Understanding psychological safety, chief diversity officers and AI, the post-Thanksgiving slump
Here are 5 things to know about work this week.
Hello, and welcome to WorkLife’s 5 things newsletter. In this weekly newsletter, we will spotlight five things to know about the latest issues affecting modern workplaces.?
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1. Employers need to fully understand psychological safety
Just 16% of HR executives say they are clear on what psychological safety actually means, according to a recent report by behavioral consultancy Behave , which surveyed more than 200 senior decision makers in HR roles in the U.K. And several experts, who work extensively with business leaders on organizational strategy, spoken to for this article confirm that this is not a U.K.-only problem, but a universal one across continents including the U.S.?
Business leaders are mistaking it for “being kind or nice,” and fostering a culture of “bringing your whole selves to work,” stressed Dr Alexandra Dobra-Kiel , innovation and strategy director at Behave.?
And the knock-on effect on employee and business performance will be serious, experts say. If left unchecked, this misuse of the concept will create yet more “yes-men and yes-women” cultures, which sail dangerously close to another workplace plague: toxic positivity.?
2. How chief diversity officers can become a stakeholder in AI decisions
Chief diversity officers are in the hot seat.?
In the aftermath of the demand boom for CDOs to place diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of their companies in the last two years, the effectiveness of having a single role responsible for moving the needle on DE&I targets has come under fire. But as some organizations make their budgets for next year, there's potential for an overlap between their investments in generative artificial intelligence and meeting their DEI goals, one that could renew the importance of a CDO.
CDOs could pose questions like: how can executives ensure AI is fair and unbiased, who should be at the table when organizations make tech decisions, which vendors they should support and how to use it in a way that isn’t harmful to marginalized groups.?
Who’s more familiar with bias and fairness than a CDO?
3. The debate around where workers are most productive continues
New data could shift the conversation around productivity metrics and returning to offices among leaders still resisting more flexible policies.?
From 2020 to 2022, companies without in-office requirements saw revenue grow 20%, while those in hybrid and fully in-person arrangements saw 5% revenue growth, according to a new report from Scoop Technologies and 波士顿谘询公司 . The report analyzed 554 publicly traded companies across 20 different sectors and adjusted for industry averages. Altogether, those companies employ about 27 million people.?
Those with structured hybrid policies — most often two or three days required in-person a week — also performed better on revenue growth than those with full-time in-office policies.
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4. How to overcome a ‘post-Thanksgiving slump’
With bellies full, Black Friday shopping in the bag and the joy of a long weekend suddenly a distant memory, employees can be a bit slow to roll into the office after the holiday, even as they push to meet end-of-year deadlines.
But research shows that not only do workers feel more thankful for each other at this time of the year, expressing that gratitude publicly has the power to energize them and even relieve stress.?
Workhuman , a provider of human capital management software solutions, reported in its quarterly Human Workplace Index that 6 in 10 employees are more thankful for their colleagues at year’s end, while three-quarters say there’s a greater sense of gratitude and camaraderie in the workplace.
5. Company-wide meditation sessions has positive impact
Corporate meditation sessions are seeing sustained demand following an explosion during the pandemic, and they’re now being held in offices amid the return to in-person work.
Ms. Shawn Bradford, MS Health Promotion started her company Breath & Work out of Phoenix, Arizona, seven years ago leading corporate yoga and meditation sessions, and now primarily teaches other yoga teachers how to lead corporate meditation sessions for businesses. “It used to be where I was more like pushing it, like let’s try meditation, and now I get a lot of requests,” Bradford said.?
While some do one-time events, companies are increasingly holding them more regularly, ranging from multiple days a week to once or twice a month, and doing them both in-person and virtually.?
Elsewhere in Digiday Media
Check out some of Digiday Media’s other stories on the future of work over the past week:
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This newsletter was curated by Cloey Callahan, senior reporter at WorkLife. Let us know what you think, or what you hope to see more of, by dropping us a note at [email protected].