Allyson is the VP of People & Culture at Blueboard, an experiential rewards platform for employers.
getty
There’s no magic divide between work and life. At best, these worlds blend together; at worst, they collide. Either way, they’re intertwined.
When one of your employees gets no sleep because they’ve been up all night with their newborn, their performance at work suffers. If they’re feeling stressed because of their manager, they might be more tense with their partner at home.
Similarly, if your employees feel unfulfilled personally, they could bring less energy and excitement to their work. If you want your people to bring the best version of themselves to work, you need to empower them to do the things that mean something to them at work and outside of work.
But what does that look like?
It starts with asking the right questions.
The first step is to empower your managers to get to know their people as humans, not just as employees. This doesn’t have to be a heavy lift. A few thoughtful questions can reveal a lot. Here are a few examples:
• What did you do this weekend that made you feel energized?
• Is there anything you accomplished this week—in or out of work—that made you feel proud?
• How do you like to unwind when you’re away from work?
• Do you have any ongoing passion projects that you can tell me about?
• What’s something you’re working on—in or out of work—that’s lighting you up right now?
I’m a manager myself, and I love to ask my people about things they’ve recently experienced that brought them joy. Over time, I can spot patterns and gain a deeper understanding of what it is that fills their cups—whether it’s nature, family, food, activism, etc. This understanding then helps me identify ways I can support my employees in their pursuit of personal fulfillment.
Help employees find personal fulfillment—both in and out of work.
Contrary to “the way things have been done,” people leaders can help their employees find fulfillment within the confines of work and in their personal lives. Depending on what your conversations reveal about your employees’ desires and interests, it’s possible to help your employees find fulfillment within their own jobs. This satisfaction can carry over into other aspects of their lives. However, this shouldn’t mean adding more work to people’s plates. Instead:
Invest in their skills.
A 2021 study found that having opportunities to learn and grow is the strongest factor that defines an exceptional work environment. Beyond the numbers, many of us understand the fulfillment that comes with stretching our minds and acquiring new skills. Give your employees the opportunity to experience that for themselves.
Connect them to the right people.
For some employees, it’s relationship-building that brings meaning to their work. Right now, people are craving connection in the workplace more than ever before. According to a study from my organization, 77% of employees say they want to work at an organization where they feel connected to the people they work with. Consequently, the pandemic impacted workforces in such a way that 65% of employees felt less connected with their co-workers, according to findings from the Pew Research Center.
For these folks, finding the right people to establish relationships with can give them a sense of fulfillment. Perhaps that’s in a mentoring capacity. Or, if they’re remote, maybe it takes the shape of finding a local colleague they can meet up with for coffee dates and work sessions.
At my company, building meaningful relationships is a core value, and we have structures in place to facilitate relationship-building that other employers might find success with:
• Lunch club (having lunch on the company's dime with folks you don’t work with directly)
• Virtual and in-person team gatherings and happy hours
• An annual company retreat
• Regular onsites/offsites
• Encouraging teams to build meaningful relationships at the top of Zoom calls, rather than getting down to work immediately
Support the initiatives they’re passionate about.
Work may also be the right place for employees to carry out their passion projects—if these projects align with organizational needs. Having a built-in community and available resources can make the workplace the perfect place for someone to bring their ideas to life.
Starting a book club, leading educational initiatives around diversity, equity, and inclusion, launching an ERG, and hosting a lunch-and-learn about financial wellness are all possible avenues for employees to explore their passions in the workplace. Plus, your organization and company culture often benefit from allowing employees to drive internal initiatives they care about.
Help your people find meaning outside of work.
None of us are one-dimensional. None of us exist only at work. You can build a picture-perfect workplace with all the supports, but if you aren’t empowering your people to find fulfillment in their lives, you’re missing a major opportunity. Because fulfilled, nourished humans are fulfilled, nourished workers.
Be open to flexible working.
The pandemic proved that Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, is not absolute. You hire good people who you trust, right? So, insofar as you can, be flexible.
Why? So your working parents can spend more daylight with their kids, your civic-minded employees can invest energy into their communities, your people who find peace in nature can get outside, and so employees who are also caregivers can be where they need to be without stressing about missed emails.
While you may not be able to offer everyone full flexibility overnight, you can commit to finding ways to be flexible.
Make experiences accessible.
Between the responsibilities of work and life, most people don’t carve out the time to try new things and experiences. But suppose you can lower the barrier to having experiences like trying a cooking class or learning a new language. In that case, people can discover other ways to feel fulfilled—whether that’s by improving their mental well-being or learning new skills. This can open the floodgates to seeking out even more experiences on their own time.
Work isn’t just about work anymore. To be honest, it never has been. The people who show up to the office (or online) are the same people who go home afterward. As employers, we need to respect that continuity and find ways to nurture our employees both in and out of the workplace.
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
