2.🔊 In supporting individuals through difficult challenges for the last year, People leaders have established new ways of making the world of work welcoming and productive. As the People leader of Udemy, a company whose foundation is lifelong learning, I believe in the maxim that there is something to be learned from each of life’s challenges. Understatement of the millennium, but there were no shortage of learning moments for all of us in 2020.

3.🔊 While there are plenty of changes that I’d rather leave behind, here are five changes from the past year that forward-thinking leaders should think about carrying with them going forward.

Prioritizing Employee Upskilling 

4.🔊 The surest way to promote employee success is to build a culture rooted in a growth mindset. Your employees stand little chance of flourishing in a company with a fixed mindset resistant to change, one that doesn’t allow its employees to grow and learn. 2020 forced many companies to lean into learning through change and uncertainty. 

5.🔊 An organizational growth mindset gives employees the time, space, and empowerment to learn new skills and gain the tools needed for continual improvement. This can mean anything from making courses and learning content available to employees just when they need it to offering cross-departmental mentoring in a virtual world. And, keep in mind that relevant skills aren’t limited to the latest tech skills. Now more than ever, having employees who have mastered soft skills like emotional intelligence, communication, and creativity are critically important to an organization’s long-term success.

Fostering And Leading With Empathy

6.🔊 Leading with empathy is not only the right thing to do, it may just be your smartest business strategy. The antiquated model that treating employees as cogs in a wheel can no longer afford a dispassionate “just get the job done” approach. Genuinely knowing and caring about how employees are faring makes all the difference in how they succeed in the workplace.

7.🔊 As part of my company’s focus on leading with empathy, we’ve been working with our managers to create psychologically safe spaces to work. This takes a lot of thought and is by no means an easy task. But if we don’t make this a priority, great employees leave. We’ve seen this at a national scale with women in particular. Among other dubious distinctions, last year became notable for what’s been dubbed the great “she-cession.” In record numbers, women found it impossible to do their jobs while also caring for their children and attending to other home life pressures. Consider this telling statistic: There were 2.2 million fewer women in the labor force in October 2020 than in October 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

8.🔊 What if organizations led with empathy and helped employees manage expectations? What if they made the effort to learn what employees were experiencing during this difficult time? The answer isn’t a mystery: employees who feel understood and supported are far more likely to stay, and to thrive.

Supporting Mental Health And Wellness

9.🔊 In tandem with leading with empathy, I’d love to see a continued emphasis on mental health and wellness. Historically in the working world, mental health has been shrouded in secrecy. But last year we started to break through that veneer and finally get honest. The truth is that at some point, almost everyone faces emotional challenges. We saw on our corporate learning platform Udemy for Business that consumption of courses around stress management was up over 1,000%.

10.🔊 Good leaders understand that it’s impossible to work at your best without peace of mind. They must set up guardrails so when people are going through tough times, they will have the support they need to get back on track. 

11.🔊 In 2020, my company stepped up our game so that mental health is as equally supported as physical health. We worked to create an environment where people can easily, and without shame, ask for the support they need. We added additional mental health benefits that include free therapy and coaching sessions for employees and their dependents. We also added support so employees can plan for financial security, a factor that significantly ties into a sense of well-being. 

12.🔊 Beyond that, when it comes to creating a support system for people’s mental health, we understand that one size doesn’t fit all. So, our managers are encouraged to address an individual’s needs: does a continued school closure mean an employee’s work schedule needs to shift? Are there more family members at home that are putting new strains on an employee’s work life? Have physical health issues chipped away at emotional well-being?

Discussion

1.🔊 What do you think the role of HR is in a business?

2.🔊 Are you satisfied with the HR at your work place?

3.🔊 Do you think businesses need HR now that working from home has become widespread?

4.🔊 How do you measure or rate productivity at work?

5.🔊 Do you think working from home depowers bosses?

6.🔊 Do you think that remote working will eventually have a long term effect on our social skills?

 

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