What does it mean to humanise workplaces? And why is it so important?
It’s about cultivating a working environment where we see the whole person first, the employee second. It means putting people first and meeting our human needs to belong, to be valued, respected, to learn and to grow.
This doesn’t mean we overlook the practical roles people deliver for their organisations. There is a job to be done and it needs to be done well, and consistently. When we see the whole person, we begin to consider the factors which can influence the way people show up and affect the quality of work.
In many organisations, people feel they are ‘resources’, or objects. They often work under relentless levels of stress until they inevitably burn out. This way of working is simply not working, it’s damaging.
There is a compelling business care for humanising our workplaces. It’s a challenging way of working, requiring high levels of trust, accountability, and personal responsibility.
This sits at the heart of this idea. It’s an everyone responsibility. Humanising our workplaces creates win-wins. People are healthier, organisations perform better, and great people are less likely to quit. The problems of the ‘great resignation’ begin to melt away. Organisations enhance their brands and reputations and lower their level of risk.
The movement towards more compassionate, caring workplaces comes with an edge which means a relentless focus on commerciality and serving other people. Commercial realities matter, as healthy organisations must be financially healthy to remain competitive and sustainable. The positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing is clear. It’s great to be at the apex of this movement, leading and inspiring organisations with different ideas and approaches. It’s very rewarding to see the transformational difference this makes to people’s lives. It’s not just the lives of our team members, when I say team members, I mean everyone that works within the organisation including senior leaders and directors. The ripple effects this generates extend into families and communities.
None of this is ideological, it’s not some utopian vision. Neither is it a ‘soft’ option. The hard part is shifting our thinking to embrace the alternative. It means letting go of traditional methods and dogma. Humanisation brings hard benefits for people, performance, and culture. It’s doable and practical to create this kind of workplace anywhere, in any industry.
Hopefully the ‘why’ behind the humanising workplaces movement is self-evident. The ‘how’ to do this, and the ‘where’ to begin, well that’s another challenge. Organisations and their leaders may embrace the vision, but often want to see a roadmap or framework to help pull this together in a coherent way. If your organisation wants to humanise its workplace, then drop us a message and we can talk through your options.
