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When Disaster Strikes: How HR Leaders Can Help Employees Recover

Until not long ago, corporations thought mainly of themselves and their operations when it came to natural disasters, focusing on their business-continuity plans (BCPs). But the Los Angeles fires, the pandemic, and other recent calamities have persuaded employers to build the well-being of their workers and their communities into those plans and responses as well. The Los Angeles fires that began in early January have decimated entire communities, killed more than two dozen people, and displaced more than 180,000 people. Companies including Netflix, Disney, Google, and NBCUniversal have collectively pledged tens of millions of dollars in the form of donations and relief programs for their employees and local citizens affected by the destruction. Among the creative ways to help: Disney opened up its wardrobe warehouse to offer clothing to employees and their families who lost their homes. With natural disasters becoming more frequent, employers are cementing their role in disaster-relief efforts as part of their increasingly holistic support of employees in their lives outside the workplace, offering programs ranging from mental healthcare to financial well-being programs. The overall goal: to be a source of stability in times of turmoil. From Day One asked HR leaders and benefits providers how they’re stepping in to help, and what others can do to pitch in. Their responses:Prioritize Employee Safety and Basic NeedsFirst, ensure employees can evacuate safely, have food and water, and can find a place to stay. Those immediate needs are what Jolen Anderson, chief people officer at the coaching platform BetterUp, calls “level one.” Employers themselves aren’t often capable of furnishing these things directly, but they can connect employees with disaster relief organizations that are ready to help.The emergency-grant platform Canary helps with immediate needs, including temporary housing, food, or lost income. “We are able to stand up new programs for companies and their affected employees very quickly in response to events like the LA wildfires,” said Canary’s head of marketing, Catherine Scagnelli. For DoorDash, Canary created a relief specifically for Dashers affected by the fires in LA, and Canary is extending opportunities to qualify as the disaster continues and many are unable to work.Reach Out to Employees Affected“Show up with empathy and understanding of what’s happening across your organization,” said Anderson. These messages of support should come from both HR and line managers, who are closer to individual workers and their needs. Executives can do the same. Disney CEO Bob Iger told the New York Times that he’s been calling employees affected by the fire, saying, “I want them to know that people at the top of the company are looking after them, that we care.”Tap All Your Benefits ProvidersChristopher Smith, VP of benefits at Universal Music Group, whose HQ is in Santa Monica, told From Day One he and his team are combing through every benefit and program they offer. “I am diving into all of our benefits, carriers, vendors, and partners, and saying, ‘What can we do? What phone numbers can we provide?’ It may not be a benefit, per se, but what resources can we put forward that can help people and potentially save lives? When you look at it from that angle, you become very creative.”Assets like “EAPs, well-being coaching, and time off” that companies can directly supply are what Anderson at BetterUp calls “level two” resources.Establish Clear Communication ChannelsMake a plan to communicate with your employees about where they can find help. Aggregate and organize a list of websites, portals, phone numbers, and relief organizations, and include company paid time off and leave policies. Make the list available to the entire organization so employees who are affected know what’s available–and those who aren’t directly affected can help get their colleagues back on their feet.One CEO told Employee Benefits News that her company, Emergenetics, is using every form of communication possible–like phone trees, text messaging, and internal platforms–to stay in touch with their workers. “Create an email address for inquiries related to the wildfires, so you can build a repository of questions, which helps build internal FAQs that can be continually updated as the situation evolves,” she said.Jerome Krausse pushes his mother-in-law in a shopping cart as they evacuate from their home in the Pacific Palisades after a wildfire swept through their neighborhood. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)Equip Your Employees to Help Each OtherEmployees not affected by the disaster may be eager to step up and help their colleagues. HR can point them toward disaster relief organizations and donation funds as well as programs for donating paid time off.E4E Relief, which provides emergency financial relief to workers through their employers and colleagues, is currently working with companies including Disney to get financial grants distributed to those affected by the wildfires, and help their colleagues contribute to the relief efforts.Make Mental Healthcare Readily AvailableMental healthcare resources are key for employees who experience climate disasters, who can suffer lingering effects. Mental health first aid in the form of EAPs or counseling is a quick way to supply help quickly, but employers should also prepare for future needs.Jyoti Mishra, associate director at the University of California Climate Change and Mental Health Council, has studied the effects of wildfires on mental health. The impacts can last for years, according to her research, and those who experience fire disasters have higher levels of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. “Our work has shown that it’s hard to pay attention to a singular thing when everything around you feels like it’s threatening you.” she said in an interview with CNN.BetterUp’s Anderson recommended that employers train managers to have conversations with their employees about what they need. And Duke University professor of psychiatry Robin Gurwitch told EBN that “employee resource groups, training leadership in psychological first aid, and other types of company-based programs can make a difference in how employees get through and recover from their ordeal.”Remember That Families Are ConnectedEven if your employees aren’t located in the Los Angeles area, they may have family and friends who are. Give your staff the time, space, and resources to help their loved ones. “Although our systems tell us who may be individually impacted, I don’t necessarily know who has a family home in that area, who has grandparents in that area, who has extended relatives in that area, or who has friends in that area,” Anderson said. She taps line managers for this information.Use What You HaveCompanies can use the resources and real estate they already have to support their staff and community members. Gap Inc. worked with DirectRelief to provide free N95 masks at brick-and-mortar stores across Los Angeles County, and Starbucks is handing out free coffee to first responders.Know Your Lane, Respect Your Limits Britt Barney, the head of client success at the financial-wellness platform Northstar, has been working with her team to gather resources for their clients in the wake of the LA fires. In the short-term, she said, people need help filing insurance claims and finding temporary housing. That’s not something her company can help with directly, but because Northstar can see all the benefits available to their clients’ employees, “what we can do is help people understand what benefits they have access to,” whether that’s mental health or short-term leave or backup childcare. Barney said her company is getting ready to provide services down the road, like helping people access their emergency funds, rework their budgets, and find the money they need through assets like company equity. “In the long term, people are going to need a ton of financial help,” she said.Prepare for Next Time“Given recent times, organizations have had to develop a playbook on how they approach these situations,” BetterUp’s Anderson said. Such playbooks and disaster readiness plans are cross-functional projects, requiring HR, communications, legal, and business leaders to ensure employees are kept safe and the business can function.“The evidence supporting corporate leaders’ being proactive, which we see again and again, is the volume of inbound requests just after a disaster has devastated a community,” said Matt Pierce, CEO of E4E Relief. “The Los Angeles wildfires represent the most recent example, but our team fields these inquiries from all over the world regularly.”Anderson reminds employers that these plans have to be tested with tabletop exercises and scenario planning. “Your managers have been empowered and enabled with the right sense of empathy and resiliency,” she said. “You can never fully predict a crisis, but certainly investing in organizational-development resources, planning, and capability-building—so that you’re as prepared as one can be—is increasingly and incredibly important.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a From Day One contributing editor whose work has also appeared in the Economist, the BBC, the Washington Post, and Fast Company. Erin Behrens is an associate editor at From Day One.(Featured photo: A wildfire burns in the hills north of the San Gabriel Valley community of Glendora, Calif., on Jan. 16, where authorities ordered the evacuation of homes. AP Photo by Nick Ut)

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza and Erin Behrens | January 17, 2025

Developing Leaders Who Can Balance Productivity with Individuality

When Carlos Pardo joined Microsoft 20 years ago as an intern in sales, he knew his ultimate goal was to work in finance. So, he took a gamble and reached out to the CFO, Roberto Palmaka, and asked for a coffee meeting with the note, “I’d love to work for you one day.” Palmaka agreed. One coffee led to two, which led to three, and when a finance opportunity came up, Pardo was top of mind. Now as chief learning officer, Latin America at Microsoft, Pardo is responsible for helping workers navigate their own individual career paths and encouraging leaders to be as generous with their time, expertise, and resources as Palmaka, now a close friend, was to him.In managing a diverse and flexible workforce, today’s leaders need expertise well beyond their technical skills that got them into management roles. How can employers identify and develop leaders with the human insights, confidence and authority to make myriad decisions a day about the people they supervise? How can they set high expectations as well as embracing the individuality of team members? Pardo and other executive panelists tackled these questions at From Day One’s Miami conference.A Culture of Learning and CreativityEncouraging curiosity and professional development can help workers grow in a way that is unique to their own personalities and paths. At Microsoft, this is integral to the corporate values system. “Learning is a celebrated part of Microsoft’s culture and growth mindset,” said moderator Michael Butler, business reporter at the Miami Herald.“We look for everybody to be a learn-it-all versus a know-it-all,” said Pardo. The company promotes this through Learning Days, full days dedicated to professional development at whatever skill an employee chooses. Learning is also integrated into performance management systems, with the goal of having workers articulate lessons learned from both successes and setbacks.Along with encouraging learning, leaders should promote creativity to encourage individuality, in a way that is actionable and sustainable. “Most people think that creativity is about coming up with possibilities. It’s actually not just that. It’s at the intersection of possibility, constraint, and purpose,” said Steven Kowalski, principal, organization & learning evolution at Genentech. He suggests leaders “craft a purpose that’s both meaningful and durable and that has some tension in it.” Embracing Individuality and Fostering InclusionAI can provide transparency and empowerment when it comes to skills matching, career mapping, and professional development, driving employee engagement. Technology can help you understand the skills of current talent or potential candidates and match them with available roles within the organization, says Andrea Shiah, head of talent strategy and transformation at Eightfold. “When you give that transparency, suddenly your employees understand where they can go instead of having to know somebody or [already] understand roles across the organization,” Shiah said. “If you allow your employees to see that, they’re empowered to drive their career in whatever direction they want to go.”The executive panelists spoke about "Developing Leaders Who Can Balance Productivity with Individuality"This kind of transparency also has a marked impact on DEI. “Diversity really rises when it’s no longer who you know, but what you know,” Shiah said. Another way to foster inclusive leadership, says Abbe Partee, VP, head of certified learning and development at DHL Supply, is simple: “Understanding the importance and treating each of our people as humans.” DHL Supply makes this a core tenet of its leadership training program for frontline supervisors. “We’ve got such a diverse group in our workforce today that it’s really important that the people who lead the majority of our population know how to be good leaders and know how to be inclusive. Productivity is great, but that human side is absolutely first,” she said.Today’s multigenerational workforce poses unique challenges and opportunities. “This is the first time we’ve had five generations of people in our workforce,” said Rocki Rockingham, chief HR officer, GE Appliances. “Our frontline managers now need to be retrained and think differently about how they have workers who are Gen Zers or Millennials who want to work differently and who need different things and who have different expectations. When you create a learning environment, it has to be an environment where people learn the way they need to learn.”Supporting Long-term Career DevelopmentThese early career employees are especially invested in career development opportunities, so employers must keep innovating to attract and retain young talent. Partee says DHL Supply offers a platform called Career Marketplace, that shows employees all the training development opportunities and open roles in their area. “We also have extensive talent panels and employee development reviews,” she said. “We spend a lot of time each year talking about people and talking about their careers. How can we help them? How can we sponsor them to make sure that they can have a nice, successful space in DHL?”Genentech offers something similar, called Career Center. “This is founded on two core principles. One is [that] career development is actually part of your job, so you don’t have to sneak there during lunch or after work or before work. And then the career lab is not a place that’s focused on outplacement. It’s about positive internal development,” he said. Career consultants can meet with employees to discuss personalized next steps and guide them through internal learning and development initiatives.Microsoft too, Pardo says, offers internal mentorship programs, both as a way for younger employees to grow and for more senior employees to give back and share their talents. Optional projects are another “really powerful way to allow your employees to learn,” Shiah said, “in addition to just coursework.”Partee notes that junior employees need not just mentorship, but sponsorship. “A sponsor is someone who [speaks well] about you when you’re not in the room,” she said, noting that this is especially crucial for underrepresented groups who might need added support in those behind closed doors conversations. Employee resource groups (ERGs), Rockingham says, help expose diverse employees to those resources and empower them to follow up. “I encourage you [as leaders] to involve yourselves with different groups across your organization, because what it does is it provides exposure on a different level, so that you see people and that people see you,” she said.This all comes down, Kowalski says, to “a spirit of generosity.” Leaders and colleagues should be ready to support other people’s uniquely individual priorities, allowing everyone involved to grow. “To be a sponsor, to be a mentor, to be a coach means, in an organizational context, being generous with your time, with your wisdom, with your intuition, and with your social capital.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

Seeing the Benefits: Why One Total-Rewards Leader Loves the Work

If you work a desk job in the 21st century, it’s not always clear what becomes of the effort you put in. White-collar workers too infrequently get their hands on products, find out who uses their ideas, or see the fruits of their labor. That’s not the case, however, with employee-benefits leaders, according to Kimberly Young.Young is the SVP of total rewards at Amentum, an engineering and technology giant with 53,000 workers across 80 countries. Young has worked in benefits for more than 20 years, having started her career supervising pension plans in the early 2000s. Young got hooked on the profession because she could see the effects of her work–and she found it immensely rewarding. For instance, if programs to manage chronic conditions among employees are effective, those results show up in the better health of the workers, and “if claims are high, you can trace back to the cause and you can see the measures you’ve taken to curtail or increase employee engagement in those programs,” she said.From Day One spoke with Young about the changes she has experienced in the benefits space, how to deal with the barrage of new benefits in the market, and what skills have made her team successful in 2024. Excerpts:Q: Where have you seen the greatest changes in benefits in your career?A: The needs of employees have changed. From maternity-leave benefits to family-leave requirements to GLP-1 drugs, bariatric surgeries, and legislation around women’s rights and abortion care–just a whole plethora of life events that happened to employees. What’s also changed is the role that an employer and their medical benefits play in an individual’s circle of life.Q: Is there an accomplishment you’re most proud of in your career?A: I worked on a panel of leaders who managed all of the benefit programs for a certain group of companies. We had to totally redesign our healthcare platform and put in high-deductible health plans because of the financial position of the company. It happened at a time PPOs were the prevailing plan and high-deductible health plans were uncommon. The company filed for bankruptcy, and we had to reduce cost dramatically, so we went full-replacement HSA to lower cost while providing quality coverage to employees at a time when HSAs were not that popular. It was a difficult transition for employees because they were not used to the high out-of-pocket expenses for medical or pharmacy costs. The employee education and engagement that went along with delivering a critical, difficult message–it was challenging–but at the same time it was rewarding because it worked.Kimberly Young, SVP of total rewards at Amentum, has spoken at From Day One conferences on employee benefits (Company photo)Q: What did you learn from that experience?A: My biggest takeaway was how to deliver a difficult message. I also learned the empathy you need to have for the employee side of the house, understanding what it means when they’re getting news about increases or changes. Not all employees have the same needs, but if you know that about 20% of your population have very critical healthcare needs, you know those changes will impact them the most.Q: Are you a naturally empathetic person?A: I think so, but I also think it happens naturally over time, hearing employees tell you their stories, tell you their situation, tell you the impact the changes have had on them. You come to understand some of the complexities employees deal with when they’re caring for a family member or a spouse who has a very significant medical condition. If you don’t have empathy, you get it. Sometimes we get lost in the day-to-day, the production numbers, everything else, and if we’re not close to it, we don’t really understand the impact that these changes have on individuals.Q: Amentum has had a big year: A merger and going public, plus a new chief people officer as of early December. What have you learned in 2024?A: That you have to be resilient. Stick to your priorities as best you can and tackle one thing at a time. I’ve learned resilience because it can be overwhelming.Q: What is your biggest day-to-day challenge right now?A: Right now, we’re going through an integration as a result of the recent merger, so trying to manage multiple priorities and strategic initiatives that include harmonization of existing programs between both companies that will ultimately enhance the employee experience and provide better health outcomes.Q: What about long-term challenges?A: I’m figuring out how we position ourselves as best-in-class from a benefits perspective. With all the new features out there and the trends that are in the market, you want to make sure you’re implementing programs that have engagement as well as quality outcomes.Q: What is your busiest time of year?A: The busiest time for me is March to June, doing the diligence review to prepare for recommendations for next year’s benefit programs. That time period could include RFP outcome reviews, pricing strategies, condition-management options, or adding and changing existing programs on the menu.Q: I’m sure you’re being pitched on a new platform or benefits idea all the time. How do you decide what’s worthwhile? A: Like most large companies, we work with brokers and consultants who help us do RFPs and wade through affordability and quality. But for benefits leaders, it boils down to what’s happening in your population and what do you need to help solve for your population. I don’t think one-size-fits-all if you’re seeing trends in things like cancer or [musculoskeletal conditions]. You need to bring in programs to help remedy and treat those and drive better outcomes. But cost is always a top concern and while you also want to manage what’s happening in your trends.Q: What are the best new ideas in benefits today?A: I think it’s on the wellness side of things. The challenge has been to get employees engaged in benefits not only when they need them or when they’re sick, but to get them engaged in the benefits when they’re well. So there are all kinds of wellness options out there from mental health to gym memberships to pilates classes.Q: What would have made this year more successful?A: More resources, I suppose. You can always offer new, more engaging benefits to the menu, and you can only do so much with a budget.Q: What made you successful this year? My team made this year a success. It’s not I, it’s we. I have a whole team of people that we collaborate and work with, and we wouldn’t be successful without them.Q: What are the most important skills on your team?A: I think they’re very detailed and analytical, and they’re great problem-solvers. You can present a strategy, but you have to have people who can pick it apart and go down to the details, find the issues, pinpoint the errors, isolate the gaps, and help bring solutions.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz, Business Insider, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.(Featured illustration by Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock by Getty Images)

By Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza | January 16, 2025

How to Succeed in Marketing? Show More Respect for the Dignity of Consumers

Not long ago, the air conditioning at this writer’s house was on the blink. That wouldn’t normally be a problem late in the year, but in central Virginia, daytime temperatures can still register 80 degrees when other states have snow on the ground. I called a local repair shop, the same one that had installed the heat pump two years ago. Within a few hours, I received a text message with a photo of my incoming technician, his name, and phone number. He arrived on time, called me by name, and identified the problems quickly. One of them was a dirty heating coil. I had two choices, he told me: Pay him $350 for a cleaning, or do it myself with a $3 brush from the hardware store. He’d even show me how if I wanted a lesson.This is what professor Cait Lamberton would describe as a dignified customer experience, the focus of her latest academic work. “It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever worked on,” she told From Day One. “Businesses don’t necessarily understand how profound these experiences are for people, so they get them right sometimes by accident–but they could get them right on purpose.”In her 2024 book Marketplace Dignity: Transforming How We Engage with Customers Across Their Journey, Lamberton, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and her coauthors, Neela A. Saldanha and Tom Wein, argue that “treating your customers with dignity means showing every customer that you value and respect them because of who they are, regardless of what they buy from you or how you engage with their brand.”They developed a three-part, marketplace-dignity framework that applies to every part of the customer journey, from pre-consumption to post-consumption. First, representation: Customers need to feel seen by the firm. Second, agency: Customers need meaningful choices when engaging with the company. And finally, equality: Customers must feel that they’re treated as peers.Marketers will recognize already-codified elements of marketplace dignity, even if they don’t go by that name. This is the kind of thing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission concerns itself with. The CAN-SPAM Act, for example, requires businesses to allow consumers to opt-out of email messages. And last October, the FTC released the final text of its new “click-to-cancel” rule, which requires that companies make it simple for customers to cancel subscriptions, and prohibits them from making misleading statements about how those subscriptions work.Objections to–and Misconceptions of–Marketplace DignityLamberton hears resistance from the business world about implementing this framework that respects customers’ representation, agency, and equality—and she’s sensitive to those objections. Businesses seem to really snag on the idea of customer agency, she said. The first protest she hears is that providing consumer dignity must be expensive. “They assume that this has to do with integrating lots of nice perks at every step along the way or redesigning their entire customer service program so their consumers get everything they want at every step in their experience.” But in some cases, the company already uses components of the framework, but customers aren’t aware. For instance, you may already offer customers a choice they don’t know is theirs to make.“Sometimes people think that agency means lots of choices. It doesn’t. It means lots of control, which is a very different thing,” Lamberton said. She notes that agency can actually be a money-saver. “When a firm says, ‘Would you prefer us to reach out to you by phone or by text?’ Half the time, the consumer is going to choose the option that’s less costly for the firm. It’s possible that by giving the consumer more agency, you’re actually going to cut your costs and make them happier.”Others object to the notion of equality, believing that “they’re going to end up having a battle between two groups of people who both want more voice, and if we give these people more of a voice, then these people are going to be mad because they don’t have a voice.” But this isn’t a zero-sum game, she said.Some believe representation is about ticking a box, like a clothing company that uses models of all shapes and sizes, or a retailer promoting rainbow merchandise for Pride Month. Companies have long been accused of “pinkwashing” every June. That is, capitalizing on Pride while ignoring the well-being of their own LGBTQ+ employees or customers. Lamberton notes that those who fail with representation often misunderstand that marketplace dignity isn’t about “being nice.”No matter their feelings on the consumer-dignity triad, companies don’t get to opt out. Not choosing is still choosing, as the adage goes. “Every interaction you have with your customers has some level of voice, has some level of agency, has some level of felt fairness,” Lamberton explained. “You don’t have the option to say, ‘We just aren’t doing anything about this.’ It’s a matter whether you decide to do it intentionally or not intentionally.”Compare my experience with the HVAC company to another one two years ago. Shopping around for a new heat pump and a company to install it, I called a few to visit the house and offer an estimate. One firm sent three techs to do a one-person job (and charged me accordingly). While tinkering around my house, not only was their chatter among each other crude and mostly about politics and their disdain for those who don’t share their beliefs, they spoke condescendingly to me about their inspection. They presented a menu of options, but told me that only one was the “smart choice.” Of course, it also had the heaviest price tag.That, Lamberton might say, is an undignified experience.How to Practice Marketplace DignitySo, how can a business uphold marketplace dignity? It must be systematic, Lamberton said. “If this is relying on people being nice, there’s no way it sticks. It has to be something for which you can actually audit.” You can measure it like anything else. Firms already survey consumer sentiment on a regular basis, so add a question to your polls: “Do you feel that we respect you?”This isn’t quite the same as net-promoter scoring. Lamberton and her coauthors tried creating a “net dignity score,” but they were never satisfied with the design. The correlation between NPS and a measure of dignity isn’t perfect, she said.Cait Lamberton, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (Photo courtesy of Penn)“In some industries, being respected is really tightly correlated with liking.” She uses Chick-fil-A as an example, where customers say they feel very respected, and they like the company. In other sectors, those scores don’t necessarily match. For example, “there are certain celebrities that are very popular, and people will forward their content on social media—eft, right, and center. Net promoter score: probably pretty high. They have no problem recommending this content to other people, but they don’t necessarily feel that these people respect them.” Banking is similar, where consumers are happy to sacrifice warmth for competence. “Customers may not feel respected by their bank, but that doesn’t mean they don’t see it as a competent business.”When it’s systematized, dignity isn’t “contingent on somebody’s mood that day or some of these other fad-based vacillations,” she said. Marketplace dignity is the remit of more than just the marketing department–it’s a cross-functional responsibility. Dignity is to be upheld at every point along the customer lifecycle: pre-consumption, evaluation, consumption, post-consumption.Discovering the Need for Customer DignityLamberton had an epiphany in 2019, while reading a book by political scientist Francis Fukuyama. In Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, his thesis is that modern ideas of behavioral economics are as old as Plato, who segments soul into three parts: appetite, reason, and spirit. In behavioral economics, however, the first two are recognized (the things we want and the things we need), but the third, spirit, is ignored, Lamberton observed. This is where she identifies the desire for dignity. “I thought, maybe we’re missing something, and because we’re missing something, we’re trying to solve problems using the wrong tools.”Lamberton looked at current events and saw reflections of Fukuyama’s arguments. She watched the riots and outrage following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. “I’m reading one set of reports saying, ‘This is all unchecked emotion. This is irrational.’ I’m seeing other reports saying, ‘This is all a systematic attempt by a highly orchestrated group of leaders.’ I thought, ‘No way, isn’t this driven by a denial of dignity?’ I mean, isn’t that what we saw? Therefore, isn’t this perfectly rational?”She believes that’s why implicit-association training for police hasn’t solved the problems of racism and discrimination (it addresses reason) and why workplace anti-bias training hasn’t either (it addresses emotion). “The problem is actually that we need to figure out how to affirm the dignity of everyone involved.” This idea has undergirded Lamberton’s approach to teaching marketing ethics.Not all industries have a code of ethics, but the American Marketing Association does. It comprises three parts. The first two are to do no harm and to foster and maintain integrity (as Lamberton paraphrases it: “Don’t lie”). Your legal department will take care of those two, she said. As for No. 3: embrace ethical values. “If you dig into [the full text], it says to respect the dignity of the consumer. But of course, we never defined that. If that’s the only unique thing in our ethics that legal isn’t going to cover, then I think we have to talk about it.”When Lamberton picked up Fukuyama’s book, she was writing a commentary on anti-stigmatization cues in marketing. Her first instinct was to write about companies virtue signaling, but she went looking for a challenge to her own ideas. “Maybe there’s something bigger,” she said. That article was the first time she wrote about the idea of customer dignity.As people are more willing to air grievances publicly and divide among political lines, Lamberton believes her work has growing relevance. “I think people are going to continue to be very sensitive to these issues, and I think they should. The good news is that the conversation has sensitized people to concerns for dignity. I’m excited about the fact that businesses are interested because it’s a huge opportunity for them to do something affirmative rather than simply playing defense.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz, Business Insider, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.(Featured photo by TommL/iStock by Getty Images)

Hope for Cynics: How to Replace a Lack of Trust With “Hopeful Skepticism”

“I wrote this book because I needed it,” said renowned psychologist and author, Jamil Zaki, Ph.D. about his latest book, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness. “I’ve been studying the science of kindness and empathy and connection for 20 years, and oftentimes people assume that must mean that I walk around blissed out by human goodness constantly. But the secret is that this entire time, I’ve tended towards cynicism,” Zaki said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s December virtual conference.In life and in work, cynicism is making us sick, but Zaki offers a cure. While cynicism is an understandable response to injustice and inequality, in many cases it is misplaced. Dozens of studies find that people fail to realize how kind, generous, and open-minded others really are. Dr. Zaki imparts the secret for beating back cynicism: “hopeful skepticism”–thinking critically about people and our problems while honoring and encouraging our strengths.“We are living through a quiet but devastating epidemic of cynicism,” Zaki told session moderator, Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, reporter at the Denver Post. In 1972, about half of Americans believed most people could be trusted. By 2018, only a third believed the same. He cites the financial collapse of 2008 as a time when our faith in institutions plummeted. “We are living in a trust deficit. When trust is depressed, cynicism rises. Cynicism is poisonous for our mental health, our physical health, relationships, our communities, including our businesses and organizations and our culture.”But not all hope is lost, cynicism is often just a mistake or a bias. “When you pay closer attention to the data, people tend to be more generous, trustworthy, open minded and kind than we realize,” Zaki said. That’s where his “hopeful skepticism” comes in—“acknowledging that oftentimes our bias means we underestimate each other and by connecting more with the data and with people in general, we can rebuild our sense of faith in each other and use that to fight for a future that more of us want.”Hopeful Skepticism in ActionThe difference between cynicism and skepticism is key. “Skeptics withhold their judgment and look for evidence,” Zaki said. And while optimism, in assuming a positive outcome, can lead to complacency, hope instead can inspire action. “Hope is the belief that things could improve, but that we don’t know that… the future is uncertain, and in that uncertainty, our actions matter.” Therefore, hopeful skeptics are data-driven and withhold assumptions, while knowing that people and situations can surprise us in a positive way.Jamil Zaki, Ph.D., Director of the Stanford Neuroscience Lab and Author, “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness” was interviewed by Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Reporter, the Denver Post (photo by From Day One)At work, cynicism can be lethal, says Ulu-Lani Boyanton. “[There is] a heavy price for mistrust in a corporate environment.” The data shows that cynics are less likely to rise to positions of leadership, have poor morale, perform worse, and are less loyal to organizations. Cynicism spreads easily and having too many cynics at an organization can lead to a collapse of collaboration, innovation, and productivity. “Why take a risk if the person next to you would prefer to see you fail?” Zaki said. “Leaders need to be quite intentional about fostering trust and cooperation, because without that, our tendency is to focus more on the negative.”Political and social polarization can also breed cynicism. “Americans have lost contact with folks who are different from them. We no longer rub shoulders with people who are politically different from us. We’ve sorted so that we interact less with real folks we disagree with. So how do we know who they are?” Zaki said. We rely on media depictions for that information, and often it’s inaccurate. “We conjure up a version of people we disagree with that is quite frightening and quite wrong. And we miss out on the common ground.”This extends to workplace disagreements and divisions. “People stop talking with one another. They start to exaggerate the negative qualities of the other side. They start to think a ‘win’ on the other side is a ‘loss’ on their own. We focus so heavily on what separates us that we lose sight of all the things we have in common,” Zaki said. To solve this within the workplace, Zaki says, bring both sides together and have them list all the things they agree on and disagree on. They will be shocked at how the agreements outweigh the disagreements.Seeing Each Other More ClearlyIt’s incumbent on HR to help team members move past their own biases and internal disagreements. When Zaki surveys employees, he always finds that the vast majority want collaboration and trust to be at the center of their work, and that they also don’t realize that other folks want it too. “If you’re a leader, one way to fight cynicism is not to lie to people, but to tell them the truth and to show them the truth in as quantitative and specific a way as you can,” Zaki said.One way organizations can inspire collaboration, creativity, and trust, Zaki said, is by “rewarding people for not just their individual performance, but how they showed up for their colleagues.” Mission-driven companies like Patagonia or Cotopaxi, that are not only focused on product development but also “advancing a philosophy of caring, not just for ourselves, but for the planet” all speak to Zaki’s tenets of hopeful skepticism.He encourages organizations to invest in developing “soft skills,” or what he calls “human skills,” so that employees can get better at understanding themselves and others and communicate more effectively. Empathy and emotional intelligence are vital to success.Humans suffer from a negativity bias as part of an evolutionary response to physical threats. Noticing that knee jerk response within oneself is key to moving past it. “Being a hopeful skeptic can open us to incredible numbers of social opportunities, whether that’s pleasant conversations with strangers, bridging differences with people we disagree with, building relationships, friendships, collaborations, parenting more effectively, and building more trusting communities. And in all these cases, the steps are simple,” Zaki said. “I’m much more positive and hopeful since researching cynicism, because I realized how much of it is just an error, and that’s true in our politics, in our organizations, but just in our everyday lives as well. Hope is not naïve, it’s not privileged, it’s not toxic. It’s an adaptive and adaptable response to the best data that we have. We can fight for that better future together by seeing it more clearly.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

The Future of Employee Experience: Leveraging Technology To Drive Engagement

Organizations that lack a technology strategy risk falling behind in addressing employee engagement—one of the most pressing challenges businesses face today. Research from leading firms like Gartner, Gallup, and Forrester reveals alarming trends: 60% of employees report burnout, 80% experience loneliness, and 70% feel disengaged. These factors contribute to a 50% increase in quiet quitting.“We need to drive engagement. We need tools that allow us to recognize each other and foster leadership transparency,” said Jaime McMahon, chief digital officer at LineZero. McMahon spoke during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s December virtual conference.McMahon pointed out four priorities for HR professionals moving into 2025 including:Transforming HR through technology and strategic integrationCreating a future ready workforceFostering a culture of innovation and adaptabilityEnhancing employee experience and engagementHR professionals are prioritizing talent retention, according to a survey by Fuel50. Organizations are increasingly recognizing employees as vital assets to their business rather than replaceable workers. However, the challenge lies in effectively retaining talent. According to Fuel50, only 20% of organizations have systems in place to track employees’ skills and abilities.Creating the framework for data and AI gives organizations the ability to track the ROI of engagement initiatives, detect trends, and make changes as needed faster. “How do we make sure and get access to this type of information so that we can make our workforce effective? At the end of the day, it begins and ends with the data” said McMahon.Driving Change With Data and AIJaime McMahon the chief digital officer at LineZero led the conversation (company photo)Taking advantage of new technologies like AI is smart for business. AI is rearranging old operational habits. The capabilities offer ways for a customized employee onboarding experience, as well as automating routine HR duties. It’s not just about AI, though, says McMahon.Integrating a digital workplace becomes a centerpiece for efficient communication, feedback, and document management. Employees stay informed on important company business, making them feel included, which in turn creates more engagement. Plus, it enables proactive decisions with real-time analytics.Organizations should avoid focusing solely on building a digital workplace and instead aim to create a comprehensive digital hub. This hub integrates five key components: communications, which facilitate seamless information sharing; engagement, which fosters connection and collaboration; a digital workplace, which provides the tools and infrastructure employees need to work efficiently; analytics and insights, which drive data-informed decision-making; and AI assistance, which enhances productivity and support through intelligent automation.“When I think about what’s going to make an impact today, these all make a dramatic impact,” he said. Companies who are not implementing these digital concepts will likely fall behind their competitors. Looking into the new year, companies who seek to stay ahead must invest in digital hubs, embrace AI, and make employee experience the focal point of their business strategy.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, LineZero, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Mary Jones is a freelance writer out of Ohio. Her work is featured in several publications including The Dallas Express, NDash, and The Daily Advocate.

Investing in Employees: A Key to Thriving in Uncertain Times

Many companies are trying to do more with less. But even as they work with tighter budgets, organizations still want to be able to support employees to boost engagement, increase retention, and promote professional growth. Investing in employees needs to stay top priority, no matter what.What are the most inventive, data-driven and budget-friendly ways to invest in your people, from innovative benefits, recognition, workshops, mentorship, and more? At From Day One’s Miami conference, a panel of leaders spoke about “Investing in Employees: A Key to Thriving in Uncertain Times,” in a session moderated by Paul Bomberger, independent journalist and former business editor at the Miami Herald.Managing Employee WorkloadTraditional ways of thinking about workload, says Ernest Paskey, practice leader, North America at Aon, are rooted in the industrial age, when physical output was key. For knowledge and service organizations, “We have to rethink what is true productivity. Is it the number of hours sitting at a desk? Is it the number of widgets [produced], or is it something different?” Paskey said.Making sure employees understand the “why” behind their work is essential to driving satisfaction and performance. “It’s important that we bring our frontline leaders along the journey of really understanding what the strategy and vision is of the company, and not just focusing on all of the activities,” said Elizabeth Wixted, global head of talent management & DEI for CSL Behring. This also means no busy work—only give assignments that are essential to the mission. “You need to be mindful of the work you’re putting on both yourselves and your teams. Clarity is kindness.”Executive panelists spoke about "Investing in Employees: A Key to Thriving in Uncertain Times"Technological advances that can minimize workload and increase productivity should be embraced, not feared, says Loren Blandon, global head of careers and organizational development at VML. “With generative AI, there are so many things that can be done in seconds that used to take us weeks,” she said.Paskey notes that post-pandemic returns to office are not quite reaching the proper balances yet, with employees spending most of their time on calls and Zoom meetings that could have been done from home, leading to feelings of stress and dissatisfaction. “What will bring them in? It’s [social] time, it’s happy hour, it’s lunch, it’s coffee breaks,” he said. “We need that collaboration and downtime to think through the chaos of our day.” Some panelists suggested using food and organized social gatherings as an incentive to come in, while other panelists said that the opportunity to work remotely can be used as a reward for high-performing employees.Supporting Career DevelopmentCareer development opportunities should come from within, says Dana Moore, VP, HR, people & culture, luxury & lifestyle Americas, IHG Hotels & Resorts, who cites IHG’s mentorship program as one of the central ways the organization invests in its employees. “We have something called a RISE program to put women in leadership, which catapults them through a general manager role, [and] teaches them how to be well-rounded in a general manager position. And we also have a mentorship program just within our discipline [of HR] for new mentees to come in who are looking to excel in their role,” Moore said. “It’s important to have someone to tell you which way you can go, and the things you need to learn to excel.”It’s also important to recognize that not all employees are looking to ascend the ranks, especially in these post-pandemic times when people are less interested in linear or traditional paths. “A lot of folks are no longer looking to their jobs for fulfillment,” said Blandon. But that’s not to say organizations should not still invest in their growth. Even as organizations are “flattening” with fewer managers, Blandon says, employees are still interested in salary increases, building skills, and having interesting, fun, and meaningful experiences.Organizations should respect such employees, says Moore, “because that is the foundation of your company. Those are the irreplaceable employees. They know all the processes, all the procedures. They have the most valuable knowledge that can’t be bought. We owe them some interest and some investment into making sure that they do stay in that role, because they are the ones who build us up and take care of us as we’re going up, hiring managers, and creating new directors.”Bomberger notes the challenging dichotomy of supporting younger generations who value work/life balance over leadership growth, while still ensuring that your organization is primed for evolution and a transition of power. “We have to be really clear in our organizations, in our company, what is ultimately the value proposition, and what do people come here to gain in terms of their career?” Blandon said. “You may be in an industry where you’re like, ‘Don’t come here for balance because it’s super competitive in a really innovative space and we move quickly.’ We have to be clear on what the true, authentic culture is and let folks opt in or out on whether that fits their life or expectations.” That clarity, Wixted says, should start in the job interview—understanding expectations from both sides and how they can or cannot be met.Building Workplace Culture for the FutureUltimately, leaders should set the tone for office culture, be it work/life balance or a return to office. “It’s so important, especially when you think about changing behavior, you have to have the right leadership and sponsorship that’s going to express, model, and reinforce the right behavior. If they’re not expressing or modeling the right behavior, you’re not going to get the outcome that you’re desiring,” said Stacey Finnegan, AVP, people advisory services, Genpact.Going forward, Moore says, “we’re always going to have to be malleable” and ready to respond to the demands and trends of workers. “If you aren’t able to provide what works for them, then they're going to look other places.” This includes developing attractive rewards programs and comprehensive benefits packages that incorporate women’s health, fertility, and family leave options that incorporate multiple generations and lifestyles.In this vein, we all must recognize that the world is constantly evolving. “We’re talking about the key to thriving in uncertain times, and I have to say, when has it ever been certain times? And will it ever be certain times again?” Finnegan said. “I think disruption is the new norm, and we need to embrace the disruption, whether it’s new generations coming into the workforce, whether it’s technology… We’re going to be dealing with this going forward, and all the ambiguity that it brings with it.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

How to Connect a People Strategy to a Business Strategy

Lennar Corporation, a housing construction company based in Miami has over 13,000 employees and hundreds of thousands of trade partners. How does it maintain a strong group of staff with diverse skills and talents? Drew Holler, chief human resource officer at Lennar, says what plays well in recruiting and retaining thousands of employees is promoting a personal connection to the business.Holler spoke during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Miami conference. He and moderator Tim Padgett, Americas Editor for WLRN spoke about how HR leaders can connect people strategy to business strategy to hire, train and retain employees.Developing an Emotional Connection to the MissionWhat attracts people to Lennar is the industry it’s in: housing. Holler says that because a majority of people have a home, people can relate to the industry through the personal significance of becoming a homeowner or having the goal of home ownership.“When you buy a home, it’s the biggest asset that you’ll ever buy in your life,” said Holler. “There’s this emotional connection to the business that really plays well and then it’s also as people understand the growth potential in this industry.”Tim Padgett, Americas Editor, WLRN, NPR News, right, interviewed Lennar Corp.'s CHROLennar is able to recruit and retain employees by maintaining this deeper connection between the staff and the company’s mission. It allows them to effectively bring in the diverse talent that is necessary for Lennar to function.The company is also known for building affordable housing across the nation in states such as California, New Jersey, Arizona and Texas. Much of the nation’s population can understand the struggles of rising housing costs. As Lennar works toward building more affordable homes, people can relate to the company’s social mission. “We really do feel like our role is helping America build a more healthy housing market and to do that, there are a lot of different elements. One huge element is more attainable housing,” said Holler.AI Drives Human CreativityLike most corporate companies, the use of AI technology has become more common and embedded into the work within the industry. Holler says in the HR sector that AI has allowed for mundane tasks to become automated, freeing up time for workers to put their creative focus on other things.“There’s been little pockets where I’ve seen this already, in our business of individuals that were very heads down, doing the same repeatable tasks, that now can put their head up a little bit, not all the way, but a little bit, and so now they’re spending 50% or more of their time really adding value,” said Holler.Lennar also uses AI to generate training videos based on HR Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This process centralizes text based information into a video for people to digest in a different format.HR is transforming under the growth of AI technology and as the economy and corporate industry grows, Holler says it’s important to have the talented staff that will support the company in the coming years.Building a Social MissionLennar’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts directly blend into the work it does for consumers and staff by making sure that everyone feels included. Holler emphasized that there’s an existing feeling that everyone wants to belong and the company upholds this by connecting with its team, mission and work.“If you want to have a great workplace that's productive, you want to have a workplace that actually takes care of customers’ needs. You need to have engaged employees, and the best way to do that is to make sure they feel included with their teams and with their work,” said Holler.Lennar’s mission to serve communities that need affordable housing dives into this effort towards welcoming and including all people. The company builds single-family, multi-family homes as well as housing for rent. Holler acknowledges that the “life-cycle of a consumer,” can look different for everyone and the company strives to meet the needs of all types of people.“It’s an exciting time to be in this space. You have an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Holler.Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a local news and education reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Using Technology to Prevent Burnout: Modernizing Workplace Mental Health

Nearly 2 in 3 workers experience burnout. Most of them do not have easy access to the resources needed to help with mental well-being. Employers are now wondering, “How can we better support our employees?” The answer may lie in our growing technological landscape.Nivati, a company focused on providing better mental health resources for employers and employees alike, is looking to change this reality, says Haeli Harris, director of clinical operations at Nivati. Harris spoke during a thought leadership spotlight titled, “Well-Being: What is it? And What Technology Can We Use to Promote it?” at From Day One’s Miami conference.Clients who come to see her often have an imbalance of some kind. Seeking out and solving that imbalance can be a challenge, says Harris. While 46% of workplace employees report diagnosable mental illnesses, more than half of them will not seek professional treatment, according to a study from the National Library of Medicine.“It’s not always just something wrong with the mind. Sometimes there’s social pieces, career pieces, their environment, the places that they’re in,” she said, “and so we really want to be thinking about all of those different areas.”Using data collected from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, she said, leaders at Nivati have discovered just how being off-balance affects employees’ mental and physical health. Each person is different in how they manage stressors, says Harris. “Well-being isn’t a one-size-fits-all.”To help workers, employers should first understand barriers to finding therapeutic solutions. Many who do not get treatment cite lack of transportation or availability as well as cost for reasons why they cannot reach the care they need. In the workplace, there is an additional barrier—the stigma around admitting mental health struggles. Some may feel they would rather handle it themselves than go to their employer, says Harris.The Effects of BurnoutBurnout plays a large role in this dynamic. Looking at the numbers, a 2022 Aflac WorkForces report found 59% of workers experience burnout.Haeli Harris of Nivati led the thought leadership spotlight “A lot of people feel pretty hopeless in how we fix this,” said Harris. “We’re trying to encourage people. Let’s not give up. Let’s think of those attitudinal barriers and what we can do in the workplace to help with those.”Burnout does not begin with the mental and physical collapse of a worker. There are stages and signs that burnout is coming. Employees first feel burned out for a variety of reasons, including a sense that their workplace is not concerned with their well-being. While workplaces provide health insurance, there are often other ways to support employees and address feelings of burnout.Employees will start calling out of work, Harris says. They find they can not focus as well, and their productivity starts to decline. They stop practicing self-care, and lack either access to or willingness to see a counselor. Employees will eventually cease discussing their career goals with their employers, as they no longer have the energy to produce high-quality work.Using Technology to HelpStudies have found if employers directly address the importance of well-being, mental health and self-care, the employees are less likely to experience burnout. “We want to encourage people to continuously learn, not just about the things they do at their job, but about mental health, too,” Harris said.Employers can help by increasing access to several pillars of self-care and focusing on supportive leadership. In her own workplace, Harris recommends promoting meditation and mindfulness.Meditation and mindfulness are centuries-old practices that encourage living in the present moment. For many, this could mean spending time in nature. For others, mindfulness could mean practicing yoga and focusing on more physical solutions to stress or anxiety. Many utilize apps, classes, programs and video guides to reach a sense of emotional peace. The concept and positive impact of mindfulness, Harris said, “is clinically proven.”Well-being in the workplace doesn’t stop there. Employers can also offer supportive leadership by way of training directed at managers, who can then be better-equipped to both recognize and help when the early stages of burnout begin in employees. She recommends hosting one training each quarter. The availability of online, remote training means employers can access these much easier and more reliably.An important piece of the puzzle surrounding mental health is physical health. Wellness incentive programs, like providing gym memberships or walking challenges, has a marked positive effect on employees’ connections to their work. Physical exercise helps alleviate feelings of depression, anxiety and stress. Movement and exercise can directly curb those looming feelings of burnout and mental exhaustion in the workplace.Even for mostly remote workplaces, Harris said keeping up on communication apps such as Slack will help employers stay connected to their employees.The Social Aspects of WorkOften a symptom of burnout is an employee feeling underappreciated for their work. It does not have to be that way. Employee recognition and consistent acknowledgement of a workers’ efforts can lift them up and feel more motivated to continue with high-quality work. There are also ways to “use these apps and all the technology that is out there,” she said.Each quarter, Nivati hosts book clubs through their preferred communication app. Apps like Calm or Headspace are popular for workplaces looking to “provide quiet places and then encourage mindfulness practices,” she said.Having employee-focused training is another way to promote these types of self-care techniques. Nivati consults with nutritionists, financial coaches and personal trainers—to name a few—who offer personal development programs. Nivati has an on-demand video library with different types of programs doing just this, she said, which is “a great opportunity for people to go and choose what they want to learn.”“Psychological safety is a big thing that’s been talked about more for companies, and I think it’s important that we do think about how our leaders are showing they have an open door,” Harris said.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Nivati, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Sydney Brown is a freelance journalist from Vancouver, WA. Her work has appeared in The Seattle Times, The Spokesman-Review and The Columbian.