Growing employee concerns — from economic and financial stress to political strife and incivility — are top of mind for HR. And they're making employer support all the more important.
"It's probably one of the most stressful times that we've seen," said Rachel Pollack, chief people officer at insurance firm QBE North America. "People are living through so much."
That's why, Pollack said, her company's focus on helping employees through difficult and life-changing moments — whether they are personal or on a societal level — as well as integrating life and work, hasn't wavered.
"Helping people manage the complexities of life and work is a big focus for us," she said. "You've got to normalize life events and bring them into workplace conversations."
SHRM recently spoke with Pollack about why difficult topics should be addressed at work, her strategy when it comes to benefits, and her advice for other HR leaders.
What's guiding your benefits strategy right now?
Pollack: Everybody's focused on EVP [employee value proposition] at the moment — making sure they've got the strongest proposition to recruit for the best talent that they possibly can in a competitive market.
The way we're thinking about benefits is how we actually make benefits more than just what's written on a page or what's written in a policy or the financial aspect of the benefits. It's about the real lives of our people and the lived experience of our people, and how we actually take it beyond the benefit to really make a difference in the complex world.
Walk me through the focus areas you're prioritizing within your benefits portfolio.
Pollack: We really think about the entire life cycle — not just at work, but also the lived experience of people. It's about managing stress, family concerns, legal issues, financial issues. It's about this integration between your role in the workplace and your life at home. We know that they are not two separate things. You're not a different version of yourself — one person at home, one person at the office. It spills together.
We're spending a lot of time trying to build our benefits into our culture, trying to normalize the conversation around life experiences in the workplace — be it grief, fertility, caregiving, divorce, menopause. Benefits should be attached to those life moments and then that needs to be integrated and normalized into the culture.
We offer family-friendly solutions for employees to help those who may be caring for an elderly parent, kids in need of child care, and more. This may include helping people source eldercare and child care and find back up care, adoption and fertility treatment assistance, shipping for mother’s milk if our employees are traveling while breastfeeding, menopause support groups and resources, mental health support for our employees and those who live with them through our [employee assistance program], and a variety of leave options to take time away during loss, to help with caregiving or in welcoming a new child into their home.
Why is that important? And how do you integrate that into the culture, especially when they are topics that have historically been personal, maybe even taboo, to speak of in the workplace?
Pollack: These matters are workplace issues. They're not separate. When people feel safe and free to share, they're more likely to ask for help. They're more likely to collaborate.
If you're silent on important topics, that silence is sending a message to people. It's saying [those topics] are taboo, they're not important, and they're not workplace issues. That silence can be harmful; it can lead to disengagement, burnout, and even attrition.
We try to create intentional openness. That's checking in with colleagues who are struggling, making space in meetings to have real conversations. We need leaders who are able to lean into conversations to say, 'I've been through that as well.' We should be vulnerable and should give permission for others to do the same. Once you start that sharing process, it can be contagious.
We really try to embed it through everything we do. We've got a monthly meditation — half an hour where we [focus] on different topics, such as resilience. We've got the employee resource groups; they're often promoting certain topics. It's that totality and the integrated approach which really brings it together.
Do you think the tide is turning on acceptance of these issues as workplace issues from even just a few years ago?
Pollack: Yes, the tide is turning. Certainly, the younger generation has a different view of work than those of us who are perhaps a little older, who left home to get to work at 9 a.m., went to the office, and left by 5 p.m. Work and life are much more blended. And I think the younger generation is driving a lot more of that. COVID and other factors contributed as well. This is the future. If you're not doing this as an employer, know that you're not going to be able to attract and retain the people that you want.
What's an example of a benefit that you offer that you're especially excited about?
Pollack: We reimagined our parental leave about 18 months ago and asked ourselves the question: How can our policy reflect the lived experience of parents in all shapes and sizes? That resulted in us landing on needing to design a program where life goals were not fighting career goals, where we are humanizing parenting in the workplace, where we are normalizing taking leave, and really making this accessible for all. The program, called Balanced Beginnings, offers 12 weeks of leave but up to 22 weeks depending on the pathways. It's available to all parents in a gender-neutral way, inclusive of any family dynamic, whether it be adoption, birth parenting, surrogacy, fostering. We've got no minimum service requirement either, so if you start with us, day one you can use it.
What's your advice for other HR leaders at this moment in time?
Pollack: Work and life are not separate. We need to humanize the conversation. These are workplace matters.
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