Listen Up Employers, It’s Time To Start Over

When we were younger, we all thought that when we grew up and left school, we would leave the bitchiness and drama of adolescence behind with it. We would become adults and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, for many people, this wasn’t quite how things turned out.

Life — especially modern work life — is no fairy tale. One thing that is often consistent between the real world of work and fairy tales is the antagonist. A healthy professional environment is unfortunately far from the norm, with?70%?of people having worked in a toxic environment at some point in their careers.

But times are changing and for the better. It is inspiring to see workers quitting in their droves in search of greener pastures. “The Great Resignation” is a sort of worker’s revolution, with employers uprising against bad bosses and tone-deaf companies that refuse to treat employees with the respect they deserve. If employers wish to retain talented employees, they too will have to change.

Whether you are an employee or an employer, it’s not too late to start over. But, as the old saying goes, it starts at the top. The employer has got to lead the change.

Time For a Fresh Start.

Starting over is the knowledge that there is something better out there for you — even if you don’t know what it is yet. It means redefining and changing how you are used to or naturally doing things. You need to look in the mirror and consider how you currently interact with your team.

There are the obvious examples of toxic workplace culture, for instance, bullying, sexual harassment, racial discrimination and so on. Yet, there are some subtle and even innocuous things you may be doing that fuel a toxic culture.

Patronising comments.

We’ve all been talked down to at some point in our lives, whether by a teacher, a colleague, or even a complete stranger. Think back to how it made you feel. Frustrated? Confused? Probably annoyed. While it’s easy to spot a patronising comment when handed to you, being aware that you’re the person doing the patronising is not as clear-cut.

For instance, “you’re always late” or “you’ve never gotten that right” tend not to sit well with others at work. As Dr Jennifer Anna Chatman?points out, “these extreme qualifiers” are never 100% true and using them can evoke a sense of exasperation”. Instead, it is suggested you use phrases like “frequently” or “regularly”.

“Does that make sense?” often comes from a place of innocence — maybe even a place of compassion. You want to affirm that your person understands what you’re saying. Unfortunately, it tends to further confuse the person, which is the opposite of what you were going for, while also making you sound condescending.

Backhanded compliments.

Another serial offence is employers make backhanded compliments like “I actually like that idea”. It sounds like you are surprised they have had a good idea, making them feel unappreciated. The solution is simple, say, “that’s a good idea”, and leave it at that. Words matter. Think before you speak and take into consideration other person’s feelings.

Reflect on Company Values.

Most companies have a page on their website where they outline their brand values — whether it be honesty, ingenuity, or accountability — yet many of these are just for show, with companies failing to live up to these values.

Values are the foundations on which your company culture is built. By offering your employees insight into these three aspects, you allow them to align with you and your overarching goals. It provides a common purpose all employees can work towards and live by. Once you decide and promote your values, employees come to understand the behaviours that are expected of them that will lead to success. Values are the key to a healthy professional environment.

We Are Batch’s Values.

These are our values at Batch.

• Put the team first — What is good for our team, is good for all of us. We all deserve compassion, empathy, and grace.
• Decide creatively — We solve problems by being creative and are unique because of it.
• Give honest feedback — Foster healthy debates by communicating candidly.
• Seek out the truth — We need you to challenge the status quo and to be brave enough to ask the tough questions.
• Bias to action — Taking action overshadows talking about it. As a result, our action is our priority.
• Diversity of thought — We see out different perspectives and value independent thinkers.
• Care for Batch babes — Strive to care deeply for the health & well-being of all our contributors.
• Be transparent — We succeed together, and we fail together. Being transparent, especially about our mistakes leads to growth & success.
• Take ownership — Take initiative and embrace accountability.

Yes, we have these values on our platform and we instil them throughout the company.

Something reflected in our policies.

Our maternity policy is that we ensure that maternity leave will be paid. You will be supported during that time. You will not be expected to return to work before absolutely necessary, and if heaven forbid you were to lose your child, you will be put on mandatory leave and have our full support.

Our sexual harassment policy, meanwhile, is pretty much standard. The most important differentiator is that we recognize that sexual harassment can also happen with members of the same sex and that we take incidents of it seriously. There will be consequences. And they are non-negotiable.

We also recognize that life gets in the way. So, each Batch contributor is given a full, paid day per month they can take to get their life stuff done. Like, such as renewing license disks, doctors’ appointments or even for the “I can’t deal, and I need a break” mental health day.

Creating a handbook further strengthens your structure, providing clear guidelines on how things should be done in your workplace. That’s what we did at Batch, creating a studio handbook detailing how we expect all our team members to behave in the studio. The Batch handbook covers the following:

“Our approach, attitude and tone. Studio standards, like how we set up files, hand them over to one another and how the review and feedback process works. Also, how to not do it, which is actually more important. How to set up and name files, whether they be for illustration or animation. How to back up your work. How to upskill and grow in the studio, and lastly, how to make use of human resources.”

Speaking of HR.

Your employees are your greatest asset. Treating your team members fairly and offering them opportunities to progress will help you achieve your goals. HR is best-placed to help with this.

Traditionally, HR dealt with hiring, firing, and all that jazz. Today, the HR department covers a much wider remit, developing positive business culture and improving employee engagement and productivity.

It can be easy to overlook HR. Many budding entrepreneurs get their business off to a flying start but struggle to grapple with people management as their company takes off. Managing employees can be time-consuming and requires a broad skillset. To put it bluntly, HR is an area of expertise many business owners struggle with.

But think of the consequences of poor HR. When?employees don’t feel supported, aren’t given opportunities, work long hours, and so on, their motivation begins to sap away. Without an effective HR department, you will see a domino effect, ultimately impacting your bottom line.

People, culture, and business success go hand-in-hand.

Enjoy the Benefits of a Healthy Work Environment.

It’s essential that you actually start caring for the human beings you have hired. The healthier they are, the better their work will be. Making a shift towards a healthier professional environment is mutually beneficial.

It attracts talented people.

All employees enjoy working in a positive work environment. It is this that drives talent and engagement towards its doors. Nearly every single job applicant researches an organisation before applying for a position. If your company has a strong, positive, defined, well-communicated work culture, you will have no problem attracting talented people to join your team. On the flip side, if your company has a less-than-stellar reputation, people aren’t going to want to work for you. It really is as simple as that.

It improves the performance of employees across the organization.

It is little surprise that companies which have a positive work culture thrive. When employees kick off their quilts in the morning, walk to work with a spring in their step, looking forward to the day ahead, those businesses are in a far better position to succeed than those companies where people trudge to work, counting the seconds till the end of the day. Positive work culture makes you think beyond boundaries, where team members feel confident enough to experiment and try new things, even if you are bound to fail. Trust, loyalty and dedication are why an organization prospers and grows.

It helps keep talented team members on board.

Toxic workplaces are like sinking ships. When the cracks begin to appear, and the water starts flooding in, people grab life jackets, rush to the lifeboats, and abandon ship.

People want to be appreciated for their skills and talents. They want to feel valued and respected. If The Great Resignation has taught us anything, employers will no longer put up with it.

So, Employers Listen Up:

If you want to retain talent and keep the most talented people working for you, then you need to detoxify your workplace by rethinking how you approach team members, reaffirming the purpose statement and generally getting your house in order by implementing HR.

It’s not just down to employers, however. Employees, you’re up next.

If you feel like you align with us, we might be a good fit. Get in?touch?to book a project.

Written by: Daniéla de Lange .

Cover image by: Daniéla de Lange .