Author: Kristina Proffitt

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Employee Experience

Pros & cons of pet-friendly workplaces – are they right for you?

I was scrolling through TikTok the other day when I found a video. It was highlighting pet-friendly workplaces. There were dogs everywhere. It looked like my idea of heaven.

When we first got our dog in 2019, we were always anxious about leaving her home alone. We had relatives or a dog walker visit her, but it wasn’t the same as us being there. 

Three-quarters of pet owners also feel anxious going to work without their pets, so we’re far from alone there.

Now that we both work from home, it allows us to sit with her when she’s sick, we can monitor her health issues better, and we can take her for a walk if we’re feeling stressed and need a break to disconnect.

(She’s actually sitting beside me while I write this, happily watching the TV—one of her favorite hobbies.)

Two-thirds of US households now own a pet. And a third of millennials own at least one. So by joining the ranks of pet-friendly workplaces, you can increase your talent pool. 

There are plenty of other pros and cons that come with pet-friendly workplaces. Let’s take a look at what they are:

Pros

So, what are the benefits of pet-friendly workplaces?

Happier employees

There’s no denying it—animals put smiles on faces. Especially during a long or stressful day. 

58% of pet parents find having a dog at work boosts happiness and 57% find it relieves anxiety or stress.

Which makes sense, because studies have shown that hugging a pet can significantly reduce our stress levels.

Plus, if there are dogs around, those dogs will need to go out. This means employees can’t be glued to their desks for hours on end. Instead, they get some fresh air and movement in, both of which are great for productivity and stress relief.

Greater employee retention

Almost half of dog owners would find it harder to leave their job if the company allowed them to bring their dog to work. Which makes sense when you consider how hard it is to find pet-friendly workplaces.

Improved networking

Pets are great conversation starters between people who wouldn’t normally talk. 51% of people find that pets increase socialization in the workplace.

And getting colleagues talking can lead to increased networking opportunities and even improved confidence.

Save on costs

Pet-friendly workplaces add a huge amount of value for any business looking to attract new employees. With it being so rare to find pet-friendly workplaces, it may streamline your hiring process, and therefore cut down on costs. 

And, since you’ll experience greater retention, it can save you money that way, too.

And 37% of Gen Z dog owners would consider taking a pay cut to work somewhere that’s more pet-friendly. 64% would change jobs, or even reduce their hours, to spend more time with their pets.

When pet parents can take their pets to work, it also works out cheaper for them because they don’t have to pay for a dog walker or daycare, which can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars per month—or even per week.

So, pet-friendly workplaces save on costs for everyone.

Cons

While pet-friendly workplaces come with huge benefits, like everything, there are downsides to having pets in the workplace, too:

Not every pet behaves well

Some pets push boundaries. Some might beg for food, or trawl the carpet for crumbs, while others may be more disruptive by going to the bathroom in the office or making noise during meetings.

One solution to this is to bring in a trainer to work with pets and their owners. It’s a great bonding opportunity for pet and owner, as well as between employees who may work in different departments but have the common ground of being pet parents.

Allergies

Some employees may be allergic to pets, which can make having them in the workplace a pretty serious issue.

Allergies can range from mild irritation to people not being able to breathe, so you have to be sure to make accommodations.

It may distract employees

Having animals everywhere can be distracting, particularly if they’re poorly behaved or just want a piece of someone’s lunch. 

But, at the end of the day, employees know they’re there to work. 

And with the right training, exercise, and nutrition, animals will understand that it’s work time. They’ll learn to sit quietly with their owner while they get some work done.

Some animals won’t get along

If you have a workplace that’s welcoming to dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ferrets, or any other type of animal, you risk conflicts. 

As well as the obvious, such as dogs chasing cats, you can have issues with cats or terriers following their instincts and trying to catch smaller animals, which can cause issues between not just the animals, but colleagues, too.

The best solution to this is to ask employees which animals they have, and if they’d like to bring them to work. That way, you get a clear idea of who’s interested and can look for solutions. 

For example, if you have an even split between dog and cat owners, could they bring dogs in on some days and cats on others, or dogs for one week and cats another? Or have one section of the office for dogs, and another for cats?

Don’t underestimate the power of asking employees for their thoughts and solutions, either. They may come up with something you hadn’t considered.

Conclusion

Pet-friendly workplaces aren’t for every business, but they can come with huge benefits for talent attraction and retention. And maybe even your workplace productivity, thanks to the boost it provides to employee wellbeing. You never know—joining other pet-friendly workplaces could be exactly what your employer brand needs.

Want to ensure pet parents know what options are available to them and get quickly connected to fellow animal lovers? Workrowd has the tools you need.

Our one-stop shop enables you to share employee information, groups, programs, and events through one central hub. Team members can quickly personalize their experience, and provide ongoing feedback so you always know what’s getting results.

Does it sound like this could be useful in your workplace? If so, visit us online to learn more, or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com to get started.

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Hybrid/Remote

7 tips to make the hybrid work model work for your team

63% of high-revenue growth companies utilize a hybrid work model. 69% of companies with negative or no growth, meanwhile, prefer employees fully onsite or fully remote.

The majority of employees—98%, in fact—want to work remotely at least some of the time. Over half of them find it harder to connect with their coworkers when they’re remote, though.

So it’s no wonder that 68% of US workers feel that a hybrid work model is the perfect compromise.

While this has the potential for huge business rewards and boosts to employee mental health, it also comes with unique challenges.

So how do you manage a hybrid work model? Let’s take a look at how to get the most from your hybrid workers:

Have a plan and set guidelines

Employees need to know what you expect from them. That starts with setting clear guidelines around things like working patterns, team tools, and company norms.

Do you expect them to be in the office for set hours each week?

Do you not mind how many hours they work, so long as they get the job done?

The clearer you communicate your expectations of employees, the happier—and more engaged—employees will be. And, the more your hybrid work model will help with employee retention and attraction.

Coordinate when everyone is in the office

It can help to have a set day when everyone from a particular team—or within the company—visits the office. This ensures everyone can organize meetings or social engagements around the day they plan to be there. It can also help with things like desk allocation.

Alternatively, get employees to coordinate with their colleagues so that if they do want to meet up in person, they can.

Ask employees what they want

The type of hybrid work model that works for one business may not work for another. That’s part of why it’s important to ask employees what they want. There are so many different ways to do it.

What kind of hybrid work model would be best for them? How many days per week or month do they want to come in?

Do they want a flexible arrangement?

The more information you can get from them, the more informed your decisions will be. And the happier employees will be with the outcome.

Make the office inviting

Offices can be dull, dreary, uninspiring, and uncomfortable places to work. You’ll get far more out of employees if they want to be there.

No one wants to be cramped in a cubicle or stuck in an office that was last redecorated in 1983.

So how can you show off your brand in your office? How can you make it inviting to employees and guests?

Could you provide ergonomic furniture? A more inviting color scheme (that reflects your brand’s personality)?

And how you can encourage collaboration within your meeting spaces? Flipcharts? Interactive whiteboards? Different seating layouts?

Don’t forget to factor in somewhere employees can go for quiet time, too. Offices can be noisy environments. This can be distracting and/or overwhelming for employees, especially if they spend more time in the office than not. And this can lead to a reduction in productivity if you don’t take this into account.

Employees need somewhere they can go to focus on their work, free from distractions from colleagues. Whether this is in the form of bookable meeting rooms, booths, or a coffee area, is up to you.

Making the office inviting is about so much more than just adding a pool table. In order for the hybrid work model to work for you, you need a positive and engaging office environment.

Create systems

The more specific, easy-to-use systems you have in place, the easier it makes it for you—and employees—to manage your hybrid work model.

How will you organize desk allocation? Will you have a hotdesking system? What booking software will you use?

What about meeting room management?

How can employees find out if their colleagues are in the office?

One thing that can make a huge difference is to…

Use the right tools

Technology is key to a hybrid work model. It can help with project management, track who’s in the office, manage desk allocations, facilitate remote computer maintenance, and so much more.

It’s also important for communication. If employees aren’t in the office every day, being able to hop on a video call or drop someone a message means that projects don’t have to come to a halt just because someone isn’t physically present.

If you already have remote workers who can’t commute into the office, project management software and remote communication tools ensure that everyone stays on the same page regardless of where they’re working from.

Some software options include:

  • Project management 
  • Workplace analytics
  • Remote maintenance
  • Video conferencing
  • Instant messaging
  • Screenshot recording

Adapt based on the findings of your software

Workplace analytics software enables you to see how often people come into the office, what tools they use, etc. It allows you to manage resources based on how many people work in person, and monitor how people use the space.

This information means you can work out exactly how much space you need, so the office doesn’t feel too big and empty or too small and cramped. So then you can work out if you still need that huge office space, or if you can reduce costs and reinvest the money elsewhere.

Workplace analytics software empowers you to take a data-driven approach to your return to office, so that you get the most from the space and your employees.

Remember: it’s not one-size-fits-all

28.2% of employees currently utilize a hybrid work model. As more businesses want employees back in the office, and employees crave human connection, hybrid working could be the perfect arrangement.

But what works for one company may not work for another. After all, every person, every business, and every industry works differently. This unique combination of factors means that you have to keep communication open to find out what’s working and not working for your employees.

If you’re looking for an easier way to keep employees connected and thriving under your hybrid work model, Workrowd’s all-in-one suite of tools can help. With all your employee groups, programs, events, and resources under one roof, team members always know where to go to get the information they need.

Whether your people work from home, the office, or somewhere else, Workrowd keeps everyone aligned. And with real-time analytics, you always know what’s giving you the most bang for your buck.

Ready to make the hybrid work model work for you? Visit us online to learn more, or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

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Wellness

10 office adaptations to improve workplace mental health

It’s estimated that 12 billion working days are missed each year due to depression and anxiety, costing $1 trillion in lost productivity annually. Needless to say, it’s pretty important that companies do what they can to address workplace mental health and support employees who may be struggling.

I knew depression and anxiety were bad, but I didn’t realize they cost the economy that much. It’s no surprise though, when you consider that almost half of employees feel their mental wellbeing declined in 2022, and 28% feel miserable in the workplace.

60% feel emotionally detached at work, too. And emotional detachment from things we previously enjoyed is a major symptom of depression.

So what can you do to support better workplace mental health?

Remove (or mitigate) distractions

Offices can be noisy, distracting places. Even the virtual office can bombard us with notification after notification. It’s easy for anyone to get distracted, let alone someone who’s already struggling to concentrate.

What distractions can you remove to better support workplace mental health? It may be worth asking your employee what distracts them the most, as the answer will be different for everyone.

Some examples include:

  • Bright lights
  • Loud noises
  • Lots of people coming and going
  • Slack notifications
  • Email notifications
  • Traffic outside the window

The solution might be to allow them to work from home, move the location of their desk, or have specific focus hours where others can’t distract them.

Utilize noise-canceling headphones

Noise-canceling headphones are magical, especially in noisy offices.

I couldn’t have survived working in an open-plan office without them because the constant shouting (yes, really) coming from other people’s desks made it almost impossible for me to concentrate.

Try fidget toys

I bought a fidget toy last year, and I regularly use it when I need to concentrate on editing something. I find it grounding, using it to keep my hands busy while my mind focuses.

It makes it easier for me to hone in on one task. So many of my friends were skeptical when I first got it, but they’ve tried it and since bought their own.

There’s a fidget toy out there for everyone, whether it’s a fidget spinner, stress ball, or something else. You could even order some with your company’s branding to distribute to employees in support of workplace mental health.

Buy supportive tech

My reMarkable 2 is my best friend. I use it every day to write what I have to do and what I have to remember. And I get a hit of dopamine every time I check something off my to-do list. If it isn’t on my reMarkable, it doesn’t get done.

What technology could you adopt to help your employees keep track of tasks? Is there an app, like ClickUp or Todoist? Or a piece of hardware like a tablet?

Something as simple as having an easy way to organize to-dos and visualize progress can boost workplace mental health.

Get a whiteboard

Tech is great, but sometimes it can also be handy to have something glaring and in your face so that you really can’t forget what’s most important.

An office whiteboard is a simple way for employees to see what’s been done and what still needs to be done.

Or even to jot quick notes to each other or play a game during some downtime. (Tic Tac Toe can be great when you need to rest your brain, whatever your age.)

Try sit/stand desks or anti-fatigue mats

Movement can really help our ability to concentrate. It’s also much better for our posture than sitting at a desk all day, and helpful for someone who’s feeling fidgety or restless.

So incorporating more movement opportunities into employees’ days can be great for workplace mental health.

Giving people the option of a sit/stand desk enables them to work comfortably based on how they feel physically and mentally. It’s great for their short and long-term health.

Anti-fatigue mats, meanwhile, can help employees who stand at their desks. The mats improve blood flow and are much more comfortable on employees’ feet than a hard office floor.

Embrace natural lighting

The best type of lighting for our minds—and eyes—is natural light. It’s very different from harsh, bright, overstimulating light that can add to someone’s stress levels if they already feel down, anxious, or ill.

Could you dim the lights in the employee’s space? If there’s no option to dim them, could you disconnect one or two to make it less harsh?

Also consider ways to take the glare off people’s screens from windows, such as screen protectors or moving their desk space. These are simple, no or low-cost adjustments that can make a big difference for workplace mental health.

Allow a support animal into the office

Hugging or petting an animal can calm our nervous systems, making it a quick and simple way to reset when we feel stressed. As a result, we can get more work done because we spend less time feeling anxious or worried.

Allowing pets in the office is also a good way to increase your talent pool. Some pet owners are unable to afford pet care, so enabling them to bring their pet with them can really help to improve workplace mental health.

Create private spaces

Sometimes, we just need to be alone. And once we’re alone, we can get so much more done.

But to get to that point, we need a quiet space to recharge and disconnect from the outside world. Something which is increasingly hard to come by these days.

Is there a quiet room you could allocate for employees to do some deep work? Or even allow them to nap or meditate when they need some alone time?

Could you use a room-booking software for it, to ensure that nobody disturbs them?

Make the work environment calmer

We live in a world that’s switched on 24/7. And that’s terrible for workplace mental health. Is there a way you can create a calmer environment?

Not to the point where employees feel like they’re going to fall asleep at their desks, but where their senses aren’t being bombarded all the time. 

For example, lots of posters or things to look at in the office can be overwhelming. Ditto to lots of smells or sounds. A calm color, and a landscape painting or two, is much more soothing.

Conclusion 

Supporting workplace mental health is about a combination of physical workspace transformations and actions that allow employees to work in a way that’s best for them. Every person’s needs will be different, which is why it’s important to listen and adapt things as needed.

If you’d like to offer more workplace mental health support, why not help employees connect with others through a mental health-focused ERG? While you’re at it, why not make it easier for the whole team to access programs, groups, and events related to their mental wellbeing?

Workrowd puts everything employees need right at their fingertips. Combine that with our easy, automated feedback opportunities, and you’ve got a flexible, turnkey way to improve workplace mental health.

Want to see how this can change the game for your organization? Visit us online or send us a quick note at hello@workrowd.com.

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Categories
Wellness

8 workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety

It’s no secret that mental health has become a major issue across today’s workforce. If you haven’t yet had to consider workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety, odds are high that you will soon.

Depression is one of the top three workplace problems employee assistance professionals face, rivaled only by family crises and stress.

But let’s face it: family crises can lead to stress, and stress can lead to depression. And depression can lead to stress. And stress can lead to family crises. So really, they’re all related.

If you don’t nip depression in the bud, it can spiral and result in decreased employee morale, increased sick time, and ultimately, higher turnover.

Depression also often goes hand-in-hand with anxiety. It’s one of the most common mental health comorbidities, with around 60% of people who have depression also experiencing anxiety, and vice versa.

56% of employees with anxiety feel it impacts their workplace performance, 51% feel it affects their relationships with their colleagues and peers, half feel it affects the quality of their work, and 43% find it impacts their relationships with their superiors. These are all pretty significant issues.

So, what workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety can you make to help mitigate—and hopefully, eventually eradicate—these challenges?

Come up with strategies together

Depression and anxiety can both come with sides of brain fog. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give your employee a say over their workplace accommodations, though. Not giving them a voice is only likely to make their mental health worse.

Instead, listen to them, let them explain how they feel, and see if they know what might help (from, say, reading a blog post like this one). Then, work together to come up with coping strategies.

Once you’ve devised a plan, write it down so you both know what you’ve agreed on.

Refer to the agreement regularly and check in to see if any further changes need to be made.

Communicate clearly and be specific

There’s nothing worse than someone saying, “We need to talk,” when you have anxiety. It can cause anything from mild panic to sheer terror. 

Please, when you schedule a meeting with anyone, tell them what it’s for. This is good for respecting employees’ time and helping mitigate any potential worries whether they have a mental health condition or not.

Even better, have a clear agenda that allows for all attendees to plan beforehand. (And maybe even give them permission to not attend any meetings that don’t have a clear agenda, so their time doesn’t get wasted.)

This is one of the simplest workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety, but also an incredibly important one.

Watch your words

Most people mean well when they say things like “You’re so strong for doing X while Y is happening.”

But when you’re on the receiving end of it, it can feel irritating and condescending. Especially if the person who says it doesn’t know the full story.

It also then means that that person may feel less able to be vulnerable in future scenarios, so it puts them at greater risk of burnout. 

It should be okay to be vulnerable. It’s being able to express those negative emotions that can lead to greater resilience and stronger mental health long-term.

Offer flexible working

A strict 9-5 schedule doesn’t work for everyone. And sometimes a person may not feel great in the morning, but they may be able to work later in the day.

Also, employees should be able to attend doctor’s or therapist’s appointments during working hours.

Many healthcare settings aren’t open outside of traditional 9-5 hours, which means that if an employee doesn’t have flexible work options, they have to use up their paid time off. Which is really unfair when a healthy employee doesn’t need to do that.

Having less paid time off to relax can have a damaging impact on employees’ mental health, making their situation even worse. Especially when their colleagues aren’t in the same boat. This is one of the workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety that can make for a more equitable company culture.

Allow regular breaks

Sitting at a desk for four-hour chunks at a time isn’t normal. No one should have to sit still for that long because of the numerous health issues it causes and exacerbates.

Let all your employees get up and move about; have a chat in the kitchen about what they watched on TV last night; make a drink to stay hydrated. All these things are good for everyone’s mental and physical health.

So long as they get the work done, that’s the most important thing, right?

Offer coaching

Sometimes, when we’re feeling stuck, talking our situation through with someone can help.

Coaching can be a great way to offer workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety. It supports people dealing with these challenges, and helps them find a path toward what they want to achieve while giving them something positive to work on.

Remove non-essential duties

When our mental health is struggling, tasks can take more energy.

To help, is there anything non-essential you could take off of your employee’s plate?

For example, do they really need to go to that meeting? Or could you share the notes with them after?

Meeting attendance often doesn’t need to be mandatory. Many attendees’ time could be better spent on their tasks, rather than sitting in a meeting where they can’t get a word in anyway as there are too many cooks in the kitchen.

Break down tasks into smaller chunks

Tasks can feel overwhelming when you’re short on energy. The smaller the chunks you break a task down into, the more dopamine it triggers in the brain. And therefore, the bigger the boost to mental wellbeing.

It also makes the task less intimidating and therefore easier to do. Getting the ball rolling can be the hardest part, so focusing on something smaller can really help get someone out of a funk.

For instance, when writing a blog post, I don’t list my task as “write a blog post.” Instead, I break it down into:

  • Research
  • Planning
  • Writing
  • Structural editing
  • Copy editing
  • Send to client
  • Client edits (if required)

These smaller chunks mean I can do one task a day, or do several a day, and still feel like I’ve accomplished things. Something as simple as making it easier for someone to see and track their progress on tasks can do wonders as workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety.

Conclusion

Depression and anxiety are horrible diseases that don’t just impact the person going through them, but the people around them, too.

It’s not always easy to ask for help when struggling, so offering to support employees in an empathetic way can help them get back on their feet.

But remember: they didn’t get to this point overnight, and they won’t get better overnight, either. Plus, while one employee is improving, another may be in the early stages of these challenges.

That’s why it’s important to document your workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety somewhere easily accessible, so everyone knows what’s available when they’re struggling.

While you’re at it, why not make everything employees need easier for them to find? Workrowd enables you to centralize all your employee resources, programs, groups, and events, giving team members one-stop shopping in a user-friendly hub.

You can securely manage versioning, track participation levels, and leverage real-time analytics to ensure your workplace accommodations for depression and anxiety are meeting the need.

Sound like this could be useful for your organization? Great! We’d love to learn more and discuss ways to partner on elevating your employee experience. Visit us online or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

6 challenges women face in the workplace and how you can help

Female leaders are leaving companies at the highest rate ever. For every female director who gets promoted to the next level, two female directors leave. It’s not all that surprising when you consider the wide array of challenges women face in the workplace.

These challenges don’t just hold women back, though. They can have a major negative impact on your bottom line as well. Let’s take a look at some of the challenges women face in the workplace, and what you can do about them:

We’re outnumbered

Just one in four C-suite leaders is female. And only one in 20 is a woman of color.

For every 100 men who are promoted from entry-level roles to manager positions, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of color are promoted.

As a result, men significantly outnumber women at the manager level—and women can never catch up. Uneven promotion rates are often both a component and result of challenges women face in the workplace.

We’re perceived as less qualified

Women in leadership are more likely than men to have a colleague imply they’re not qualified.

And they’re twice as likely as male leaders to have someone mistake them for a more junior employee.

And they’re more likely to report that a personal characteristic—like being female or a parent—has played a role in them being denied or passed over for a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead. Having multiple intersecting identities only adds to the challenges women face in the workplace.

Our DEI work is ignored

Women leaders do more to support employee wellbeing and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

But 40% of them don’t feel the organization acknowledges this work in performance reviews. That’s a lot of time and energy spent on work that no one recognizes. And this is one of the challenges women face in the workplace that could make it harder to advance.

Women are also 1.5 times as likely as men at their level to have left a previous job because they wanted to work for a company with a stronger commitment to DEI. Given the stats, it’s hardly surprising.

We’re stretched thinner

Female leaders are more overloaded than men in leadership. 43% of them experience burnout compared to 31% of men at the same level.

We get less support

Women of color get less support, but are more ambitious. 41% of them want to be top executives, despite the challenges women face in the workplace. That’s compared to 27% of white women.

We want more workplace flexibility 

Just 10% of women want to work primarily on-site. As a result, women are more likely to stay at, or join, a company that offers remote or hybrid work options.

Working remotely some or all of the time isn’t just about the flexibility, though.

Women who work this way experience fewer microaggressions and higher psychological safety. This decrease is even more significant for women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities.

So, what can you do?

Those stats are pretty upsetting, right? So, what can you do?

To overcome the challenges women face in the workplace, it requires a team effort. Everyone has to do their part, regardless of gender. Or seniority.

Leaders must set an example. Everything from how they talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion, to if they challenge their own unconscious biases, can impact the behavior of their employees.

Challenge the stigma

It’s only when people step up and challenge stigmas that others notice their unconscious biases. It’s not always a comfortable conversation, but it’s an important one.

Can you hold unconscious bias training?

Or get a senior leader to talk about their experience facing bias?

The stories told by senior leadership can stick with employees. Especially when you factor in that we process—and remember—stories better than statistics.

When leaders share their challenges, it makes them feel more accessible to employees. It can also turn their problems from abstract concepts that happen to someone else, into tangible problems that employees should look out for.

Encourage DEI initiatives (and recognize those who run them)

What do your DEI programs look like? Really?

And, more importantly, do you recognize the hard work put in by the people who run them?

It’s important to recognize any extra work done by employees, whether that’s overtime, running an employee group, organizing charity work, or something else. This makes them feel valued and appreciated—and means they’re more likely to stay.

Consider a quota

I know, quotas sound questionable. But they work. And they don’t mean that incompetent women get in; in fact, they weed out incompetent men.

So, if you’re serious about helping eliminate the challenges women face in the workplace, is it worth giving quotas a go? Even if only temporarily?

Provide support (and listen to your employees)

Do you listen to employees when they give you feedback? Or do you collect it then forget it?

It’s important to act on the feedback employees give you, particularly if there are recurring patterns.

Making employees feel heard, and reducing the sources of their stress, can help prevent burnout.

Which, over time, can also reduce the money you lose to sick leave and employee churn.

Offer flexible working

Flexible working is more inclusive regardless of what your DEI goals are. It can also help address a number of the challenges women face in the workplace with one change.

Could you offer more flexible hours? A hybrid approach? Or even remote work opportunities?

Watch your words

The language we use creates a particular narrative in our minds.

If we spend a lot of time with someone, or we’re in a position of power, those words can also influence how people see us, themselves, and the rest of the world.

So, while you may feel fine using a word like “master” when you talk about “mastering a craft” consider the masculine undertones and the associations with slavery. Because while you may not notice them, words like that can and do affect your workplace culture. 

Conclusion 

The only way talented women will stop leaving companies en masse is if something changes.

That requires businesses to wake up to the challenges women face in the workplace and start supporting them how they want, not how businesses want.

Changes like offering flexible working and using inclusive language show employees you’re committed to making a difference in this area. This can change how they do things, too. But it has to start at the top.

If you’re ready to build a more equitable workplace, you need the right tools. Workrowd empowers you to target challenges women face in the workplace with training, ERGs, resources, and more.

Plus, our real-time analytics ensure you can track your progress over time, as you benefit from a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Want to learn more? Visit us online or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

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Employee Engagement

5 tips for effective one-on-one meetings that drive engagement

95% of managers have one-on-ones with their employees. Just because they’re having them though, doesn’t mean they’re effective one-on-one meetings.

In the best cases, these meetings can be vital to an employee’s career trajectory. They keep team members focused and ensure they know what you expect from them in the short- and long-term.

These clear expectations, as well as support in their career, can improve employee engagement and productivity. It can even improve team members’ well-being.

So, how can you conduct more effective one-on-one meetings that drive employee engagement?

Have an agenda

Having an agenda for any meeting means that all parties know what type of meeting it’s going to be.

A one-on-one without an agenda can be a source of panic for employees, especially if they’ve previously worked at companies where one-on-ones consisted of their boss berating them for an hour.

Come up with a clear list of what you want to discuss. 

Ask employees what they want to talk about, too. 

That way, you both know what to expect and can do any preparation needed. Employees also get to feel like their voice is heard.

Create a welcoming atmosphere

Employees need to feel like they can talk to you. Otherwise, they’re going to shut down and you not only won’t get a lot from them in the meeting, but you won’t get the most from them work-wise, either.

Effective one-on-one meetings are the perfect place to discuss roadblocks or other workplace challenges. Just over 70% of managers feel this is a good way to use them.

But if an employee doesn’t feel you’re approachable, they’re less likely to talk to you if they’re stuck.

Instead of saying, “don’t come to me with a problem, come to me with a solution,” make it clear to employees that if they can’t think of a solution, you’re there to support them. But you’re also there to brainstorm and help them address challenges as well.

You can then encourage them to trust their instincts solving future problems.

Otherwise, they may waste more time feeling stuck because they can’t find a solution when you have one already.

Discuss the good and bad

The topics discussed the most in effective one-on-one meetings are:

  • Growth and development
  • Performance
  • Employee motivation
  • Connection to people and/or work
  • Autonomy and accountability
  • Alignment to company mission. 

These are some pretty meaty topics and can go in either direction. Getting the balance right requires giving effective feedback to help employees excel.

Many people are either better at giving criticism or praise. But effective one-on-one meetings have a balance of both. Employees need to know what’s pointing them in the right direction and what’s taking them off course.

If they’ve made a mistake or could have done something more efficiently, instead of dwelling on that, explain why it was less effective and teach them the better way to do things next time.

If you spend the meeting berating them or repeatedly telling them they were wrong, they’re far more likely to shut down and struggle to put what you say into practice.

So be sure to praise what they do right, too. Do they create a welcoming atmosphere for new team members? Are they quick to learn?

Soft skills are just as important as hard skills in the workplace.

Listen 

One of my strongest memories of a workplace one-on-one involved being talked at for an hour. I didn’t get a word in. 

I was told what I’d done right and wrong, and what I needed to achieve in the next year. That was it. 

I didn’t get a say; my thoughts, feelings, and opinions weren’t considered or even asked for. 

That shouldn’t be the purpose of effective one-on-one meetings, especially not in the modern workplace.

Instead, listen to your employee. What matters to them? What do they want to work toward, in the short- and long-term? What’s getting in their way?

How can you help them achieve their goals?

Give guidance

Sometimes, an employee doesn’t know what they want, either in terms of short-term or long-term career growth. Not everyone has a clear trajectory, and they shouldn’t be expected to map one out without support.

Expecting people to know where they want to go when they don’t know what their options are is like asking someone to cook a dish they’ve never heard of without a recipe.

Give them options for where they could go in their career. Consider positions that suit their personality, strengths, and motivations.

If someone enjoys the creative parts of being a marketer, there’s no point in suggesting they become a marketing analyst, for example.

Conversely, if they like the people part of marketing, they might make a great marketing manager or even salesperson.

Or, if you’re not sure what their future could look like, do some research together, or ask people within the business what they think.

Just because someone doesn’t have a clear career vision, that doesn’t mean they can’t do great things with a little help. Effective one-on-one meetings are a great place to start digging into these issues.

Come up with next steps

All effective meetings have a plan at the end. One-on-ones should be no exception.

Whether it’s a small task to be done for next week, like completing a brief, or a long-term plan to help them achieve their career goals, providing actionable next steps means employees know what you want from them, and enables you both to track their progress.

Conclusion 

Effective one-on-one meetings can play a huge role in an employee’s career development. Whether they want to become a manager, a subject matter expert, or something else, you have the opportunity to guide them through pivotal points in their career.

To make these conversations a success, employees need to feel comfortable opening up to you.

They also need to believe you’ll accept what they tell you without judgment.

The more you listen to them, the more they’ll open up, and the better they’ll perform in the workplace.

If you’d like to learn more about what employees want outside of effective one-on-one meetings, Workrowd can help. Establishing an ongoing culture of feedback with our automated surveys and analytics means you’ll always have a pulse on employees’ needs.

Plus, our employee program, group, and event management tools make it easy to design and launch initiatives in response to the feedback you get. Want to learn more? Drop by our site, or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

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Wellness

The HR burnout is real: 10 ways to take care of yourself

While everyone was worried about employee productivity and quiet quitting, a tidal wave of HR burnout was brewing. In fact, 98% of HR professionals report feeling burned out.

Oof, that’s a worrying number.

Burnout isn’t one of those things that goes away on its own.

And, without making permanent changes to how we do things, it will come back, too.

When I interviewed burnout expert Becca Syme a couple of years ago, she said that the people who burned out more than once were the people who tried to go back to their old ways of doing things when they started feeling better. Despite those habits being the reasons they burned out in the first place.

So, how can you take care of yourself and recover from HR burnout? And prevent it in the future?

Embrace technology

Is there some technology you’re resistant to that could make your life easier? Is there anything you could automate? Or streamline?

Could you workshop ideas with a generative AI tool, to help you explain your thoughts more clearly? (But make sure you edit it to sound like you after!)

Could you use a tool like Workrowd to save you time by taking over the admin side of managing and measuring your employee initiatives?

Technology can help with so many tasks to stave off HR burnout. The more we embrace it, the more time we have for genuine human interaction (which also benefits our mental health).

Outsource

If you feel you have too much work and not enough time, what could you outsource? Either to a colleague or a freelancer?

Your colleagues are there to support you.

And freelancers are there to assist you when you want to stay consistent but don’t need the help of another full-time employee. Sometimes offloading tasks is the shortest route to relieving HR burnout.

Get some movement in

Exercise gives us a physical outlet for stress, and therefore makes it easier for us to deal with it.

The more stressed we are, the more exercise we need to counteract it, according to Dr. John Ratey and Eric Hagerman in their book, Spark.

But something is better than nothing.

Even if all you do is walk to the end of the street, it’s still gotten you away from your desk and monitor, and stretched your legs.

Find what helps you disconnect

Time in nature is great for calming our minds.

Is there somewhere outdoors where you could take a walk on your lunch break?

Maybe you live/work near a beach and could walk there?

Or could you take a soothing bath—without your phone—to calm your mind and muscles? Disconnection can be key when you start to feel the strain of HR burnout.

Use your vacation days

Extended breaks are one of the most important elements of HR burnout recovery.

At the start of this year, I felt creatively burned out. I couldn’t even think about book writing, even though I’ve been doing it my whole life.

Taking a break from it (even though I loved it), and going on vacation somewhere totally disconnected, played a huge part in my recovery.

You don’t have to travel far, but a change of scenery and a week or two away from your desk can do wonders to help you recharge. (Just make sure everyone knows not to bother you about work-related matters while you’re gone!)

Be mindful

Mindfulness is all about focusing on being in the moment. What are you doing now? How can you do that to the best of your ability?

Techniques like circular breathing, moving meditations, or even fire breathing can help refocus your mind in just a few minutes. When you feel the HR burnout creeping in, try taking a few moments to decompress.

Prioritize 

Make sure you have a well-organized to-do list. Everything should be listed in order of priority.

Also accept that, no matter how much you want to, you may never complete everything on your list. Using something like an Eisenhower Matrix may help you work out what you need to focus on and what you can outsource or abandon.

I write down all my tasks on my tablet every day, then I number the top three and make sure I check those off.

If something has been on my to-do list for more than a week, I consider how important it really is and if it’s something I should drop.

If it’s something that needs to be done but isn’t urgent, I’ll put some time in the calendar for it or outsource it.

Leave your work at work

If you work in an office and need to disconnect, leave your work devices at your desk or switch them off at the end of the day.

This is a lot harder if you work remotely, but it isn’t impossible.

Consider having a hard cut-off time so that you have a few hours where you can fully disconnect from work. Draw that boundary and reinforce it, even if colleagues try to lure you back into work outside of your specified hours.

Take regular breaks

Throughout the day, make sure you take some time away. This gives your eyes a break from the screen and your mind a break from thinking about work (in theory, anyway).

These don’t have to be long breaks. It could be to make a drink, get some food, or pick the kids up from school.

Taking frequent, small breaks is just as important as longer breaks.

They’re particularly important if you feel restless and can’t concentrate.

Sometimes the solution to a problem is simple, but you’ve been working too hard for too long.

You may well find that solution faster if you take a break now instead of forcing yourself to keep going when you can’t think straight thanks to HR burnout.

Talk to your colleagues

If you’re the type of person to put on a brave face, your colleagues may have no idea you feel burned out.

That’s why it’s important to talk to them about how you feel. They may have solutions you hadn’t considered.

And, as the old phrase goes, a problem shared is a problem halved. Sometimes just talking about your feelings can lower your stress levels and stave off HR burnout.

Conclusion

Burnout, regardless of the cause, can affect every area of our lives. It’s important to look at what caused it and take steps to ease the burden now and reduce the risk of it happening again.

It can feel overwhelming, but there are systems and people out there that can help. While HR burnout may be different in that people are often looking to you to also solve employee burnout, you still deserve the same amount of care to help you recover.

If you’re looking for ways to reduce your workload while simultaneously connecting employees to more and better resources to fend off burnout, you’ve come to the right place. Workrowd has the tools you need to make everyone’s lives easier.

With one-click info and event sharing to all your important channels, streamlined processes for both you and employees, and automated data collection and analytics, you have more time to focus on the work that really matters. Or on yourself!

Visit us online to learn more, or write us at hello@workrowd.com. We’d love to chat.

Cultivate a growth mindset to elevate your employee experience
Employee survey questions to drive real results in 2025
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Categories
Employee Retention

10 tips to adapt your employee retention strategy to today’s talent

In today’s rapidly changing world of work, an effective employee retention strategy is one of the most important tools to have in your toolkit. When employees are engaged at work, they’re 87% less likely to leave.

With more jobs than there are employees out there, it means that people have their pick of the bunch if they do decide to leave. In other words: the stakes are high.

It’s no wonder that 87% of HR leaders have employee retention as their main priority for the next few years.

How do you build a future-proof employee retention strategy, though? Here are some tips to get you started:

Encourage upward feedback

If an employee doesn’t feel comfortable giving upward feedback, they’re 16% less likely to stay at their current job.

Feedback should work both ways.

No manager is perfect, just the same as no employee is.

Nobody can improve without open, honest, considerate feedback that’s designed to help them be the best they can be in their role.

Empowering people to reach their full potential is a key element of an effective employee retention strategy, and enabling two-way feedback is a crucial step.

Foster a culture of respect

Even if someone is below you in the workplace hierarchy, they still deserve respect.

Employees who feel there’s a low level of respect between colleagues are 26% more likely to quit their jobs.

Which is fair enough, really. Somewhere like that will have a negative atmosphere and be really bad for anyone’s long-term wellbeing.

Give employees a sense of purpose

If an employee believes their company has a higher purpose than just profits, they’re 27% more likely to stay.

Millennials and Gen Z-ers especially feel a sense of purpose is important in the workplace. They want more than just money from their jobs.

So making your mission clear is more important than ever, especially as more and more people become interested in causes outside of themselves.

Employees need to be clear on what you stand for. Don’t just change your social media banner for Pride Month, do something for it.

Start discussions; donate money; organize an event. Prove to employees and the outside world how serious you are about your purpose.

And be genuine about it. You don’t want to come across like you’re greenwashing to get points. Authenticity is make or break for both your employer brand and your employee retention strategy.

Recognize employees for a job well done

A little recognition can go a long way towards boosting someone’s confidence and mental health.

But when employees don’t feel valued at work, they’re almost twice as likely to search for a new role.

Sometimes all it takes is a thank you. A shout-out in a meeting or group chat. An extra day off. Or a box of snacks every now and then.

Teach management how to manage

Even though I freelance, I have many friends who still work 9-5. And their main complaint? Their manager never got enough (or any) management training.

As a result, their manager’s communication style is timid or unclear; they lack confidence, which makes their employees doubt their skills, and it makes them less effective/efficient managers.

And this really is a big problem. When managers lack the right skills, employees are FOUR TIMES more likely to quit.

On the flip side, employees are 23% more likely to stay if their manager clearly explains to them their role and responsibilities.

The simple solution, especially when it comes to your employee retention strategy?

Management training!

Invest in employees’ professional development

US employees are 70% more likely to leave for another opportunity if that company invests in employees’ professional development.

Much like how employees want a sense of purpose at work, they don’t want to stagnate, either.

They want to learn new skills and grow as people. When they feel like they’re progressing in their careers, they’re 20% more likely to still be at that company in a year’s time.

So, how could you invest in employees’ professional development?

Could you give every employee a training budget? Organize a lunch and learn? Set up a book club?

There’s an option suitable for every budget.

Update your remote working policy

While there may be a mass return to office going on, companies that allow employees to work from home have a 25% lower turnover rate.

Why?

Because it shows that they care about employee wellbeing and work-life balance.

It also takes distributed companies 33% less time to hire new employees. Just think of the impact on your employee retention strategy and all the money you could save.

Promote work-life balance

With burnout being such a global problem now, companies that encourage work-life balance can attract employees who work hard and play just as hard.

In fact, employees who rate their work-life balance more highly are 10% more likely to stay at their current company.

It’s a rare thing in the modern world for a company to encourage work-life balance and mean it. That makes it a perfect addition to your employee retention strategy.

Update your DEI policy

67% of job seekers consider inclusion and diversity when choosing their next workplace. So, if you haven’t already updated your DEI policy, now is the perfect time.

Don’t forget to check things like your job descriptions and even website copy for discriminatory language, too. The more we’re aware of these things, the more we can all improve.

And the clearer it’ll be to future employees and customers that you really are serious about your DEI efforts.

Give employees agency

Employees who feel in control of their careers are 20% more likely to stay in their roles.

In a world where it can sometimes feel like everything is spiraling out of control, I don’t blame anyone for wanting more agency where they spend most of their time and energy.

Giving your team members control (and guidance, when they need it) in their roles rewards them for their loyalty. Plus, it enables them to feel like they’re making a difference to their own life, their colleagues’ lives, customers’ lives, and maybe even the world itself.

If you’re looking to improve your employee retention strategy, you need the right tools. Ensuring you can maximize the ROI of your employee groups, programs, and events is key.

Workrowd’s all-in-one tool suite puts everything you need at your fingertips, including real-time analytics so you always know what’s getting results. Want to learn more? Visit us online or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

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Learning & Development

5 tips for building workplace book clubs, plus 10 titles to start with

Workplace book clubs offer a tried and true way to boost outcomes for your team and your bottom line. Reading reduces stress levels by 68%. And it only takes 6 minutes of reading to see that effect.

I can personally attest to this. On the days when I start my morning reading a book, or have a reading break at lunchtime, I feel calmer and more productive. I even find that it can inspire me to be more creative in my freelance and fiction writing.

It’s not surprising when you consider that reading fiction can make people better at decision-making by between 50% and 100%! Now that could make a big difference to workplace productivity and efficiency.

Reading is more accessible than ever, too. With ebooks, audiobooks, paperbacks, and hardbacks, there’s truly a way for everyone to enjoy a story.

So, let’s take a look at how you can build a workplace full of readers at your company by leveraging workplace book clubs:

How to build workplace book clubs

Find the right leaders

The person/people in charge of your workplace book clubs should already be fans of reading. In addition, they need to be willing to spread the word about how and why it’s great.

It also helps if they read in lots of different genres, because they’ll be able to keep an open mind to suggestions. Plus, that way they can introduce other members to genres they may not have considered before.

Pick how you’ll choose books

How often will you choose books? And, just as importantly, how will you choose books?

Will a different person pick the book each month? This is a good way to keep people involved and get them to share what they love.

Bestseller lists are also great places to find ideas, because chances are some employees may already want to read what’s on them to see what all the fuss is about (and if it’s justified).

When it’s time to share the chosen book of the month, make sure you have an employee group set up to keep everyone in touch. As with most initiatives, communication is key if you want people to stay engaged.

Invite people to join

Now, it’s time to recruit people!

You could:

  • Send a company-wide email
  • Post on Slack and/or Workrowd
  • Invite people during meetings/catch ups
  • Share it on social media (internally or externally)
  • Drop individual invites, particularly if you know someone likes reading

Decide how everyone will share their thoughts

Will you catch up over video call? In person? Just chat over Slack or on Workrowd? A combination?

Pick a system that works for everyone.

Create talking points

It’s important to have talking points about the book to get the conversation going.

Otherwise, you risk hearing crickets as nobody knows what they should talk about.

For nonfiction, you could ask:

  • What did you learn?
  • Will you be making any changes in your life because of what you learned?
  • Who do you think can benefit from this book the most?
  • Did you find the book thought-provoking?

For fiction, you could ask:

  • What did you think of the characters/who was your favorite?
  • How did you feel about the writing style?
  • Which scene or chapter stuck with you the most?
  • What did you think of the ending?
  • Did the beginning hook you?
  • How does it compare to the film (if there is one)?

Titles to start workplace book clubs with

Here are some titles—on a range of topics—to help you start your workplace book clubs off with a bang:

Big Dress Energy – Shakaila Forbes-Bell

This is one of those books that will always stand out to me because it inspired me to experiment with my outfits.

Reading it made me realize the impact clothes have on mental health and the difference wearing my power colors makes to my mood.

Two months later, I’m still power dressing!

High Performance: Lessons From the Best on Becoming the Best – Jake Humphrey, Damian Hughes

Looking at the worlds of business and sport, this book analyzes the key ingredients of high-performance people and teams.

It features interviews from people like Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, host of The Diary of a CEO podcast Steven Bartlett, and Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey.

I Will Teach You to be Rich – Ramit Sethi

An unusual way of looking at money management, but in the very best of ways. It’s funny, self-deprecating, and accessible.

No, really.

Atomic Habits – James Clear

A classic for a reason. The tips here work great for neurodivergent folks, too.

The Art of Rest – Claudia Hammond

Worried you’ve got colleagues who are at risk of becoming workaholics? Or don’t understand just how important rest is?

This is just the book they need to read.

I read this at the end of last year when I felt guilty for taking the time out to rest. It made me realize that rest makes me better at what I do and has a huge impact on my mental health.

Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss

Negotiation is a key part of the business world. And that’s exactly what this book teaches.

Written by a former international hostage negotiator for the FBI.

Talk Like Ted – Carmine Gallo

If you want to improve your public speaking skills, or someone you know breaks out in hives at the thought of public speaking, this book is perfect.

It’s all about how to tell the best stories—just like in a Ted Talk.

Or, if you’re in the mood for some fiction…

The Ghost’s Call – K.C. Adams

Okay, I confess: I wrote this one.

But it’s the perfect time of year for a ghost story!

It’s a little bit spooky and seriously sarcastic.

The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary

Romance with a twist: the two characters share a bed, but never meet. It handles mental health in a much more open and honest way than a lot of books.

It’s also been adapted into a TV show.

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson

Absolutely nothing like the TV show or 90s adaptation, but full of spooky, haunting imagery.

This is classic horror in that it isn’t full of jump scares, but it will give you the creeps.

Conclusion

Workplace book clubs are a great way to connect employees and boost their wellbeing.

There’s a book out there for everyone. Sometimes we just need some help finding the right one. Workplace book clubs are the perfect place to do just that!

If you’re looking for a simpler way to organize initiatives like workplace book clubs, you’re in the right place. Workrowd’s all-in-one tool suite makes it easy to launch, manage, and measure employee groups, programs, and events.

You can send out announcements on all channels with a single click, organize all your events and materials in one central hub, and automate data collection and analytics.

Sound useful? Visit us online to learn more, or write us at hello@workrowd.com to find a time to chat.

Cultivate a growth mindset to elevate your employee experience
Employee survey questions to drive real results in 2025
5 ways to get more value out of employee communities
Categories
Employee Engagement

5 ways your return to office policy impacts employee engagement

In my previous post on the mass return to office, we looked at the impact it’s likely to have on businesses’ DEI efforts. In this post, we’ll look at your return to office policy from a standpoint of how it impacts employee engagement.

While many managers want employees to be present in person, this can be detrimental to employees’ mental and physical health. Which, ultimately, impacts your bottom line.

So, let’s explore how a return to office policy can hurt employee engagement:

Employees can’t take breaks when they need/want to

I can’t sit at a desk for very long. Usually, I’ll write/edit a piece, then take a break. This makes me look like a massive fidget when I work in an office.

But if I don’t take a break regularly, I can’t concentrate.

The longer I sit still for, the harder it gets for me to focus.

This is the reality for many people who are neurodivergent or have chronic health issues. Sitting still becomes physically and/or mentally uncomfortable.

Not to mention it’s terrible for healthy people, too, causing long-term health issues such as chronic back pain.

Back pain is one of the biggest causes of employee sickness in the US. All told, it costs the economy $250 billion per year. Yes, billion.

I thought I needed new glasses when I read that, too.

Back pain is also one of the leading causes of early retirement.

So if someone retires early from it, you lose out on their industry and company knowledge. Plus, you have to spend money hiring and training other employees to fill the gap.

The simplest way to prevent all this? Ensuring employees move more and sit less.

Spending too long staring at a screen can also lead to eye strain and headaches. This then further causes employees to need to take time off to rest. All because they can’t take a screen/desk break when they need to.

Employees need to feel comfortable taking breaks and stretching their legs (and minds) as often as necessary.

But if their boss believes they must be at their desk in the office at all times to do their job, it doesn’t allow for the flexibility people need to move their bodies and maintain their health.

Employees feel less trusted

Forcing employees back into the office when they’ve worked remotely successfully for several years sends a negative message. This extreme return to office policy suggests you don’t trust them to do their job without someone to monitor them in person.

This message that those in charge don’t trust them can damage their confidence. This is especially true when they may feel like they haven’t been doing a good enough job already.

If they’ve worked hard but it’s perceived to not be good enough, the hit to their confidence can cause them to be less productive and may lead to workplace-related depression or anxiety.

All this adds up to employees disengaging, taking long-term sick leave, or leaving altogether.

Over time, this turnover will cause businesses to waste money on hiring that could’ve been saved by working with employees to find a hybrid or remote working policy that suits everyone’s needs.

Underrepresented talent feels they have to conform

Subconsciously, in an office, we judge the people around us. We judge them based on how they speak, act, and even what they wear.

This forces people to conform. Especially in a conservative workforce, or one that isn’t very diverse (even if it’s trying to change).

This subconscious conformity has an impact on how people think over time, too.

When someone doesn’t express their individuality however they want/need to, it can impact how they think, too.

They’re more likely to second-guess their ideas. So they won’t share them.

Eventually, this lack of other perspectives could lead to groupthink.

And that groupthink will reduce employees’ ability to think creatively, innovate, and problem solve because they’re working with just one limited worldview.

Your return to office policy can make it harder for people to speak their minds, especially if they’re constantly immersed in a one-size-fits-all office culture.

Offices are distracting

I delved deeply into how offices can be distracting in my previous post, so I won’t belabor the point here. But the short version is that big, open-plan offices can be distracting.

Office-based working means it’s easier for colleagues to interrupt someone when they’re concentrating. If that person doesn’t drop what they’re doing to talk to their colleague, they risk being perceived as rude.

But what if they were in the middle of a massive breakthrough, and someone coming up to them, unprompted, broke their flow?

It takes us 20 minutes to get back into something after an interruption.

With the amount of distractions we can experience in an office, those 20 minutes can add up. Just think how much lost time your return to office policy can lead to throughout the working day, let alone a week, month, or year.

Commutes can be draining

Commutes can be draining, especially if there’s a lot of traffic or problems with public transport.

When I used to get the tram to work, if there was some sort of tram delay (which happened a lot), it meant I got into work late. I started the day already feeling stressed before I’d even gotten to my desk. 

My elevated stress levels meant I was more reactive to my surroundings. As a result, I was less able to concentrate.

Plus, I was worried about whether the tram issues would be fixed before the end of the day. And if they weren’t, how long it would take me to get home. And how little energy I’d have left when I got there.

None of these things are an issue with remote working. Instead, employees get more time to spend on what matters to them and don’t need to stress about their commute.

Office-based working vs employee engagement

While some businesses will always need employees there in person, for many modern companies, there’s just no reason to implement a full-blown return to office policy.

For in-person meetings, in most cases, it’s still cheaper to rent a space once a year, or once a quarter, than have a permanent office space that no one wants to use.

If an employee is among the few who prefer to work in an office, they could always find a nearby co-working space, library, or cafe. This is likely to be closer to them than the office, but they still get to be away from any potential at-home distractions.

Looking to balance the benefits of in-person work with the employee engagement perks of remote? Workrowd can help. Our all-in-one tool suite enables team members to find community no matter where or when they work.

Personalized dashboards ensure everyone is always in the loop, and custom analytics let you track your results in real time. Sound useful? Visit us online to learn more, or drop us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

Cultivate a growth mindset to elevate your employee experience
Employee survey questions to drive real results in 2025
5 ways to get more value out of employee communities