Thriving in the New Year: How Individuals Find Meaning in Their Work

BY Nick Wolny | January 18, 2023

How do you help employees thrive? As it turns out, that’s a trillion-dollar question.

Disengaged employees cost their organizations $7.8 trillion last year globally, 11% of total GDP, according to research from Gallup. Engagement is a byproduct of great company culture, but as workforces become more hybrid–and companies become more thoughtful about their initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)–the definition of company culture has evolved.

“Culture is not free lunches. Culture is equity for your employees,” said Alawna Ozoka, coach-operations acquisitions lead for BetterUp, a platform helping companies deliver personal and professional growth to their employees. Ozoka said the Gallup research points to four areas that employers can focus on to better engage employees: clarity with expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, feeling cared about, and cultivating a deeper connection to the organization’s larger mission and values.

“Really, what quiet quitting means for employers is that employees are looking for something beyond just a salary,” Ozoka said. “They're looking for deeper meaning, deeper growth, and deeper connection when it comes to work, a place where they’re spending 40+ hours of their week.”

How can leaders reinvigorate employees in a hybrid world–and in the face of potential headcount reductions? Okoza shared her top tips in From Day One’s webinar “Thriving in the New Year: How Individuals Find Meaning and Purpose in Their Work.”

Improve Culture to Increase Revenue

In a recent BetterUp report entitled “How coaching culture builds resilient future-ready organizations,” an analysis of 18,300 users found that companies whose employees reported a high coaching culture had 14% higher revenue growth over a five-year period than low-coaching-culture companies.

“What you’ll see with coaching is you have these little flywheels that continue to reap benefits when it comes to employee happiness, growth, and purpose at work,” Ozoka said. She describes coaching culture as “combining strength-based processes and mindsets with organizational success,” and notes that employees who are continuously learning are more resilient. “I think that’s something that’s particularly important in this environment of uncertainty where, again, we have layoffs, and a potential recession looming.”

Webinar speakers Alawna Ozoka, coach-operations acquisitions lead for BetterUp, bottom, and moderator Nick Wolny (Image by From Day One)

Performance review cycles are top of mind at the moment, but they’re not as impactful as you might think. A separate study from Gallup found only 14% of employees “strongly agree” that performance reviews inspire them to improve. Ozoka said there are several initiatives you can take year-round to embolden culture without needing a bigger budget.

“When I think about culture, I think about salary, and benefits, and transparency,” she said. “That is absolutely culture. I think about time off, leave policies, employee assistance programs, and coaching. I encourage employers to think about those things.” She also noted that, amidst tightening budgets and new-year layoffs, leadership should think strategically about incentives. “Maybe certain roles aren't available, and your team really has to bootstrap in and get things done. What type of behaviors are you incentivizing?”

Cultivate Belonging in Three Ways

BetterUp’s report found that, when it comes to predictors of retention, a sense of belonging was the second-highest indicator of intent to stay with a company. But what is belonging, really? And how is it different from culture? Ozoka suggested thinking of belonging as having three components: personality, awareness, and top-down relatability.

“First, understand that everyone is different. The way they show up is going to be very specific to them,” she said. “I love to be in everyone’s face and be very extroverted, because that’s who I am. But that doesn’t make me more belonging, or exhibiting more belonging, than someone that may be more quiet and reserved.”

“The second thing I’d say is being able to evaluate what your people are saying about you,” she added, citing platforms like Fishbowl and Glassdoor, which can sometimes influence an employee’s perception of company culture. “And then the last thing is for our leadership teams to show up not only as leaders, but also as people. Model that behavior, showing up as your full self, so that others are encouraged to do it too.”

Culture and belonging take time to develop. As we enter a new year, consider ways to measure to improve your organization’s coaching culture, and you’ll have a bigger impact on the bottom line for years to come.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, BetterUp, who sponsored this webinar.

Nick Wolny is a senior editor at NextAdvisor, in partnership with TIME. He has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, and OUT Magazine, and was named a “40 under 40” by the Houston Business Journal in 2021.

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