The Conscious Workplace
We’re probably all familiar with the disengagement and engagement data that we see regularly on posts within LinkedIn and other places that tell us that a vast majority of employees, in many parts of the world, are disengaged. In some cases in some surveys, up to 85% of employees are reporting being disengaged. A key part of that is the inclusivity and sense of belonging that we have in our workplaces. It’s often the case that our workplaces have evolved over time and there’s not really been a lot of conscious thought gone into them.
Our workplace includes the actual physical workplace, it includes the working environment, the style of leadership, the way that we communicate. Many different things go into making the workplace what it is. Another key thing that we need to be thinking about though, is how we help different generations integrate into that workplace. Regardless of your age, what generation you are, it’s likely that you recognise that different generations have different expectations and again, without generalising too much, different ways of seeing the world. People have different preferences for the way they communicate and are communicated to, but also their requirements from their work as well, so it’s important that we recognise that.
It’s important that we look to develop a workplace that is as inclusive as we can make it. We can adapt it as much as possible to people’s needs that recognises these generational needs. So what we’re going to be doing in this episode is looking at what are those different generations that exist? So we’re probably familiar with terms like Gen X, millennials, Gen Z, baby boomers. We’re going to be looking at the different generations who are still active in the workplace and then look at how we can help to cultivate a culture that is inclusive and reflects the different needs of all these generations.
We’re going to look at how we can bridge some of the gaps that might exist between in person and virtual working, which is obviously a recent phenomenon that we’ve seen grow recently. We’re also going to explore the idea that having a best friend at work is a really important component of your productivity and something that we should be thinking about trying to consciously create within our workplaces to help people feel more involved, engaged and included. So that’s what we’re going to be looking at in this episode, how we can create a conscious workplace and particularly in the context of multigenerational working. We hope you find this a useful episode.
Guest profile
Shaara Roman is the founder and CEO of The Silverene Group, a culture consulting firm that aligns people, strategy, and culture to optimise organisational performance. As an award-winning entrepreneur, board member, speaker, author, and experienced chief human resources officer, Shaara and her team consult with leaders to create healthy workplaces by helping them build inclusive workplace cultures, design effective organisations, and align their company values and people programmes to achieve business goals.
Prior to founding The Silverene Group in 2016, Shaara held leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Fannie Mae and Visa, as well as CGI and the NRECA. Born in India, schooled in Nigeria and England, and having lived in Greece before coming to the US, in her new book, The Conscious Workplace: Fortify Your Culture to Thrive in Any Crisis, Shaara presents a perspective on the importance of workplace culture, and how it leads to a profitable business.
Useful links
Link to a relevant episode of the podcast: https://thebigpicturepeople.co.uk/blog/podcast/cross-generational-employee-engagement-with-martin-fitzpatrick-s1-e3/
Shaara’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaara
Links: www.silverenegroup.com and www.shaararoman.com