Now Is the Time to Take Care of Your People

I feel like we’re back in the pandemic, when used the word “unprecedented” so much it got unofficially banned, but politically, that’s where we are right now. Pretty much no one who’s alive today has seen anything like this (for the record, the New Deal actually had some similarities in terms of the extent of the change to government, though obviously with a completely different philosophy).

And I could be nice and neutral and say, “Now, wherever you stand on the political spectrum, we can all agree that this change is significant,” but I’m not going to. There is no neutral with what’s happening, and if you think what is happening is a good thing, I’m disappointed in you. You’re on the wrong side of history. You should know better.

But I’m also not writing this post to change your views. I am writing this post to appeal to anyone who is a leader of employees in an organization, and my message is simple: a large percentage of your employees are struggling. They don’t know what’s happening, they don’t know how it’s really going to affect them, and they are having to analyze things that were never on their radar screen (like can I still live in this country).

And they need your help. You can’t solve all the problems your employees are confronting right now (nor should you), but one thing you can do is show them that you have their back. Show them that you care about them. Give them some extra time off. Give an extra mental health day. Offer some resources for maintaining balance in a time like this. Even just show your own vulnerability, so they know that’s okay.

One of the things we measure in our culture assessment is about how much employees feel the organization cares about their health and wellness and shows it. Of the 64 questions we ask in the assessment, it scores toward the middle—34^th. But in terms of correlation with employee engagement, it’s number 1. If you don’t show you care, they’re not engaged.

And it matters even more right now. If you want to be an employer or choice, show your employees that you love them right now. Sometimes vulnerable is bold.