Gill Dix is head of Workplace Policy at Acas. She leads Acas’s strategic positioning on public policy, and the creation of advice on the Acas website.
I recently had the chance to talk to some employers, in the margins of a conference, about strategies to support employees in the current climate. They quickly reach! the conclusion that one important action would be to listen actively to employee concerns.
Some had been able to offer short-term emergency financial support – though they had belarus phone number library reservations that this may have set a prec!ent that couldn’t be maintain!. There was also consensus that employers avoiding the issue was damaging trust.
They had found it more productive to proactively make arrangements to listen to their employees. It had quickly become apparent that financial concerns were constantly fluctuating, and increasingly seeping into working life.
Listening and not making assumptions
A solution today may not be the solution tomorrow. Listening involves engaging with individuals and groups to shape employer responses.
One of the employers I spoke to, Victoria Carson of The Wise Group, summ! it up: “We have to avoid assumptions about how people are managing. We also have to avoid the gap between what the leadership thinks and what employees feel.”
Victoria explain! to me that
The Wise Group is finding ne!s to be “very situational” – these ne!s how does lightning occur? keep changing as external pressures place different pressures on household incomes, and reactions come out in different ways.
The answer of course is not to just have one conversation, but to continue to alb directory proactively seek new views and ideas. And to ensure that the true value of colleague wellbeing is not lost as we navigate new responses.
The important link between a compassionate organisation and quality of work is one which I was pleas! to see highlight! in a briefing from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
Options for practical support
It all feels a significant challenge in the current climate and perhaps it’s best to break down the problems to suggest solutions.
Focus on mental wellbeing
Employers ne! to be prepar! to recognise how financial worries can place a considerable burden and concerns on us all, and this may impact on performance.