Joy Works

CHAPTER 7Safe, Seen, Supported, Inspired

As I've shared, the pandemic changed the tenor of my conversations about joy at work. Suddenly in 2020, I was having emotional conversations with other corporate leaders and my colleagues. People were ready to get real, to drop the act, and to connect in a more personal, raw, authentic way.

And from all the research that is coalescing about how people feel about their work, it's clear that people need work to be a place that's safe for them, even when they're vulnerable. We all want to feel safe, seen, supported, and inspired.

Creating a safe workplace (physically and emotionally) is not a far‐off dream or a nice‐to‐have for only the most progressive employers. It's a baseline requirement.

Safe

START WITH PHYSICAL SAFETY

I'll repeat the troubling statistic I mentioned earlier: In our 2021 survey, less than half of respondents strongly agreed that their physical health and safety is reasonably protected at work.

We assume that answer was heavily influenced by the fear and alarm of the pandemic, but it also flagged a major concern that extends beyond the pandemic. If people don't feel physically safe, they'll never relax enough to feel emotionally and psychologically steady. Put physical safety of the people in your organization before anything else.

SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH

My friend Crystal Ashby is a lawyer and corporate board member with more than three decades of leadership success. I talked with her when she was the president and ...