Beyond the Ballot: The Power of Everyday Voting to Create an Inclusive Workplace

Photo by Alexander Suhorucov

The act of voting in America is often associated with a single day in November when citizens cast their ballots to influence the direction of our country. But our influence extends far beyond the confines of a voting booth. Every day, with each decision we make, we're casting a silent but powerful vote that shapes the world around us. As we gear up for a crucial presidential election year, it's clear: our future isn't solely determined by the ballot we'll cast in November. It's crafted by the sum of our daily choices—a mosaic of decisions that ripple through our homes, workplaces, and communities. In a time when many are feeling anxious about the upcoming election, struggling to secure voting rights, and fighting for equitable participation in all aspects of life, recognizing the impact of our daily votes becomes even more crucial.

This recognition of our individual and collective ability to change the world around us can provide us with hope and the drive to continuously work towards creating a more equitable future—not only on Election Day, but every day.

What is Everyday Voting?

Everyday voting is not confined to official ballots but instead extends to the choices we make in the various roles we hold, whether at home, at work, or in our communities. Americans make tens of thousands of decisions daily. At work, these choices manifest in various forms, shaping the culture and direction of the organization. Whether through formal leadership roles or informal channels, individuals leverage their influence to vote on critical issues.

The way we communicate and collaborate can influence the workplace environment significantly. Every email, meeting, and conversation serves as a vote for a particular communication style and teamwork approach. How we respond to microaggressions, for example, represents a tangible example of everyday voting, with the potential to significantly impact the well-being of our colleagues.

Those in formal leadership positions exercise their voting power through decisions related to workplace systems, strategic planning, and resource allocation. For example, the process for recruiting and selecting new board members, the allocation of budgets for employee-led groups, and determining the kinds of data to collect and analyze are just a few examples of the votes that demonstrate an organization’s fundamental principles and values. Of course, decisions extend beyond internal matters as well, impacting the environment and community stakeholders.

How Everyday Voting Informs Fair Workplaces

The ripple effects of everyday voting are best illustrated by The Butterfly Effect, a concept derived from chaos theory, suggesting that a small change in one part of a system can lead to significant consequences elsewhere. In the workplace, our daily voting or decisions can set off a chain reaction that influences the overall environment—for better or for worse. From the projects we choose to invest resources in, to the way we communicate with colleagues, each action can trigger a cascade of effects that shape the fairness and inclusivity of an organization. 

At its core, workplace equity is not a static state (it is not a “set it and forget it” approach) but instead a dynamic process that requires continuous attention and commitment. For example, a new meta-analysis from Northwestern University shows that racial discrimination in hiring practices continues to exist at nearly the same rate, despite having been outlawed 25 years ago. Decisions made at various levels of an organization hold the potential to either reinforce or challenge systemic inequalities. Out-dated recruitment, hiring, and promotions processes can perpetuate bias and create a lasting impact on barriers to workplace equity—impacting employees of all identities. 

Conversely, mentorship and sponsorship programs act as catalysts for professional growth. The guidance and support provided by a mentor or sponsor can have a cascading effect on an individual's career trajectory and, by extension, on the overall team. While 20% of white employees have sponsors, only 5% of Black employees do. However, having a sponsor significantly impacts career progression for Black managers—increasing their likelihood of advancing to the next level by 65%. Moreover, sponsorship reduces the likelihood of Black employees quitting within a year by 60% compared to their unsponsored peers. By actively choosing or voting to participate in mentorship and sponsorship initiatives, individuals contribute to positive ripples that extend beyond immediate circles and actively contribute to perceptions of fairness and overall organizational health.

The Unique Position of Top Leaders

In the intricate web of workplace dynamics, leaders hold a unique position of influence. Their decisions, actions, and values send powerful signals that shape the culture of the organization. By leveraging their position, top leaders can cast a resounding vote for inclusivity and fairness by…

• Prioritizing values-aligned budgeting and resource allocation. Our financial decisions are a direct reflection of what we value. Doubling down on ensuring that we have the money required to back our values and give them the foundation they need puts action behind our statements. For example, you might implement a robust supplier diversity program or set aside funds for community outreach and engagement initiatives aimed at supporting local organizations and communities of color. Consider the following questions: What kind of organization are we striving to build? How do our financial decisions align with our values and definition of success? Are there any existing investments or budgeting practices that are misaligned with our commitment to diversity and inclusion?

• Implementing inclusive hiring practices. When organizations tap into a broad spectrum of perspectives, skills, and experiences, they can accomplish new levels of creativity and problem-solving. Ellequate members from a variety of industries - including the arts, social services, manufacturing, and more - have witnessed first-hand the transformative impact of diversifying their workforce through the implementation of cutting-edge policy and practice. They recognize that by reflecting the varied demographics of customers and markets, they have improved their ability to connect with and understand their audience.

• Establishing a clear compensation philosophy and regularly reviewing pay practices. Pay transparency guarantees fair compensation for all employees, thereby fostering a culture of trust and promoting overall employee well-being. By basing compensation on individual skills, experiences, and contributions—which better gauge an employee's true value to the organization rather than relying solely on market value, which can be distorted by occupational segregation—we cultivate a more unified, collaborative, and resilient workplace. An inspiring example from an Ellequate member illustrates the significant impact of a leader's resolve to focus on and refresh compensation strategies. This leader, by bringing together the right people and implementing effective measures, was able to introduce a minimum living wage organization-wide. This change not only overcame the deep-seated obstacles of the cliff effect but also led to broad-ranging positive impacts, enhancing the well-being of employees, the dynamics of teams, and the overall health of the organization.

• Aligning professional development with employee needs and organization goals. When employees are equipped with up-to-date information and skills, it contributes to increased productivity, employee satisfaction, and overall workplace effectiveness. Moreover, investing in the professional development of staff demonstrates a commitment to their success, fostering a culture of loyalty and engagement. This commitment not only attracts top talent but also retains experienced professionals, creating a workforce that propels the organization toward its goals.

The Pivotal Role of Every Employee

While the leadership team plays a pivotal role in shaping workplace culture, the collective actions of every employee, regardless of their position, determines the overall momentum of an organization. By leveraging their unique position, employees (from entry-level and up) can cast a vote that prioritizes and advances fair and inclusive workplaces by…

• Educating themselves and others. Investment in personal and professional development opportunities, support employees in becoming empowered advocates for change. Sharing knowledge with colleagues contributes to a workplace that is aware of and actively addressing issues related to fairness and wellbeing. In addition to PD, employee resource groups (ERGs) provide a platform for employees to share experiences, offer support, and advocate for meaningful change. Understanding and valuing the perspectives of others demonstrates a commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace culture.

• Embracing inclusive language and communication norms. This enhances collaboration, innovation, and productivity within diverse teams, drawing on a range of perspectives. Inclusive language fosters empathy, nurturing a culture of understanding and reducing the risk of perpetuating stereotypes or bias that result from gendered or exclusionary terms. Earlier this year, one of our members in manufacturing spoke about their organization’s commitment during a period of rapid growth to secure these norms. They recognize their role in establishing organization-wide expectations and creating an environment where everyone feels seen and valued.

• Advocating for continuous improvement of meaningful workplace policies and practices. Our members will tell you stories for days about how meaningful workplace policies, addressing issues such as hiring practices, flexible work arrangements, promotions, inclusion in decision-making, mental health supports, work-life balance, etc., lead to increased job satisfaction, productivity, and retention. Moreover, as employees champion improvements, organizations become more resilient, better equipped to attract top talent, and adept at navigating the complexities of a rapidly changing global landscape. 

Embedding Everyday Voting as a Workplace Norm

In the workplace, voting is not a one-time event but an ongoing process that occurs daily with every decision and action. By recognizing the impact of these daily choices, employees and employers can collectively create a positive work environment that ripples outward, affecting the well-being and experiences of everyone involved. Through intentional voting in the workplace, we have the power to shape a future that reflects our values and aspirations.

Ellequate provides organizations with the tools and resources to activate everyday voting. Our members are not just fostering change within their own structures but also using their wings to inspire change across industries and communities. An Ellequate membership not only provides your organization with a data-driven strategy with limitless momentum, it also connects you with a diverse network of employers who will help to shape your impact and contribute to a world where positive change reverberates across boundaries.

Ready to explore your next steps? Take a look at what you can do with an Ellequate membership or contact our team today.

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Operationalizing Meaningful DEI When Time is a Limited Resource

Employers often find it hard to achieve meaningful DEI outcomes because they struggle to find a balance between what they want to achieve and their internal capacity. While many of us have understood, and maybe even witnessed, the profound impact of equity in the workplace, most (if not all) of us are also facing the very real limitations of resources, such as time and money. While the obstacles related to time are complicated, there are some effective strategies that have been proven to free up an organization’s capacity to do more of what matters most—the cultivation of environments in which all people, but specifically people with marginalized identities, can thrive. In all cases, the resulting ROI of these efforts yields impressive revenue (over 700%) and employment (nearly 300%) growth rates—making the question of how we spend our time a valuable and often overlooked key performance indicator.

How to Free Up Time for What Matters Most

The irony of freeing up time is that it takes time to accomplish this end goal. That being said, it can be done and it is worth engaging in this effort for the long-term return on investment that it offers. A study including dozens of knowledge workers determined that by engaging in a Start/Stop/Continue exercise, the average person was able to free up nearly 20% of their time—an average of one full day a week. Having this time available to continuously enhance and implement policies, procedures, and practices which directly impact the experiences of employees is easily recognized as a game-changer. So what can you do today, to get closer to freeing up your time? Check out this resource on strategies for setting and ranking priorities—you won’t regret frontloading a little time on this activity when you experience the returns!

How to Capitalize on the Time You Have

While finding ways to free up time might be considered a longer term initiative, there are simple strategies that teams and organizations can implement today which will significantly impact their ability to uphold the integrity of their value proposition. Typically, the most effective approaches do not require an overhaul but a small adjustment—making it easier to implement without frontloading an additional time commitment. To start, consider changing your SMART goal framework to a SMARTIE goal framework (Strategic, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, Time-bound, Inclusive, and Equitable). By making a slight shift in this regular workplace practice, we embed DEI in daily goal-setting activities organization-wide. This can promote a shift in mindfulness that begins to reframe daily decision-making to be equity-focused. We’ve created a SMARTIE goal-setting tool that can help you to get started!

Our clients have made tremendous gains by incorporating their commitment to DEI into daily operations! Here are a few “quick” time-saving adjustments that they have found to make a noticeable impact on equity in their workplaces:

• Make hiring practices more efficient with an objective scoring rubric. A client in the Arts and Culture industry found that by simply adopting Ellequate’s Interview Guide and Scoring Rubric as a routine interview process, not only were hiring panelists able to more objectively assesses the candidates for role “fit,” but operationalizing this practice also had a marked impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of hiring panel discussions and decision-making.

• Be strategic in collecting demographic information. When it comes to establishing and sustaining an efficient supplier diversity program, there can be a lot of back and forth with suppliers. One of our nonprofit sector clients has not only cut down on back and forth communication with suppliers but has also developed a robust demographic tracking data system, simply by standardizing the collection of demographic information as a part of the application process. Unsurprisingly, when employers are strategic in the collection of internal and external demographic information, they have more data available to analyze their DEI status and set data-driven metrics for growth.

• Ensure that DEI committees have decision-making power. DEI committees have been known to lose their momentum when there isn’t enough clarity on the decision-making process. Oftentimes, taking a moment to formalize (in writing) a committee charter that outlines these practices and ensuring leadership representation can produce time efficiencies, expedite action, and result in responsive outcomes. Recently, a governmental organization, engaged in our certification program, recognized that they were coming up against this unknown barrier and it was costing them time, money and leading to frustration. They are on their way to adjusting this practice and it’s already starting to make a difference in how they use their time! 

Don’t Spend Time Guessing, Invest in Approaches that Work

Equity work can feel overwhelming and complicated, especially when we are faced with limited resources. Organizations don’t need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on consultants to get meaningful results. With access to the right tools and resources, as well as organization-specific information about what’s working and where there are opportunities to continue to grow, most organizations realize that they have everything it takes to be able to do this work on their own and to do it well. Dozens of employers have already discovered the capacity-building opportunities available within Ellequate’s Equity Engine. As a result, they are spending less time and financial resources on efforts to operationalize equity in the workplace and they are celebrating the impact!

Even with limited time and resources, you can develop an effective DEI strategy. Learn how an Ellequate membership can help your organization achieve meaningful results.

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Acute vs. Chronic Conditions: DEI as a Pathway to Organizational Health

In the last year, a combination of economic and cultural factors has led to a significant decrease in both the mental well-being of employees and their level of engagement at work. This issue is compounded by the fact that many employees who belong to marginalized groups experience an extra "emotional tax" on the job—feeling constantly on guard against bias or discrimination based on their race, gender, ethnicity, and so on. Consequently, what employees expect from the workplace has changed, leaving employers struggling to adapt and finding it difficult to maintain organizational health.

While many employers recognize change is necessary, they often approach complex challenges as if they are acute problems—when in reality, they are the result of chronic issues. For example, after the killing of George Floyd, corporate America pledged nearly $50 billion to groups working toward racial justice, hired Chief Diversity Officers, and hosted a multitude of implicit bias trainings. Fast forward three years, and those pledges have failed to effect change, DEI executives are leaving en masse, and many employees feel that their employer’s DEI efforts aren’t working. 

DEI efforts are falling short because organizations are failing to address the root causes of inequity. In other words, they are treating the symptoms, but not the disease. Why? 

Historical responses to public health emergencies can help shed light on this phenomenon. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross raised an incredible $490 million for disaster relief—one of its most successful fundraising efforts ever. However, Haiti needed aid long before the earthquake: about 72% of the population was living on less than two dollars a day, and malnutrition, AIDS, infant mortality, and limited access to clean water put Haitian life expectancies more than ten years lower than the regional average. We saw a similar response as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender disparities. Employers scrambled to support working parents, especially mothers, as they struggled to manage both family and job responsibilities—but mothers had been struggling long before the pandemic due to an unequal division of caregiving and household tasks.

People often respond more actively and immediately to acute problems than chronic issues due to a combination of psychological, emotional, and societal factors. Acute problems:

• Evoke a strong emotional response due to their sudden and dramatic nature, triggering a sense of urgency and empathy.

• Generate vivid images that are widely shared through media, making the situation more tangible and leading to a stronger emotional connection and increased willingness to take action. 

• Disrupt the norm, capturing people's attention and resulting in a surge of support and resources—chronic issues may be perceived as less surprising, leading to a less robust response.

• Often have a clear cause-and-effect relationship, making it easier for people to understand and attribute blame—in contrast, chronic issues may involve complex systemic factors that are harder to comprehend and address.

• Demand immediate attention and action due to their urgent and time-sensitive nature, whereas chronic issues are ongoing.

While acute problems receive more immediate attention, addressing chronic issues requires sustained effort, long-term strategies, and systemic changes. Employers face the challenge of bridging the gap between the intense response to acute problems and the ongoing commitment necessary for achieving lasting change. This balancing act is crucial for attaining optimal organizational health.

What Is Organizational Health?

Organizational health refers to the overall well-being of an organization, including how efficiently it operates and how engaged its employees are. It's a state in which systems, methods, and individuals work together to optimize performance, much like the synchronized function of a healthy human body.

For employers, organizational health is crucial for success. A healthy organization can handle challenges, adapt to changes, and take advantage of opportunities effectively. When employees are fully engaged, feel valued, and are proud of their contributions, they are more productive and creative. This contributes to the organization's growth and reputation, building trust among its community of stakeholders.

DEI as a Path to Organizational Health

When employees face bias or discrimination at work, the entire organization suffers, much like when a single part of the human body is unwell. Just as a health issue can impact overall well-being, a negative work environment affects the collective performance of the workplace. Negative experiences can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and reduced job satisfaction. Our recent findings suggest that when employees with multiple marginalized identities, like Black women, do not believe their employer prioritizes DEI in the workplace, they are less likely to experience psychological safety and more likely to experience stress in the workplace that affects their personal life. Over time, the perception of bias and discrimination can contribute to burnout and mental health issues. 

Addressing bias and discrimination by singling out individuals (i.e. "a few bad apples") or treating incidents as isolated events, fails to acknowledge the ongoing and systemic nature of the problem. This approach treats the issue as if it's an acute problem, rather than recognizing its pervasive and deeply ingrained presence within the organizational structure.

Imagine a scenario where a manager consistently includes more critical subjective feedback in the performance evaluations of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) employees or women. Consequently, these individuals receive fewer promotions compared to their White or male colleagues. If we approach this situation as if it is an acute problem, we might solely blame the manager. Proposed solutions, such as providing implicit bias training or individual coaching, could make the manager feel defensive, leading to resistance and hindering our DEI efforts. In contrast, if we address this situation as a chronic issue, we acknowledge that biases are prevalent in all of us. We focus on mitigating bias in the performance review process itself. We define clear expectations and deliverables for each role, train all managers to use an objective assessment rubric, implement more frequent 360-degree reviews, ensure evaluations are free from biased language, put accountability measures in place, and track promotion rates by race, gender, etc. By adopting this comprehensive strategy, biases are acknowledged as systemic challenges that demand systematic solutions, which leads to smarter and fairer business decisions and a healthier work environment.

Mental, physical, and social well-being are concepts that everyone can relate to. Framing DEI as a pathway to optimal health can solve for gaps in understanding. By recognizing outcomes as products of operational systems, all members of the organization can better understand their role in cultivating a healthy workplace—without experiencing the blame or shame that often accompanies acute approaches to DEI problem solving. 

A Diagnostic Tool for the Workplace

Outcomes such as decreased turnover, improved employee engagement, and the attraction of top-tier talent are direct products of sound organizational practices. Luckily, these are all things that leaders can control!

Great leaders admit that they're still learning and acknowledge there are things they don't know. With our advanced analytics platform, Ellequate helps leaders identify gaps in their operations and bring to light disparities in employee experience. Working together with our coaches and advisors, they get clear on what really matters and create achievable action plans to reach their goals.

Are you ready to join our community of changemakers? Get in touch with our team to learn more.

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How to Promote Mental Health in the Workplace

Photo by Jopwell

A survey from the American Psychiatric Association shows that only about half of American workers say they are comfortable talking about their mental health in the workplace, and more than one-third are worried about job consequences if they seek mental health care. More than one-quarter of workers are unsure how to access mental health care through their employer. Our own data confirms that while 95% of employers provide employees with access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), nearly 1 in 10 employees struggle to access mental health care services. These findings illustrate that more needs to be done when developing strategies to support the mental health of our employees. 

Providing sufficient mental health solutions and resources in the workplace means making them accessible and affordable while authentically and actively encouraging employees to use them. Because mental health stigma is so pervasive in workplace culture, leaders need to set a new tone by modeling behaviors that promote well-being at the top. It’s also important to recognize that while there are globally-recognized solutions, mental wellness is a highly personal experience and should include individualization where possible. 

How Can Employers Meet the Growing Demand for Mental Health Support?

While influences on mental health live both inside and outside of the workplace, employers have an opportunity to impact the trajectory and outcomes of well-being for their employees. If you’re familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the principle is the same: deficiency needs like safety, health, and employment need to be mostly fulfilled before people can think about growth needs like belonging, connection, and self-esteem. Mental health is among the basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid, but since there can be so many barriers to achieving and maintaining mental wellness, these needs are often deprioritized. Many people sacrifice their own mental health to take care of the needs of others or, if funds are limited, prioritize food, shelter, and transportation. Creating a culture of belonging through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work and talking about the mental health solutions available to employees are two ways you can help make those benefits seem safe and accessible to use.

For example, to support the well-being of their employees, one of our clients provided on-site mental health support for around $80 per session—but few employees scheduled appointments. Why? Employees shared in a listening session that while they would like to take advantage of the benefit, they couldn't afford the fee. The intent was on the right track, but it didn’t make the desired impact. 

Understanding how best to support the mental health of employees can be challenging. Below, we explore five essentials to creating a culture where all people can thrive.

5 Essentials to Meeting Mental Health Needs

As Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote in a press release last October, “We have an opportunity and the power to make workplaces engines for mental health and well-being.” Along with his statement, he released a 5-point framework for improving workplace mental health. The Surgeon General’s Five Essentials for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being include protection from harm, connection and community, work/life harmony, mattering at work, and opportunity for growth. 

Using this framework, we’ll outline some best practices and policy guidelines that can support the mental health and well-being of your employees. We’ll also use original data from our employee survey to demonstrate how these issues can disproportionately impact marginalized groups. 

1. Protection from Harm

In the workplace, the two human needs of safety and security call for protection from both physical and psychological harm as well as financial security and job security. While OSHA grants employees the right to a physically safe workplace, psychological safety is a much newer concept—and much harder to establish and monitor. In fact, our data show that 16% of employees do not feel safe bringing up tough issues with their employer. 

Professor Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” We recommend co-creating team norms with your team’s input to promote inclusion and psychological safety. Such norms might look like “rules of engagement” for fair conversation, guidelines for giving and receiving feedback, expectations around risk-taking and making mistakes, and strategies for conflict resolution.

For many employees, bullying and harassment can threaten psychological safety in the workplace. In fact, 23% of employees in our data have reported threats or humiliation, and 6% of employees have reported sexual harassment. Of those who did not report bullying or harassment, 23% said they did not trust the process to be fair, 22% said the behavior stopped on its own, 16% confronted it on their own, and another 16% thought it might hurt their career. As leaders work to create a workplace that’s free from harassment and discrimination, it’s important to establish clear reporting processes and put accountability measures in place to address it when it does occur.

2. Connection and Community

The human needs of connection and community translate to social support and belonging in the workplace. When employees can fully agree with the statement  “I feel respected and valued by coworkers and by my manager,” you know these mental health needs are met.

To promote social support and belonging in your workplace culture, we recommend sponsoring Employee Affinity Groups (EAG) or Employee Resource Groups (ERG). The group format you choose will depend on your organization’s culture and structure: ERGs include employees with shared interests, and EAGs provide a safe space for employees with a shared identity. Members can coordinate professional development activities, identify workplace issues, and advocate for change within the organization. It’s important to note that both types of groups require a committed budget, adequate resources, decision-making authority, and support from senior leadership to be successful.

3. Work-Life Harmony

The advent of remote work has made it much easier for many companies to accommodate their employees’ mental health needs of flexibility and autonomy. However, that’s not always the case; mission-driven organizations in particular struggle with employee burnout, which also stems from a lack of these essentials. While 85% of employers report that they offer flexible work arrangements, 16% of employees in our data set think their commitment would be questioned if they used them. 

Hybrid, remote, and other flexible work arrangements are especially important for women, BIPOC employees, and those who serve as primary caregivers. When implemented consistently and at scale, these policies can reduce the impact of structural inequalities. However, if flexible work policies are not intentionally made available and promoted to all eligible employees, you can exacerbate inequity through proximity bias. Proximity bias is the tendency to favor employees that are physically closer to the organization and its leaders. You can avoid this by measuring outcomes instead of facetime, tracking and comparing the promotion rates of remote/hybrid employees and those working on-site, and establishing team norms that promote inclusion. For hourly and part-time employees, resources for requesting days off and swapping shifts can provide this flexibility.

4. Mattering at Work

When employees are given the tools they need to succeed at work, they are more likely to feel respected and valued. Our analysis of over 6,000 Ellequate survey responses revealed a significant relationship between having multiple marginalized identities (e.g. being Black, having a disability, being a woman) and having more negative perceptions of mattering at work.

Providing employees with the resources they need to succeed is essential to creating a sense of shared purpose. Compared to 12.6% of staff overall, 26% of Black employees with a disability and 28% of White employees with a disability report that they do not have the information, training, and resources they need to do their job well readily available. Black women with children report similar experiences 21% of the time, along with 15% of Black employees overall, and 13% of women. When employees do not have what they need to contribute in a meaningful way, they are more likely to experience stress in the workplace that affects their personal life and less likely to feel safe bringing up problems and tough issues at work.

Similarly, 30% of White employees with a disability and 23% of Black employees with a disability do not believe their manager recognizes their contributions and achievements at work, compared to 10% of employees overall. When employees feel appreciated, recognized, and engaged by their managers, they are more likely to experience psychological safety, as well as feel a sense of value and meaning at work.

To promote dignity and provide a larger sense of purpose, we recommend making paid training and leadership opportunities available to employees at all levels. Change and uncertain times can be destabilizing for both individuals and organizations; giving your employees the opportunity to reskill, upskill, and build resilience to change on the job creates mutually beneficial outcomes. Investing in employee development increases retention, and your team will have more skills to help the organization weather the unpredictable.

5. Opportunity for Growth

The final essential for workplace mental health, opportunity for growth, relates to the human needs of learning and accomplishment. According to our data, 7% of employees feel like they've missed out on a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead because of an identity like race, gender, etc., and 8% disagree or strongly disagree that people from all cultures and backgrounds have equitable opportunities to succeed. 

Though traditional performance management techniques are outdated and disliked by both employees and supervisors, conducting effective performance evaluations and providing feedback on a consistent basis (at least weekly) are the secrets to fostering individual growth in the workplace. Standardizing the performance review process with rubric-based evaluations can help mitigate bias, provide clearer performance standards and criteria, and help ensure assessments remain objective. Finally, equip your managers by training them ahead of implementation to communicate expectations, collaborate on professional development goals with direct reports, and measure progress over time.

Plan to Promote Your Employees’ Mental Health 

While the fundamental human needs that foster well-being are universal, it is crucial to recognize that your team members may require tailored mental health benefits and effective communication to cater to their individual situations. While mental health benefits undoubtedly contribute to addressing overarching concerns like burnout, there are several other workplace issues that also warrant attention. The most effective approach is to evaluate the specific needs of your team and develop a strategy accordingly to address those needs. 

In our exploration of the employee experience, we have discovered how having multiple marginalized identities can impact well-being. One area of interest is pay equity, where we discovered how a lack of pay transparency can negatively impact feelings of belonging and psychological safety at work, specifically for Black women. This finding highlights the importance of considering the unique experiences of individuals with intersecting identities and their impact on various aspects of the workplace. We are excited to announce that an upcoming report will delve into the intersectional experiences of Black employees and shed light on how they differ from other demographic groups. Stay tuned for this insightful analysis that will broaden our understanding of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. (Sign up for our newsletter to get notified when it’s out!)

Whether you're looking to promote employee well-being, increase diversity in your hiring practices, create a more inclusive workplace culture, or gain a competitive advantage in a race to the top, we can help you get there faster and more effectively. An Ellequate membership puts employee experience and workplace systems at the heart of your DEI strategy, while our employer certification provides a rigorous and data-driven standard of excellence that measures both employee experience and workplace systems.

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Supporting Employees in a Post-Roe World

Photo by Uriel Mont

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, removing the constitutional right to abortion, the impact on health, productivity, and the lives of the workforce continues to unfold. It will take years to quantify the many ways this lack of legal protection is affecting the health, productivity, and lives of our workforce. While it is widely recognized that women’s lives are put at risk when they don’t have access to safe and legal abortion, it is critically important that employers understand that the impact doesn’t end there. 

State anti-abortion laws don’t just affect women who are pregnant: they can create barriers for any person who can give birth, including trans employees and women who need specific procedures or medications due to illness—as well those who depend on them as primary caregivers and/or essential workplace contributors. Besides state abortion bans, the biggest barriers to reproductive health care are low wages and insufficient health care coverage. That means that the employees who need the most support post-Roe—especially low-wage employees and women of color—are the ones who are being left behind.

Below, we’ll explore some of the ways workplace systems create barriers to accessing reproductive health care and how to promote a healthy, supportive, equitable work environment for all employees.

Barriers to Reproductive Health Care

Understanding how best to support the well-being of employees, especially those with marginalized identities, can be challenging. Navigating reproductive health care benefits can be a complex process in particular. The following provides an overview of some of the workplace systems that can create barriers to abortion access:

Lack of Health Care Coverage

Offering a comprehensive health care plan only benefits those who qualify—in most cases, full-time regular employees. This means that the most vulnerable employees often don’t receive the support they need. It’s also common for comprehensive health care plans to only cover “medically necessary” abortions and not those that are sought for other reasons, such as personal choice or fetal abnormalities. Of course, in some states, insurance companies are banned from covering abortion services altogether.

What you might not know is that abortion laws can also lead to the restriction of certain medications, even for employees who aren’t pregnant. Medications used to treat arthritis, cancer, and gynecological conditions like endometriosis are also used to provide medication abortions. Care providers and pharmacists have become extremely cautious about controlling access to these medications in anti-abortion states since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

Infringement of Privacy and Autonomy

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, some companies were quick to announce that they would cover travel expenses for employees seeking an abortion out of state. However, it’s important to note that the stigma of abortion may deter employees from using benefits even when they’re available. When employers offer funds for abortion travel expenses, they may require employees to disclose their reasons for seeking an abortion, as well as where and when they plan to have the procedure. This can be particularly problematic for employees who live in areas where abortion services are limited or stigmatized. Employees may not want to disclose this information to their employer out of fear it will impact their job security or career advancement opportunities.

Additionally, employers may require employees to use specific transportation providers or book their travel through certain channels, which can further compromise their privacy. In some cases, an employer may even require documentation or receipts related to the employee's travel, which can be a breach of their medical privacy.

Access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, is a fundamental right, and individuals should be able to access these services without fear of judgement or retaliation from their employer. By requiring employees to go to their employer for abortion travel expenses, it creates a power dynamic that can be exploitative and may lead to discrimination, harassment, or other negative consequences.

While employers offering funds to cover the travel expenses of abortion may seem like a supportive gesture, it can have unintended consequences that infringe upon an employee's privacy and autonomy. 

Low Wages, Lack of Benefits

Even employers that outwardly support abortion rights can create barriers through insufficient pay and limited access to benefits. According to the Guttmacher Institute, low-income individuals are more likely to experience unintended pregnancies and may face more barriers to accessing contraceptive services and health care in general. Lack of access to abortion care can have severe health and economic consequences, particularly for those who may already face systemic disadvantage and discrimination.

Low-wage employees often do not have access to benefits like PTO or flexible work arrangements. This can make it difficult to schedule appointments, access healthcare facilities, or recover from procedures without facing negative consequences such as lost wages, reduced job security, or disciplinary action. Furthermore, lack of flexibility in scheduling can create logistical challenges for employees who need to access reproductive healthcare services that have limited availability or require travel. This can create additional stress and financial burden for vulnerable employees.

Support of Anti-Abortion Legislation

One of the most insidious reproductive healthcare barriers that employers are at least partially responsible for is anti-abortion legislation itself. Some employers directly advocate for or support anti-abortion legislation by lobbying lawmakers, contributing to political campaigns, or engaging in other forms of political activism. This can have a significant impact on the legislative process, particularly in states where the political climate is conservative or where employers have significant financial resources or political influence.

In addition, employers may indirectly contribute to anti-abortion legislation by supporting or funding organizations or groups that work to restrict access to abortion. For example, an employer may contribute to a religious organization or political action committee that opposes abortion rights, which can in turn influence legislative efforts to restrict access to abortion. In fact, at least 15 of the companies that pledged to cover abortion travel expenses in 2022 also gave money to PACs supporting anti-abortion candidates, effectively helping to pass these restrictive laws. 

What Employers Can Do

Even employers with the best of intentions may find that their policies leave some employees behind. Supporting your employees’ reproductive health care decisions requires more than a couple of quick adjustments. It’s your responsibility to assess every part of your business for alignment with equitable values and overall integrity.

Take the following steps to start the process:

Know your state’s laws. 
Right now, state abortion laws run the gamut from requiring employers to cover abortion procedures in health insurance packages or provide information about them (CA, IL, HI, MD, NY) to criminalizing abortion along with “aiding and abetting” abortion recipients (TX, OK). To make it more complicated, laws regarding employer accountability for abortion services are constantly changing. The only way to make sure you’re in full compliance with state and federal laws is to consult with legal counsel.

Assess your policies.
We’ve shown how pay, workplace policies, and an organization’s giving practices can impact employees’ access to reproductive health care. Creating a human-centered workplace means supporting an employee’s right to make reproductive health care decisions with their doctor, not dictating which services they can choose from. To identify barriers that might limit access for your most vulnerable employees, put yourself in their shoes and ask: “What happens if I need abortion care?” What are my options, and what steps will I need to take?”

“Ideally, companies should make this available as easily as possible and as broadly as possible,” said Loyola Law School professor Brietta R. Clark in an NBC News article, “without someone having to reveal private information about their specific medical condition or treatment.” Remember that women of color and low-wage employees often have limited access to resources: paying a living wage and prioritizing policies that provide access to paid time off and other flexible work arrangements is critical for these groups. In addition, if abortion care is covered by your health insurance plan, consider extending benefits to part-time employees.

Help employees navigate health care benefits.
Navigating insurance plans can be tricky, so supporting your employees means making sure they know what benefits are available and how to access them. Send communications about how to get help with choosing a plan just before open enrollment begins, and make sure your HR team has the time and resources to answer all of their questions. If you’re in a state with abortion restrictions, you might want to create some additional communications reminding employees what kinds of assistance you offer.

Give with integrity.
If your company gives to political campaigns or PACs that are “pro-business,” take the time to find out what other policies or issues those campaigns support. Consider withdrawing your support from candidates advocating for restrictive abortion laws. You might also think about giving to local abortion funds, nonprofits that support women’s health and reproductive health, political advocacy groups, and other causes focused on creating equity in your community.

Create a health care travel fund.
If an abortion travel benefit sounds like the best solution for your employees, consider including it in a health care travel fund that covers any kind of medical service that isn’t available locally. That way you can protect your employees’ privacy while providing support to other employees who may also need it.

You’ll want to develop clear guidelines for employees who wish to access the travel fund that include information on how to apply for funding, what expenses are covered, and any other relevant information.

Ensure that all information related to the travel fund is kept confidential. This may include limiting access to information to only those individuals who need to know. Some organizations outsource their travel funds to third parties so their employees’ information isn’t stored in company databases or accessible to the HR team. Finally, provide education and resources to employees to ensure that they are aware of the travel fund and how to access it.

A Holistic Approach to Well-Being

It’s understandable that employers want to find ways to support their employees in a post-Roe world. However, providing access to reproductive health care is just one example of how you can build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. 

Creating a workplace that works for everyone requires a tailored plan that is data-driven and human-centered. It’s important to have a nuanced understanding of who your employees are and what they need, taking into account their lived experiences and perspectives.

Our prescriptive analytics platform is the only one in the market that examines the intersection of an organization’s operational systems and employee experience to create tailored recommendations that lead to measurable outcomes. With an Ellequate membership, employers of all sizes can build data-driven DEI strategies, access 1:1 guidance and support, and track progress with easy-to-use action planning tools—all on their own timeline.

Even with limited time and resources, you can develop an effective DEI strategy. Learn how your organization can achieve meaningful results.

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Employees Should Be Your #1 Stakeholder—Here’s Why

Photo by Christina Morillo

It may seem like the Great Resignation is old news at this point, especially with a global recession on the horizon. But the mass exodus we saw in early 2021 was just the leading edge of a big shift in workplace culture. Essence and Fortune have both reported that up to one third of workers still plan to leave their jobs despite the threat of recession, and burnout rates now match what they were at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Employees are demanding big changes, including lighter workloads, more caring leadership, flexibility, and better benefits. 

At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss these requests because of what it might cost, not just financially but also when considering productivity. What executives and HR teams are really facing is a crisis of priorities. Making the shift to put employees first is a huge undertaking, but it has proven to be a successful strategy for business growth in the long term. In this blog, we’ll take a look at why an employee-first values system is effective, some examples of how this has worked for different organizations, and how to navigate this shift in five steps.

A Crisis of Priorities

Traditional business models put the customer first: “the customer is always right” is so ingrained in U.S. commerce that it may as well be our national motto. The underlying assumption is that making customers happy should create enough revenue to make everyone else happy—but clearly that that isn’t how it usually works out. The only other party with nearly as much sway at larger companies is shareholders, while nonprofits tend to prioritize their donors and grant funders. 

The question becomes: if employees are vying against customers, shareholders, donors, executives, and others for the same dollars and resources, what do you sacrifice or reallocate to grant them more support? But this question doesn’t account for the incalculable cost savings and efficiency companies see when employees are healthy and adequately supported. Your system of priorities and values can be flexible, and it’s not a zero-sum game.

Some of the best examples actually come from big conglomerates of the industrial age. Johnson & Johnson has a legacy of putting employees first. In the past, by providing food and first aid onsite long before anyone else had thought to do this. Today, by offering great benefits like parental leave and childcare. As a result, it has outlived many other companies that were founded around the same time. In contrast, General Electric focused more on creating competitive value propositions and innovations, effectively putting the customer first. They found that customers’ immediate preferences didn’t always match up with the most valuable solutions. The rising costs of innovating with newer technology outpaced the financial strategies they used to fund R&D, and in 2022, GE announced its plan to split into three smaller companies.

How To Invest in Your People

The same principles that worked for J&J and GE apply to companies of every size and scale. To reap the benefits of putting employees first across your organization, you will need to look at your plans in the long term and shift some of your priorities. 

Follow these five steps to create better all-around outcomes by putting your employees first:

1. Understand their needs.
To make a real difference with your team, you need to see from their perspective so you can understand both what they need most urgently and what’s most important to them. These can be two very different things, and it can vary among different groups of employees. This Fast Company article presents a framework to evaluate if you’re happy at work based on five factors: people, value, impact, role, and compensation. You can use the same framework to develop questions and uncover employee sentiments.

Our prescriptive analytics platform pairs a detailed employee survey with an organizational assessment to determine what changes are likely to make the biggest improvement for different groups. For example, in order to meet client demand, a manufacturing company we worked with started requiring their team to work on Saturdays. Our survey showed that employees felt they had no work/life balance: they were burned out and didn’t feel the schedule was sustainable. Making Saturdays optional has begun to restore employees’ energy and job satisfaction, and company leadership has started exploring other ways to increase productivity. However, if employees had been seen as the primary stakeholder from the beginning, the plan to scale the company may have been approached in a different way.

2. Evaluate other priorities.
Remember those other priorities we talked about that compete with employees’ needs and wellbeing—customers, shareholders, and donors? Once you know what your employees need, you can re-evaluate specific policies, processes, and priorities that might be getting in the way. Even values like corporate social responsibility and commitments to your community and environment can outrank employees for time, budget, and resources. The idea is not to de-prioritize these other values and outcomes, but to re-envision what it might look like to achieve them with a strategy that also highly values your employees. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean making sacrifices, but it could mean you have to get creative and find some alternate solutions. In the nonprofit world, donors and grantmakers like to offer restricted funds so they can point to specific projects and outcomes they funded directly. Unfortunately, paying staff and funding basic operations aren’t usually high priorities for donors. The overall effect is that nonprofit employees are often asked to work for low wages and few benefits. With some strategic planning, these same organizations have an opportunity to guide donors in redefining their traditional approach to metrics. In doing so, we can build a compelling case for the exponential impact a donor can have when they shift from the storytelling of supporting a single program’s success to instead showcasing the far-reaching implications of investment in hiring more people to scale the work, retaining effective leaders, and contributing to responsive innovation.

3. Respond intentionally.
Providing adequate pay is a must, but don’t forget that your active commitment to continuously fostering inclusion and reliable access to responsive resources can also make a big impact on employee experience in different ways. When you’ve decided how you will address the employee needs you learned about in step one, treat it like any other initiative. Make a specific plan to roll out this support and determine how you will measure its effectiveness. Create some clear communications to let employees know what you’re doing for them and why, and encourage them to get the most out of whatever new solutions you’re introducing. Finally, develop strategies for sustainability that proactively embed these new solutions into daily practice, such as providing manager training and offering varied modalities of follow-up communication for all employees.

Throughout the decision-making and implementation process, other things are bound to come up that seem more urgent or important in the moment—but don’t let your team become an afterthought. Change your mindset on employee support to view it as a strategic priority: instead of “if we have time,” start saying “let’s make time.”

4. Evaluate unclear, inefficient processes.
There are tons of things you can do to respond to employee needs that don’t cost money but require intentional thought. For one thing, unclear, inefficient processes are a primary source of work-related stress. Less than two-thirds (65%) of workers say work processes enable them to be productive, down from 68% a year ago, and only 63% of employees say their technology helps them be productive compared to 68% last year. Dedicating some time and attention to understanding current obstacles and streamlining processes is good for both employee satisfaction and productivity.

5. Understand that not all employees need the same things.
If you’ve recruited a diverse team (and even if you’re still working on it), your employees are sure to have different lifestyles, families, and life goals that come with different challenges. The same thing is true for every kind of employee support, but especially when it comes to DEI interventions, one size does not fit all. 

In Lily Zeng’s sobering article on The Failure of the DEI-Industrial Complex, they point out that when executives ask for generalized, short-term DEI interventions (the bare minimum), underrepresented employees are the ones who lose the most. The C-suite can take credit for spending money on a solution, but nothing really changes. What organizations should seek out instead are customized solutions that account for different perspectives and needs across different employee groups—especially those employees with marginalized identities (i.e. BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, low income, etc).

Show Your Employees You Care

Many leaders still operate with the outdated assumption that people will (and should) do whatever it takes to get and keep a job. If an employee thinks their workload is too much, there’s someone else in line who would be grateful to have that job. The Great Resignation is hard evidence that that’s changing. People want to build meaningful careers: they expect more than the bare minimum, and they deserve it. 

We believe that an abundance mindset shouldn’t be limited to the C-suite or the employees that are perceived as the most valuable. Employers who meet employee needs in a targeted way, with the understanding that they all need different things, will establish loyalty with their teams to drive success during uncertain times. 

Are you curious about how your systems impact your people? Want to access other proven low or no-cost DEI strategies?  With an Ellequate membership, you can develop a data-driven DEI strategy at your own pace—all for a price that allows you to spend less on consulting and more on implementation.

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