Editor’s Note

There has been a great shift in the way we communicate today. Though with the advent of social media, we spend a sizeable amount of time communicating with others, we still seem more separate and disconnected than ever – it feels more robotic, superficial, and mechanical, to be precise. It is as if we are talking past each other or at each other. Here’s the problem—what passes as engagement today is actually more like cross-talk or a monologue, and not true dialogue. Real dialogue—real engagement—is just not happening!

Rewards & Recognition, Employee Engagement Excellence August 2018 Advertisers

5 Aspects Of Self-Expression At The Workplace

The fact that self-expression is a hot topic in HR suggests that companies and company culture don’t normally encourage it, or not enough.   Yet it seems vital for companies to create an atmosphere where employees have the opportunity or are even encouraged to express their unique personality in order to foster a stronger culture and overall happier workplace, eventually resulting in greater employee retention and engagement.

How To Improve Office Culture

Maintaining a good atmosphere in your office space can be valuable. As Vick Vaishnavi puts it in an article for Forbes, "Whether it is a productive, positive one or one that forces employees to jump the proverbial ship whenever something new comes along, is your responsibility." He goes on to list a number of qualities that can facilitate the existence of this culture within a workspace, something that itself can lead to greater productivity and better results in the bottom line.

Earn Employee Loyalty By Supporting Personalized Life Goals

In America, the average worker will change companies every four years, with millennials changing jobs an average of four times in the first decade following graduation from college alone. While the current unemployment rate is at 3.9% in the US, the lowest it’s been since 2000, it makes finding and retaining talent even more difficult for employers.

Google Is Not Alone. The Tech Industry Has A Big Diversity Problem

So unless you are off the grid, you’ve probably heard about Google’s diversity issues, and the most recent incident requiring damage control. The now infamous, non-pro diversity, manifesto written by a former Google engineer and leaked online late last week. The 10-page memo entitled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber” circulated around Google and beyond. The memo stated that women are underrepresented in tech because of inherent and psychological differences, not because of discrimination within the workplace. The new Google VP of Diversity has her work cut out for her.

Humanity As A Key Driver Of The Employee Experience And Organizational Success

A growing body of research on the employee experience points to the impact it has on individual employee performance and organizational success. Given the advantages, the question for HR and business leaders is how best to create these positive experiences. The answer, based on global data, is through a human culture and workplace practices. Leadership teams play a crucial role in setting the stage for a human workplace, but all employees play a role in bringing more humanity to work.

Should Employees Have Fun At Work?

When I hear the question ‘should employees have fun at work?’ I’m often reminded of Dilbert Cartoons like this one, where employee happiness is seen as little more than an obstacle to efficiency or productivity.

Positive Coping Behavior Reinforces Employee Productivity

In a globalized economy excesses and imbalances in one part of the world inevitably affects the economies of another, and this is typically played out between developed and developing countries. With the accelerated pace of global development, expectedly there is a knock-on implication to increased business risk through aggressive competition and more pressure on increasing profit margins.