{"id":453,"date":"2022-10-05T20:44:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T20:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sittingapps.com\/?p=453"},"modified":"2024-04-01T01:07:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T01:07:09","slug":"why-companies-need-a-return-on-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sittingapps.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/05\/why-companies-need-a-return-on-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Companies Need a \u201cReturn on Energy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
As Beyonce recently pointed out, so many workplaces are breaking the soul of employees and pushing them to explore other options.\u00a0 What these companies don\u2019t understand is that there is a way that they can keep employees (and as a result clientele) happy.\u00a0\u00a0Many organizations create wellness initiatives to mask the real problem.\u00a0The workforce at large is overworked, underequipped and rarely compensated fairly. These are all massive stressors. You can have all the mental health support in the world and it doesn\u2019t fix the issues at hand: the individual feeling valued.<\/p>\n
So what should be the focus?<\/p>\n
We should be looking at the \u201cReturn on Energy\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Return on energy is the idea that energy spent has value. Companies should be measuring this to understand the toll an output has on their human capital.\u00a0People do not have an infinite amount of energy to expend which means there must be a value placed on their energy relative to the thing they are using it on. Think about the time spent in meetings, number of emails, drafts of presentations and the toll it takes on an employee. But also, (and likely more important) the number of moments that elicit epiphanies, connections deepened and even innovations uncovered \u2013 the more motivating moments. There is a diminishing return when the toll outweighs the motivation. That is where we need to be looking versus an EOY result.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the ways we work with organizations is to improve the employee experience through creating moments where employees can connect deeper with the company\u2019s mission, foster inspiration and boost innovation. Shared experiences are proven to increase self-esteem and decrease depression, anxiety and isolation \u2014 something the past two years has fueled heavily. If the great resignation is telling us anything, it\u2019s that companies are missing the mark on understanding their employees right now.<\/em>\u201c<\/h5>\n
Everyone has a breaking point, albeit that point is different for everyone. In order to allow space for an employee to feel valued, the energy output by the employee has to match the energy expected by the employer. I remember the moment the scales tipped prompting me to leave corporate America \u2013 it was when I gave all I had, didn\u2019t feel like I was making enough of a difference for the effort and was still expected to do more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
I\u2019ve been on the strategy side of events for many years exploring the intersection of design thinking and the psychology of experience. Understanding more about the humans we design for, their motivations, their mindsets and their emotions has opened my eyes to the impact of an experience. While the methodologies I\u2019ve created to design experiences have focused on my client\u2019s customers, I realized how it\u2019s just as important to design experiences for my client\u2019s employees using the same fundamental principles. It all starts with knowing who you are designing for: it was designing moments for me during the end of my tenure at a publicly traded company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What does it look like in action?<\/h3>\n
In action, the first step should be showing your employees you value them. It is a way of exercising personalization in the workplace. It\u2019s an indicator for potential burnout of top talent, as well as overall culture and workplace improvements. Mindsets and emotions are real in the workplace and a variable to growth for every employer. While work is a transaction \u2013 output for money \u2013 it\u2019s affected by a lot of outside variables. Having a pulse on a few key metrics like hours spent in meetings and number of emails in a day versus how someone is feeling (their emotion) could help employers understand where potential vulnerabilities lie in the overall employee experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This guest post was authored by\u00a0Robyn Duda<\/em><\/h4>\n
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