LIFE/LIFE HARMONY: MAKING WORK WORK

Inspirational, thought-provoking, and actionable, here are some of the key takeaways we got from her talk on making work work.

LIFE/WORK BALANCE IS OFTEN NO MORE THAN A SLOGAN

By this, Hannah means that there is a gap between what employers are willing to offer and what employees expect, with the two things often being at odds with one another. She wants to start a movement where people can thrive in their lives through work, not in spite of it. Can our personal and professional lives be in harmony with one another? With this new paradigm, they can.

LOOK AT WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY NEED

Overwhelmingly, people need to be cared for and understood. In turn, this leads to increased trust and adaptability in the workplace. When companies meet the fundamental needs of the human, they can be in service to the whole person, and not just the parts that show up at work. A happy human makes a great employee.

A HEALTHY MIND + BODY LEADS TO GOOD WORK OUTCOMES

In the life/life paradigm Hannah talks about, employers focus on the mental and physical wellness of their employees. It’s a win-win as when we have a healthy mind and body, we typically do our best work. This focus is more important to employees today than perks and benefits.

CREATE PURPOSE

People need for their work to have a purpose. In surveys, purposeful work ranks even higher than salaries. Employees want to know what a company can help them become as a person, beyond just the work they create. In this life/life paradigm, a company’s purpose serves its people.

PEOPLE NEED HUMAN CONNECTION

Connection and collaboration play an important role in human happiness (and yes, we’ve established by now that a happy employee is a productive employee!). When companies start to think that, “Our people evolve our culture” rather than “Our policies support our culture”, we see that by serving employees’ needs, business typically thrives.