workplace culture Archives

4 Ways to Promote Social Justice in the Workplace

by Amirah Ford | Apr 26, 2022 | Blog

4 ways to promote social justice in the workplace. Social justice and DEI issues are a must-have for workforces. Here are 4 ways to keep social justice in mind while planning your benefits strategy.

Diversity, equity and inclusion have become critical values to employees. In a 2021 survey of 3,000 workers, Garter HR found that 68 percent would consider quitting their current job for an organization with a stronger stance on relevant social justice issues.

What exactly is social justice?

Social justice is generally described as an effort to secure equal rights, opportunities and treatment for all individuals. Today, many companies also incorporate economic justice as an integral part of their DEI strategy.

Many social justice causes may directly impact members of your workforce. So, supporting social justice and DEI efforts in the workplace, whether through employee benefits programs or other means, is a key component of supporting overall employee wellness.

Here are 5 ways companies can support employees by keeping social justice and DEI issues in mind when planning employee benefits.

4 ways to support employees and promote social justice in the workplace

One of the most important aspects of an effective employee retention strategy is to listen to employees and respond to their needs. According to SHRM, 56% of US employees with employer-sponsored healthcare benefits surveyed said whether or not they like their healthcare plan is a key component in their decision to stay with their current job. Offering a healthcare plan is also a way for employees to keep up with competitors as 58% of companies offer health benefits making it the most common workplace perk.

1. Integrate DEI and social justice efforts into your organization’s hiring practices.

Conscious and unconscious biases can lead to inequitable hiring processes and disparities in unemployment. For instance, candidates with white-sounding names on their resumes receive 25% more callbacks than those with Black-sounding names, according to a Harvard research study.

It’s important that HR teams stay aware of such biases during the hiring processes. Companies can take it a step further by integrating diverse representation into their hiring teams. Diverse HR professionals can help companies expand the colleges, networks and talent pools that they hire from, ultimately increasing employee representation.

2. Use financial wellness resources to help address wealth and financial literacy inequalities.

Social justice is closely linked to economic and wealth equality, according to the United Nations and the Center for Economic and Social Justice. However, wealth inequalities based on race, gender and other identities remain prevalent.

Almost 64 percent of the U.S. population lives paycheck-to-paycheck, according to a report from LendingClub. And that insecurity often disproportionately affects minority families. The median net worth of white families is nearly $190,000, compared to Black and Hispanic families, with $24,100 and $36,400, respectively, according to 2022 data collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Companies can help bridge these structural wealth gaps by offering access to financial wellness programs. Whether employees are saving for retirement, managing a day-to-day budget, or working toward a personal milestone, financial wellness and literacy programs can offer much-needed resources to employees of all backgrounds.

3. Show support for social justice causes through company match programs.

With Company match programs, employees donate to an organization (either one of their choice or from a pre-approved pool) and their employer promises to match the donation. These programs, also known as matching gift programs, are an effective way to garner support and economic justice for social causes.

Studies have shown that employees feel more motivated to support social causes when their employer offers company match programs.

4. Offer time off for cultural holidays and volunteering opportunities.

Many employees celebrate culturally significant moments that extend beyond federally observed holidays. Recognizing this, employers are increasingly allowing time off for cultural holidays like Holi, Yom Kippur and Juneteenth. This flexibility allows employees to celebrate the moments that matter most to them while maintaining a work-life balance.

Companies are also beginning to extend time off benefits to volunteering and social impact opportunities. This benefits allows employees to take time off to focus on social causes they care most about, while furthering company commitments to corporate social responsibility.

Take your benefits strategy to the next level with financial wellness solutions from Best Money Moves.

Best Money Moves is a financial wellness solution designed to help dial down employees’ most top-of-mind financial stresses. As a comprehensive financial well-being solution, Best Money Moves offers 1:1 money coaching, budgeting tools and other resources to improve employee financial wellbeing. Our AI platform, with a human-centered design, is easy to use and fit for employees of any age.

Whether it be college planning or securing a mortgage, Best Money Moves can guide employees through the most difficult financial times and topics. Our dedicated resources, partner offerings and 700+ article library make Best Money Moves a leading benefit in bettering employee financial wellness.

To learn more about Best Money Moves Financial Wellness Platform, let’s schedule a call. Contact us and we’ll reach out to you soon.

How to Build a Strong Remote Work Culture in 2021

by daniel@bestmoneymoves.com | Feb 17, 2021 | Blog

How to build a strong remote work culture in 2021. Remote doesn’t have to mean disconnected. Build a strong remote work culture during the pandemic.

Two thirds of executives feel that a physical office space is key to employee productivity, and about the same number feel employees should visit the office a minimum of three days per week in order to maintain a distinct company culture, according to a January 2021 Remote Work survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. But with the Coronavirus/COVID-19 still sweeping across the United States and many remote employees feeling unsafe returning to the office, it could be months before that happens

So, how can workforces maintain a strong remote work culture in 2021 if they feel a physical space is key to success? Just like remote work may not come naturally to every employee, a strong remote work culture doesn’t happen without effort from employers. Supporting your remote workforce and keeping them connected outside of the office requires intentionality and practice.

Try these three strategies to help develop your remote work culture in 2021, regardless of how long your team is stuck at home.

Communicate deliberately and transparently with your workforce.

In the office, quick questions and passing conversations go a long way to helping business run smoothly. At home, communication becomes more complicated and even a passing question to a coworker may require extra steps.

Clear, consistent communication is a cornerstone of successful remote work culture. Make the avenues of communication available to your employees very clear and encourage their use as often as people need — whether that’s email, telephone or video calls, or an instant messaging service such as Slack or Google Hangouts. Actively check in with your employees and give them individual attention and opportunities to ask questions.

It’s also important to keep your remote team up to date on company share company goals. Working alone from home can be isolating and it may be hard for an employee to stay motivated if they can’t see the bigger picture. Create a remote work culture where individual goals are aligned with the company’s needs. Team members generally work together better if they can fully understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, and how their individual actions impact the company as a whole.

Celebrate employee successes (and remember to say thank you).

Positive reinforcement is another factor in a positive remote work culture. Employees are commonly affected by negativity bias, a behavioral phenomenon where individuals are more impacted by negative events than positive events of equal intensity. A positive remote work culture is more likely to form when employees are working towards acknowledgement for hard-won achievements, rather than in fear of being reprimanded. Additionally, pointing out personal wins on a team or company-wide scale can be a great way to encourage conversation between remote employees and connect separate team members with a common victory.

Encourage consistent work-life-balance, even while remote.

When your office is your bedroom, the lines between your “on” hours and your “off” hours can become blurred. You leave work, but your laptop is still right in front of you. If you work ceaselessly and don’t take strong breaks, productivity is bound to decrease.

Finding this balance is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. The events of 2020 have left workers everywhere dealing with significant emotional exhaustion. Many members of your team may be dealing with financial struggles, mental health issues or even personal losses related to COVID-19. Team members deserve to feel that their work matters to the organization beyond their day-to-day productivity, and that their employers are concerned with their personal wellbeing in addition to their work output. Encourage employees to work hard when it’s work time and enjoy the other aspects of their life when it’s break time.

Ultimately, these tactics should all work together to increase your employee buy-in. When everyone feels like a team, supported and united under one vision, then the work culture will fall into place.

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company, download our whitepapers.

Financial Wellness as an Employee Engagement Strategy

by ryanwangman | Sep 4, 2019 | Blog

Financial wellness as an employee engagement strategy. If you want to improve employees’ productivity, start with the heart of the problem.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your employees’ productivity, start with tackling their financial stress — not only will you bolster engagement, you’ll also boost your bottom line.

Financial Stress Is Affecting Employee Engagement

That’s because employee financial stress is costing American businesses $500 billion per year, according to a recent survey of over 10,000 Americans. Employee financial stress finds its way into the workplace, as workers spend an average of three hours a week thinking about their personal finances on the job.

According to the same study, that lost productivity represents between 11 and 14 percent of payroll expenses per employee, per year. Additionally, employees stressed by their personal finances report more than 56 percent more absences than their co-workers. For businesses that don’t provide financial wellness programs, this stress adds up and decreases their income.

This stress is felt across a variety of different areas. For instance, over two-thirds of financially stressed employees say they consistently carry credit card balances each month, according to research by PwC. Additionally, 68 percent of those employees have saved less than $50,000 for retirement.

Financial Wellness Programs Can Help With Employee Engagement

While the range of financial problems your employees are facing can vary — from a lack of retirement savings to mounting student loan debt — the first step to help them address the situation is to provide a comprehensive understanding of it. A majority of employees still want to make their own decisions when it comes to their financial lives — but they also want a resource that will help validate their decisions. The most desired employer benefit for one in four employees is a financial wellness program with access to unbiased counselors.

Among employees who were provided a financial wellness program by their employer, 71 percent say they’ve used the benefit, and the programs are particularly popular among Millennials and Baby Boomers. Usage of the programs is up as well, with just 49 percent of employees using these same programs in 2015.

Financial wellness programs give you a competitive advantage in the hiring market as well. Seventy-eight percent of employees who reported being stressed about their finances said they would be attracted to another company that cared more about their financial wellbeing.

Financial wellness programs like Best Money Moves can help. Best Money Moves is mobile, gamified and easy-to-use. It provides practical, unbiased help so employees can make smarter financial decisions and manage the debt they have.

More On Financial Wellness and Employee Engagement

5 Must-Have Benefits for Millennial Employees

How Does Financial Wellness Affect Health?

5 Fast Financial Stress Statistics

Hiring Trends to Watch in 2020

What Is Financial Literacy and Why Is It Important?

4 Big Employee Benefit Trends for Family Planning

How Can Financial Wellness Be Improved?

Top 10 Employee Benefits for 2020

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company visit us at Success Connect in Las Vegas this September 15th-19th. Join Best Money Moves founder and CEO Ilyce Glink’s session “Transform the Employee Experience by Reducing Financial Stress and Improving Financial Well-Being” on Wednesday, September 18th at 1:00 p.m.

Then, you can find us in booth #2550 at HR Tech this October 1st-4th and listen to Ilyce Glink’s speech “Employee Financial Stressors by Generation and How to Help at Every Stage” on Thursday, October 3rd from 1:10-2:00 p.m. in the Expo Room.

Top 10 Workplace Etiquette Rules for Communication

by LizStevens | Apr 24, 2019 | Blog

Top 10 workplace etiquette rules for communication. Work-related emails sent after hours are stressing employees out and here’s what appropriate office etiquette looks like in a digital age.

Ninety-seven percent of employees receive work-related emails after hours and most feel obligated to respond promptly, according to research by Signs.com.

Workplace Etiquette: Should You Send Work-Related Emails After Hours?

Nearly 35 percent of employees are stressed out by work communications after hours. Millennials were most likely to feel anxious about late-night work correspondence. Research by Adobe found white-collar workers between the ages of 25 to 34 spend more than six hours a day checking their email. More than a third of them check their email right when they get up, before they’ve even gotten out of bed.

Worker accessibility after hours is a relatively new phenomenon that thought leaders and lawmakers are evaluating. New York was the first to consider a law that would bar employers from requiring employees to check emails after hours.

Employees are more connected than ever because of the digital revolution and as such, they’re more likely to be affected by one another’s behavior. What are the new rules?

Top 10 Workplace Etiquette Rules for Communication

Don’t Use a Speakerphone. Roughly 70 percent of employees found using a speakerphone in a shared or open office to be unacceptable. If it’s a call you need to take hands-free, use a headset or find a private room to avoid distracting your coworkers.
Gossiping Isn’t Good Team Building. Talk about the weather, sports, upcoming events, or send a sweet GIF, but whatever you do don’t fall into gossiping as a way to relate with coworkers.
DON’T USE ALL CAPS. Using all caps indicates an aggressive tone, or a lack of digital skills, neither of which will be appreciated by coworkers. The only time caps are acceptable in the workplace is when you are sending “CONGRATULATIONS!” to celebrate an achievement.
Reply Carefully. More than 60 percent of employees consider it poor workplace etiquette to hit reply-all to emails. This rule requires some finesse. Don’t reply all to an email asking for your order for the staff lunch. Do reply all to a department-wide update to make sure everyone knows you’re on the same page.
Politics Aren’t Welcome.
More than half of employees think it’s inappropriate to discuss politics in the workplace. Even if you think your political interests are aligned with your coworkers, it’s best to keep politics or off the clock.
Silence Your Phone. You’re going to compulsively check your phone at least once every half hour anyway, do you really need a ringtone or vibration for every notification? Your coworkers certainly don’t think you do.
Don’t Copy the Whole Team. Before sending an email ask yourself: who needs to see this? If it’s not something that the entire organization needs to know, there’s no reason why everyone should be copied. Be more selective when sending general correspondence to coworkers.
Take Calls When You’re Available. It should be clear that taking a call while going to the bathroom is poor workplace etiquette, but roughly 45 percent of employees think it’s still worth mentioning. It’s embarrassing to have to reschedule a call because of your bladder, but it’s far more uncomfortable for everyone involved to be on a call while you’re using the restroom.
Use Styles Appropriately. Forty percent of workers think the improper use of bolds or italics in work communications is unacceptable. This is somewhat similar to using all caps in the way that it could convey an unintended tone. Bold/italics also have a tendency to draw the attention of the eye, so if a random word is bolded or italicized it can be confusing and distract viewers from the message itself.
Keep Your Jokes to Yourself. More than a third of employees think it’s poor workplace etiquette to send joke emails to the entire team. It really depends on your work culture whether or not it’s appropriate to send joke emails, but the important qualifier here is ‘to the entire team.’ Rarely, if ever, will there be an occasion for you to send an unsolicited joke email to your entire organization.

More on Workplace Etiquette and Office Culture

2 Simple Strategies to Improve Office Culture

What’s Wrong with Wellness Program Incentives?

How Do You Handle Management Issues?

Do Flexible Work Schedules Work?

4 Modern Office Design Trends to Watch

2 Top Tips for Increasing Employee Productivity

by LizStevens | Apr 9, 2019 | Blog

2 top tips for increasing employee productivity. Recent research from Cigna highlights rising employee stress and two areas employers can target to minimize worker stress and increase productivity.

Stress was identified as a key employee health problem in the 2019 Cigna 360 Well-Being Survey. Over 80 percent of workers say they’re stressed and almost 15 percent say they’re unable to cope. The top stressors are personal finances, workloads and health concerns.

Stressed out employees don’t think employers are helping much. Close to 40 percent of workers say no stress management support is provided and only 30 percent receiving stress management support from their employer felt it was adequate.

It’s a serious issue. Studies have shown that employees lose sleep, are distracted at work, have higher rates of absenteeism and are more likely to have health problems when under stress.

Improve Work Culture for Better Employee Productivity

“There is a real need to resolve the ‘always on’ culture before it escalates further as it is negatively affecting the global workplace,” says Jason Sadler, President, Cigna International Markets.

More than 60 percent of employees work in an ‘always on’ culture where they feel the need to constantly access work emails, attend work calls or check mobile phones for work purposes. Workers report a decline in their physical health as a result of not having enough sleep and exercise.

Most employees feel that employers are not addressing wellness concerns sufficiently and often have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ mindset when it comes to stress management and workplace wellness programs.

Make Employee Wellness Programs Work

There are two specific employee populations that don’t feel like their workplace wellness program addresses their needs.

Half of the ‘sandwich generation’ (defined as those between 35-49) feel senior management doesn’t seriously support workplace wellness programs. Having to care for both aging parents and growing families is taking its toll on this generational cohort. More than half of those in the sandwich generation indicated there isn’t a workplace wellness program in place to address their needs, including but not limited to flexibility at work, enhanced company settings and special leave arrangements.

Over half of working women feel that workplace wellness programs need to better address the specific needs of each gender. They see an unmet demand for customized wellness programs that support flexible working hours, establish breakrooms where employees can relax, give the flexibility to work from home/elsewhere outside of the office, provide special paid leave and bolster job/employment security.

The best workplace wellness programs have various components so employees can choose the wellness benefits most relevant to their specific needs. Employers who prioritize stress management through effective wellness programs are likely to reclaim some of the employee productivity lost to stress by way of distraction and absenteeism.