During the COVID-19 pandemic , we ’ ve all faced a very real threat to our physical safety and security . Might our response – the humanity we ’ ve mustered and shared along the way – offer a new route map for individual and organisational success ?
Words : Clare Grist Taylor
Featuring contributors ...
Amy Edmondson , Harvard Professor
Judy Ellis , SVP , Head of DEI Advisory , AMS Americas
It ’ s a long time since Abraham Maslow first shared with the world his famous hierarchy of needs pyramid back in the 1940s . As one of the foundations of needs-based theories of motivation , it ’ s often been used as a baseline for thinking about what motivates us to perform and succeed at work , with more recent theories building on the upper stages of the pyramid , assuming – in most cases , correctly – that , in modern society , our more ‘ basic ’ physiological and safety needs are being met .
Yet , if our experience of living with a global pandemic has taught us anything , it ’ s that we ignore those basic needs at our peril . It ’ s been the first time in many years – if ever – that we ’ ve had to contend with such a widespread physical threat to our safety , and there ’ s plenty of evidence that we ’ ll be living with the emotional and psychological impact of COVID for some time to come . Maybe that pyramid is not quite as outdated as we might have thought .
In workplace and talent terms , we know that the pandemic has been an accelerator for a number of key trends that have been bubbling under for some time . Opportunities for remote and flexible working have been tested almost to destruction ; new business models – with tech at the fore – have become the norm ; work and personal lives have been blurred like never before . And , crucially , it has given us all pause for thought when it comes to making real the idea that people really are our greatest asset at work . Operating at a time of crisis , of a very real threat to our safety and security , has amplified debates around work environments characterised by wellbeing , psychological safety and equality and inclusion .
In many contexts , these exceptional times have seen a sort of humanity dividend , a flourishing of kindness and trust , with safety and wellbeing assuming a centrality we ’ ve rarely seen before , certainly on such a scale . Seeing our senior leaders at home , with their cats walking across their screens , has had a humanising effect that has reinforced our shared experience . Many leaders have shown a greater awareness of issues such as stress and burnout . For example , US-based dating app Bumble recently hit the news with an across-the-board , fully paid , offline week off for its pandemic-weary staff , an extension perhaps of its founder ’ s stated aim to make the internet “ a kinder , more accountable place ”.
We face a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine work in ways that , pre-pandemic , might have seemed unimaginable
Elsewhere it has been less than plain sailing , with low-waged and disadvantaged groups disproportionately bearing the brunt of economic turmoil , and applause for health and care workers not quite cutting it when it comes to appreciating fully the sacrifices they ’ ve made to care for the unwell and the vulnerable .
As we emerge from the pandemic , we face a whole host of new challenges and opportunities . We ’ ll inevitably be under pressure to default to the way things used to be ; pandemic fatigue will surely play a role in that . But it seems impossible to believe that our collective experience of almost two extraordinary years will count for nothing . Talk of hybrid working , what that might mean and how it ’ ll work is everywhere . And this is not simply a matter of structures and terms of engagement . We need , too , to have an eye to the progress we ’ ve seen with those safety- , wellbeing- and inclusion-first behaviours .
Judy Ellis , SVP , Head of Diversity , Equity and Inclusion ( DEI ) Advisory , AMS Americas , believes that we face a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine work in ways that , pre-pandemic , might have seemed unimaginable . For Ellis , “ the ROI of the human factor has been proven again and again ”. She firmly believes that seeing people holistically , empowering them to be the best they can be – irrespective of who they are or how and where they work – holds the potential for significant competitive advantage .
Conversely , not paying attention to people ’ s basic humanity is a limiter : “ Those pandemic shared experiences have shone a light on the root causes of a lack of inclusion , accelerating changes in attitudes and behaviours . Having leaders feel able and willing to model behaviours around vulnerability , openness and flexibility has made all the difference ”. She has never before seen C-suites so engaged with this truly human side of human resources .
If Ellis is right , how can we protect – and extend – this progress while meeting the challenges of the great return to the workplace ? What does psychological safety really mean in our new reality ? What ’ s next for DEI ? How can we continue to develop and deploy a more human approach to leadership ? It ’ s time to explore that COVID humanity dividend .
Wellbeing : no longer a nice to have
We should be wary of attributing only positive human consequences to the COVID-19 pandemic . It ’ s been a difficult and disorienting time for everyone , even those of us fortunate enough to be able to work at home in comfort and undisturbed . A November 2020 report from McKinsey suggested that 62 % of employees globally saw mental-health issues as a top challenge during the pandemic , with higher reporting among diverse groups . And , while the same survey reported that 96 % of companies were providing additional mental-health resources , one in six employees reported that they did not feel fully supported .
We ’ ve been talking about wellbeing at work for many years , and the blurring of lines between work and personal lives we ’ ve seen during the crisis has only made it even more of a business priority . But , as with many other behavioural and cultural changes , it will take proactivity and intentionality when it comes to making it happen . McKinsey argues that businesses need to treat wellbeing as a “ tangible skill , a critical business input , and a measurable outcome ”.
That ’ s not going to be easy . It ’ ll take not just will , but also skill to be able to anticipate and assess individual wellbeing needs and customise responses accordingly , offering coaching and support , communicating clearly about the support that ’ s available and providing safe spaces for open and honest conversations . If we are really going to “ eliminate … work culture ( s ) that imply work should come before personal needs ”, it ’ ll mean time and money for better relationship and trust building as well as technical learning and development .
On the ground , AMS ’ s Ellis wants to see a continuation of some key pandemic initiatives that speak to these challenges , such as more and better communication about employee assistance programmes and wellbeing and the continuation of employee-led forums , where people have felt safe to talk openly , express their concerns and share how they ’ re feeling . Maybe those wellbeing check-ins in team meetings and regular pulse surveys focused on wellbeing are – or should be – here to stay ; they may also be the tip of a very large iceberg .
Those pandemic shared experiences have shone a light on the root causes of a lack of inclusion , accelerating changes in attitudes and behaviours . Having leaders feel able and willing to model behaviours around vulnerability , openness and flexibility has made all the difference
Hybrid triumphant ?
Lynda Gratton of London Business School has been researching and studying future work trends for more than a decade . So , we might take note when she tackles the thorny issue of hybrid working , seen by many as an inevitable ( and potentially positive ) consequence of pandemic-induced mass remote working . Writing in Harvard Business Review , she ’ s clear that hybrid could well be “ a silver lining in our collective struggle to adapt to the pandemic ”, supporting work lives that are “ more purposeful , productive , agile , and flexible ”.
For Gratton , though , we can only reach this promised land with a significant shift in leadership thinking : to design hybrid work arrangements with individual human concerns in mind alongside the usual institutional ones . And that ’ s what makes hybrid such a challenge , given that organisations are faced with such a range of personal preferences about where and when we do our work .
Gratton is clear that we need to start with those jobs and tasks themselves , what will drive productivity and performance for each and the working arrangements that “ serve them best ”. But this can ’ t be done in isolation . For maximum effect , employees have to be engaged in the process and companies will need to find innovative and creative ways of identifying what people really want and then marshalling and communicating the options on offer . She gives the example of Norwegian energy company Equinor , which has used survey data to create nine hybrid working “ personas ” to help people visualise and relate to the flexible and remote working options they have developed .
No quick wins here , then . Taking the right approach to hybrid means consultation and communication , as well as investing in management training and the right co-ordination tools . For Gratton , inclusion and fairness also need to take centre stage . We need to avoid at all costs any sense of unfairness that earlier , less co-ordinated , attempts at flexible working often engendered . More root-and-branch change calls for serious buy-in and alignment with organisational culture and values . If we want to aspire to workplace cultures based on openness , empathy and collaboration , we ’ ll need to walk that walk , involving and including as many employees as possible in how and why any hybrid arrangements will be designed and implemented .
Psychological safety : seeing both sides
Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson ’ s pioneering work on psychological safety has made us all the more aware of the importance of work cultures where people feel free to speak up “ with ideas , questions , concerns or mistakes ” without fear of punishment or humiliation . Her work has often come to be associated with a shift towards personal safety in work situations , but , as we emerge from the pandemic , Edmondson reminds us that psychological safety also needs to be about performance : “ The idea was originally intended in relation to innovation and teamwork in high-risk environments like financial services , or physically dangerous ones like oil and gas ”. So , when we ’ re looking to create new , safe working arrangements , we need to approach the challenge by looking not just at our work set-up , but at the work itself .
Edmondson agrees and is positive about the ways in which the pandemic has given more of us ‘ permission ’ to talk about things we didn ’ t talk about at work before , such as wellbeing , or burnout or family members who need extra help – crucially , without fear of being seen as less serious or operating outside the norm : “ We ’ ve seen a greater recognition that we ’ re all human and that we don ’ t simply turn that off when we start work ”. She hopes that this increased openness will continue .
That doesn ’ t mean that conversations around hybrid working will be easy ; they ’ ll need to be conducted with both skill and compassion . For Edmondson , discussions about hybrid working might be something of a minefield . She doesn ’ t actually like the term ‘ hybrid ’, fearing it might tend towards an “ us vs them , employees vs companies ” all-or-nothing mindset . Instead , she calls for more thoughtful , ongoing discussions around how we class and structure work arrangements . This will need to be a dynamic design process , characterised by experimenting and learning .
Involving employees and marshalling proper data about what people want will be crucial , but that ’ s not the whole story . Edmondson is also clear that we need to acknowledge that hybrid can ’ t or won ’ t work in all contexts : “ We need both-and ( rather than either-or ) conversations about what the work needs and how best to create value too : what does that look like ? What do our customers need ? How do we make it happen efficiently and to the highest standard and quality ?”
If location flexibility works on this basis , go for it , but that won ’ t always be the case . We need to be realistic about how those questions are framed . It ’ s in the interests of everyone that hybrid working conversations and dialogues are open and honest , that people take part in these discussions as a discovery process , anticipating and avoiding divides that don ’ t need to be there .
People will need to understand the bigger picture , keep the whole in mind . That way , says Edmondson , lies more contentment and joy at work : “ What we want are new arrangements that lead to great results : employees who are engaged and contributing and customers who are delighted . That may be an ideal , but we need to get as close as possible to it and not privilege one part of the equation over the other .”
Unsurprisingly , Edmondson agrees that simplistic or one-size-fits-all solutions are unlikely to work given that hybrid means so many things
We ’ ve seen a greater recognition that we ’ re all human and that we don ’ t simply turn that off when we start work
to so many people : while some of us might be quite happy working two days a week from home , that ’ s not the case for employees suffering from homeworking loneliness or those eagerly anticipating a full-time return to their office desks , where they have a clear space to work and can interact more easily with their colleagues .
In an article written with Mark Mortensen , she also acknowledges that blurred work-life boundaries can make it harder for managers and leaders to make work set-up decisions that inevitably need to take into account people ’ s personal circumstances – a very different proposition from encouraging people to open up about work-based content . “ Hybrid working makes psychological safety anything but straightforward ,” she concldues . But it ’ s also crucial as an enabler for those “ productive conversations ” that are the key to meeting those hybrid challenges ( see box , below ).
The bottom line is that there ’ s no established road map for the situation in which we find ourselves . We ’ ll need proper , safe dialogue and a healthy dose of iteration if we are to succeed : “ It ’ s always exciting to feel that we ’ re contributing to something larger than ourselves . Psychological safety is an enabler for us to make that contribution . Seeing that we are contributing , that we feel valued by our colleagues , customers and bosses , is hugely motivating ”.
Human needs are business needs
Ellis also believes that psychological safety is a central piece of the humanity agenda . Like Edmondson , she also believes that it ’ s crucial for productivity and performance : “ The best ideas come when people feel unrestricted ”. That speaks , too , to the heart of inclusion at work : feeling safe to speak and share differences of opinion and experience is the bedrock of truly inclusive organisations . This is not a matter of difference for difference ’ s sake : we know that empowering people to contribute diverse ideas leads to better decision-making and innovation .
Ellis is also clear that inclusion itself needs to be inclusive . DEI work has often focused on gaps . It ’ s also important , however , that inclusion is seen as being for everyone – as well as being everyone ’ s responsibility . And , while diversity through the lens of observable difference , such as gender , race , ethnicity and others , is crucial , diversity encompasses more than just demographics ; it ’ s also about the very individual , personal and human contribution we all bring to work , irrespective of where we come from and the experiences we ’ ve had . An inclusive environment is not just a matter of transparent systems and process , or identifying and addressing unconscious bias , important as these are . It ’ s also about the inclusive behaviours and attitudes that we can all consciously adopt on a day-to-day basis .
The juxtaposition of pandemic-led disruption and the ongoing campaign for racial justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the US gives Ellis hope that the time has come to press home our advantage : “ There will be economic and emotional pressures to revert to how things used to be , but we need to keep up the pressure . We can ’ t let the progress that we ’ ve made fall by the wayside ”. DEI is not just about doing the right thing by people ; it ’ s also a business imperative : “ When we meet human needs , we ’ re also meeting business needs ”.
Back in the 1980s , organisational psychologist Denise Rousseau developed the concept of the psychological contract , a sort of behavioural equivalent of a formal employment contract . It ’ s a term used as a shorthand for the unwritten and constantly evolving ‘ rules ’, those expectations , beliefs and informal obligations that underpin relationships between employer and employed .
The contract has always included transactional issues such as job security or fairness in pay and benefits , but it ’ s also always been about relationships , the human in all of us that COVID-19 has exposed and celebrated in equal measure . We ’ ve had to revise and reinterpret our psychological contracts time and again as the pandemic has unfolded , and we have much to do as we start to navigate the uncharted waters of what happens next . One thing is clear , though . We have a much better chance of making it to shore if we continue to encourage , value , respect and harness the individual human contribution each and every one of us can make . That may lead not just to a COVID humanity dividend but also to a long-term humanity legacy .
Beyond “ trust me ”: five strategies for successful hybrid working conversations
Step 1 :
Set the scene . Have a discussion with your team to help them recognise not only their challenges , but yours as well . Emphasise shared ownership of the problem .
Step 2 :
Lead the way . Expose your own vulnerability by sharing your own homeworking / hybrid work personal challenges and constraints . Be vulnerable and humble about not having a clear plan and be open about how you ’ re thinking about managing your own challenges .
Step 3 :
Take baby steps . Don ’ t expect your employees to share their most personal and risky challenges right away . It takes time to build trust , and even if you have a healthy culture of psychological safety around work , remember that personal life is a new domain .
Step 4 :
Share positive examples . Be transparent about seeking new arrangements that serve both individual needs and organisational goals . Provide employees with the evidence they need to buy in voluntarily .
Step 5 :
Be a watchdog . Psychological safety takes time to build , but moments to destroy . Be vigilant and push back when you notice employees making seemingly innocent comments such as “ we want to see more of you ” or “ we could really use you ”, which may leave employees feeling they ’ re letting their teammates down .