humanized organization is:
“Humanizing the organization is about building a place where people feel inspired to do their best work. The business gets to prosper, and employees get to have extra time for themselves and their families at the end of their work.”1
How Can We Create a Healthy Humanized Culture for All? 2
While hybrid employment allows for a great deal of flexibility (which is critical for employee happiness), it can also create several obstacles and potentially worsen interpersonal divides. As a result, businesses should be laser-focused on establishing similar work experiences to maintain a healthy culture. Persons whose jobs require them to be in the office may envy their totally remote friends’ work-life balance; on the other hand, people at home may feel disconnected while dialing in to a meeting where most people are physically there.
Many forward-thinking firms are already implementing new digital technologies and developing new best practices to address some of these disparities in the workplace. For example, some businesses are forcing all in-person employees to join meetings via individual video conferencing-equipped phone booths (even if they are co-located with one another) to ensure that those working remotely experience the same sense of connection. In addition to being deliberate about your workplace tools and best practices, your benefits plan is one of the best - and perhaps less obvious - methods to encourage fair experiences. Employers are tossing aside outdated benefits playbooks that focus on prescriptive, one-size-fits-all solutions and office-based perks in favor of a strategy that focuses on individualized services from the ground up.
They’ve realized that benefits and perks must be self-directed by each employee to accommodate each individual scenario adequately. Customizable benefits and incentives are an easy and effective method to deliver equitable, good experiences to your staff, especially given that a company’s culture exists beyond the four walls of the actual workplace. Employees, not their employers, have the ability to pick and choose whatever services best fulfill their individual needs and add immediate value to their lives.
To this end, some employers are introducing marketplaces for various apps and services. Others are introducing a broader range of inclusive benefits that focus on needs beyond traditional health and dental packages - such as virtual therapy for mental health/burnout issues or on-demand coaching for young professionals who lack in-person connection with managers. Whatever model you choose for your business, these offerings must be significantly more dynamic than a once-a-year “open enrollment” because life is changing at a faster pace than ever before. Allow your employees the opportunity to switch to various services as needed.
The secret to happiness in the hybrid world is to meet people where they are at. You can provide an equal experience for everyone by redesigning your benefits strategy to prioritize personalization over one-size-fits-all programs and services. A vibrant culture and happy, committed employees will result from this attention on the individual and their needs.
1 The Human Element, 14 July 2020, what does it mean to Humanize the Organization? Accessed 10 Dec 2021, https://thehumanelement.bconglobal.com/resources/what-does-it-mean-to-humanize-the-organization-1
2Forbes, 19 Oct 2021, How can companies create a positive environment for all? Accessed 10 Dec 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2021/10/19/how-companies-can-create-a-positive-environment-for-all-employees/?sh=563a1ceae4df
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