1. Connect New Hires With Top Management Early
At Cotopaxi, CEO Davis Smith conducts the final interview with any new applicant so he can connect directly with potential hires from the beginning. Meeting an organization’s top management or founders helps new hires feel connected to company leadership and provides a deeper connection to the organization’s purpose.
Smith says, “It’s not so much about vetting … it’s an opportunity to tell them why we exist. We don’t exist to sell backpacks or jackets, we’re an organization that’s focused on changing capitalism.”
2. Reevaluate Your Company Benefits
Don’t be afraid to reevaluate benefits packages for your team. Great ideas can be made even better when leadership pays attention to how each benefit is working for its employees.
For example, people initially considered unlimited paid time off (PTO) a popular benefit offering. But research shows that individuals take less time off with an unlimited PTO policy than with standard vacation days.
Paiji Yoo said the feedback she received was that “unlimited PTO would put pressure on team members to know what was an ‘OK’ amount of time to take off.” As an alternative, Blueland has a generous vacation policy, including two “civic-duty days,” two floating holidays, and four “summer Fridays.”
3. Encourage Staff to Take Breaks Outside During the Workday
Taking occasional breaks in your workday can be beneficial for both employee health and the company’s bottom line. Allowing your team time to switch from “doing to being” helps to calm their central nervous system and returns it back to its baseline state. Breaks at work can also boost employee morale, reduce aches and pains, and improve creativity.
Cotopaxi encourages breaks with an initiative called “10% in the wild.” Employees are encouraged to spend 10% of their workweek doing things outdoors — like biking or hiking. With a shared love of the outdoors, Cotopaxi employees often do these activities together.
And when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Cotopaxi encouraged teams to take virtual hikes together, offering an invitation to dial into a video call where teams could walk their dogs or take a walk together virtually to encourage team bonding and reinforce the need for breaks in the workday.
Similarly, Blueland sets aside two hours each week for “Power Hour” — a time without meetings when teams are encouraged to take a break, go for a walk, or do something that can help them decompress.
4. Proactively Encourage Work-Life Balance
There are significant benefits to encouraging an appropriate work-life balance for your employees. Companies have reported that finding the right balance can help lead to lower employee turnover, reduced employee stress and burnout, lower absentee rates, and even lower health care rates.
With so many clear benefits for both companies and employees, it’s a good idea to proactively encourage team members to find the right work-life balance for them. One way for leaders to encourage the right balance is to take time off themselves.
Founders Paiji Yoo and Smith try to set the tone for balance by not sending company emails on the weekends or late at night. If they’re working late, they schedule emails for regular office hours so there’s no expectation for teams to watch for emails at all hours of the night.
For some people, attaining the right work-life balance means having the ability to work from home, particularly for millennials and younger talent. That’s one reason it’s so important for team members to have the ability to collaborate both in person and virtually.
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