Author: Kristina Proffitt

Categories
Wellness

Why employee wellness matters more than ever in 2026

Back when I first started writing about HR in the late 2010s, topics like employee wellness, engagement, and experience were everywhere.

Fast-forward to now, and it feel like there’s radio silence.

There are still those of us who care about it, of course. But it’s no longer the central focus that it once was. However, taking care of your employees still matters.

So why are fewer businesses than ever talking about it?

So-called wellness benefits are the first employee initiatives that organizations cut when budgets shrink.

Businesses want to model Silicon Valley tech culture, so they follow the “all work and no play” approach. They assume it’s fine to pay someone too little to live on while expecting their lives to revolve around work.

Those things are not compatible.

If you’re not paying employees enough, and not treating them like they’re valued…why would they stay? Why would they be loyal to your business?

Prioritizing employee wellness will ensure your team members not only want to stick around, but that they can be at their best while working for you.

More than just lip service

It’s not about tokenism or lip service. Employee wellness shows the people who work for you that you value and appreciate their effort.

It’s a way to ensure that they keep working for you long-term. And you keep getting high performance from them.

Failing to support employees means their performance will suffer as their stress levels increase. Their home lives will also take a hit because they’re so stressed they don’t have enough energy to spend on loved ones. Ultimately, they’ll end up quitting because they no longer enjoy working for you.

Your company culture, meanwhile, will deteriorate because those who’d previously motivated their colleagues will leave. This creates a hole others are unlikely to fill. Especially if your culture is struggling and no one wants to be there.

The longer this goes on for, the worse your culture will become.

You’ll have a hard time retaining your existing employees, the number of new hires who leave during probation will go up, and eventually word will get out that your company culture isn’t great. So the quality of your job applicants will go down, and you’ll get fewer of them to fill your vacancies.

Deprioritizing employee wellness creates a cycle of worsening culture and conditions that can be hard to escape.

Why employee wellness still matters

The world is literally on fire. Ask any Australian.

There’s so much content out there about resetting our dysregulated nervous systems because it feels almost impossible to be calm when the climate emergency is here—and virtually no one is doing anything about it.

Politics is going in a scary direction (or is already there) in many places all over the world, and it’s leaving a lot of us feeling helpless.

The hard-fought rights of marginalized groups are being stripped after less than a century of them having any rights at all.

More money is being concentrated at the top, leaving Millennials and Gen Z-ers not wanting children because it’s impossible for so many to own a house, let alone have enough to raise a child. So then governments complain there aren’t enough children, but of course there aren’t—no one can afford to raise them!

AI is coming for jobs, and so far it hasn’t created as many as it’s replaced. It seems unlikely to as well, when so many businesses are using it to cut costs.

Then there’s the fact businesses are posting ghost jobs to make it look like they’re growing when they’re not.

Is it surprising that workers feel stressed? Or that they need employee wellness initiatives more than ever?

The ripple effect

All these things have an impact on employees. They affect their ability to focus; to be present at work; to communicate with their colleagues.

And, you might argue, it isn’t a business’s job to “fix” employee mental health. But isn’t it a business’s job to look after its workforce?

The business wouldn’t exist without employees. Employees choose to show up every day, whatever their reason for doing so may be.

So by supporting employees, businesses build loyalty that can see them through the tough times. It helps them build a better culture, and even innovate to build better products.

I read a post on LinkedIn recently about a woman who lost a parent right before starting a new role. Her new manager gave her six weeks bereavement leave, fully paid.

How many organizations do you know that would do that?

The humanity with which that business treated that woman will stay with her for the rest of her life. It will build loyalty to her employer that no money could buy. Those are the kinds of employee wellness initiatives that matter.

But they’re also not the kinds of things that people regularly talk about. They’re part of the painful side of humanity that we want to hide from because it’s uncomfortable.

But the more we run from it, the more the painful side wins and the harder it is to feel hopeful for the future.

It’s only when we face what’s actually happening, and approach it with compassion and the desire to help other people, that we actually make progress.

Conclusion 

Employee wellness isn’t something that went in the trash like a box of Covid-era face masks no one wants to wear anymore.

Forcing someone to work until they’re exhausted is not a way to treat people who work hard for you. It’s not a way to treat people who are struggling to make ends meet through no fault of their own.

Instead, employee wellness should be something that’s embedded into a company’s culture.

It should involve treating employees like human beings, remembering that they’re stressed because of the world we’re in, and the more businesses can do to support their teams, the more loyalty, innovation, and ultimately, profit, they’ll generate.

Create a culture of community

If you’d like to create a culture where your employees feel engaged and able to support each other, try Workrowd. You can use it to manage your employee initiatives, including events, programs, and groups, and track the impact they’re having. It’s a one-stop shop to connect your people with their colleagues and support employee wellness.

Stay tuned for part two where I explore how you can support employee wellness in 2026. It goes so much deeper than you think.

Why employee wellness matters more than ever in 2026
Make peer-to-peer learning in the workplace your secret weapon
8 goal setting activities to help your team do more in 2026
Categories
Learning & Development

Make peer-to-peer learning in the workplace your secret weapon

Say goodbye to impersonal online courses. Peer-to-peer learning in the workplace could be the secret to your business’s growth.

Online courses aren’t even in the top 10 ways employees report wanting to learn. This could be because we all experienced the course and workshop flood during the early 2020s. Or, it could be that there are so many out there that everyone has a different favorite.

Either way, it shows that if businesses really want their employees to learn and grow, they’ve got to do things differently. And more internally. Which is exactly where peer-to-peer learning in the workplace shines.

Why you should be doing peer-to-peer learning in the workplace

Back in 2020, we were all superglued to our computers with what felt like an endless wave of online learning—workshops, coaches, you name it.

Now, I see far fewer people selling online courses and it’s likely because we’re all bored of them. In-person learning, and learning from people we know and like, is far more engaging than some random stranger on the internet talking at us.

Especially when it’s a topic we care about and that can help us grow in our careers.

When companies have a learning-based culture, employees are 147% more likely to connect with their peers. 94% said they’d be more likely to remain with a company with active learning and development programs, too.

L&D is more important than ever. 79% of CEOs worry that there’s an increasing skill gap between office-based and remote employees that’s threatening organizational growth. Peer-to-peer learning in the workplace can be a key tool in bridging the divide.

Your culture plays a big role in peer-to-peer learning success

I’d argue that the real issue is that companies don’t know if they’re in-office, remote, or hybrid. Those that don’t know where they want their employees to be based, or have different rules for each team, make it harder for their employees to support each other, let alone learn from each other.

When employees are taught there’s no such thing as a stupid question, it improves communication within, and between, teams.

Sometimes we need to learn something new to stay engaged in our role. This is particularly true if we’ve been doing it for a long time or recent months have been stressful. 

Employees often leave because they feel frustrated and unsupported. Learning something new can help with their ability to cope with stress as well as how valued they feel at your organization.

If they’ve put all that work in only to get their usual pay check at the end and no other form of gratitude, they’re going to feel pretty fed up. Investing in their future through peer-to-peer learning in the workplace is a way to reward them and show that you notice, and value, their efforts.

How to create a culture of peer-to-peer learning in the workplace

Let’s look at what your organization can do to encourage peer-to-peer learning in the workplace:

Manager feedback

When it comes to peer-to-peer learning in the workplace, employees want to learn from their managers more than anyone else. But managers are busy. They often struggle with their own workloads, let alone assisting employees with theirs, too. 

Support from managers helps employees know they’re on the right track. It shows them what the next steps are.

And if your managers are too busy to help their team members grow as people and employees, it might be time to look at hiring more staff to give them the space to do so.

If managers are in a constant state of stress, that will have a ripple effect on their employees, too. It could mean the feedback they give them skews harsh over helpful, damaging employee morale and initiative rather than supporting it.

Make goals clear

If someone doesn’t know what they’re aiming for, or how to measure results, it can make it difficult to learn and know what direction to go in.

Clear goals, while they can be tough to put into place, help both managers and employees measure their success. It helps you know if initiatives to drive peer-to-peer learning in the workplace are working, spot gaps more easily, and track their progress.

Colleague collaboration

At least 55% of employees go to their colleagues first when they want to learn something new about business. So why not encourage that by creating more opportunities for peer-to-peer learning in the workplace?

Just 10% of learning is formally structured. 70% of learning takes place when colleagues are working and 20% comes from collaboration with colleagues. This shows just how important those relationships are. And how crucial peer-to-peer learning in the workplace can be for your business.

Everyone comes in with different levels of experience and different backgrounds. These things give them different perspectives that can teach their colleagues something new.

For example, a petite female wheelchair user will have a different experience with cars compared to an able-bodied, 6ft man. Combining their perspectives and experiences can help a car business design a vehicle that has a broader appeal and can therefore make more money than one that only works for a man over 6ft.

Share info in ERGs

Your employee resource groups connect your employees based on shared backgrounds or experiences. This foundation can make it easier for people to open up. In turn, fellow members may be more open to learning from them. Especially if they’ve been at your company longer or have more experience in a particular field.

Your ERGs can also be great spaces to pilot new peer-to-peer learning in the workplace initiatives.

Mentorship schemes

Mentoring can help your newer employees understand how your business works and navigate the workforce.

Reverse mentoring, meanwhile, can support your older, more experienced colleagues to adapt to new technologies and ways of communicating.

Mentoring in any form is an important and easy way to foster peer-to-peer learning in the workplace.

Lightning talks

Lightning talks are five-minute presentations about a topic that interests the speaker. Your lightning talk event could have a theme, such as new technologies, or be open to anything anyone wants to share.

You might even discover some of your employees have hidden public speaking talents! These sessions can be fun ways to build culture while also enabling peer-to-peer learning in the workplace.

Employee-led workshops

Since employees prefer to learn from colleagues, why not get employees to lead workshops? Some of the lightning talk topics could lead to longer workshops that benefit some or all of your workforce. 

Conclusion 

Peer-to-peer learning in the workplace can improve employee morale, engagement, and initiative. It teaches your team members new things in a low-effort, high-results way.

If you want to make the most of peer-to-peer learning in the workplace, Workrowd’s tools can help. From ensuring everyone has easy access to your initiatives, to following up to collect feedback and even analyzing the data for you, everything you need is in one place.

Get in touch today to discover how Workrowd can supercharge your employee initiatives and company culture.

Why employee wellness matters more than ever in 2026
Make peer-to-peer learning in the workplace your secret weapon
8 goal setting activities to help your team do more in 2026
Categories
Learning & Development

8 goal setting activities to help your team do more in 2026

January might be the time when everyone discusses goal setting, but you can set goals at any time of the year. Some people even argue January is the time for rest and the best time for goal setting activities is in the spring (when those of us in the Northern Hemisphere actually see the sun. In theory).

It doesn’t really matter, though. Goals can be set at any time of the year. They’re a great motivator whatever level someone is within your organization.

For instance, employees who set goals are 3.6 times more likely to be committed to their employer. What’s more, they’re 14.2 times more likely to feel inspired at work when they set their own goals.

As if that wasn’t enough, they’re also 6.7 times more likely to feel proud of their organization and 6.5 times more likely to recommend it as a great place to work.

So let’s explore how you can help your team do more with effective goal setting activities in 2026:

Be specific

I used to really hate SMART goals. But it turns out this goal setting formula has its benefits—over 80% of people perform better when goals are specific and challenging compared to people with vague or no goals.

Over a third of leaders, meanwhile, think the main cause of failure is because goals aren’t clear enough.

Following a formula such as SMART for your goal setting activities ensures goals feel more concrete. It clearly answers the question as to whether or not an employee has achieved the goal.

For instance “sell more” is a vague goal. How much? By when? Using what methods?

“Upsell five customers by the end of Q1” is far more specific.

Goals can also help employees with their learning objectives: those with clear goals are 8.1 times more likely to find new ways to improve at work.

Use OKRs

OKRs—objectives and key results—is a form of goal setting activities where you specify what the goal (objective) is, and how you’ll know if you’ve attained it (key results).

They have a big impact, too: more than 64% of employees think their company is successful after implementing OKRs. That’s compared to just 39% who don’t.

Give it a timeframe

Whatever type of goals you set, you need to be clear about what the timeframe is.

Many people work better toward a deadline because it makes it feel more urgent, so then they want to work on it and have fewer excuses to procrastinate.

Make sure when you agree on a date as part of your goal setting activities, it’s a date that’s doable. But perhaps a little outside of employees’ comfort zone to help drive them.

Make it a little uncomfortable

Our greatest growth comes from being outside of our comfort zones. I’m not talking about jumping out of an airplane if you’re afraid of heights, but a salesperson could aim to earn slightly more than they think they’re capable of, for example. This pushes them to do more, to think differently, and to aim higher.

When employees set difficult goals, they report 34% higher job satisfaction compared to those who have less challenging objectives.

However, only 33% of entry-level or operational-level employees set difficult goals, compared to 54% of top-level executives. I’d argue that entry-level employees could benefit more from these goals, though, as they have more to learn.

But for them to feel comfortable aiming high, they need the support of their manager and colleagues. This includes before, during, and after goal setting activities.

Use feedback to create better goals

Combining feedback and goal setting activitiess leads to a performance increase of 30% compared to using one or the other. This makes sense, because feedback can point employees in the direction of where they need to grow their skills and what their next goal should be.

Get your managers involved

While managers and supervisors should set their own goals, they should also help their employees achieve theirs. They can offer advice and support when goals seem challenging, and provide coping mechanisms so that the weight of what they’re trying to achieve doesn’t get them down.

When employees regularly meet with supervisors around goal setting activities, it boosts morale by five times. It also increases employee motivation when their goals are adjusted for current market conditions and priorities.

It makes sense: employees know that what they’re working on makes a difference to the business and wider industry as opposed to feeling like they’re doing their role for the sake of it.

Use your ERGs

Employee groups help employees stay focused on their goals or even work out which ones to set through group-sponsored goal setting activities. Colleagues can share resources, offer moral support, and even mentor employees towards achieving their goals.

Want to get more from your ERGs? Workrowd can help make your groups easier to find, navigate, and benefit from.

Tell everyone

A little bit of repetition goes a long way. Over half of 11,000 employees couldn’t name their organization’s top three goals. Which either means the company doesn’t have them, or it’s not reiterating them enough.

So, even if you feel like you’re repeating yourself for the 10,000th time, remember that there will be someone who’s new, been sick, or otherwise out of the office so won’t have seen what your new goals are. It happens.

Reminders are always useful, too, as they can help keep employees focused. It gives them a lens through which to view what they’re doing, so then they can prioritize based on how much a task will contribute to business goals.

Conclusion 

How you get there doesn’t really matter. What matters is the results. Be sure you’re setting specific goals that are a little outside of employees’ comfort zones. You never know what they might achieve. Heck, they might even surprise themselves.

Want to support your employees with more effective goal setting activities that help them achieve and exceed their objectives? Try Workrowd for managing your employee initiatives. Get in touch to book your free demo.

Why employee wellness matters more than ever in 2026
Make peer-to-peer learning in the workplace your secret weapon
8 goal setting activities to help your team do more in 2026
Categories
Wellness

Tips to boost health and safety in the workplace, plus why it’s key

In 2023, there were 5,283 fatal workplace safety incidents. There were 2.6 million nonfatal workplace safety incidents. Those are some huge—and preventable—numbers. Which goes to show that businesses need to do more to improve health and safety in the workplace.

Why does health and safety in the workplace matter?

We spend more time working than we do with our loved ones, especially when you add in overtime. Don’t employees deserve to feel safe when they’re at work?

Well, it makes you wonder when you see that only 63% of employees feel that their employer thinks physical safety at work is extremely important. 75% of employees believe that their employer thinks the company reputation is more important than safety. And, 68% think their employer values the bottom line more.

Employees don’t feel things are changing, either. 59% of employees don’t think their employer has increased physical safety efforts in the last year. At best, they’ve stagnated.

If employees feel worried about their safety, there’s no way they’ll be able to be at their best. Anxiety is an energy suck. Even if an employee only worries subconsciously, that’s still draining. Which can then lead to more accidents as their anxiety distracts them from the job. A little bit of training around health and safety in the workplace can go a long way towards reassuring them that they, and their job, are safe.

Tips to improve health and safety in the workplace

Here are some ways to improve employee health and safety in the workplace.

Use effective equipment

The quality of your safety equipment is a small but important step toward improving health and safety in the workplace.

Consider the masks worn during Covid. They had to meet certain standards to be considered medical-grade and protect staff from getting sick.

But the UK government lost £1.4 billion (about $1.8 billion) on unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) during Covid. All because they didn’t check that what they were buying was compliant. Over half of the surgical gowns purchased weren’t checked until after they’d expired, either. So most of that tax payer money was lost.

You don’t want to fall into the same trap.

Make sure any safety equipment you purchase for your employees will actually protect them from what it should. And check this before any warrantees or expiration dates pass so that if they’re unsuitable, you can get a refund.

Using the best equipment will also mean that you’re protected from potential lawsuits because someone got sick or injured due to improper equipment.

Keep policies up to date

Any health and safety in the workplace policies should be regularly updated to ensure they’re legally compliant. In addition, be sure that any new information has been added, and the right contact details are included. It can help to have a review date for policies, such as every three years.

Hold regular training sessions

Want to reduce workers’ compensation claims? Health and safety in the workplace training can do just that by up to 42%. That’s a huge reduction in costs for any business at risk, or that puts its employees at risk.

While people may roll their eyes at health and safety in the workplace training, or regular refreshers, they’re important. It’s easy to forget the little things.

For instance, experienced drivers often fall into bad habits like not checking their mirrors enough, or taking one hand off the steering wheel. (Don’t tell me you don’t know someone who does this. We all do.)

Reminding your employees of basic safety procedures keeps them, their teammates, and your business, safe.

Training doesn’t have to be a boring explainer video, either. In fact, if you want employees to remember a training session’s content, it shouldn’t be.

Interactive training such as an in-person workshop, or even a quiz or a game, helps everyone remember what they’ve learned. That way, you’re not just talking at them; they’re actively participating in the learning process.

It’s a bit like how we don’t remember as much of what AI tells us compared to when we do the research ourselves. The more work we put into doing something, the more it sticks.

Ensure employees feel safe to report incidents

If something does go wrong, the impacted employees (especially those who reported it) need to feel safe to talk about it. They shouldn’t fear consequences for reporting something, expressing concern for their colleagues, or being involved in an incident.

Managers and HR should always be accessible, too. This is true broadly, but especially when it comes to health and safety in the workplace. Otherwise, issues can linger and get worse, meaning preventable accidents become inevitabilities.

Have a review process if something does go wrong 

You need a clear review process to prevent the same incident from happening again.

Think of it like black boxes in airplanes. Those almost indestructible devices collect so much data on what’s going on that the aviation industry can make things safer for future flights once the investigation is complete.

While most companies can’t have a literal black box, you can have an airtight investigation into any health and safety in the workplace incidents. That means your business comes out with a safety-first reputation that will help you attract better talent, save money on compensation claims (the average is $40,000), and improve your business brand.

Have a place to ask questions

Employees need a safe place where they can ask health and safety in the workplace questions. This prevents issues from arising in the future and means they can learn from their colleagues’ experiences. It’s a great way to connect employees across your organization and share wisdom.

It’s much better for employees to feel comfortable asking what may be perceived as “stupid” questions than for something to go wrong and cost them, their colleagues, and/or your business because they were embarrassed to ask.

You could create a knowledge base and/or employee group where they can ask questions, for example.

Employee groups are excellent places to set up and organize mentoring programs, giving your more experienced colleagues a place to support newer recruits.

Or, you could connect employees with similar backgrounds that might make work more challenging, like new parents.

Need help managing your employee initiatives like groups or mentoring programs? Workrowd can help. Our one-stop shop keeps all your employee initiatives in one place. That way, it’s easy for team members to find and make the most of everything you offer.

Conclusion 

Health and safety in the workplace doesn’t have to be a minefield. With considered, regularly updated policies and training procedures that everyone follows, work can become a safer, more welcoming, and more productive environment for every employee.

Want to make it easier for team members to learn about your employee initiatives, safety-focused and otherwise? Check out Workrowd. One place, everything an employee needs. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

Why employee wellness matters more than ever in 2026
Make peer-to-peer learning in the workplace your secret weapon
8 goal setting activities to help your team do more in 2026
Categories
Employee Experience

How to reduce your HR admin workload so your team can thrive

Let’s face it: very few people like admin work, if anyone. 26% of employees say they lose time every day to admin tasks. It adds up to an average of 15 hours lost per week overall. And this certainly holds true for HR admin work, too.

It’s not just the time lost, though. It’s also the mental space HR admin tasks take up and the stress they create. This leaves your team with less time and energy to complete the actual job you hired them to do, as well as no space to be creative.

Fewer than half of employees (46%) say that they spend their whole working day on tasks that drive value. Ouch.

So, how can you reduce the HR admin burden for your team in 2026? Here are some tips:

Evaluate your software stack

One of the big reasons employees suffer from HR admin burden is having to switch between multiple apps to complete tasks. It slows them down and can lead to confusion, with them not knowing what to do where.

Aim to only use software that actually improves your employees’ working lives and does as much as it can. Ideally, you also want something that’s user-friendly.

Sometimes, more software isn’t the answer, despite the temptation.

A friend recently told me her employer has changed the software they use where she works, and everyone hates it. She said it’s so difficult to use, everyone just goes back to doing things the old way. You don’t want to fall into that trap.

Use specialist software

While you don’t want to use too many apps, you do want things that do what they do well.

For instance, Workrowd can help you manage your employee initiatives and feedback all in one place. So employees know where to find out about what’s happening, they can join employee groups, you can organize mentoring, and more.

Your HR teams, meanwhile, can rely on automated feedback surveys to find out what employees really think about your employee experience. You can trigger these at specific milestones or when you want information on transition periods.

Workrowd then analyzes the data automatically, giving you information faster, and meaning you can make decisions and changes faster.

Better software, happier HR teams. And employees. All with a lower HR admin burden. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

Get your training in (and do refreshers)

Sometimes, no matter how great a tool is, it’s still confusing to use without training.

My favourite writing software, Scrivener, has a steep learning curve. Had I not done a training course on how to use it, I wouldn’t have understood how to use it or completed any of my 25 published books using it.

Scrivener cost me less than $50 and the training was free.

If you’re investing in software that’s several hundred, or even thousands, of dollars a month, it makes sense to spend money on the training too, doesn’t it?

Not everyone will be part of the sales calls that walk decision makers through how to use a software.

Likewise, what’s second nature to one person won’t be to another.

And, let’s be honest: most employees aren’t going to read through the knowledge base unless they have to. At which point they’re probably already stuck and have been trying to figure something out on their own for a while.

So instead of taking that risk, give them the training upfront. Just a couple of hours in an afternoon could be the difference between your new software seriously adding to your HR admin burden or saving you time and money.

Outsource 

Sometimes, hiring a freelancer can free up your team to do more higher value tasks. Freelancers are often specialists in their fields, which means they may be able to get a task done faster and at a fraction of the cost.

Whatever the task, there’s a freelancer who specializes in it. A quick post on LinkedIn, or a search on there, will give you plenty of options to choose from whatever industry you’re in.

For instance, if you’ve just merged two companies and you’re looking to merge HubSpot accounts too, there are businesses or freelancers who can do this so that your marketing and sales teams can continue to fill your pipeline rather than merging duplicate accounts and deleting old leads.

Sometimes it’s better to pay upfront to save your team ongoing HR admin work moving forward.

Automate!

Over a quarter of employees have to manually update reports. Surely, in 2026, there’s a way around that?

You can set up automations to fill in reports to speed up the process for employees who have to update internal data.

If you wanted to go even further, you could get AI to analyze the results to spot trends, then predict what this means going forward and how it compares to previous results.

When used strategically, AI can be a key partner in reducing your HR admin burden.

Listen to your employees

If someone tells you that your tech stack isn’t working, pay attention. It either means that they haven’t had adequate training, or you need to re-evaluate your current tools to find something that actually reduces your HR admin load and makes their working lives better.

Unfortunately, there’s a clear disconnect between how employees feel and what employers think.

44% of decision makers think automation tools will have the biggest impact on their organization, but just 18% of employees feel their employer cares about their admin burden, and 23% of employees feel admin workloads are unfairly distributed.

No software can solve those kinds of issues.

It doesn’t matter how much shiny tech you have, if you don’t actually pay attention to what your employees say, you may not actually be solving the problem by investing in more software.

(Want to find out what employees think? Why not send a survey with Workrowd?)

Conclusion 

Admin is an inevitable part of any role, and HR is no exception. While AI can help with some tasks, there are others it simply can’t do (yet).

If you want to truly support your employees, find ways to streamline HR admin tasks and don’t add to the admin burden by overcomplicating things with too much software or inadequate training.

Look at the HR admin burden across your teams, too. Does it unfairly land on the shoulders of your most junior employees? Or maybe your managers spend too much time on admin? It should be spread equally across teams so that everyone has the same amount of time to complete the job you hired them to do.

Want to find reduce your HR admin burden across your employee experience? Workrowd can help. With personalized dashboards for every employee, plus your HR teams, everyone always has the information that’s most important for them right at their fingertips.

Plus, with automated event and program invites, reminders, surveys, and more, repetitive HR admin tasks take care of themselves. You even get employee feedback analyzed and visualized for you without lifting a finger. Save your team time in 2026; get in touch to book your free Workrowd demo and find out more.

Why employee wellness matters more than ever in 2026
Make peer-to-peer learning in the workplace your secret weapon
8 goal setting activities to help your team do more in 2026
Categories
Learning & Development

Future-proof your organization with these reverse mentoring tips

Mentoring is one of the most powerful ways to level up in the workforce. In all its forms, including reverse mentoring, it can drive positive outcomes for your organization.

Mentoring can help mentees avoid roadblocks. It can help them progress in their careers faster, and build crucial networking connections to open new doors for them. It has benefits for mentors, too, like boosting their teaching and public speaking skills.

The business benefits are there, as well. Companies with mentoring programs see 18% higher profits. Those without had profits that were 45% worse on average. Those are some huge margins.

And yet, despite the fact 76% of people believe mentors are important, and 97% of people who have a mentor say they find it to be a valuable experience, only 37% have one.

So let’s dive into reverse mentoring. We’ll examine what it is, what its benefits are, and how to implement it in your business.

What is reverse mentoring?

Reverse mentoring is when a junior team member mentors someone more senior than them. For instance, a new Gen Z employee could mentor a senior leader.

When mentoring relationships are mixed gender or race/ethnicity, they’re more likely to offer career benefits. On the flip side, mentoring relationships based on similar demographics can provide psychosocial benefits. So, the type of mentoring that’s right for you will depend on the benefits you want for your business and your employees.

On the DiversityInc Top 50, 72% of companies have reverse mentoring programs. This highlights just how significant they can be for top-performing businesses.

Reverse mentoring schemes can open doors that may otherwise remain closed due to age or experience. Understanding differences and bridging the gaps are powerful ways for both mentor and mentee to develop their skills in new areas and boost their confidence at work.

What are the benefits of reverse mentoring?

Reverse mentoring aids in the sharing of internal and external knowledge.

For example, younger employees can educate more experienced colleagues on navigating social media and AI. This helps ensure their knowledge remains fresh and relevant. Simple things like how to write a prompt or how algorithms work can make a huge difference to someone’s career.

They can also educate them on cultural changes and how different things are now. And how quickly things change.

In addition, mentors feel lower levels of anxiety and find their jobs more meaningful. So it’s no surprise that 89% of mentees plan to become mentors themselves.

Mentors also get promoted six times more often than employees who aren’t involved in a mentorship program. Mentees are promoted five times more often.

For businesses, as well as experiencing the 18% higher profits we discussed earlier, mentoring schemes also come with higher retention rates—72% for mentees and 69% for mentors.

With current job offer acceptance rates at just 56% according to McKinsey, and 18% of new hires leaving during probation, a reverse mentoring program could be just what businesses need to keep their team members.

How to build a reverse mentoring program

Now that we’ve explored the benefits, let’s look at how to build your reverse mentoring program.

Talk about it regularly

Mentoring programs often die because employees don’t know they exist or don’t realize the benefits.

Sharing the benefits of reverse mentoring for employees can help win them over.

Senior team members may not understand the differences with reverse mentoring and how much they can learn from younger colleagues. Using internal business communications to educate them can boost both their interest and their involvement.

Encourage employees to take part

Some employees will simply always feel too shy, or too busy, to participate. It’s therefore on HR departments and managers to make employees realize that mentoring will make them better at their jobs and give them more time and energy, not less.

This is particularly important for reverse mentoring. With senior team members having greater responsibilities and not feeling like they have the time to sit down with someone they may not believe they can learn from, it’s all the more important to show them the benefits.

Get leaders to set an example

When your leaders set an example, it shows the whole team that the people they respect use and value the program. This can help break down that reluctance and show that you’re serious about reverse mentoring.

Share case studies

Marketers love case studies because they work. They tell a story, which our brains love, and they have tangible benefits. They help us imagine that we could experience those results, too. So then we want to get that win for ourselves.

When your mentees share what they’ve learned from being mentored, and mentors share what they’ve gotten out of it, it can make people want to participate even more than you sharing generic benefits like the ones listed above.

Use the right software

The right software can make it easier to connect mentors and mentees. For example, mentees can share information on what skills they’re looking to build, while mentors can share their experiences.

You can use tools to connect employees with mentors, or create groups for mentees/mentors to network and share advice. The easier you make it for them to connect, the more everyone will get out of your reverse mentoring program.

Conclusion 

Reverse mentoring is a powerful way to upskill your workforce and build connections between generations. It can boost every aspect of your business from retention to promotions. When done well, it can even increase your profit margins.

And, using the right tools, you can make the mentor matching and communication process quicker and easier for everyone.

Use Workrowd

Using Workrowd, you can connect your mentors and mentees so that everyone benefits from your reverse mentoring program. Plus, you get real-time analytics on how this initiative is helping your team. That way, you’ll have everything you need to build the best program possible.

Want to find out more? Get in touch to book your free demo.

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Learning & Development

5 tips for finding a career coach to help employees succeed

The number of coaches has soared in recent years. It feels like everyone has either become a coach, is training to be a coach, or has had coaching recently. But that hasn’t made the task of finding a career coach for your employees any easier.

In fact, with so many options it may be harder than ever. What should you look for, and what difference could it really make to your business? Let’s take a look at some tips for finding a career coach for your organization:

Why finding a career coach for your employees is important

Coaching’s biggest benefit is its ability to improve someone’s career growth. It makes them better at problem solving and communication, so they can level up faster and so can your business.

A coach is someone objective to a situation—and perhaps your business—that employees can talk through their issues with. This can often help de-escalate situations or simply help them let off steam. That way they don’t take it out on their colleagues.

One of the things coaches can help employees with is their communication. In turn, this can enhance your internal communications and improve conflict resolution. So projects get completed faster and with less stress for everyone.

Speaking of stress, finding a career coach for employees can also support them through periods of transition, like mergers or layoffs. These often result in restructurings or new/changed responsibilities. Employees who get left behind when their colleagues were let go can also suffer from a form of survivor’s guilt. Finding a career coach for employees can support them through the transition so that their mental health and productivity take less of a hit.

Coaching sessions also act as a break to an employee’s day. This can help them to go back to problems with a clear head, even if their current issue isn’t what they talk to their coach about. So then they can see solutions to a challenge they hadn’t noticed before because they were just too close to it.

With all of this in mind, it’s no surprise that coaching has a 221% ROI. That’s an impressive impact for what may only amount to an hour out of an employee’s day each month.

Companies with a strong coaching culture also report higher revenue growth than those in their industry peer group.

Tips for finding a career coach

Now that we’ve explored the benefits of finding a career coach for your employees, let’s see how to find one and what you should keep in mind on your search:

Ask for recommendations

Recommendations are one of the fastest ways of finding a career coach, and it’s how 46% of people find them. Social proof is a powerful thing that can support your decision making and reassure you that you’ve chosen the right person.

You could even ask your employees via a survey or in your employee groups. They may not know someone directly, but employee posts on social media sites get considerably more reach than company posts. So even if they can’t suggest someone, they’ve got a better chance of finding someone.

Need help improving your employee surveys or groups so that it’s easier to collect and organize information? Check out Workrowd.

Look on LinkedIn 

Even if you get a referral from someone you trust, it’s worth looking a career coach up on LinkedIn, or their own website, to see what you can find. They may be the perfect match for you, but likewise they may not be based on their prior experience.

Also, if you don’t have anyone to ask for recommendations, LinkedIn research is a great place to start. You can search the site using your industry and coaching-related keywords, and see what it suggests.

LinkedIn groups (or even Facebook ones!) related to your industry are another place to look or ask for recommendations on finding a career coach for employees.

Many people who have a history in an industry, or work in its periphery (like coaches) will often be members of industry groups to try to find new clients.

Check their credentials

Did you know the coaching industry is unregulated? That means anyone can call themselves a coach without any formal qualifications. This could open you up to poor advice at best and potentially dangerous and/or illegal consequences at worst.

Qualified coaches have spent hundreds of hours helping people in all sorts of situations within their field. Some may specialize in certain situations or areas, like senior leadership or career transitions.

A qualified career coach knows how to handle situations sensitively. They center the conversation on the employee’s needs and don’t judge them or make it about themselves. These are important skills that must be learned and cultivated but which often don’t come naturally.

So, when you’re working on finding a career coach for your employees, check their credentials. If you can’t find any, consider looking elsewhere.

Consider their specialties 

If you need a coach who understands the nuances of a particular industry, specializes in neurodivergence, or can teach your employees particular skills, you need to keep in mind someone’s specialties when finding a career coach for employees.

These will often be listed on their LinkedIn and may also feature on their website.

From my experience, coaches’ LinkedIn profiles are often more up-to-date than their websites, but I’d still recommend checking both. LinkedIn gets prioritized because of time constraints and LinkedIn’s increased exposure. Checking both will give you the most well-rounded picture of what someone could be like to work with.

Don’t forget the ROI

If a coach is cheap, is that because they’re not as experienced solving problems? Do they have fewer qualifications? Is it because they don’t understand your industry?

Spending less money doesn’t always mean cost savings. Sometimes it can end up costing you more because they were the wrong coach for you. Take the time to make a decision so that you’re not tied into a contract with someone who hinders, rather than helps, your employees.

With such a high potential ROI, you want to ensure you make the right decision when finding a career coach for employees.

Conclusion 

Finding a career coach for your employees can not only boost their careers, but your business productivity and profits, too.

There are no downsides to upskilling and reskilling your employees, especially not in the current climate. So long as you find someone who’s an expert in the field you need, you’re all set to support your employees’ current and future careers.

Want to make sure your employees not only know about career coaching opportunities, but all the other great programming you offer? Workrowd has the tools you need.

With an all-in-one command center for your employee groups, programs, events, and resources, plus automated analytics, you can build a world-class employee experience without the stress. Book a free discussion call with us to learn how we can empower you to reduce admin work and boost engagement across your organization.

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

Why you need an ERG mission statement—and what to include

Setting your ERGs up to succeed is setting your business up to succeed. And part of that is ensuring that each one has an ERG mission statement.

Two-thirds of ERGS have two leads who spend up to 3 hours per week managing their group.

It’s therefore no surprise that ERG leaders are increasingly getting compensation for their work. In 2022, 42% were compensated, up from 6% just two years earlier. On average, the compensation is just over $2,000 per year.

ERGs are so effective that 90% of Fortune 500 companies have them according to MicKinsey, and 100% of the DiversityInc Top 50 have them.

To get the most out of them, you need an ERG mission statement. This keeps everyone, from employees who are part of the group to your senior executives, onboard with them. They explain what the group adds to the business and ensures that no one thinks it’s ‘just’ a diversity initiative.

An ERG mission statement also helps employees decide if a particular group is right for them, as they know what goal(s) they’re working toward.

Why you need an ERG mission statement

To keep everyone focused

When you have an ERG mission statement, it helps keep everyone rowing in the same direction.

To attract new members

A clear ERG mission statement shows new hires, and even longer-term employees who have been skeptical in the past, what your employee resource groups are all about.

It gives them a clear signal whether a group is a fit for them and how they might be able to contribute.

To show the business benefits

When everyone in an ERG is working toward the same thing, it’s a lot easier to measure the business benefits because it’s clear what the goal(s) of the group are.

To attract the right executive sponsor

Your executive sponsor can help with everything from recruitment to budget to group participation. How invested they are can depend on what the group is trying to achieve. Outlining it clearly in an ERG mission statement ensures your executive sponsor stays engaged and on track.

How to create your ERG mission statement

When it comes to designing your ERG mission statement, it’s important to include your group members (or the people who will become members).

Have an open, respectful discussion where everyone can speak about what they want from the group and think it could achieve. Otherwise, the people directly involved in the group won’t be as invested in its goals.

Jot down core values that (could) drive your group without filtering them. This ensures everyone feels heard and you’re not blocking the best ideas from coming through.

Filtering ideas when you’re brainstorming can lead to blockages. Ideas are like a tap—the longer it’s turned on the more easily they come through.

Values could include advocating for each other, knowledge sharing, mentorship opportunities, etc.

Refine your values into 3-5 that you can easily articulate for your ERG mission statement. Then, consider potential (or current, for an existing group) strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Map out your stakeholders and potential activities, too.

Once you have that, consider what you could achieve that’s in keeping with those values and the business’s goals. How can you line the two together?

For example, a car company could have a disability ERG that supports the business to design vehicles that are more accessible for disabled drivers.

Next steps in creating your ERG mission statement

As for articulating your goal, think about how you’d tell someone new to the company about your ERG. It shouldn’t require further explanation or elaboration. If it does, you need to get more specific in your ERG mission statement.

When you write your goal(s) down, think of it/them as stretch goals: ambitious but achievable. Keep things too small and there’s no motivation there; aim too high and people will lose momentum because they know it can’t be done.

Next, consider breaking up your goals into objectives. For instance, if you want to connect more women in the workplace, how could you do that? Monthly meetups in the office? Virtual networking? LinkedIn training to help them connect with people outside of the office?

Other things to consider for your ERG mission statement

While it helps to sum up your ERG mission statement in a sentence, you also need to consider things like:

Who can join?

While you don’t want to be discriminatory, obviously each group has to be aimed at a certain type of person—that’s the point.

Who runs them? For how long? How do you choose them?

Your group’s success depends on who’s in charge, which means you need a clear process for how leaders are elected and how long they lead.

Do they stay in position until they choose to leave, or do members get to vote on who’s in charge?

While you don’t want to cause conflicts within your organization, getting members to vote on group leaders can mean that they’re more involved and understand what the leader wants to achieve, how they plan to lead the group and shape the business.

While this doesn’t need to be part of your ERG mission statement, deciding it is key to structuring your group.

What compensation do you offer group leaders?

Do you offer leaders compensation for the time and energy commitment of running a group?

Any group lives or dies by the people running it, which means you need the right people in charge. You also need to consider how it will affect their existing responsibilities.

As discussed above, almost half of employers now pay group leaders for running groups. While this isn’t a huge amount, in the current climate, a little goes a long way.

Not to mention it shows that you value ERGs and how they contribute to your business.

It gives your groups, and their leaders, a level of importance that a free group doesn’t have. This can also mean that your leaders take it more seriously, too, as it’s something that they’re being compensated to do.

How often will you update your ERG mission statement?

If a group achieves its ERG mission statement, then what?

Or if the leader changes and wants to take things in a different direction, how will you decide on that?

How can the group help the business in the short- and long-term?

Ultimately, your ERGs will get more investment if senior leaders in your business can see them driving business impact. That starts with your ERG mission statement and group leaders, and trickles down to your group members and how they support the business. The clearer you are about these goals, the easier it is to get everyone focused.

Conclusion 

Your ERG mission statement shows everyone within your business that your ERG is here to stay. It’s a serious business investment that matters to your organization and your employees.

If you want a tool that can help you manage your employee groups, check out Workrowd. You can put everything your employees need to know in one handy place, making your groups an even better opportunity and resource.

Plus, with one-click signups, automated event reminders and surveys, and even analytics, you’ll be fully equipped to make the most of your ERGs and other employee programs. Get in touch today to learn more and schedule your free demo.

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Company Culture

How to write a company mission statement that drives results

If you’re looking for tips on how to write a company mission statement that actually makes a difference for your organization, you’ve come to the right place.

A company mission statement informs how you run your business. It sets you apart from your competitors and helps customers choose you over them. It keeps you and your employees focused so that you can more easily decide what you’re going to work on next. Or, if you should change course.

Over 90% of businesses with well-defined mission statements surpass industry averages in growth and profits. This shows the impact this North Star can have. So, let’s explore how to write a company mission statement that drives results.

What is a company mission statement?

A company mission statement is a series of points, a sentence, or a paragraph that explains what drives your company and why it exists.

It’s a way to ground everything you do, and for customers to hold you accountable. So there’s a lot to consider when it comes to how to write a company mission statement.

Why do company mission statements matter?

Business growth

When thinking about how to write a company mission statement, remember that it plays a key role in your ability to grow as a business.

As mentioned in the introduction, over 90% of companies with well-defined mission statements achieve growth and profits above industry averages.

This is likely because, when discussing new projects, teams can use the mission statement as a compass. Does the new idea/project keep you heading in the direction of business objectives? Or is it a distraction that will take you off course?

If it’s a distraction, they can pause for now or discard the effort for good. 

Hiring 

When hiring, your company mission statement will affect the types of people who want to work with you.

For instance, a company that puts the environment at its core will be very different from a company that lobbies for the fossil fuel industry.

Including your mission statement in your job postings can help attract and repel the right people. That way, you can improve your quality of hire. How you want your business to come across is key when approaching how to write a company mission statement.

Employee motivation

63% of employees feel motivated when companies have strong mission statements. Compare that to half for companies that don’t have them.

And it makes sense. When we know why we’re doing something, and we’re on board with that why, it’s a lot more motivating. When we feel like we’re doing something for the sake of it, things can get boring, repetitive, and frustrating fast.

It’s important to consider what drives your employees to help frame how to write a company mission statement.

Employee retention

Mission statements also have an impact on retention. Among Millennials, retention increases by 5.3x when they feel connected to the company mission.

However, this is less significant for non-millennials, demonstrating a generational difference.

That being said, Millennials are still the largest group in the workforce. They’re also quickly becoming the next generation of leaders and decision makers. So appealing to them when it comes to how to write a company mission statement is essential.

Employee engagement

Unfortunately, only 28% of employees feel connected to their company’s purpose. This is despite the fact that 84% of Millennials prioritize it.

So, by getting them on board with your mission, you can increase engagement and motivation. And as ripple effects, productivity and profits, too.

Target audience 

Your company mission statement works as a magnet to the right types of customers.

For example, clothing brand Patagonia’s mission focuses around the environment. This encompasses everything from the fabrics it uses to repairing garments someone bought in the 1990s (or replacing them for free!). It creates investment pieces that last users for decades.

A fast fashion brand, on the other hand, focuses on cheap fabric, cheap labor, and cheap costs for its customers.

Rather than sustainability and longevity, their focus is on following fashion trends. This means clothes may not last as long, but their target audience is unlikely to mind if they’re most cost or trend-focused.

When it comes to how to write a company mission statement, you need to keep your target customer in mind as well.

What to consider around how to write a company mission statement

Analysis of mission statements from Fortune 500 companies found that:

  • 51% mention customers
  • 25% include service/services
  • 43.8% mention products and services
  • 19.2% emphasize global presence

That’s not to say you have to include any of these in yours. But it’s always worth knowing what your competitors focus on as your mission statement can be a differentiator (such as in the Patagonia example above).

It just goes to show that there’s a wide range of elements to take into account when it comes to how to write a company mission statement.

How to write a company mission statement 

Always do your competitor research first. This will help you find what differentiates you.

Then, write down a list of core values or interests. Get as many as you can, then cross out the ones that overlap heavily with your competitors.

The ones you’re left with show what differentiates you and can help you to stand out. You can then stick to articulating it as 3-5 points, or turn them into a complete sentence.

Keeping it short makes it more memorable. It doesn’t have to be a catchy slogan, but if it is, all the better.

If it isn’t, you can use it to inform your marketing slogan(s).

For example, an accounting software that wants to make tax returns simpler can use words like simple or easy in their mission statement and marketing copy. They can then view all future campaigns through the lens of whether it communicates the tool’s ease of use.

When thinking about how to write a company mission statement, remember that it should help you stand out.

Conclusion 

Your company mission statement makes it clear to customers, employees, and shareholders what drives your business. It helps you attract the right types of customers and employees and repel those who are the wrong fit. This can improve everything from your employee experience to your customer satisfaction. 

Now that you know how to write a company mission statement, it’s time to put in the work. Want to organize your employee initiatives to get everyone behind your mission?

Workrowd can help. You can store all your employee initiatives in one, easy-to-follow place. Everyone can personalize their own dashboards to find what they need regardless of how long they’ve worked at your organization or what they do. This way, it’s easier to get everyone rallied behind your mission statement. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

Microaggressions in the workplace: examples and what to do

62% of Black employees have experienced microaggressions because of their race, while 64% of women have experienced them because of their gender. 68% of US workers feel microaggressions in the workplace are a serious problem, and I agree.

In this post, we’ll take a look at what microaggressions in the workplace are, explore some examples, and consider what businesses can—and should—do to mitigate them.

What are microaggressions in the workplace?

Microaggressions in the workplace are subtle forms of discrimination against a marginalized group. This could involve an incident, statement, or action against them because of their gender, race, religion, disability, etc. These slights can be direct or indirect, intentional or unintentional.

As the name implies, they are often seemingly small things that can fly under the radar, but ultimately still negatively affect another person.

As they’re often more subtle, they’re harder to notice—let alone address. Over time, however, they can negatively impact your company culture and employee experience, leading to things like stress and burnout. So then your team can’t perform to its fullest and your business suffers as a result.

Examples of microaggressions in the workplace (and what to do)

Now that we know what microaggressions in the workplace are, let’s explore some common examples, then we’ll go into what you can do.

Micromanaging some employees and not others

Micromanaging is never a good idea, but if you do it with some employees and not others, your comments can become microaggressions in the workplace.

For instance, trying to control a female employee’s to-do list but leaving a male employee to manage his own tasks.

Talking over colleagues

28% of people have been spoken over at work. To be honest, I think this number might be higher, we just don’t always recognize it. Many of us interrupt people when we’re excited. Some of us are also so used to being interrupted we don’t even register that it’s happening—especially if we’re prone to doing it ourselves.

But that doesn’t make it acceptable.

According to the Women Interrupted app, women are interrupted 1.43 times a minute in the US. In the UK, it’s 1.67 times a minute.

Being talked over is so common that someone knitted a color-coded scarf, changing the color she was knitting with every time the gender of a speaker changed in a meeting. There was very little of the color that represented women.

These constant interjections can be a form of microaggressions in the workplace.

Telling someone to “smile more”

Most females have been on the receiving end of “just smile” or “smile more” at some point. 

We’ve all heard, “Smile, it’s not the end of the world” from a random stranger or colleague before, too. How is that supposed to cheer someone up?

You have no idea what’s going on in someone’s life, or why they’re not smiling. No one ever says that to a man, either.

If the same comment is only directed towards people from a certain demographic, it may be a version of microaggressions in the workplace.

Nicknames 

Always, always call someone by the name they prefer, not the name you want to call them. That’s it. It’s that simple.

It’s their name; their identity. They have the right to choose it, not you.

By choosing another name for them, whether well-intentioned or not, you may be causing them pain or stress. It’s a pretty targeted type of microaggressions in the workplace.

Mispronouncing names

Likewise, if you mispronounce someone’s name multiple times after they correct you it’s a sign of disrespect.

Problematic language use

Our language usage says a lot about how we think and feel. It’s a reflection of who we are on a subconscious level.

Making comments then dismissing them as “banter” or using old-fashioned terms that are now offensive can be signs of problematic language usage. As well as signs of microaggressions in the workplace.

Ableism 

Despite being asthmatic, I once had to climb four flights of steep stairs in a Victorian building every day to get to the office. Exercise and cold are two huge triggers for me, and old buildings get cold. Especially in the stairwells, which often don’t have heat.

There was an elevator, but it didn’t work. And there was no rush to fix it. Nor was I able to work from home. Or even from a café nearby.

This is an example of ableism. Ableism can be overt, or it can fall into the category of microaggressions in the workplace. Either way, it put me in a preventable situation that triggered my asthma on a daily basis.

There are lots of other examples, such as not allowing neurodiverse employees to wear headphones to drown out noise, not providing a suitable chair for someone with back issues, or not giving enough space for wheelchair users to move around.

What can employers do?

The two most important things you can do are to encourage communication and education.

Encourage employees to talk to people outside of their team or demographic to get to know others as more than just someone competing for a pay check in the same company, but another human being just trying to pay their bills, too.

Education is also important. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of underrepresented talent to educate their colleagues on what life is like. If they want to, that’s fine. But not everyone does and you shouldn’t expect them to.

Instead, employers should host training sessions that teach people what it’s like and what to look for.

When they know how colleagues feel when they’re on the receiving end of microaggressions in the workplace, and what sort of behavior can be construed as offensive (even if they didn’t think it was) it can work as a wake-up call.

It’s not about shaming anyone or making them feel bad. What was acceptable in the 90s isn’t always now; the world has come a long way. (Anyone else remember the fat shaming of the 2000s?)

It’s about considering how other people feel with our language use and choice of actions, and thinking about how we’d feel if we were in their shoes.

Just because it was acceptable in the past, it doesn’t mean we should still be saying or doing it now. Or not call other people out on it.

Leaders set the precedent

Your leaders set an example. Everything from the language they use to the political figures and/or parties they support sets a precedent about what’s acceptable and what isn’t.

Employees need to feel able to call others out on their microaggressions in the workplace or problematic language. The more comfortable they feel doing this, the more their colleagues can learn and the more welcoming your organization will be to everyone.

If employees feel like they’re going to get in trouble for calling someone out, they’re less likely to do it and your business will attract fewer candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, resulting in less innovation.

Conclusion 

Microaggressions in the workplace may be an inevitable part of life, but we can change that. It requires conscious effort and regular training to ensure we make the world a better place for everyone.

At some point, most of us will be on the receiving end of microaggressions in the workplace, or outside of it. The sooner we can stamp them out, the more welcome everyone will feel at work—and the more work they’ll get done.

How to support underrepresented talent in the workplace

Supporting team members from underrepresented backgrounds isn’t just about preventing microaggressions in the workplace; it’s also about offering opportunities. With a central hub for employee events, programs, and groups, you can encourage everything from mentoring to book recommendations.

Need help getting more from your employee initiatives? Book yourself a free Workrowd demo today.

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