At a time of uncertainty and rapid change in the business world, the keys to a happy workplace are flexibility and intentionality. So says Jessica Swank, chief people officer for Box, Inc., a cloud content-management company in Silicon Valley that is consistently rated a “Great Place to Work.” 

Like most tech companies prior to the pandemic, Box operated largely in person. Now, after many iterations of working remotely, employees–called “Boxers”–have embraced a hybrid approach, which Swank admitted has been challenging.

Swank spoke at From Day One’s San Francisco conference with Erin Griffith, a New York Times reporter, in a fireside chat titled, “How to Give Workers the Resources and Opportunities They Need to Thrive and Do Their Best Work.”

As work arrangements sort themselves out in the post-pandemic era, employee preferences vary widely. Workers who are earlier in their careers may want to return to the office for in-person mentorship and camaraderie. Other employees who are caretakers of young children or elderly parents, or both, will have contrasting needs. 

“We’re trying to be flexible and accommodating,” said Swank. “There’s a lot that all of us are juggling. So we’re trying to be really thoughtful about that approach.”

Even prior to the pandemic, Box has had a longstanding commitment to diversity and belonging at every step of its employee lifecycle. Its culture is built on core values expressed in maxims like “Make Your Mom Proud,” while placing importance on trust and “assuming good intent in what we do.” Weekly leadership lunches, transparent decision-making, and a focus on team efforts help create an environment “where everyone can thrive,” said Swank. 

“We all have good days, we all have bad days,” she said. “It's not just about an individual but about coming together and supporting each other through all the ups and downs.”

Box leaders regularly engage their 11 distinct Employee Resource Communities (ERCs) and listening circles to foster greater psychological safety for their workforce. “We rely a lot on our internal communities to help be that voice,” Swank said, “to create that safe space.” 

ERCs are engaged after any significant social or political news events as part of a matrix for deciding when and how the company should respond, which is, according to Swank, a bit of art and science. “We have we look at it by what are our business priorities, our values,” she said. “Then we look at it based on geographies and the impact to our Boxers around the world.”

Box has increased benefits for its employees, including coaching or mentoring, and expanded healthcare to ensure access for family members. “We want anybody, no matter where you are around the world, to be able to access our resources,” Swank said. “I think about it as sustainability. That ability to invest in the wellness and the well-being of our employees is so incredibly important.”

The goal for Box and its people, Swank said, is to deliver results while living by the company’s values. “We believe that if we can do both of those things and invest in our employees, that ultimately it's better for business.”

The pandemic brought many challenges to the workplace, yet Swank believes it also helped bring more heart, humility, and humanity back into leadership and companies. And she believes the lessons being learned from the past three years are far from over. 

“How do we continue to not lose some of the benefits from the pandemic and working from home?” said Swank. “How do we continue to be innovative and create new solutions?”

Samantha Campos is a freelance journalist who has written for regional publications in Hawaii and California, with forays into medical cannabis and food justice nonprofits. She currently resides in Oakland, Calif.

(Featured image: Erin Griffith of the New York Times, left, interviewing Jessica Swank of Box, Inc., at the San Francisco conference)