Inspiring a Whole-Person Workplace Culture in 2022
Supporting the whole person in the workplace is essential to the success of MSU and to all the people who bring our mission to life. Our community of dedicated staff and faculty are the key to the success of our educational mission, and our strategic plan recognizes the success of our people as a top imperative.
We know that everyone benefits when all aspects of being are attended to and cared for – and that we all play a role in creating such an environment, for ourselves and for our colleagues,
The conversation on a whole-person workplace resonated with the more than 460 people who registered to attend this year’s WorkLife Office Conference: The Whole-Person Workplace. Folks from the MSU community, leadership as well as panelists and participants from national higher education associations and universities across the country participated.
How might we build a whole-person workplace?
First, we must attempt to understand the wide range of challenges people may be facing. Are we listening with empathy? Have we considered how this might help address some of these issues?
People are minds and hearts
People deserve a workplace where they can do really interesting, meaningful work that is important to them in some way
“They can develop, and they can grow, and they can move on in their careers, right? Engaging their minds is important,” said Behson who presented a framework and examples during his presentation.
Behson is a professor of management and a Silberman Global Faculty Fellow at Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as a leading expert in work-life, wellness and flexible workplaces. He’s the author of three books, most recently, “The Whole-Person Workplace: Building Better Workplaces Through Work-Life, Wellness and Employee Support,” which is based on research, best practices, and interviews with dozens of business and HR leaders right as they were navigating COVID-19 virus changes to the workplace.
Start with the values
Culture is a system of shared meaning. What’s important in an organization? How should people act?
I think that the most highly performing organizations are those that have a set of values and enact those values… what can we do to make sure that we're upholding our values and making them real in our sphere of influence?
Consider:
- employee selection and onboarding,
- work design, which we don’t often always re-examine, but can be re-examined,
- performance evaluation and compensation,
- health and wellness.
These areas re-imagined can provide more opportunities for the expression of whole-person workplace.
Flexible Work Arrangements
There are differing types of flex work that can be considered, depending on the situation and the needs, according to MSU WorkLife Office Director Jaimie Hutchison. These include:
- adjustable start and end times,
- longer days-shorter weeks,
- remote work,
- hybrid work, and
- part time work.
Flexible work is the number one way to support caregivers, and it is key to promoting gender diversity in the workforce and the intersection of gender diversity and BIPOC identities,
- Large organizations can work toward change as reflected in MIT’s Work Succeeding Initiative. Ronnie Haas of MIT shared insights for including guidance and tools for decision making in order to make such changes. Changes that are critical for retention.
People are leaving their jobs for a multitude of reasons according to MSU’s Jake Lathrop. This includes not having caring supervisors, not having sustainable work expectations, and lack of career development and advancement potential.
There is hope. Employers can address burnout, build a positive workplace culture, and be open to providing flexible work arrangements among other supports.
Allowing for remote work and flexible work arrangements are a business imperative. Research shows that 75-80% of employees are seeking some sort of flexible work and remote work.
Family-Friendly Workplace
It is essential that employers truly live out the values that create and foster a family-friendly workplace, moving beyond just a written policy to modeling family-friendly behavior and creating a culture of support for our caregivers. MSU WorkLife Consultant Rachel Perez was able to showcase some of the programming and services offered by the WorkLife Office which are helping to shape MSU into a family-friendly employer.
Lourdes Rodriguez, manager of the Life & Work Connections Office at University of Arizona, focused on the importance of ensuring that our caregivers are taking the time to intentionally care for themselves. This includes taking advantage of employer’s workplace policies that allow for parental leave, vacation time, and personal time. Policies alone will not foster a family-friendly workplace. Employers need to foster a workplace culture that accommodates their employees as caregivers and individuals, not just as employees.
Normalizing support for caregivers is a key driver of fostering a family-friendly workplace, according to Caitlin Azhderian, director of WorkLife Strategy at Stanford University. Leaders and supervisors, especially, are in the role of culture shifters, which allows them to influence the normalization of caregiving. Some ways in which leaders can normalize caregiving is to leverage caregiving data for units, create listening and learning opportunities, focus on life cycle support and well-being, encourage leadership modeling and manager support, as well as integrating this message through the organization.
Whole-Person Culture to Support DEI, Retention and Recruitment
Organizations must cultivate partnerships with members of diverse communities, according to MSU Worklife Consultant Ebony Lucas. This can be done through the facilitation of mentorship programs, employee resource groups, and educational opportunities. It is important to facilitate inclusive programming that considers the cultural nuances of all employees. This may include acknowledging diverse holidays and or ritual norms. For instance, flexible work arrangements and family-friendly policies can help to support cultural traditions.
Why is this important? Several research studies have shown a positive relationship between inclusive work environments and retention. This relationship is also reflected in recruitment. Inclusive workplace environments cultivate a sense of connectedness and value in their employees. A workplace that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion enhances a sense of belonging and commitment.
Maranda Holtsclaw, Regional Director of Michigan HERC (Higher Education Recruitment Consortium) discussed the top five motivators for career decisions. They include salary, work-life culture, remote work, career advancement, and work-life balance. In the, 2022 HERC conducted the Job Seeker Survey. The purpose was to understand the experience of those looking for work in higher education. To understand how employers can better understand what matters to job seekers in their process of identifying and selecting their next role. Respondents were asked which career aspects and employee benefits they considered “very important;” minority and underrepresented respondents rated several categories more than 10% higher than white respondents. These categories included “diverse workforce,” “acceptance of my background,” and the availability of a mentorship program. We can see that focusing on a healthy workplace with supportive leadership is key to retaining and recruiting employees.
According to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Administrator with the MSU Office of the Executive Vice President for Administration Tina Alonzo, administrators should seek to support all their employees throughout their lifecycles. They must keep in mind that human needs change or develop depending on the life cycle. This is especially true when it comes to recruitment and retention. Tina discussed three ways that retention needs to be monitored. To address the variety of issues that can arise, consider three main paths to turnover:
- Employee engagement identifies areas of low engagement.
- Turnover triggers that can quickly lead to departures.
- Moments that matter in the employee experience (EX).
If administrators consistently monitor the changing needs of their employees, they are more adept at developing new policies to support their needs.
Watch the session on supporting DEI, retention and recruitment.
Acceptance and Belonging
To support the whole person, I think about the various dimensions of diversity within each of us - the importance of being seen, heard and acknowledged,” said Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Jabbar Bennett. “Here at Michigan State, we strive to create an inclusive and equitable culture. We must continue to censor wellness in order to instill a sense of acceptance, belonging in care to all employees each and every day.
