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Employees Want Flexibility And An Inclusive Culture

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As we hit the two-year mark of the global pandemic, employers have leaned into flexibility. And it’s no surprise for anyone following The Great Reshuffle, talent is in the driver’s seat, and one thing is clear: it’s all about flexibility and culture. 

That’s at least what Melanie Foley, Liberty Mutual’s executive vice president of chief talent and enterprise services, says. According to her, flexibility, empathy, and belonging all need to be at the core of everything a leadership team does and offers to ensure employees have what they need to succeed at work and in their personal lives.

“The last two years have changed work-life equilibrium forever,” Foley said. “Employees and job seekers are prioritizing how they want to structure their professional lives – frequently around their personal lives, and when looking for jobs, they are valuing personal success over professional wins.” 

According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Global Talent Trends Report, jobseekers reject old workplace norms like setting work schedules and being tethered to an office. As a result, businesses will need to bolster approaches to meet new and existing talent where they are. However, regardless of the suite of benefits a company offers, flexibility is here to stay. “The global pandemic provided us the opportunity to reimagine where and how we work,” Foley added. 

Well-being 

According to LinkedIn, what matters to employees — and how employers respond — is changing in a big way. In fact, company culture is having a watershed moment, and jobseeker expectations have sparked a cultural overhaul. As a result, organizations need to look at unique differentiators that go beyond in-office perks.

Whether through a remote or hybrid role, a flexible schedule, benefits that provide greater work-life harmony, or professional opportunities to keep employees engaged and fulfilled, employees quickly realize the impact their work environment has on their overall health and well-being.

Employers like Liberty Mutual are listening, having turned to regular employee surveys to gather real-time sentiment and feedback to stay on the pulse of what employees need. “It’s critical to understand the headwinds faced by our employees and ensure that we’re not only thinking about what we can do to help but that we can implement meaningful change, so employees feel heard, supported, and valued,” Foley said. 

Coming out of their annual employee survey, Liberty Mutual saw several themes emerge as the most important for employees to feel supported with flexibility, mental health resources, and team connectivity rising towards the top. The company also said that caregiving was a worry for many employees. From parents juggling kids, remote learning, daycare closures, illness and caring for themselves, loved ones or elderly relatives, the past couple of years have been especially challenging for caregivers.

Liberty Mutual’s benefits team used the survey insights to evaluate current benefit plans in real-time as well as launch new programs quickly to meet the needs of employees. For example, for the company’s large caregiver community, they rolled out free access to Care.com and continued offering a variety of resources and benefits that help employees overcome day-to-day stressors, such as free visits with mental health counselors, free access to online stress management, and free access to a program that helps employees navigate their finances.

While Liberty Mutual said they’ve always seen a strong utilization of their Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in the U.S., they’ve witnessed utilization increase by 25% in 2021 compared to 2020. In addition, the company’s online stress management program, which helps employees build their skills around resilience, has doubled in usage since the pandemic began. 

Belonging

According to McKinsey, to retain employees, organizations need to evolve their approach to building community and creating a sense of belonging at work. For large global employers like Liberty Mutual, creating a sense of belonging for its 45,000 employees across 29 countries and economies requires a multi-faceted approach.

“We bear a special responsibility to make sure that we are creating an environment where people can bring their full selves to work, feel supported and feel a sense of belonging,” Foley said. “Without serendipitous hallway meetings, we need to create and test opportunities for one-on-one relationships that can help employees grow professionally and feel fulfilled.”

As a relationship-oriented company, Liberty Mutual says it creates opportunities for employees to meet new people and expand their networks through its seven employee resource groups, many of which host virtual events and provide regular forums for conversations, mentorship and allyship. The company has also rolled out movement programs to create global connections and community and uses a global employee recognition program to celebrate employees’ unique contributions. 

As the company looks ahead, they recognize that they will need to continue to lead with flexibility. “As we traverse the path forward, we will continue to measure employee sentiment to see how they feel, especially in terms of feeling connected and included,” Foley said. “Based on this feedback, we recognize that we may need to adapt our approach or look to roll out new offerings.”

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