By Dr. Poornima Luthra

DEI efforts are becoming increasingly performative, rather than initiating genuine cultural transformation, argues Dr Poornima Luthra. Here, she outlines the need for leaders to develop their genuine conviction in the purpose of DEI for their organisations in order to cultivate diverse and inclusive workplaces.

While organisations in Europe and the world have increased their focus on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in recent years, there is a growing disparity between perception and concrete action. In fact, only 7% of organisations are genuinely building a diverse and inclusive culture, according to the EY European DEI Index^[1].

Approaching DEI with quick-fix quotas and performative efforts may look good on the annual report, but only provide superficial and short-term change. To move beyond performative DEI and achieve meaningful cultural transformation in business, leaders must demonstrate true conviction when it comes to the value and purpose of diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Leading with Conviction – believing in the purpose of DEI

Leading with conviction is about wholeheartedly believing in the purpose of diversity and inclusion. It means being convinced that:

1. Inequity and inequality exist, and that they need to be addressed,
2. Being more inclusive and equitable is the right thing to do, and finally,
3. Your organisation will be better because of it.

Leaders must move beyond regarding DEI as “nice to have”, viewing DEI as a separate initiative that is an “add on” to the organisation’s strategy or considering DEI as something that can be deprioritised, defunded or delegated to HR in times of economic crisis. Leading through conviction is knowing that DEI is a necessary strategic action and priority.

This requires leaders to view the purpose of DEI through the lens of equity, with the main goal to make our workplaces more equitable and fairer for all—to level the playing field and rebalance the power and privilege away from historically advantaged individuals and groups.

From this perspective, the purpose of DEI is fourfold:

1. To mirror the demographics of society

To be equitable and to have adequate representation of the viewpoints of society, organisations need to be representative of the societies in which they operate, at all levels of the organisation. To do this, organisations need to focus on being able to both attract and retain talent, which is what organisations that focus on equity can do. For example, it has been shown that companies with higher levels of gender diversity, accompanied by supporting HR policies, have lower levels of employee turnover.^[2]

2. To ensure employee well-being

Organisations with inclusive work cultures have reduced incidents of interpersonal aggression and discrimination, with women experiencing less discrimination and fewer episodes of sexual harassment^[3], thereby improving employee well-being. A 2016 report by the European commission shows that having LGBT-supportive policies reduces incidences of discrimination, thereby improving psychological health and increasing job satisfaction, while also improving relationships between LGBT employees and their colleagues.^[4]

3. To be a customer-centric organisation

The customers of many organisations today are global and diverse. To truly understand the needs of these diverse markets and customers requires representation internally. Diversity at all levels in the organisation increases the likelihood of representing diverse perspectives and diverse experiences that match a broader and more diverse customer base.

4. To foster creativity and innovation

Innovation flourishes when there is an inclusive culture. Research by Catalyst.org shows us that companies with an inclusive culture and accompanying DEI policies are shown to have a 59.1% increase in creativity, innovation and openness^[5], with diverse and inclusive teams making better decisions 87% of the time.^[6]

Defining the purpose of DEI for your organisation

The evidence supporting the need for DEI is indisputable. Removing barriers to hiring and promoting talent equitably in a culture of inclusion is the right thing to do – understanding DEI’s purpose and believing in it are crucial.

To lead with conviction, leaders must truly understand the purpose of DEI specifically for their organisations. Leaders can start by creating a DEI purpose statement. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of DEI for your organisation? List what the purpose of DEI is for your employees, team and organisation. Be as specific as possible. Speak to colleagues who have diverse perspectives and experiences across the organisation to understand what they believe the purpose of DEI is.
2. Is your list focused on removing barriers and increasing equity?
3. What about DEI being the right thing or the equitable thing to do? How would you incorporate that into your purpose statement for DEI?
4. Do you think the purpose of DEI is adequately communicated across the organisation? Identify key themes expressed.

Embedding DEI’s purpose

Although it is paramount to have conviction and believe in the purpose of DEI, it needs to translate to changed practices. DEI needs to be embedded into processes, metrics and compensation systems. Leaders need to walk the talk.

With a clear purpose identified, leaders must ensure that:

1. DEI is embedded into the organisation’s strategy. Empower the business to prioritise DEI alongside other business KPIs and objectives.
2. Make a shared commitment as leaders to role-model purposeful, authentic and inclusive leadership for the rest of the organisation.
3. Ensure that the organisation’s board and executive leadership team are diverse, including women, minorities and diverse points of view. Also, engage in creative efforts to diversify the talent pipeline.
4. Create an inclusive culture that fully harnesses the benefits of a diverse talent pool and encourages all employees to contribute and constructively challenge ingrained assumptions and perspectives.
5. Set the tone that DEI is important to the organisation by keeping it on the leadership agenda, asking the right questions and monitoring the relevant data.

Truly moving the DEI needle

In its simplest form, diversity is about valuing uniqueness, equity is about fairness and inclusion is about belonging. DEI is about dismantling and rebuilding systems that unfairly favour some and not others to ensure a level playing field, so that those who have the competencies have access and a chance to be considered for the role. With true conviction in the purpose of DEI, leaders can drive forward concrete action to embed diversity, equity and inclusion into the foundations of their organisations.

About the Author

Dr. Poornima Luthra is a globally recognised expert on developing inclusive workplaces. She is Principal Lecturer at Imperial Business School, a Fortune 500 consultant, keynote speaker and award-winning author of several books, including her latest Can I Say That?, which explores the fear behind today’s DEI backlash and empowers courageous workplace conversations.

References

^[1] https://www.ey.com/de_de/functional/forms/download/2024/02/ey-european-dei-index.

^[2] Maurer, C. C., & Qureshi, I. (2019). Not Just Good for Her: A Temporal Analysis of the Dynamic Relationship Between Representation of Women and Collective Employee Turnover. Organisation Studies., 42(1), 85–107.

^[3] Yu, H., & Lee, D. (2020). Gender and Public Organization: A Quasi-Experimental Examination of Inclusion on Experiencing and Reporting Wrongful Behavior in the Workplace. Public Personnel Management, 49(1), 3–28.

^[4] The Business Case for Diversity in the Workplace: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Report on Good Practices, European Commission: https://www.raznolikost.eu/wp-content/uploads/The-buisiness-case-for-diversity.pdf.

^[5] Women in Business and Management: The Business Case for Change. International Labour Office. – Geneva:ILO, 2019: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—dcomm/—publ/documents/publication/wcms_700953.pdf.

^[6] https://www.kornferry.com/insights/featured-topics/diversity-equity-inclusion/guide-to-dei-in-the-workplace.

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By Adrian Furnham and Dr Amanda Potter

At your last departmental meeting, did you join in, or did you zone out? Did you buckle down, or clam up? Well, don’t feel too bad if your participation wasn’t as wholehearted as it might have been. It could just be that you’re a victim of poor psychological safety.

When is it unwise to express your views at work? “Speak now or forever hold your peace” is a sentence that is often heard at Christian wedding ceremonies. There is a difference between using the words “peace” and “piece”. You “say your piece” when you want to speak your mind. You “hold your peace” if you are going to keep quiet.

There are numerous occasions when it is unwise to “pipe up”. One is where you are simply ignorant about the topic. But all too often, most people report on times when they (and others) did not feel confident enough to speak up on an important issue and where they were later proved right. It is not always a matter of confidence or eloquence. It is often about the perceived consequences of airing particular views. In short, you get punished. The situation is that it is simply not safe to air your views.

There is a lot of psychological research on the topic of (not) speaking up in groups. To choose three examples:

1. Brainstorming/Thought-Showering

You must have taken part in a brainstorming session, which now often goes under less misleading and potentially offensive terms. Whatever you call them, these idea-generating sessions can be a lot of fun. They have strict(ish) rules, which include freewheeling, out-of-the-box thinking and speaking, and piggy-backing. They can lead to seriously creative ideas, as well as create a powerful sense of group well-being.

Participants in these sessions are encouraged to be different, to break the mould, to let rip and allow any crazy idea or association into the solution. Silence is discouraged and nothing is unacceptable. The second rule is no criticism. In order to encourage the most creative ideas, participants should not be put off by the disapproval of others. At this stage, all ideas, however way out (indeed because they are unusual), are equally valuable. Be courageous and outrageous.

The third rule is that piggy-backing is OK. This means that it is quite acceptable to jump on the back of others, to run with their ideas and to follow someone down an unusual path. Indeed, this is precisely why this activity is group-oriented. Groups supposedly give one synergy and energy, and provide stimulation.

Brainstorming is used most frequently to generate as many solutions to a particular problem as possible, because quantity is favoured over quality. The product of a session is ideally a wide range of possible conclusions (options, solutions) which can be presented to a third party qualified to pick the best one. The basic assumption is that “two heads are better than one” and that, together, in groups, innovative solutions can be found.

So how are brainstorming sessions different from the average business or staff meeting? Standard business meetings are clearly structured not around fun, but often the complete opposite. There are explicit or implicit rules about who and what can be challenged and criticised – and, more importantly, when it is safe to speak up.

2. Pluralistic Ignorance and Collective Illusions

Ever come out of a meeting when there was supposedly total agreement about a decision, and confessed to a (trusted and close) colleague that you personally did not agree with the decision, only to find that they feel just the same? Then one wonders about the others who all voted in the same way. Did no one have the guts to speak up?

Pluralistic ignorance is a phenomenon in which people mistakenly believe that others predominantly hold an opinion different from their own.

Pluralistic ignorance is a phenomenon in which people mistakenly believe that others predominantly hold an opinion different from their own. People don’t speak up or disagree with others out of fear, embarrassment, or social inhibition. In pluralistic ignorance, people often privately reject but publicly support a norm or belief.

This is related to wilful blindness. In decision-making, wilful blindness means choosing to ignore critical information, risks, or perspectives that could challenge your assumptions or make your choice more difficult, even when evidence is available. This is particularly the case if there is cognitive dissonance. It’s refusing to see, because you don’t want to see.

This is all related to the “groupthink”, false consensus, illusion of unanimity, and spiral of silence effects. Pluralistic ignorance has also been cited to explain why majorities remain comparatively quiet about certain issues at work and keep up the collective illusion of consensus.

3. Conformity

Conformity is defined as the tendency to change one’s belief and / or behaviours in ways that are consistent with the group norm or standard. It means yielding to perceived group pressure to behave like the group, even when no direct request or command has been made. In this sense it is different from compliance, which is doing what others request or ask you do to (even if you prefer not to), and obedience (which is following orders).

Some of the most dramatic studies in social psychology have demonstrated how often people conform to the group, even when the group is seen to be wrong.

We also conform because we like to “fit in”, to gain social acceptance. This is the very essence of social pressure.

People look to others for clues on how to behave. What is correct etiquette? The less informed we believe ourselves to be and the more informed we perceive those around us to be, the more we “follow the crowd”. This seems a rational process. We also conform because we like to “fit in”, to gain social acceptance. This is the very essence of social pressure. We do so because of our need to belong. To be a member of the group, we need to follow the rules and norms, even if perhaps we disagree with them. Certain groups allow for rule-breakers and non-conformers. Some make it safe for people not to conform, though that may be the exception rather than the rule.

What Are the Core Elements of Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety is characterised as the belief that individuals feel comfortable speaking up, asking for help, admitting mistakes, or challenging the status quo, all without the fear of negative consequences for their brand, self-image, status, or career. Essentially it is when people feel safe at work, they take smart risks, speak honestly, and contribute fully. This raises an important question: is such openness only for the brave, the naïve, or those already inclined to take risks?

In practice, psychological safety is feeling safe enough in your environment at work to be honest and candid, try new approaches, raise concerns, offer suggestions, make mistakes, and ask for support. These behaviours are distinct yet interconnected. Not feeling able to safely contribute to work issues can cause staff to feel frustrated and also leave good ideas unaired.

Achieving psychological safety requires a team or organisational climate of trust, interpersonal connection, respect, openness, inclusion, and a willingness to learn. These elements, while not identical, reinforce one another and together create the conditions in which people can participate more confidently and constructively.

Most importantly, psychological safety is not just a “nice to have”. There is lots of empirical—not just anecdotal—evidence that demonstrates that psychological safety underpins high performance, innovation, and employee engagement. Of course, it is not binary (have / not have) nor similar across all contexts and situations. One might feel more able to express honest personal views in a team vs in a departmental meeting (complete honesty = high psychological safety). Employers might feel safe enough to confront the CPO but not the CFO or CEO.

In a review, Newman et al. (2017) noted:

In the majority of studies we reviewed, psychological safety was the mechanism through which the effects of these supportive environments were transmitted to desirable outcomes, such as increased knowledge sharing, engagement, creativity, innovation, and ultimately performance … Psychological safety is a valuable resource, especially important in hazardous work contexts where speaking up and providing feedback is imperative in order to reduce errors and improve safety (p. 530).

Facets or Components

Those who have attempted to measure psychological safety have come up with different facets to get a finer-grained understanding of the concept. For example, Plouffe et al. (2023) developed the Psychological Safety Inventory, which has five dimensions. Interpersonal Risk-Taking is defined as a sense of confidence that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking (e.g., speaking up about mistakes, asking for help, seeking feedback, and experimentation). Mutual Trust Respect refers to perceptions of the team environment, whereby individuals exhibit trust and mutual trust, care about and are interested in each other. Organisational / Structural Support is characterised by the presence of structural features such as adequate access to resources, information, and rewards to promote a sense of support. Identity and Clarity refers to perceptions of positive individual identity, importance, and security within the team. Supportive Leadership reflects one’s perceptions of positive leadership defined through effective guidance and support, encouraging personal growth, and prioritising the open and efficient resolution of issues.

Our research led to a slightly different model, also with five facets. These were Learning from Mistakes, Being Inclusive, Creating Purpose, Speaking up and Sharing ideas, and being Personally Connected.

Teams that learn from mistakes tend to see failure as a learning opportunity, often report mistakes honestly, and are likely to take time to consider and reflect on errors. For example, a sales team that learn from mistakes may analyse why they missed their sales target so they can improve next quarter. They treat mistakes not as something to hide or be ashamed of but openly discuss them and use the discussion to refine their future strategies.

When the team focuses on being inclusive, they are likely to value equality and often take time to actively listen to their colleagues. For example, during a project launch meeting, everyone may be encouraged to share their ideas, and quieter team members are specifically given space to speak and share their views. Ideally, the project lead ensures that all voices are heard and respected, fostering a sense of belonging and mutual respect.

When a team has a clear purpose, they clarify team roles and responsibilities, set clear standards, and all work toward a common goal. For example, if each team member understands their specific role in delivering the project and everyone aligns their work toward achieving the company’s mission, they are more likely to succeed. They stay focused on shared objectives, ensuring clarity, accountability, and collective progress.

When a team speaks up and shares ideas, they engage openly in conversation and debate, and can be vocal in questioning assumptions. For example, when invited to brainstorm, team members openly challenge each other’s ideas to explore all perspectives before making a decision. They see constructive debate as a strength, using genuinely open dialogue to spark innovation, improve outcomes, and avoid conformity.

At the heart of psychological safety is personal connection. When people invest in each other’s personal and collective success, they tend to understand one another more deeply. When team members check in on each other’s well-being and celebrate both personal and professional milestones together, they build trust through genuine care, compassion, and support, creating a safe environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and understood.

Climate and Culture

It is important to distinguish between organisational climate (the shared perceptions of the day-to-day working environment) and culture (the deeper values and norms). Psychological safety is considered more a climate phenomenon—how people feel in their team’s environment.

It is very apparent to an outsider whether groups experience psychological safety. It can be seen in their everyday interactions. It doesn’t happen by accident; it must be understood, measured, and actively nurtured. In highly competitive, dog-eat-dog cultures, psychological safety really does not exist—indeed the opposite: the office is a battleground with winners and losers, heroes and suckers, the victors and the vanquished. Stick your head above the parapet and you get shot.

But we know the benefits of psychological safety: high-trust teams, inclusion, innovation, better decision-making, employee well-being, retention. Research has found that psychological safety contributes to productivity and team effectiveness. Psychologically safe teams are more likely to achieve financial success. Of course, it is not the only important factor in healthy, happy, and productive teamwork, but it seems to be a prerequisite for many other factors.

The good news is that psychological safety is relatively simple to measure and not too difficult to introduce. But it is a journey and not the destination, a delicate flower that needs constant surveillance and nurturing.

About the Authors

Adrian Furnham is Professor in the Department of Leadership and Organisational Behaviour at the Norwegian Business School, which is a very safe organisational environment.

Dr Amanda Potter is the CEO Zircon Management Consulting Ltd and the lead author of the “BeTalent Psychological Safety Questionnaire”, and the award-winning host of the “Chief Psychology Officer” podcast.

References:

1. Edmondson, A. C., & Bransby, D. P. (2023). “Psychological Safety Comes of Age: Observed Themes in an Established Literature”. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 55–78.

2. Furnham, A., Horne, G., Ross, J., & Potter, A. (2025). “Assessing Psychological Safety: Correlates of a New Scale”. Psychology, 16, 1298–312.

3. Newman, A., Donohue, R., & Eva, N. (2017). “Psychological safety: A systematic review of the literature”. Human Resource Management Review, 27(3), 521–35.

4. Plouffe, R. A., Ein, N., Liu, J. J. W., St. Cyr, K., Baker, C., Nazarov, A. et al. (2023). “Feeling Safe at Work: Development and Validation of the Psychological Safety Inventory”. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 31, 443–55.

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Awkward moments at work are unavoidable. This article outlines seven common situations and shows how calm, clear behaviour helps you respond effectively.

There are many amazing, entertaining movies where someone can turn back time, revisit or undo a moment by saying something different. And although we understand this is fiction, we might wish sometimes that we could rewind a moment in time so we could change what we have done or said to create a better outcome.

Awkward situations aren’t easy in the moment. When they catch us off guard, stress can pull us into the situation so quickly that clarity comes only afterwards. The good news is that we can prepare ourselves for the unexpected. Here are seven awkward situations you’re likely to face at work and how to handle them.

1. Someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer

It’s important to realize that you are a human. You can’t know everything, so be kind to yourself. Don’t be startled or try to talk your way out of it. Just kindly let the other person know you don’t know the answer or depending on the situation explain that you will look into it and provide them with an answer soon.

2. You say something and the room goes quiet.

You might have said something that lands wrong. It could be a sensitive topic you addressed or a joke that doesn’t land. You might even have had something wonderful to say but the way you delivered it was just off. A lot of people are scared by the silence in the room and might overexplain why they did what they did.

The best way is to verbalize what you’ve noticed. Don’t hide behind your discomfort and say nothing, but step up to the plate and verbalize your well observed effect. “That didn’t land as I intended.” Or: “That didn’t come out the way I meant to. My apologies.”

3. You need to give an unexpected presentation

Breathe, stay calm. Nerves will get you nowhere. Find out your audience, find out the time you have to present and give yourself some guidance with one sentence. What is it that I would like to get across if I could only say 1 line. Let that message and context guide your posture, pace and presence.

4. You have to give negative feedback

There are many effective steps to give feedback but 2 things stand out. Make sure you are specific in your feedback (don’t make it vague or with absence of facts) and give the feedback as soon as possible. A lot of people avoid the feedback for days or even weeks and sadly the longer it’s postponed, the less effective it becomes. Be specific, be kind and be helpful. Describe the behaviour and its effect and be considerate in how you say it. Make sure you focus on your non-verbal communication like eye-contact and a warm voice.

5. Someone is going on and on in a meeting

Sadly, if a chair doesn’t do what they are supposed to do we have ineffective meetings. A lot of people stay quiet when someone keeps talking. They may not interrupt or say anything out loud, but their inner voice often shows up through nonverbal communication like an eye roll, a raised eyebrow or a small smirk that gives away what they’re really thinking. The most effective step is to address it through the chair and suggest moving on in the agenda. If no one is leading, you can step in yourself. Interrupt kindly, summarise what has been said and redirect the conversation: “So if I understand you correctly, you’re suggesting we focus on X.” Then invite another voice: “Claire, what’s your take on that?” Or you say: “Sorry to interrupt but I think we are running out of time, so I suggest we move on to the next topic.”

6. You have no idea what someone means when explaining something

Many workplaces use abbreviations and terms that aren’t always explained, especially when you’re new. But even experienced colleagues often assume shared understanding when there isn’t any. It could be about terminology but also about a project or solution to a problem that’s being explained as if everyone already knows the context.

That assumption creates gaps and inefficiency. No one wants to be the person who admits they’re lost, so people nod along while quietly hoping someone else will speak up. That’s exactly why it helps to pause and ask what’s really meant. Often, others feel relieved you’ve said out loud what they were quietly wondering too and probably didn’t dare to ask.

7. Emotions happen

Whether it’s you yourself who shows some tears, or a colleague, a lot of people feel awkward when they cry. But tears are just a form of communication. If you let it happen it will pass. If you try to hold it back, it will get worse. You don’t have to apologise excessively. Just give yourself some space. If it’s you yourself, you could ask for a moment to recuperate, if it’s someone else you could ask what they need in this moment. It could be some water or a tissue but usually it’s just some time and silence. Be there for the other person and don’t try to fix things.

Conclusion

With all of these awkward moments the most important thing is to stay calm and give yourself some time to choose a strategy. The calmer you are the more chance you will have to choose behaviour that gives you an effective outcome.

The realisation that we’ve all had these moments in life might help you to see it as less awkward. Because usually awkwardness isn’t the problem. Avoidance is.

About the Author

Anne-Maartje Oud is founder and CEO of The Behaviour Company, an Amsterdam-based consultancy creating customised personal development programmes for companies and organisations worldwide. She has worked with non-profit social organisations as well as some of the world’s most prominent Fortune 500 companies. She is auto of WHAT TO DO IF…? How to Handle Any Situation at Work and Come Out Winning published by Kogan Page.

The post How to Handle the 7 Most Awkward Moments at Work appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Dr. Jamie Shapiro

Engagement scores diagnose outcomes, not causes. Leaders must model the behaviors that create engagement, not survey it. Culture starts at the top: what leaders reinforce and tolerate becomes truth. Focusing on five core drivers—connection, candid communication, clarity, collaboration, and contribution—is what creates sustained performance and engagement.

Engagement is one of the most commonly used organizational metrics for the health of a company’s culture; however, CEOs increasingly recognize that only measuring engagement falls short of creating real cultural transformation. Why is that?

Because measuring and getting results about the level of people’s engagement is not enough to improve it.

Engagement is defined as the emotional connection and commitment a person has to their job, team, and organization. It’s an outcome that all companies strive to achieve because a highly engaged team is more productive, with positive morale and high retention. Sadly, engagement has fallen flat in 2022, 2023, and 2024, remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

In the first quarter of 2024, US engagement hit an 11-year low, with a slight improvement in the second quarter of 2024, according to Gallup. The reality is that organizations can’t simply measure engagement and expect different results. I often speak with leaders who are concerned about low engagement scores but don’t have a complete understanding on why they go up or down each year. Without this knowledge, they don’t have assurance that the engagement initiatives they focus on will make a difference. The problem is that they haven’t measured the key levers that move the needle to improve engagement.

To explain this concept, my colleague and partner in the creation of the 5Cs Model, Principles CEO Zack Weider, shares the metaphor of the “swing versus the shot.” If you’re a golfer, you know that you won’t improve your game by only looking at your score at the end of each round (that is, how many good or bad shots you hit). You improve your game by focusing on the mechanics of your swing and improving your technique. The quality of each shot will vary depending on a number of factors, but the way to make all of your shots better over time is by focusing on your swing.

Organizations struggle to improve engagement because they keep measuring whether they played a good or bad round (as in their annual engagement), rather than focusing on the actual swing (as in the fundamental elements that are driving it and can lead to better outcomes).

To transform culture, companies must understand and measure the elements that create highly productive and cohesive teams and thriving cultures. Given this picture, it’s no surprise that about 70 percent of culture transformations fail, according to McKinsey.

Culture Starts at the Top

How you and your team show up daily and interact with one another and the organization as a whole set the tone. As CEO, your behavior becomes culture. What you reinforce, what you tolerate, and how you respond all signal what your team takes as truth. What constitutes organizational culture? The mission, vision, purpose, and core values are often included. These elements are the visible aspects.

There are also invisible elements—such as norms, beliefs, and practices—that are equally important but aren’t always given attention. They drive how work gets done. The culture must be experienced day-to-day to be most impactful. This includes rewarding people for demonstrating behaviors that align with it. When individuals aren’t living the culture and being rewarded for the associated behaviors, there is a disconnect.

For example, when leaders speak to their teams about the importance of taking time to recharge from work, yet frequently expect them to respond to emails during evenings and weekends, it sends a conflicting message. This can be based on a disconnect between the invisible and visible cultural elements. The leader’s message is

based on what the culture says it stands for, the visible aspects, yet the leader’s actions reveal how the culture actually operates, the invisible aspects.

Defining the core values and behaviors you want to see in your organization is not enough. You and your team must embody them every single day. The spotlight is on you. I know this is a lot to handle, but it is the reality of leading a company. It’s why you chose to be a leader: to create an impact that aligns with who you are.

Research consistently shows that the behavior of senior leadership directly impacts organizational performance and culture. Studies from McKinsey indicate that companies with cohesive leadership teams are 1.9 times more likely to outperform competitors and 1.7 times more likely to have higher levels of organizational health. Additional research from Russell Reynolds Associates supports that when CEOs and C-suite teams model desired cultural values and operate cohesively, they set a mirrored standard in the organization, leading to enhanced performance, employee engagement, and overall success.

A report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in 2019 found that toxic workplace cultures caused 58 percent of employees to quit their jobs. This turnover cost US employers approximately $223 billion over five years. The SHRM report also highlighted that toxic cultures adversely affect employee well-being, decreasing productivity and increasing absenteeism. Employees in such environments are more likely to experience stress and burnout, further impacting organizational performance.

Eagle Hill Consulting surveyed C-suite leaders and found that 72 percent of executives agreed that corporate culture impacts financial performance. Still, less than half (46 percent) hold themselves and their teams accountable for the culture. This research indicates a disconnect between the importance executives place on team and culture and the investments and actions they make.

I often share with leaders that it is essential to focus on controlling the controllables. The good news is that creating a high-performing, cohesive team and thriving culture is within your control. It is something you can positively impact every single day. It takes intentionality, focus, and care. When executive teams work seamlessly together, modeling effective collaboration for the organization, it creates a positive ripple effect. Ultimately, the executive teams that function at peak levels deliver superior results and have the workplaces and cultures that people want to be a part of.

That’s where The 5Cs of Team Cohesion and Thriving Organizational Culture comes into play (connection, candid communication, clarity, collaboration, and contribution). While each is critical, leaders can start by focusing on Connection.

Based on our research, the best work comes from teams and organizations that foster human connection with a foundation in trust and care. Build trust through developing strong, connected relationships. Add meaningful check-ins to the beginning of conversations. Connection is where momentum begins.

When leaders slow down just enough to truly see and hear their people, trust grows and with it, the conditions for better decisions, stronger performance, and more sustainable success.

Parts of this piece have been adapted from Connected Culture: The New Science for Thriving Teams and Cultures (IdeaPress).

About the Author

Dr. Jamie Shapiro is a CEO coach, organizational psychologist, and bestselling author of Brilliant: Be the Leader Who Shines Brightly Without Burning Out and the forthcoming, Connected Culture: The New Science for Thriving Teams and Cultures. She is the founder and CEO of Connected EC, a leadership coaching firm known for its team-based, whole-person approach to developing executives and transforming corporate culture. A Master Certified Executive Coach, professional speaker, researcher, expert facilitator, and certified nutritionist, Jamie brings a deeply integrated lens to leadership. She holds a PhD in Positive Organizational Psychology, an MBA, and a Master of Science in Information Technology, reinforcing her evidence-based, practical approach to executive performance.

The post Why Engagement Scores are Failing Leaders appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Raj Sisodia, PhD and Nilima Bhat

Europe’s leadership challenge today is not a lack of intelligence, ethics, or ambition—it is a lack of inner coherence. As complexity accelerates, unhealed identity quietly drives reactivity, burnout, and fragmentation in organizations. This article explores healing as a leadership discipline: healing one’s story, integrating identity, and becoming a “self-cleaning oven” who transforms experience into wisdom rather than passing unresolved residue into systems.

Across Europe, leadership is being tested in new and uncomfortable ways. Economic volatility, cultural polarization, climate anxiety, and rapid technological change have exposed a deeper crisis beneath performance metrics: a crisis of inner coherence. Many leaders are competent, ethical, and valuesdriven—yet increasingly exhausted, reactive, or stuck. What is being asked of leaders today is not only strategic intelligence, but psychological and inner maturity.

At the heart of this challenge lies the relationship between healing and identity. Who we believe ourselves to be—our story of self—quietly shapes how we lead, decide, relate, and respond under pressure. When identity remains unexamined, leadership becomes a projection of unresolved wounds. When identity is healed and integrated, leadership becomes a force for coherence and renewal.

Identity, the Small Self, and the Larger Self

In Healing Leaders, we distinguish between the small self and the larger Self. The small self is the personality shaped by biography, culture, family systems, and unprocessed experience. It carries our roles, achievements, failures, and survival strategies. The larger Self is already whole—our deeper essence that is connected, spacious, and grounded beyond roles and labels.

European business culture has traditionally privileged rationality, control, and performance. These strengths have delivered remarkable progress. Yet when the small self dominates—seeking validation, control, or safety—leaders become brittle. Feedback feels threatening. Uncertainty becomes intolerable. Complexity invites defensiveness rather than curiosity.

Healing is the process through which the small self is gradually integrated into the larger Self. This integration does not weaken leadership; it stabilizes it. Leaders rooted in the larger Self are less reactive, more resilient, and better able to hold paradox—an increasingly essential capacity in European organizations operating across cultures, regulations, and values systems.

Healing Your Story: From Victimhood to Choice

Every leader carries a story about themselves and the world. These stories are rarely conscious. They are shaped early, often in response to moments of pain, exclusion, or failure, and later reinforced by professional success or organizational culture.

Some stories empower: I can learn. I adapt. I contribute. Others quietly constrain: I must prove myself. I cannot fail. I am only as good as my performance. When these narratives remain unexamined, leaders unconsciously organize their companies around them—creating cultures of overwork, fear of failure, or emotional withdrawal.

Healing your story does not mean denying hardship or rewriting history. It means shifting from being a victim of your past to becoming a conscious chooser of your present. In our work, we call this step Choose Your Self: the ability to say, “I would not wish my suffering on anyone, yet I can honor how it shaped me and no longer allow it to define me.”

For European leaders facing intergenerational trauma, postpandemic fatigue, or rapid social change, this inner choice is foundational. Without it, even the most wellintentioned sustainability or wellbeing initiatives remain superficial.

The SelfCleaning Oven: A Metaphor for Mature Leadership

A powerful metaphor for healed leadership is that of the selfcleaning oven. A selfcleaning oven does not allow residue to accumulate; it processes it through heat and awareness. Human beings are not born this way. We become so through conscious inner work.

A selfcleaning leader does not suppress emotion, bypass pain, or offload unresolved material onto colleagues, teams, or systems. Instead, they work on healing. They notice when they are triggered, defensive, or depleted, and take responsibility for what arises within them.

Unhealed leaders leak. Their unresolved stress shows up as micromanagement, emotional volatility, burnout cultures, or disengagement. Healed leaders, by contrast, metabolize experience. Their presence becomes regulating rather than destabilizing—a critical leadership capacity in hybrid, multicultural, and highpressure European workplaces.

Research increasingly supports this inner dimension of leadership. Studies on emotional regulation, psychological safety, and mindful leadership demonstrate that leaders who are selfaware and emotionally integrated foster greater trust, resilience, and longterm performance. The growing body of work emerging from organizational psychology and neuroscience—including research highlighted by institutions such as the European Commission on workplace wellbeing—points to the same conclusion: inner health and systemic health are inseparable.

(See, for example, the European Commission’s work on mental health in the workplace: https://health.ec.europa.eu/mental-health/workplace_en; and the World Health Organization’s guidance on mental health at work: https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/promotion-prevention/mental-health-at-work)

Healing Before Leading

Traditional leadership development focuses on skills, competencies, and frameworks. These are necessary, but insufficient. Many leaders reach an invisible ceiling not because they lack intelligence or experience, but because unresolved inner material governs their reactions.

In Healing Leaders, we call this need therapeutic maturity—not as pathology, but as maturity. Without therapeutic healing, spiritual or purposedriven leadership risks becoming a form of bypassing: aspiring to higher values without tending to the wounded child, the defended ego, or the inherited trauma beneath.

Across Europe, where leaders are navigating legacy systems alongside futurefacing demands—digitalization, ESG accountability, demographic shifts—this inner work is no longer optional. Healed leaders are better equipped to lead through ambiguity without collapsing into control or withdrawal.

Becoming Whole: Completion and Integration

Healing is ultimately about completion: integrating the masculine and feminine, the elder and the child, the rational and the intuitive. Many leaders operate as partial selves—overidentified with performance, intellect, or authority—while disowning vulnerability, rest, or emotional truth.

Completion allows leaders to act from wholeness rather than compensation. Authority becomes grounded, not performative. Compassion becomes discerning, not indulgent. This integration supports what European organizations increasingly require: leaders who can balance economic responsibility with human and ecological care.

An Ongoing Practice

Becoming a self-cleaning oven is not a one-time achievement; it is a lifelong discipline. Life will continue to generate heat—loss, uncertainty, conflict, and change. The real question is not whether leaders will face these pressures, but whether they have the inner capacity to process them consciously.

When leaders do not heal, organizations inherit their unfinished business. When leaders do heal, something different becomes possible: cultures that are resilient without being brittle, humane without being naïve, and purposeful without being performative.

Healing identity and healing one’s story is therefore not personal work done alongside leadership. It is the invisible infrastructure of leadership itself. In a Europe searching for renewal—economically, socially, and morally—the leaders who matter most may be those willing to do the quiet, demanding work of becoming whole, and leading from that wholeness.

About the Authors

Raj Sisodia, PhD, is a global thought leader on conscious leadership and business as a force for good. He is co-founder of the Conscious Capitalism movement and a Faculty of Excellence at Tecnologico de Monterrey.

Nilima Bhat is an integral leadership coach, healer, and author whose work bridges Eastern wisdom and Western psychology to support conscious, whole human leadership. She is founder of the Shakti Leadership Mission.

The post Healing, Identity, and the SelfCleaning Leader appeared first on The European Business Review.

Mental health remains a topic that is too often left unspoken. Time to Talk Day offers a great opportunity to reflect on how leaders are showing up for their people, encouraging organisations to move beyond awareness and create environments where employees feel safe to speak and are supported when they do. Here are six ways to foster workplaces that truly care.

Building a foundation of psychological safety

Despite an estimated 15 % of working‑age adults globally living with a mental health condition, many organisations continue to operate within a culture of silence and stigma. According to Lesley Cooper, founder of consultancy WorkingWell, the very first step in addressing this is to create psychologically safe workplaces.

“Even though they may not label it as such, people need to know they’re working in a climate of psychological safety,” she says. “When people do feel safe, they are much more likely to share their challenges and ask for help.”

Psychological safety exists when employees can bring their whole selves to work without hiding behind a mask. In such an environment, people are empowered to discuss issues openly and offer feedback, even when the conversation is difficult. Cooper adds, “For employees to take the interpersonal risk of expressing what they really go through, they need assurance that there will be no negative consequences and confidence that their leaders and colleagues will listen, respond, and act on what they share.”

Unmasking fear to build resilience 

Companies truly thrive when their employees do, yet meaningful wellbeing dialogue is often stifled by a mutual reality: fear. Employees are navigating a landscape of unease – driven by economic anxiety, technological disruption, and social concerns – that directly impacts their effectiveness, while employers often hesitate to intervene, paralysed by the fear of backlash, a lack of resources, or the risk of “opening a Pandora’s box.”

However, as Christopher O. H. Williams, author of C.O.U.R.A.G.E., notes, fear remains the primary barrier even in safe spaces; unmasking it is the only way forward. “By summoning the courage to break from corporate norms – asking ‘How are you doing?’ – we transform fear from a ‘stop sign’ into a signal for growth.”

“When companies acknowledge uncertainty and validate these realities, they diffuse rather than amplify anxiety, turning fear into a driver of engagement, trust, and the resilience necessary to weather the unknowns together,” concludes Williams.

Showing vulnerability

Vulnerability is one of the most powerful enablers of impactful conversations, yet it is often mistaken for weakness. “In high-pressure environments, silence and emotional endurance have long been rewarded, while burnout, unhealthy behaviours, and toxic dynamics went unchallenged. Being vulnerable carries the risk of exposure,” notes Cassie Davison, hospitality industry veteran, author of Stand Out Hospitality, and business coach.

But to engage employees in genuine wellbeing dialogue, vulnerability must be visible, normalised, and modelled by leaders. This works as a powerful tool for dismantling stigma and creating the space for crucial mental health conversations. “Vulnerability is not about oversharing; it’s about inviting acceptance and understanding,” says Davison. “When leaders openly acknowledge and discuss pressure, vulnerability shifts from risk to strength,” she continues.

This reframes wellbeing as a shared responsibility rather than an individual burden. “Trust deepens, conversations happen earlier, and support becomes part of the culture, not a last resort,” Davison sums up.

Leading with humanity

Leadership sets the emotional tone for organisations. For employees to speak honestly about their struggles, they need to feel seen and acknowledged by their leaders. This is why Dr Lilian Ajayi Ore, Chief Learning Officer and author of The Power of the Learning Mindset, believes leaders must always begin by recognising the human behind the role. As she explains: “Yes, we are different. Our identities, experiences, and stories are unique. If we don’t relate from a human foundation, we lose the chance to deepen connection, build trust, and earn confidence.”

When leaders operate from a place of distance or unrelatable authority, people feel it. But when they lead with humanity and treat others with empathy and compassion, connection follows. Dr Ore emphasises, “This is when employees remember how your leadership made them feel – calm, seen, safe, supported, or inspired – and only then will they be able to engage in truly meaningful wellbeing dialogue.”

Promoting wholeness  

HR Executive, coach, and author of Anchored, Rochelle Trow, believes leaders should promote wholeness within the organisation, not by asking people to disclose how they feel, but by creating space for the body and the mind through everyday leadership choices about pace, workload, and expectations.

“Wholeness isn’t something a system can hand you; it’s something you can choose to protect and restore: a daily practice of noticing pressure early, making conscious trade-offs, and returning to what matters most before strain becomes normalised. Every conscious choice leaders make begins to reshape the system around them, including important conversations like employee wellbeing,” Trow explains.

Looking inwards to see how employees are feeling. Rather than relying on well-being check-ins alone, leaders can create safer dialogue by inviting practical conversations about capacity, priorities, risk, pauses, and boundaries and by responding constructively when strain is raised early, not only when performance drops. This helps reduce stigma and makes it safer for people to speak up without fear of negative career consequences.

“That’s why everyday leadership signals matter. Voices matter. They shape what people believe is permitted. The system will always reward what keeps it running, but wholeness begins when leaders notice what it costs people to keep going – and choose not to ignore it,” Trow concludes.

Spotting patterns and unhealthy behaviours with AI  

Dr Lisa Turner, an expert in AI-powered personal and leadership development and founder of CETfreedom, believes that, when used as a supportive tool, AI can help leaders and their teams detect unhealthy patterns and behaviours before they escalate. “AI can offer a neutral, third-party lens for reflection,” she explains.

Used intentionally, AI can deliver early signals, smart nudges, and personalised insights that help leaders maintain clarity and capacity. By analysing meeting transcripts, emails, and team interactions, these tools reveal patterns that otherwise go unnoticed – patterns that can quietly undermine wellbeing. AI quantifies the percentage of someone’s cognitive capacity being spent on invisible labour.

AI presents a new and underused opportunity: not as a replacement for human wellbeing practices, but as a smart, scalable companion to leaders. “AI doesn’t erase our need for human connection,” Turner says. “It provides another dimension of support, helping organisations create more meaningful wellbeing conversations. The data and feedback from these tools can give people what they need to open up a dialogue about how they’re feeling, or how their organisation and others are making them feel.”

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By Amy Jacobson

Adopting artificial intelligence in workplaces isn’t always easy. There is often a divide within organizations with people that embrace AI versus those who resist it. The key to managing both is to embrace emotional intelligence and change intelligence and meeting your team members where they are before guiding them forward.

Is it really AI that your teams are pushing back on, or is it the extreme level of change that comes when we start automating tasks? With 96% of organizations undergoing some form of transformation or change right now, only 34% of change initiatives succeed. To make positive changes stick, it’s integral to not just focus on the actual change, but also on helping people understand the relationships their minds have with overall change. This is standard with any form of change, especially large-scale, intense changes like automation and AI implementation. Emotional intelligence, specifically change intelligence, is integral to adopting AI or any other new system.

There are three key messages to mastering change intelligence:

1. You don’t have to love change.
2. Change is never perfect.
3. The mind is always losing something.

You don’t have to love change

Being forced or told to love change doesn’t work and doesn’t help anyone. Each one of us has a relationship with change that has been embedded in our neural pathways throughout our lives, complete with different ideas of what change looks and feels like and what is “normal” when it comes to change.

Picture our change relationship as a scale from 1 (“I loathe change and prefer consistency”) to 10 (“I love change and sometimes will voluntarily change for the sake of change”).

In every workplace, we need those people that are happy to do the same thing and do it well every day. Those team members consistently deliver quality results and aren’t knocking on your door asking for a new job — they’re content to do what they are good at and continue like this for years to come. These people are going to be found closer to the 1 on the change relationship scale. These people likely won’t be great with change.

We also have team members that always come up with new ideas, innovations and ways to improve. They have a fast-track career plan or are always looking for the next shiny object. These people will be around 10 on the change scale. We need these people too! They’re great with change and likely already have ideas to help facilitate the change.

Everyone else generally will fall somewhere between those extremes.

It may help leaders and staff to hold an exercise in which the team physically moves and stands along this scale of change when faced with different simulations, opening real conversations to understand how people were wired for change and why they are so good at their chosen skills. When we understand why we do what we do, the way we are wired and that no part of the change relationship scale is right or wrong, the battle eases and we can work together more effectively.

A successful workplace isn’t about loving change. It’s about having a balanced team. Help people to understand their relationship with change and work with it rather than against it. Don’t force something that goes against their wiring. Instead, leverage their wiring to implement changes effectively while making it clear that change will happen regardless. They don’t have to love it, but they still have to do what it takes to understand and keep up with it.

Change is never perfect

Acting like the change you’re trying to implement will be life-saving, magical and perfect won’t work, and you’ll quietly hear some of those that are resistant to change get ready to show you downsides to the new methods.

The truth is, change is never perfect. When we decide on a change, we do it because the pros outweigh the cons. We focus on pros in order to sell the change to others, but pretending it will be perfect sets unrealistic expectations. There will always be things that don’t quite go according to plan and things that might be better the old way.

These people may take pleasure in pointing out kinks in new methods and tools, which adds another layer of defense to their pushback against the overall change. It’s important to not shy away from these hiccups or sweep them under the rug. Be up front, own the fact that there are bumps in the road, and be transparent along the way when things aren’t going to plan or are being tweaked, while also sharing the brilliant wins of the change.

The mind is always losing something

With every single change, the mind loses something. Whether it is simply losing the habit that has been embedded in our mind or losing something like our purpose and drive, there is always a loss, and this loss must be owned.

Even with what seems to be the best changes comes losses. It’s amazing how teams fight to let go of a rundown, leaking old building that they have complained about every day in the past year when they move to a shiny new high tech building, simply because their mind is struggling to let go of all of the memories, habits and familiarity that they lose when they begin the transition into the new building.

Now think about the last change in your workplace. What did the team lose? Introducing AI has so many benefits, but there are obvious losses: processes, jobs, human interactions, once-valuable skills and time are just a few examples. When our mind loses something, alarm bells go off in our amygdala and trigger fight or flight responses. Our mind must create new neural pathways to align with the change, and our willingness to and relationship with change will determine how quickly we adapt and create those new pathways.

Owning loss is the first and most important step to change intelligence. If we don’t let people own their losses, face their emotions, and find closure, their minds will remain in battle mode, desperately clutching the past neural pathways and familiar comfort for as long as they possibly can.

About the Author

Amy Jacobson is an emotional intelligence specialist and speaker who helps individuals, teams, and companies harness EQ in order to excel. She is the author of The Emotional Intelligence Advantage: Mastering Change and Difficult Conversations and Emotional Intelligence: A Simple and Actionable Guide to Increasing Performance, Engagement, and Ownership.

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By Dr. Deborah Bayntun-Lees

Leaders often struggle to balance compassion with accountability, fearing that one undermines the other. The Compassion-Accountability Matrix offers a practical framework to navigate this tension, helping leaders recognise when care drifts into enabling, when accountability becomes punitive, and how to restore dynamic balance in real time.

In leadership discourse, compassion and accountability are often presented as complementary virtues. In practice, however, they can feel like opposing forces. Lean too far towards compassion and you risk enabling underperformance or avoiding hard decisions. Lean too far towards accountability and you risk eroding trust, psychological safety, and morale. This is the Compassion-Accountability Paradox, and it is one of the most persistent challenges facing leaders today.

The Origins of the Matrix

The Compassion-Accountability Matrix emerged from my research with leaders working in complex, emotionally charged environments, including trauma-informed organisations, healthcare settings, and purpose-driven businesses. In these contexts, leaders navigate high-stakes decisions daily: supporting struggling team members while maintaining standards; holding space for personal difficulties while ensuring collective performance; demonstrating care without inadvertently rescuing people from the consequences of their choices.

What became clear through this research is that the most effective leaders do not choose between compassion and accountability. Instead, they achieve dynamic balance, holding care and rigour together, making context-sensitive judgements that protect relationships while safeguarding the mission.

This is not simply about being a ‘kind but firm’ leader. It requires deliberate, moment-by-moment calibration. To support this, I developed the Compassion-Accountability Matrix: a practical tool that helps leaders diagnose where they, and their organisations, currently sit, and make intentional adjustments.

The Four Quadrants

The matrix plots compassion on one axis and accountability on the other, creating four distinct leadership zones:

1. Neglect (Low Compassion, Low Accountability)

When both compassion and accountability are absent, neglect takes hold. Leaders in this quadrant may be disengaged, overwhelmed, or simply unaware of their impact. Team members feel unseen and unsupported, while standards drift without consequence. This is leadership by absence, and it erodes both trust and performance over time.

2. Fear-Driven Leadership (Low Compassion, High Accountability)

Here, accountability dominates without the humanising influence of compassion. Expectations are clear and consequences are enforced, but people feel like cogs in a machine. Mistakes are punished rather than learned from. Psychological safety erodes, innovation stalls, and talented people leave. This quadrant often emerges under pressure, when leaders default to control as a coping mechanism.

3. Indulgence or Rescue Leadership (High Compassion, Low Accountability)

This is the quadrant where well-meaning leaders often find themselves stuck. Compassion is abundant, flexibility is offered, allowances are made, and empathy flows freely. But without accountability, care can drift into enabling. Underperformance is tolerated. Difficult conversations are avoided. The leader may unconsciously ‘rescue’ team members from challenges they need to face. Over time, this damages both the individual (who doesn’t grow) and the team (who carries the burden).

4. Regenerative Leadership (High Compassion, High Accountability)

The upper-right quadrant represents the integration of both forces. Here, leaders demonstrate genuine care for their people while maintaining clear expectations and honest feedback. Boundaries are understood not as the opposite of compassion but as one of its deepest expressions. Support is offered alongside challenge. This is regenerative leadership, it renews energy and capacity rather than depleting it, creating cultures that are both humane and high-performing.

Using the Matrix in Practice

The matrix is most powerful when used as a reflective and diagnostic tool. Leaders can apply it in three ways:

1. Self-Assessment

Where do I typically sit on this matrix? Am I naturally inclined towards compassion, sometimes at the expense of accountability? Or do I default to rigour and risk becoming fear-driven under pressure? Honest self-reflection, ideally supported by feedback from trusted colleagues, helps leaders identify their habitual patterns.

2. Situation Analysis

Different situations may require different positions on the matrix. A team member facing a personal crisis may need more compassion in the short term. A persistent performance issue may require a deliberate shift towards accountability. The key is intentionality: knowing where you are and choosing where you need to be.

3. Real-Time Calibration

In the moment, leaders can use simple reflective questions to calibrate their response:

• Am I being genuinely supportive, or am I rescuing this person from a necessary challenge?
• Am I holding them accountable, or am I being punitive?
• What does this person need right now to grow, and what does the team need to thrive?
• Where is my own discomfort influencing my response?

These questions help leaders avoid unconscious drift and make deliberate choices that restore dynamic balance.

Boundaries as Acts of Care

One of the most important insights from the research is that boundaries are not the opposite of compassion, they are its partner. In my work with trauma-informed organisations, I observed leaders who cared deeply for their teams, often sharing lived experiences that created profound connection. But without boundaries, that closeness sometimes blurred the line between support and over-responsibility.

The most effective leaders learned to set boundaries as acts of care: protecting their own capacity to serve, safeguarding team wellbeing, and ensuring that compassion did not become an excuse for avoiding difficult decisions. When accountability was finally applied, sometimes after months of support, it was experienced not as punishment but as clarity.

A Discipline to Be Mastered

Ultimately, the Compassion-Accountability Paradox is not a leadership flaw to be resolved. It is a discipline to be mastered. Leaders who can achieve dynamic balance, who can hold care and rigour in creative tension, cultivate workplaces that are both humane and high-performing.

In an era when employee wellbeing, psychological safety, and performance are all under scrutiny, this integration matters more than ever. The Compassion-Accountability Matrix offers a compass for navigating the complexity, helping leaders make wiser choices under pressure and build cultures where people, and organisations, can genuinely thrive.

About the Author

Dr. Deborah Bayntun-Lees is a leadership scholar, practitioner, and educator at Hult International Business School. Her research focuses on feminist, trauma-informed, and regenerative approaches to leadership. She works with organisations to develop leaders who can hold complexity with courage, care, and accountability.

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By Delia Mensitieri, Smaranda Boroș and Claudia Toma

Microaggressions still persist in workplaces due to deeply embedded silencing cultures that discourage reporting and dialogue. This article explores how organisational silence sustains everyday bias and outlines strategies to dismantle it – from diverse leadership and trusted reporting systems to psychological safety, allyship, and intersectional policies – enabling truly inclusive workplaces.

Microaggressions (everyday, stereotyped remarks) remain a deeply entrenched challenge for workplaces across Europe, quietly undermining equity and inclusion despite widespread efforts to implement diversity and gender equity initiatives. Recent surveys reveal troubling persistence in biases: ageism affects about 32% of employees, gender discrimination impacts roughly 25%, and ethnic bias touches 17%, with many marginalised individuals reporting unfair treatment or exclusion on a daily basis. So why, after so many policy reforms and awareness campaigns, do these subtle but damaging behaviours continue to shape the everyday experience for so many workers? The growing consensus is that at the heart of the problem lies a culture of silence; a silent permission that allows microaggressions to persist unchallenged and unexamined within organisational life.

The nature of silencing cultures

Silencing is rarely the result of a single factor; rather, it functions on multiple, interconnected levels. Institutionally, many organisations still lack the transparent, trustworthy channels that empower employees to report concerns without fear of retaliation or dismissal. Sometimes formal policies exist, but if they are cumbersome, unclear, or poorly enforced, they send a clear message: speaking up is risky and unlikely to change anything.

Beyond formal structures, silencing is reinforced interpersonally. When employees share their experiences of bias and are met with denial, minimisation, or defensiveness from colleagues or managers, it invalidates their perspectives and discourages further disclosure. Over time, this fomentation of disbelief or hostility can transform into self-silencing, where individuals internalise these negative messages, suppress their own feelings, and gradually disengage from the organisation. This cycle of silence and exclusion perpetuates a climate where microaggressions become an invisible yet persistent form of harm.

Strategies for dismantling silencing cultures

To shift from maintaining silencing cultures to dismantling them requires intentional, multifaceted strategies that address systemic barriers and empower individuals. Several organisations across Europe have begun to lead the way with concrete actions.

1. Foster diverse and inclusive leadership

Leadership sets the tone for organisational norms. When leadership teams lack diversity, especially in terms of gender and ethnicity, microaggressions are more easily brushed aside or normalised. Diversifying leadership is therefore not a token gesture but a critical lever for cultural change. For example, Unilever has made gender balance in senior management a strategic priority. This commitment does more than improve representation; it helps create policies that are genuinely responsive to diverse perspectives, amplifying underrepresented voices, and fostering an inclusive culture that challenges exclusionary practices. By intentionally cultivating diversity at the top, organisations send a strong signal about their values and create a pathway for lasting systemic change.

2. Build trustworthy reporting mechanisms

Employees need to feel confident and safe when reporting microaggressions. This requires more than just having a policy in place; reporting channels must be accessible, guarantee anonymity if needed, and be backed by a culture of accountability. IKEA stands out for its robust whistleblower system that allows employees to report concerns through multiple confidential avenues, including independent third parties. Transparent follow-up processes and visible organisational responses have helped IKEA build trust among employees, encouraging more people to speak up. When employees perceive that their concerns lead to tangible action and are shielded from retaliation, reporting transforms from a risky gamble into an empowered choice, which in turn disrupts cultures of silence.

3. Cultivate psychological safety through open dialogue

Microaggressions thrive in environments where conversations about discomfort and exclusion are taboo or suppressed. Normalising open and honest dialogue about identity, bias, and workplace dynamics fosters psychological safety – the belief that one can speak freely without fear of punishment or ostracism. Salesforce has pioneered the concept of “Brave Spaces” within its organisation. These are intentional forums where employees gather to discuss sensitive topics related to diversity and inclusion. These spaces are actively supported by senior leaders who listen attentively and respond constructively, creating a culture where difficult conversations become catalysts for understanding and change rather than sources of conflict. When employees feel heard and valued, they are more likely to engage, contribute, and collaborate, ultimately enhancing organisational cohesion and resilience.

4. Empower bystanders and encourage collective responsibility

The responsibility to challenge microaggressions cannot rest solely on those directly affected. Bystanders (colleagues who witness bias or exclusion) are crucial allies in creating an inclusive environment. Training that equips all employees with the skills and confidence to recognize and respond to microaggressions fosters a collective culture of accountability. Accenture, for instance, integrates comprehensive allyship training across its workforce, encouraging employees at every level to act when they observe exclusionary behaviour. This shared responsibility dilutes the emotional burden on marginalised employees and signals company-wide intolerance for microaggressions. Moreover, bystander intervention training cultivates social norms where discrimination is collectively rejected, making the workplace safer and more respectful for everyone.

5. Emphasise intersectionality in education and policy

Microaggressions often arise at the intersection of multiple identities, like gender, race, sexuality, age, and more. Effective inclusion efforts must acknowledge and address this complexity through intersectional education and adaptive policies. PwC has incorporated intersectionality-focused workshops into its diversity and inclusion curriculum, which helps employees appreciate the nuanced ways various identities influence workplace experiences. By regularly engaging with employee resource groups representing diverse backgrounds, PwC ensures its policies remain responding to the real and evolving needs of its workforce. This rigorous attention to intersectionality enables companies to design interventions that are not one-size-fits-all but tailored, sensitive, and inclusive at a deeper level.

The imperative for European organisations

The prevalence of microaggressions and the harm they cause is not merely an ethical issue but a significant business risk. Studies indicate that nearly a third of UK employees have faced microaggressions or discriminatory behaviours by managers recently. This contributes to poor mental health outcomes, decreased job satisfaction, and higher turnover, all of which undermine productivity and innovation.

Addressing these challenges requires more than surface-level initiatives. Without confronting the silencing mechanisms that render such behaviours invisible, efforts remain superficial and fail to foster enduring change. European companies have a unique opportunity to lead by embedding authentic transparency, promoting diverse leadership, ensuring safe reporting, normalising open conversations, and cultivating shared accountability.

When organisations commit to these principles, they not only support the wellbeing and dignity of all employees but also unlock the full potential of a richly diverse workforce. In a global economy that increasingly values inclusion, such commitments are essential for long-term sustainability and competitive advantage.

In conclusion, breaking the silence is the first vital step toward eroding the cultures that sustain microaggressions. Real progress demands courage from leadership and collective action at all levels; only then can workplaces transform into truly equitable spaces where everyone can thrive without fear or exclusion.

About the Authors

Delia Mensitieri is a Doctoral Researcher at Ghent University.

Smaranda Boroș is a Professor of Intercultural Management and Organisational Behaviour at Vlerick Business School.

Claudia Toma is a Professor of Social Psychology and Organizational Behavior at Université Libre de Bruxelles.

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By Dr. Poornima Luthra

Why recognizing and overcoming fear is essential for creating truly inclusive organizations

There is evidence of a growing resistance to DEI in organizations, and the reason, argues Poornima Luthra, is fear. Here, drawing on extensive research, she identifies core fears hindering progress and outlines five leadership qualities – openness, curiosity, vulnerability, courage, and resilience – to transform perceived threats into opportunities.

Despite compelling evidence that workplaces remain inequitable and non-inclusive, Europe and the world are seeing a rising backlash against DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). Between 2020 and 2023, the number of companies without DEI programmes grew, and leader support dropped by 18 per cent.¹ Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report finds that while 76 per cent of companies acknowledge the importance of DEI, only 10 per cent are taking concrete action.²

Why aren’t we making more progress?

The Root Cause: Fear

Through research including analysis of 200+ news articles, surveys of 460 respondents, and interviews with 28 global experts, one conclusion became clear: fear is at the heart of DEI resistance. Fear is powerful, often unspoken, and deeply tied to perceived threat. It is also an emotion that elicits discomfort.

DEI initiatives trigger various forms of threat – status, merit, moral, group identity, symbolic, realistic, and more.³ These trigger fear responses. In my data, 52 per cent of respondents feel fear when engaging with DEI, and 56 per cent feel it sometimes or often. The data also shows that we are fearful of fear itself.

Common fears include:

• Not knowing the right words
• Saying or doing the wrong thing
• Conflict when addressing inequity
• Being seen as the “DEI / woke police”
• Career impact when addressing bias

From my research, five primary fears emerged:

1. Fear of Change – fear of losing power, space, familiarity, or business performance.
2. Fear of Getting It Wrong – fear of mistakes, being cancelled, or not knowing enough.
3. Fear of Discomfort – fear of difficult conversations or confronting one’s biases.
4. Fear of Taking Action and Its Consequences – fear of conflict, career risk, or burnout.
5. Fear of Lack of Positive Impact – fear that efforts won’t matter or will backfire.

Understanding the Backlash

Backlash tends to fall into three categories:

• Denial: “DEI isn’t needed; everyone is treated equally,” or “I don’t see colour.”
• Passive resistance: This is the most difficult to detect. People may attend training but avoid meaningful action, delay change, or subtly withhold support.
• Active resistance: Openly blocking DEI efforts through criticism, accusations, intimidation, or fear-mongering (“DEI will rock the boat”).

Backlash can emerge from any group, including senior leaders and DEI practitioners themselves.

Backlash can emerge from any group, including senior leaders and DEI practitioners themselves. A 2024 Institute for Corporate Productivity report shows that managers (37 per cent) and frontline workers (34 per cent) are significant internal blockers.⁴ Even DEI advocates and practitioners sometimes succumb to avoidance because of the emotional toll that is reflected in the average tenure of DEI professionals being just three years.⁵

From Threat to Opportunity: Five Qualities to Overcome Fear

The question becomes: how do we move from seeing DEI initiatives as a threat to viewing them as an opportunity? To effectively overcome our fear, I share five key qualities: openness, curiosity, vulnerability, courage, and resilience in my book Can I Say That?: Your Go-To Guide to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.⁶

1. Openness: Overcoming the Fear of Change

Addressing fear of change starts with openness to new experiences, ideas, ways of thinking, and, crucially, to people different from us. Openness helps shift DEI initiatives from being perceived as a threat to being seen as an opportunity.

Recognize your privilege. Many leaders struggle with the idea of privilege, associating it with guilt or shame. In reality, privilege is simply a system of unearned advantages available to dominant groups. It is fluid, relative, contextual, and intersectional.

Being open to DEI initiatives requires acknowledging privilege. Awareness of systemic inequities and the advantages we enjoy allows us to become more open to levelling the playing field. Leaders should reflect on privilege across gender, age, ability, appearance, education, race, ethnicity, marital status, and wealth, and consider how it shapes workplace dynamics – from who drives strategy to whose voice is heard.

Debunk the myths. Challenge the myth of meritocracy. While merit matters, bias and privilege play a large role. For example, research shows that 40 per cent of Black women feel they must repeatedly prove their competence, compared to 28 per cent of White women and 14 per cent of men.⁷ Believing that success is solely merit-based can fuel resentment toward DEI initiatives.

Another common myth: DEI doesn’t benefit me. There is plenty of evidence that shows that inclusive workplaces improve overall employee well-being, satisfaction, retention, productivity, engagement, decision-making, and innovation.

Move from a scarcity to an abundance mindset. Viewing DEI as a zero-sum game fosters a scarcity mindset and “power over” models of competition. Melanie Joy’s How to End Injustice Everywhere encourages a shift to a “power with” model, using power in service of the greater good.⁸

DEI isn’t a pie where one person’s slice leaves less for everyone else. The “curb cut effect” illustrates how accessibility benefits everyone; curb cuts for disabled people also help cyclists, parents with strollers, and travellers with luggage. Diverse, inclusive teams solve problems faster, make better decisions, and increase creativity. A 10 per cent rise in perceptions of inclusion reduces absenteeism by nearly a day per employee;⁹  inclusive cultures show a 59 per cent boost in innovation and openness.¹⁰

Decentre yourself. When spaces cater to us, we occupy disproportionate time and opportunities. Imagine favouring one child with all the weekly biscuits; redistributing fairly may feel unfair to the favoured child, though it corrects an imbalance. DEI isn’t about denying anyone opportunities but about addressing systemic inequities.

Leaders can decentre themselves through micro-affirmations: invite unheard perspectives, offer seats on panels to colleagues, advocate for diverse speakers, recommend competent colleagues from marginalized groups, and actively sponsor them, amplifying voices in spaces they might otherwise lack access to.

2. Curiosity: Overcoming the Fear of Getting it Wrong

Addressing the fear of getting it wrong requires curiosity – curiosity to unlearn, learn, and make mistakes. Through curiosity, we expand our understanding of bias and discrimination, enabling us to see DEI not as a threat, but as an opportunity for growth and self-development.

Unlearn and learn. Organizations often reward knowing rather than learning. Many evaluation criteria focus on what we already know, not on how we adapt or challenge assumptions. Understanding bias usually begins with unlearning lifelong assumptions. We need to make the familiar strange, questioning what we’ve taken for granted as “just how it is”.

Language evolves, and DEI terms vary across cultural contexts. In the US, DEI often focuses on racial inequity; in Japan, on gender and age; in India, on caste, gender, and religious inequities. A “glocal” (global-local) approach ensures that language and initiatives are both inclusive and relevant to the context.¹¹

Educate yourself. Experiences of discrimination are not universal. It’s our responsibility to unlearn stereotypes and biases, rather than rely on marginalized individuals to educate us. Many business best practices come from Global North or colonial perspectives. Applying them without context risks ignoring local practices that may be better suited to the environment. Educating ourselves cross-culturally and incorporating local and indigenous knowledge is essential. Decolonizing what we know widens understanding and effectiveness.

Be inclusive in communication. Exclusionary communication may appear minor but accumulates over time, harming psychological and physical health, and reducing productivity and problem-solving. Examples include competency-related comments (“You’re fortunate to be a woman; there are opportunities”), interrupting or speaking over someone, taking credit for others’ ideas, and identity-based assumptions (“Where are you actually from?”).

Leaders can check their language, question phrases reflecting societal stereotypes, and disrupt patterns: say “hers and his” instead of “his and hers,” greet Black or Brown colleagues first in meetings, or challenge assumptions about roles (don’t default to assuming that a builder, lawyer, or doctor is male). Engage inclusively: avoid jargon, ask yourself “flip” questions to check possible bias (would you ask this to a man or White woman?), redirect stolen credit, and challenge interruptions.

Engage in intelligent failures. Mistakes are inevitable, especially in new DEI efforts. Professor Amy Edmondson distinguishes basic failures (human error) from intelligent failures – small, informed mistakes in new territory that provide learning opportunities.¹² While there are some actions that should be avoided at all cost given the harm they cause, approaching DEI work as an experiment helps us to accept mistakes, extract insights, and refine actions. Focus on progress, not perfection.

Ask: What can I learn here? How can my language be more inclusive? What do I need to explore further? Every misstep is a chance to grow personally and advance organizational DEI.

3. Vulnerability: Overcoming the Fear of Discomfort

No one wants to be in a conversation where they feel uncomfortable, guilty, shameful, or as if they are “bad”. Even the possibility of discomfort often keeps people from engaging in DEI initiatives. Yet, to acknowledge the biases within ourselves requires vulnerability.

Get comfortable with discomfort. Everyone is biased. We all rely on mental shortcuts to help us make sense of the information our brain receives. Our biases – consciously or unconsciously – influence our words, actions, and decisions. Many of us feel ashamed of being biased, because we want to be seen as fair and rational, even though few of us are entirely so.

Because bias is associated with being “bad”, realizing that we hold biases or having them pointed out triggers discomfort. But discomfort is necessary; it’s the only way we can recognize and block bias. In DEI work, discomfort is inevitable. The journey toward equity and inclusion will include many uncomfortable moments, yet these moments are natural, expected, and a sign of commitment. They also provide the richest opportunities for self-reflection and growth.

Reframing discomfort can help. Discomfort is where trust is formed, and trust is fundamental to human interactions. By embracing discomfort and having difficult conversations about bias and discrimination, we add positive value; discomfort becomes a tool for building trust and fostering inclusion. Most people instinctively avoid discomfort. Comfort zones aren’t wrong, but staying in them too long dulls our sensitivities. New experiences create new neural pathways that are essential for developing new and inclusive behaviours.

An effective way to mitigate the influence of bias is to challenge your gut. Question instinctive decisions. Ask why and how repeatedly until you are confident you’ve made every effort to block bias from your decision-making process.

Centre the discomfort of others. If DEI initiatives feel uncomfortable, consider how underestimated and historically marginalized groups feel when facing discrimination daily. You may have only recently thought about your race, skin colour, or sexual orientation but, for others, these factors are a constant consideration.

Respond constructively when bias is pointed out. One of the most uncomfortable situations is having our own bias highlighted. Common reactions include defensiveness, avoidance, or walking away. Leaders should instead:

• Listen attentively and limit interruptions
• Avoid defensiveness or dismissing concerns
• Acknowledge the negative impact of words or actions
• Apologize sincerely, without justifying or over-apologizing
• Ask questions to deepen understanding
• Reflect and take feedback seriously

Educate themselves to unlearn what was previously considered acceptable and learn to be more inclusive

Reject binary thinking. We live in a polarized world where we are conditioned toward dichotomous thinking: being pro-DEI is often misinterpreted as being anti-White, anti-men, or anti-cisgender. This false dichotomy shuts down nuanced conversation. Being pro-DEI means critiquing systems, not people. Critiquing patriarchy does not mean hating men; examining racism does not mean hating White people.

To create space for multiple realities to coexist, move from debate to discussion and dialogue. In debates, each party defends a position, leaving one winner and fostering defensiveness. Discussions and dialogues, on the other hand, allow multiple perspectives to coexist. They open space for learning, self-reflection, and examining assumptions while understanding others’ realities.

4. Courage: Overcoming the Fear of Taking Action and Its Personal Consequences

Those engaged in DEI initiatives often fear personal consequences – being labelled the “DEI police”, lacking support, jeopardizing careers, or risking safety. Moving forward requires courage.

Develop your DEI purpose statement. Know your “why”. Why are you involved in DEI work? Why does it matter? In difficult moments, your personal “why” serves as an anchor. Leading with conviction means believing that: (1) inequity exists and must be addressed, (2) inclusion and equity are the right thing to do, and (3) your organization benefits from it.

Identify core values such as fairness, justice, or respect, reflect on what you hope DEI efforts will achieve, and craft a personal DEI purpose statement to guide your actions.

Know what to expect. Negative thoughts about what could go wrong are natural, but avoid catastrophizing. Visualize the consequences of engaging versus not engaging in DEI initiatives. Ask yourself: How likely is the worst-case scenario? What conditions would make it happen? Reflect on past experiences, what might happen if bias goes unaddressed, and how to engage differently to mitigate risks.

Plan your move. Addressing bias and discrimination often requires courageous conversations. Options include addressing bias in the moment, later, or not at all if it’s unsafe. Most biases should and can be addressed.

Use questions and comments in a non-confrontational tone to prompt reflection, e.g., “Can you tell me more about where you are coming from?” or “What was your intention in saying that?” Approach conversations with empathy. Today it’s someone else’s bias, tomorrow it could be your own.

Prioritize self-care. DEI work can be emotionally taxing. Mary-Frances Winters describes the toll as “the extra effort it takes daily to manage microaggressions, discrimination, inequities, or the stories of others, along with the fear, frustration, and anger that result.”¹³  Leaders should watch for diversity fatigue, burnout, isolation, and emotional triggers, noting that the average tenure in DEI roles is just three years.¹⁴

To manage these challenges, build support systems and allies; process feelings by asking, “What am I feeling?” and “Why?”; set boundaries around emotionally draining work; and give yourself grace by keeping realistic short-term expectations while pursuing long-term goals.

5. Resilience: Overcoming the Fear of Lack of Positive Impact

Those engaged in DEI initiatives may sometimes feel helpless, as if, no matter what they do or say, change won’t happen. This fear comes from underestimating how long it takes to nurture truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations. Overcoming it requires resilience.

We need to be in this for the long haul. Systemic and cultural bias have been built over centuries and will take time to dismantle and replace.

Be patient. In our fast-paced world, we expect actions to yield results quickly. When it comes to DEI initiatives, we need to rethink that approach. The lack of diverse representation, inequitable systems, and non-inclusive cultures stems from systemic and institutional bias with deep roots in colonization, slavery, and capitalism. Dismantling these systems of oppression will take time.

There is no easy fix. We need to be in this for the long haul. Systemic and cultural bias have been built over centuries and will take time to dismantle and replace. Patience does not mean we shouldn’t act, but we must have realistic expectations of the speed at which we’ll see impact.

Start small and build. Change happens through consistent, everyday actions. Occasional grand gestures are useful, but frequent, small actions by many people create the foundation for lasting cultural change. Examples include acknowledging presence through eye contact and listening, validating identities by respecting names and pronouns, appreciating contributions, and actively sponsoring competent individuals from underrepresented groups.

Focus on progress, not perfection. Mistakes are opportunities to unlearn, learn, and grow. Concentrate on inclusive actions rather than immediate outcomes. Results will come, often in unexpected ways. Small actions create ripple effects that drive broader change.

Make systemic and cultural change happen. Avoid performative DEI actions. Ask: Does this activity block bias and dismantle inequity in organizational systems, structures, processes, or culture? Effective initiatives may include inclusive hiring and talent development, pay equity exercises, accessible facilities, flexible working options, and involving diverse stakeholders in product or service design.

Trust the purpose of DEI initiatives. At their core, DEI efforts aim to level the playing field and create inclusive, representative workplaces. Having trust that DEI is the right thing to do sustains hope when progress seems slow. Resilience grows from this trust. When shared values, collective action, and trust are present, setbacks become opportunities to learn and persevere rather than reasons to give up.

The Way Forward

Change is not straightforward or easy, but change is what is needed to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces. DEI will not be “solved” by 2025 or 2050. There is no end date; we are in it for the long haul. Learning to recognize our fears and how to overcome them is the first step on a journey towards a more inclusive world.

The question for business leaders today is clear: Are you ready to lead through fear?

About the Author

Dr. Poornima Luthra is a globally recognized author, keynote speaker, and DEI expert. She has written four acclaimed books, including Can I Say That? (2025). Ranked among Thinkers50’s top 30 emerging management thinkers, her works have twice been named among the year’s 10 best management books.

References 

1. DDI (Development Dimensions International) “Global Leadership Forecast 2023”,

2. Deloitte 2024 Global Human Capital Trends

3. Shuman, Eric & Van Zomeren, Martijn & Saguy, Tamar & Knowles, Eric. (2022). “Defend, Deny, Distance, and Dismantle: A Measure of How Advantaged Group Members Manage Their Identity”. 10.31234/osf.io/6d4qc.; https://hbr.org/2023/03/to-overcome-resistance-to-dei-understand-whats-driving-it; Plaut, Victoria & Romano, Celina & Hurd, Kyneshawau & Goldstein, Emily. (2020). “Diversity Resistance Redux in Diversity Resistance in Organizations”, 10.4324/9781003026907-6.

4. https://www.i4cp.com/article/whos-challenging-workplace-de-i-efforts-managers

5. Weeks, K. P., Taylor, N., Hall, A. V., et al. (2024). “They say they support diversity initiatives, but they don’t demonstrate it”: The impact of DEI paradigms on the emotional labor of HR & DEI professionals. Journal of Business and Psychology, 39(2), 411–33.

6. Luthra, P. (2025). Can I Say That?: Your go to guide for diversity, equity and inclusion (2nd ed.). Publishing Rebel.

7. LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, “Women in the Workplace 2019”.

8. Joy, M. 2023. How to End Injustice Everywhere: Understanding the Common Denominator Driving All Injustices, to Create a Better World for Humans, Animals, and the Planet. Lantern Publishing & Media

9. Juliet Bourke and Andrea Espedido, Why Inclusive Leaders Are Good for Organisations, and How to Become One, Harvard Business Review, March 29, 2019.

10. Juliet Bourke and Andrea Espedido, Why Inclusive Leaders Are Good for Organisations, and How to Become One, Harvard Business Review, March 29, 2019.

11. Luthra, P. (2022, March 21). “Do your global teams see DEI as an American issue?”, Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/03/do-your-global-teams-see-dei-as-an-american-issue

12. Edmondson, A. C. (2023). The right kind of wrong: The science of failing well. Atria Books.

13. Winters, M. (2020). Black fatigue: How racism erodes the mind, body, and spirit. Berrett Koehler Publishers.

14. Weeks, K. P., Taylor, N., Hall, A. V., et al. (2024). “They say they support diversity initiatives, but they don’t demonstrate it”: The impact of DEI paradigms on the emotional labor of HR & DEI professionals. Journal of Business and Psychology, 39(2), 411–33.

The post Leading Through the Fear of DEI: A Guide for European Business Leaders appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Dr. Drew B. Mallory

The “one-size-fits-all” model of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)—largely exported from the United States—is collapsing under the weight of political backlash and cultural irrelevance. This is not a retreat, but a necessary evolution. The future belongs to leaders who replace performative compliance with Contextual Intelligence, leveraging indigenous frameworks like Kreng Jai, Ubuntu, and Interculturalism to build resilient, high-performing global teams.

The headlines in 2024 and 2025 have been relentless: corporate giants rolling back diversity initiatives, universities shuttering inclusion offices, and a legislative assault in the United States branding DEI as “divisive” and “illegal.” To the casual observer, DEI is dying. To the global strategist, however, this “death” is the most positive development in management history.

What is dying is not the value of inclusion, but the hegemony of a specific, Western-centric, largely American delivery mechanism. For decades, multinational corporations (MNCs) and universities have treated DEI as a franchise model, exporting American definitions of race, gender, and identity to subsidiaries in Bangkok, Berlin, and Johannesburg, expecting identical results. It failed because it ignored a fundamental business truth: culture eats strategy for breakfast.

The demise of “copy-paste” DEI clears the wreckage for something far more robust: Contextual Inclusion. This new era demands that leaders trade the blunt instrument of compliance for the precision tool of Contextual Intelligence—the ability to interpret and react to changing surroundings—and build inclusion frameworks that resonate with, rather than impose upon, local values.

The Cost of the “Copy-Paste” Failure

The economic imperative for diversity remains irrefutable. McKinsey’s 2023-2024 analysis confirms that companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are (still) 39% more likely to outperform peers in profitability, and diverse teams are (still) 70% more likely to capture new markets. Yet, global firms are also (still) failing to realize these gains because their inclusion strategies are culturally tone-deaf.

In Asia, Western models of “radical candor” and “speaking up” often crash against the bedrock of high-context communication styles. A psychological safety program that demands public vulnerability may succeed in New York but can be actively harmful in Bangkok. Inclusion here must navigate local cultural analogues: Mianzi (face) in China, Hiya (shame/propriety) in the Philippines, and Kreng Jai in Thailand—a desire to maintain social harmony and avoid imposing on others.

Meanwhile, In Europe, the imposition of US-style racial categories often clashes with the continent’s distinct “Interculturalism” approach, which prioritizes social cohesion and dialogue over rigid identity politics. The “death” of this monolithic model is a correction. It allows organizations to stop performative box-checking and start building frameworks rooted in local reality.

From Compliance to Context: Global Frameworks for the Future

If the Western model is receding, what takes its place? The future of inclusive leadership is being written in the Global South and Europe, where institutions are innovating frameworks that merge local wisdom with global standards.

1. Southeast Asia: The “Bamboo Ceiling” and Kreng Jai

In Southeast Asia, the Western insistence on “assertiveness” as a leadership trait has created a “Bamboo Ceiling” for local talent—a term coined by leadership strategist Jane Hyun to describe how Asian professionals are often stalled in middle management. Hyun’s research highlights that multinational firms frequently overlook high-potential Asian leaders because they do not fit the extroverted Western ideal. This is a failure of context, not competence.

Contextually intelligent leaders recognize characteristics like Kreng Jai not as passivity, but as a mechanism for group cohesion. Instead of forcing public debate (“speaking up”), they build “relational safety” through private consensus-building, honoring the local preference for harmony while still extracting diverse viewpoints.

2. Africa: Ubuntu and Values-Based Leadership

While the West debates individual rights, African business philosophy offers Ubuntu—”I am because we are.” Unlike Western models that focus on protecting the individual from the group, Ubuntu emphasizes the interdependence of the individual and the community. Research from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) demonstrates how this philosophy can be operationalized into “values-based leadership.” In this model, a leader’s legitimacy is derived entirely from their ability to nurture the community, shifting the goal of DEI from “representation” (counting heads) to “interdependence” (making heads count). This approach enhances employee engagement and resilience in volatile markets more effectively than imported compliance models.

3. Europe: Interculturalism over Multiculturalism

Europe is increasingly moving toward “Interculturalism,” a policy paradigm championed by the Council of Europe and the Intercultural Cities Programme. This differs significantly from US/UK Multiculturalism. While multiculturalism often leads to parallel lives (co-existence), interculturalism emphasizes interaction and the forging of a common public culture. For European businesses, like those challenging US attacks on DEI, this means moving beyond “diversity days” to structural programs that force cross-cultural collaboration, viewing diversity as a resource for innovation rather than a legal category to be protected.

The Role of Business Education

Business schools can be the incubators of this new leadership mindset. Here in Southeast Asia, Sasin School of Management stands as a proof to the power and impact of contextual inclusion. We are the only business school in Thailand to be listed on the Financial Times (FT) Top 100 and was recently ranked within the top 5 schools in ASEAN for diversity. We are also the only business school in the world to be featured for two consecutive years on the INvolve Outstanding Executive Role Models lists, supported by YouTube.

We did not achieve this recognition by copying Western curricula. Instead, we operationalized inclusion through projects that matter here. We operationalize inclusion through projects like the Neurodiversity at Work Research Centre (NWRC), which helps companies identify the high-value skills of neurodivergent talent to meet local employment quotas. We also lead by example with initiatives like our canteen program employing ex-convicts, proving that we are leaders in a country that once put little effort into these issues. Similarly, while the United States built a frenzy of anti-trans legislation, our T*Factor study—the world’s first academic research on trans* professional leadership in a non-Western context—found that successful Thai trans* leaders leverage Nata (social face) and Gam (karma) to build resilience. We have further supported this work with our LGBTQI+ Inclusion Toolkit, now adopted by dozens of local and MNCs.

Practical Advice for Leaders

The “death” of DEI is actually the birth of sustainable inclusion. Here are some ways that leaders can navigate this shift:

Conclusion

DEI is not dead; it is shedding its skin. The rigid, colonial implementation of diversity initiatives is expiring, making way for a living, breathing practice of inclusion that honors local wisdom. By embracing Contextual Intelligence, leaders can stop fighting culture wars and start building the high-performing, culturally attuned organizations that the 21st century demands.

About the Author

Dr. Drew B. Mallory is a Professor of Management and Organizations at Sasin School of Management (Chulalongkorn University) in Bangkok. He is an inclusion strategist and researcher who directs the Neurodiversity at Work Research Centre (NWRC). Dr. Mallory was named an Outstanding Executive Role Model by INvolve in 2024 and 2025 for his work in operationalizing inclusion in non-Western contexts.

The post DEI is Dead. Long Live (Contextual) Inclusion appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Julien Billion, Jérémie Renouf, Claire Doussard and Jonathan Labbé

Entrepreneurship is often promoted as a pathway to autonomy for people with disabilities, yet it frequently relies on fragile and informal support systems. This study shows how social, economic, and care-related dependencies shape entrepreneurial viability, calling for stable, co-designed support mechanisms that foster long-term autonomy rather than precarious independence.

Entrepreneurship as a fragile alternative

Entrepreneurship is celebrated as a path to autonomy, resilience, and self determination. For people with disabilities, it is presented as a response to labor market exclusion, offering flexibility where salaried employment falls short. Yet behind this optimistic narrative lies a more complex reality, one in which support networks both enable and constrain entrepreneurial action. People with disabilities are more likely than the general population to turn to self employment, not by choice but by necessity. When salaried employment remains inaccessible, entrepreneurship appears as an alternative path. What initially promises autonomy can, however, quickly become isolating.

Jessica, who eventually returned to salaried employment, explained: “When you’re an entrepreneur, you need people around you; it’s best if there are at least two of you. That wasn’t the case, so I just got tired of it.” For certain entrepreneurs with disabilities, support is not optional. Daily work depends on family members, caregivers, colleagues, or informal professional networks that compensate for inaccessible infrastructures, rigid institutions, and missing accommodations. Marwa, who has a motor disability, described her daily constraints clearly: “I have someone who takes care of me at fixed times, and outside of those times, I have no one to help me.” Public assistance, she added, only partially covers her needs: “I have 4 and a half hours a day. It’s not enough.” Such support provides stability, but only within strict limits. Assistance is confined to the private sphere and remains unavailable in professional environments. Entrepreneurial activity becomes closely tied to care schedules, limiting mobility, growth, and strategic choices. Other entrepreneurs rely on informal help. Jean depends on a secretary to manage inaccessible digital tools. Octave regularly asks the coworking space manager for assistance. Samir relies on his business partner to make phone calls when interpretation services are unavailable. These arrangements function only as long as relationships hold. Support is neither guaranteed nor formalized, making social capital inherently fragile. Family members play a central but ambivalent role. Marc and Jerry both rely on their mothers to facilitate communication with clients and partners. Marc explained: “Without my mother, I miss most of the exchanges.” At the same time, he insisted: “I prefer my mother to stay in the background.” Family support enables participation while threatening professional legitimacy and personal independence. Entrepreneurs must constantly negotiate how visible this assistance should be, balancing credibility, stigma, and autonomy.

The economic cost of dependence

Social capital also shapes economic viability. Entrepreneurs with disabilities face structural costs that others do not, including assistive technologies, interpreters, adapted equipment, and accessible workspaces. Lucie noted: “The costs of assistance are high and reduce my profit margins.” Oscar echoed this experience: “The costs associated with these services are significant, but essential.” Marie highlighted the emotional dimension of this dependence: “It also reminds me that my independence depends on this financial support.”

In some cases, economic resources are accessible only through social relationships or public aid. While these resources enable business creation, they remain unstable and insufficient for long term development. Entrepreneurs are forced to assemble short term solutions rather than build sustainable growth models. For some, this pressure becomes decisive. Sophie, who runs a digital services business, admitted: “With the additional expenses of support and the need to stay technologically up to date, I often wonder if salaried employment wouldn’t be more financially stable.”

Managerial and policy implications

Supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities requires moving beyond a narrow focus on access and start up assistance. Long term entrepreneurial viability depends on stable and predictable support mechanisms that explicitly account for recurring disability related costs rather than treating them as exceptional expenses. Reducing reliance on informal goodwill is equally critical. When assistance depends on personal relationships, entrepreneurs remain exposed to disruption and loss of autonomy. Investing in accessible infrastructures, professional support services, and standardized accommodations can significantly reduce this vulnerability. Evaluation practices also need to evolve. Traditional performance indicators often overlook structural inequalities and additional costs borne by entrepreneurs with disabilities. Investors, incubators, and public agencies should integrate these constraints into their assessment frameworks instead of interpreting lower margins as weaker performance or lower ambition. Finally, entrepreneurs with disabilities should be directly involved in the design of support programs and policies. Co designing initiatives with those concerned increases their relevance, limits unintended dependency effects, and strengthens long term empowerment.

Entrepreneurship is not a universal solution to exclusion, but it can offer opportunities under certain conditions. For entrepreneurs with disabilities, outcomes depend both on individual capacities and on how social, economic, and institutional systems interact. Support plays a critical role, although its impact depends on how it is structured and sustained. When carefully designed and embedded over time, support systems can strengthen autonomy and contribute to sustainable entrepreneurial independence.

About the Authors

Julien Billion is Professor at ICN Business School and affiliated researcher at the University of Lorraine (CEREFIGE). Trained as a social worker, he holds PhDs in Sociology and Management Science. His research focuses on social innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Jérémie Renouf leads the Entrepreneurship specialization and the incubator at ISC Paris. His expertise lies in inclusive entrepreneurship. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship and has previously worked as a Startup Project Manager at EDF, as an Entrepreneurship Advisor at AFE (today Bpifrance), at Boulogne-Billancourt City Hall, and as an Incubator Project Manager at Cnam.

Claire Doussard is an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design at the Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture and an Associate researcher at the AHTTEP Laboratory in Paris. Her research focuses on the socio-environmental approaches of urban design and disability. 

Jonathan Labbé is an Associate Professor of Finance at IAE Nancy School of Management (University of Lorraine) and a researcher at the CEREFIGE research center. His research focuses on entrepreneurial finance.

The post Designing Support Systems That Empower Entrepreneurs with Disabilities appeared first on The European Business Review.

As burnout increases, engagement declines, and healthcare costs continue to rise, organizations are realizing a critical truth: wellbeing programs that do not change daily behavior do not deliver meaningful results. This shift has accelerated the adoption of modern employee wellbeing apps that focus on sustained engagement, inclusivity, and measurable outcomes.

The future of employee wellbeing is no longer about what companies offer. It is about how people perform—physically, mentally, and socially—every day at work.

Why Traditional Wellbeing Programs Are No Longer Effective

For years, workplace wellbeing relied on isolated initiatives such as gym memberships, annual wellness days, or a basic corporate step challenge app. While these approaches helped raise awareness, they often failed to create long-term impact because they:

• Delivered short-lived engagement
  
• Excluded employees with different abilities or activity preferences
  
• Offered limited insight into real outcomes
  
• Operated independently from broader business goals
  

Today, organizations are moving beyond fragmented perks toward integrated corporate wellbeing apps for employees that support year-round participation and measurable improvement.

The Shift From Perks to Performance

High-performing organizations now treat wellbeing as a strategic investment rather than a cost. The most effective employee wellbeing apps are designed to influence the daily habits that directly affect performance, including:

• Physical activity and movement
  
• Stress management and mental resilience
  
• Social connection and motivation
  
• Consistent engagement across teams
  

Instead of asking, “What benefits do we provide?” companies are asking,
“How do we enable our people to perform better every day?”

This shift is redefining how wellbeing aligns with productivity, retention, and organizational success.

Movement-First Wellbeing: Beyond Step Challenges

Physical activity has become a central pillar of modern wellbeing strategies. While traditional step challenges were once the standard, forward-thinking organizations now recognize that movement must be inclusive and flexible.

Modern employee wellbeing app platforms support:

• Multiple activity types such as walking, cycling, strength training, yoga, and mobility
  
• Weighted scoring to ensure fairness across fitness levels
  
• Progress-based motivation instead of winner-takes-all competition
  

This evolution moves wellbeing beyond a simple corporate step challenge app toward a holistic movement-first approach that engages a broader workforce.

Social Connection and Communication Drive Engagement

One of the most significant developments in employee wellbeing is the emphasis on social connection. Wellbeing no longer exists in isolation; it thrives when combined with communication and collaboration.

The most successful corporate wellbeing apps for employees often integrate features commonly found in the best employee communication apps, such as:

• Team-based challenges
  
• Shared goals and milestones
  
• Peer encouragement and recognition
  
• Community-driven participation
  

By blending wellbeing with communication, organizations foster stronger connections, especially in hybrid and remote work environments.

Data-Driven Wellbeing and Health Analytics

A major limitation of traditional wellbeing initiatives is the lack of actionable data. Without insight, organizations struggle to assess effectiveness or justify investment.

Advanced employee wellbeing apps now function as part of a broader healthcare analytics platform, offering insights into:

• Engagement and participation trends
  
• Behavioral change over time
  
• Correlations between wellbeing, absence, and productivity
  
• Program performance across departments or regions
  

Privacy-first, anonymized analytics allow leaders to make informed decisions while maintaining employee trust. This data-driven approach transforms wellbeing from a feel-good initiative into a performance-focused business strategy.

Preventative Health and Cost Reduction

As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers are shifting from reactive care to prevention-focused strategies.

By leveraging an employee wellbeing app supported by healthcare analytics, organizations can:

• Encourage consistent movement and healthy habits
  
• Identify early risk trends
  
• Reduce long-term health claims
  
• Lower absenteeism and presenteeism
  

Preventative wellbeing, powered by data, plays a crucial role in building a resilient and sustainable workforce.

Inclusivity Is Essential for Modern Wellbeing

A future-ready wellbeing strategy must work for everyone. Today’s workforce includes different ages, abilities, job roles, and working patterns.

The most effective corporate wellbeing apps for employees are:

• Inclusive of all fitness and ability levels
  
• Accessible across devices and locations
• Suitable for global and remote teams
  
• Designed for long-term engagement rather than short-term campaigns
  

Inclusivity directly impacts participation, trust, and overall program success.

Why Wellbeing Is Now a Leadership Priority

Employee wellbeing has moved beyond HR initiatives and into executive strategy. Leaders now recognize that wellbeing influences:

• Retention and talent attraction
  
• Engagement and morale
  
• Employer brand reputation
  
• Overall business performance
  

Organizations investing in scalable employee wellbeing apps and integrated analytics platforms are better positioned to build resilient teams and maintain a competitive advantage.

The Future of Employee Wellbeing

The future of employee wellbeing is not defined by isolated perks or disconnected tools. Instead, it is:

• Integrated into daily work life
  
• Supported by inclusive digital platforms
  
• Enhanced through communication and social connection
  
• Powered by healthcare analytics
  
• Designed to improve both human and business performance
  

Final Thoughts

Employee wellbeing has evolved from a collection of benefits into a performance strategy. By adopting modern employee wellbeing apps, moving beyond basic corporate step challenge app models, and leveraging insights from a healthcare analytics platform, organizations can create meaningful, long-term impact.

In the future of work, wellbeing will not be a perk.
It will be a foundation.

The post The Future of Employee Wellbeing: From Perks to Performance appeared first on The European Business Review.

The Cost of Stress in the Workplace

Stress is often considered an unavoidable part of professional life, but its effects are far-reaching. Employees under chronic stress experience burnout, lower engagement, and diminished problem-solving capabilities. In competitive industries, where innovation and adaptability are essential, such declines can significantly impact a company’s bottom line.

Beyond financial costs, stress shapes corporate culture in more subtle ways. A workplace where stress is pervasive often breeds fear, disengagement, and internal competition, undermining collaboration and trust. Conversely, organizations that actively address stress foster resilience, psychological safety, and shared accountability. This cultural shift begins with implementing practical strategies that help employees manage stress and maintain consistent energy throughout the workday.

Stress-Relief Techniques That Transform Workplace Culture

Incorporating stress-relief practices into corporate life is more than an employee perk—it signals a company’s commitment to holistic well-being. Here are several approaches that have shown measurable results:

1. Mindfulness and Meditation Programs

Mindfulness practices, including guided meditation and breathing exercises, cultivate presence and reduce the cognitive overload that contributes to stress. Companies like Google and Aetna have reported significant benefits from corporate mindfulness programs, including lower employee stress levels, higher focus, and increased empathy among teams. Integrating short mindfulness sessions into meetings or offering dedicated meditation spaces can normalize self-care and reinforce a culture that values mental health.

2. Physical Movement and Micro-Breaks

Sedentary work contributes to both physical and mental fatigue. Encouraging movement, whether through ergonomic setups, walking meetings, or short exercise breaks, can reinvigorate employees and reduce tension. Physical activity stimulates endorphins, boosts energy, and helps maintain cognitive performance. Firms that embed movement into the workday signal that employee well-being is intertwined with productivity, strengthening a culture of health-consciousness.

3. Stress-Relief Workshops and Training

Workshops that teach stress management techniques, such as time management, emotional regulation, and adaptive coping strategies, empower employees with actionable tools. Companies that incorporate the best communication skills training into these programs see additional benefits in team collaboration and conflict resolution. These programs also demonstrate that the organization takes mental health seriously, fostering loyalty and engagement. When employees understand that their organization supports stress resilience, it encourages open communication and collaboration rather than hidden frustration or burnout.

Energy Techniques for Sustained Performance

Stress management alone is not sufficient; sustaining high performance requires deliberate energy management. Corporate energy techniques focus on optimizing mental, emotional, and physical resources to maintain focus and engagement throughout the workday.

1. Strategic Breaks and the Science of Rest

Research from the University of Illinois suggests that short breaks significantly improve concentration and task performance. Implementing structured pauses, such as the “Pomodoro Technique” or brief mindfulness breaks, allows employees to recharge. Over time, these practices create a culture where deliberate rest is valued, reducing presenteeism and encouraging smarter work rather than longer hours.

2. Nutrition and Hydration Awareness

Energy levels are directly linked to what employees consume during the day. Providing healthy snack options, hydration stations, or educational programs on nutrition can enhance cognitive function and mood. Energy-conscious workplaces often see reduced afternoon slumps, improved focus, and greater alertness, contributing to a more vibrant and engaged corporate culture.

3. Environmental Design for Energy Optimization

Workplace environments influence energy levels more than many managers realize. Natural light, proper ventilation, and spaces for relaxation or focused work can dramatically affect alertness and stress levels. Forward-thinking organizations design their offices to support energy, using layouts and materials that minimize fatigue and optimize well-being. These investments signal a culture that prioritizes both employee comfort and efficiency.

Building a Culture Around Well-Being

Implementing stress-relief and energy techniques is only the first step; lasting cultural change requires intentional integration into the company’s ethos. Here are strategies for embedding well-being into corporate culture:

1. Leadership Modeling

Cultural change begins at the top. Leaders who practice and openly support stress management and energy-enhancing habits set the tone for the organization. When executives prioritize mindfulness, take breaks, or participate in wellness programs, it legitimizes these behaviors across all levels of the company.

2. Inclusive Wellness Programs

Well-being initiatives must be adaptable to diverse employee needs and lifestyles. Offering a variety of stress-relief and energy programs—ranging from yoga classes to digital mindfulness apps—ensures accessibility and inclusivity. When employees feel their unique needs are considered, engagement rises and cultural cohesion strengthens.

3. Measurement and Feedback

Quantifying the impact of stress-relief and energy programs helps demonstrate their value. Surveys, productivity metrics, and wellness KPIs can track improvements in employee engagement, absenteeism, and satisfaction. Feedback loops allow organizations to refine initiatives, reinforcing a culture of continuous improvement and employee-centered care.

4. Recognition and Rewards

Acknowledging employees who embrace wellness practices encourages others to follow suit. Recognition programs that celebrate resilience, collaboration, and well-being habits foster an environment where sustainable energy and stress management are integral to success.

The Business Case for Cultural Investment

Investing in stress-relief and energy techniques is not merely a humanitarian effort—it’s a strategic business decision. Companies with strong well-being cultures experience higher productivity, lower turnover, and enhanced innovation. According to a Gallup study, organizations that prioritize employee well-being report 21% higher profitability. Moreover, a culture that values mental health attracts top talent, particularly as younger generations increasingly prioritize work-life balance and psychological safety.

When employees feel supported in managing stress and maintaining energy, they become more creative, collaborative, and committed. This ripple effect strengthens team dynamics, improves client relationships, and enhances the organization’s reputation both internally and externally. Ultimately, stress management and energy optimization are not just wellness tools—they are instruments of corporate excellence.

Elevating corporate culture requires a holistic approach that recognizes employees as whole individuals with physical, emotional, and mental needs. By integrating stress-relief techniques such as mindfulness, movement, and workshops, alongside energy-boosting strategies like strategic breaks, nutrition awareness, and thoughtful environmental design, organizations can foster a workplace that is both high-performing and deeply human-centered.

When leadership models these behaviors, wellness programs are inclusive, and continuous feedback drives refinement, a culture emerges where employees thrive rather than merely survive. The benefits are clear: increased engagement, improved productivity, reduced turnover, and a workforce capable of meeting the demands of a complex, fast-moving business world. Stress-relief and energy techniques are no longer optional—they are essential tools for shaping a corporate culture that inspires excellence, innovation, and sustainable success.

The post Elevating Corporate Culture With Stress-Relief and Energy Techniques appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Pedro César Martínez Morán and Simon L. Dolan

The graph of happiness against age is traditionally shown as U-shaped, with the index of happiness dipping in the middle-age years. But could the curve have surreptitiously changed shape in the age of the pernicious “S”s: smartphones, screens, and social media? And, if so, what can be done about it?

Happiness has always been the subject of analysis. What potion is hidden behind it? What are its main ingredients? There is a noble interest among human beings in understanding what it consists of and, more specifically, what factors explain this emotional state and, therefore, how it is achieved. A derived analysis from this is whether it is a final goal or if, once achieved, it can be maintained over time. It poses a challenge if it appears and disappears, or even more difficult to manage if it could be achieved, receding, returning, and so on.

There is a factor that has been used as an independent variable in the matter: age. The relationship between age and subjective well-being has sparked enormous interest in psychology and social sciences in recent decades. It seems that human beings do not experience happiness or distress uniformly throughout life. There are patterns that tend to repeat according to age and life stages; achieving it, retreating, returning, and so on.

The best-known of these patterns is the “U-shaped curve of happiness”, according to which well-being is high in youth, decreases in middle age, and rises again in old age. Its statistical counterpart is the so-called “curve of unhappiness”, which is hill-shaped, indicating that life dissatisfaction peaks around the ages of 47-49.

This classical approach has served to interpret what is popularly referred to as the “midlife crisis”, a moment when youthful expectations clash with existential reality, generating disenchantment and reconfigurations of purpose. In fact, this has led to the popularization and vulgarization of the so-called crises of the ages of 40, 50, etc.

However, recent studies have called into question the stability of this pattern. The data today points to a much more concerning phenomenon. Unhappiness no longer waits until middle age to make itself felt; rather, it appears forcefully from youth and tends to soften as one ages.

The aim of this reflection is to integrate classical findings with recent transformations, to add to the debate the role of the “happiness industry”, a framework of discourses, practices, and products that market the promise of well-being, and ultimately to highlight the important value of resilience as a valid and necessary capacity for adapting to mitigate the factors that penalize happiness.

The classic evidence: the “U” of happiness and the peak of unhappiness

For decades, various studies have shown that happiness, statistically explained, follows a U-shaped curve. This means that people tend to feel quite satisfied in their youth, approximately between the ages of 18 to 30, go through a notable decline in well-being during middle age, roughly from 35 to 55 years old, and then experience a significant recovery after the age of 55.

On the other hand, indicators of distress (stress, loneliness, depression, anxiety, sleep problems) have shown a peak-shaped pattern around 47-49 years of age. This critical point is linked to the time in life when family, work, and social pressures become more intense, such as having teenage children, caring for older family members, established but not always satisfying professional careers, and confronting unfulfilled dreams.

Nevertheless, scientific literature emphasizes that this peak of unhappiness is transitory. Most people, after going through middle age, recover their levels of satisfaction. In old age, external pressures usually decrease, the ability to appreciate what has already been achieved increases, and a sense of vital serenity solidifies.

Recent transformations: the collapse of the hump of unhappiness

However, the outlook has begun to change dramatically. A recent study labelled “The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age” shows that the famous midlife unhappiness hump has practically disappeared. The new pattern is based on the fact that levels of unhappiness are already very high among the youth and, instead of worsening in middle age, well-being tends to even improve with the years, and older generations today report greater well-being than the young.

The main hypothesis that would explain this shift points to an accelerated deterioration of youth mental health in the last two decades. Among the most cited causes are persistent economic crises, such as the Great Recession of 2008, which left deep scars on young people entering the labor market with few opportunities and prospects; a deficit in access to mental health services (overloaded public systems, delays in diagnoses, and lack of preventive resources); the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which intensified anxiety, feelings of uncertainty, and hopelessness; and the intensive use of smartphones and social media, whose causal relationship with youth psychological distress is increasingly documented. Continuous exposure to social com–parisons, approval dynamics, and unrealistic content fuels distorted expectations and feelings of inadequacy that affect self-esteem.

The result is that today it is the young people who are the unhappiest, contradicting Rubén Darío and his famous “youth, divine treasure, you are already leaving and will not return”.²

Nuances and debates surrounding the curve

Although the evidence of the U-shaped curve of happiness has been solid in statistical terms, it is not universal. Its form varies according to income and economic contexts, gender and experiences of discrimination, physical health, and cultural expectations.

Some cohorts even show sustained increases in happiness from youth to middle age. Neurobiology supports these differences: while young people seek pleasure and intensity, adults tend to value stress reduction, and in old age, serenity is prioritized.

In other words, the happiness curve, which in simple terms can be described as a visual representation of how happiness varies throughout our lives, suggests that it tends to be high in youth, may drop in middle age, and eventually increases again as we get older. Mind you, it is a concept that has sparked a lot of debates and nuances, and that’s great because it gives us the opportunity to better understand what we feel and how we live.

As individuals mature, they develop a greater appreciation for what truly matters: meaningful relationships, rewarding experiences, and a sense of purpose.

First, it is important to recognize that this curve is not a universal rule. Some people may find that their happiness increases as they move past adolescence and enter adulthood. Others, however, may experience challenges that affect their well-being at different times in their lives. This is where nuances come in; our experiences, personalities, and environments greatly influence how we feel happiness.

Additionally, another interesting debate revolves around the nature of happiness itself. Is it simply an emotional state or is there a deeper component related to life satisfaction? Some research suggests that, as individuals mature, they develop a greater appreciation for what truly matters: meaningful relationships, rewarding experiences, and a sense of purpose. This approach can make people feel happier, even if life circumstances are not ideal.³

In fact, empowering ourselves with this perspective encourages us to seek happiness in places that we might have overlooked before. And that’s really exciting! Each of us has the power to find or create those moments of joy, even in phases of life that are traditionally considered difficult.

And let’s not forget the importance of community. Social interactions and support from friends and family are crucial. In this sense, the happiness curve gives us an opportunity to reaffirm the need to be connected. While our paths may differ, the act of sharing our experiences and emotions can be incredibly valuable and transformative.

In conclusion, the nuances and debates surrounding the happiness curve show us that happiness is not a straight line. It is a journey full of twists and nuances, in which each of us contributes their own experience. So, celebrate your moments of happiness, and remember that, no matter where you are on that curve, there is always room to grow and find joy. We are in this together, so let’s keep exploring what makes us happy!

Positive psychology and the PERMA model: from deficit to the construction of well-being

Positive psychology proposes a fundamental shift. It is about not analyzing well-being only from the absence of distress, but from the conscious construction of conditions that promote it. Martin Seligman, one of the key figures, synthesizes well-being in the PERMA model.⁴ In very brief terms, it means this:

• P (Positive Emotions): cultivating positive emotions such as gratitude, hope, and joy.
• E (Engagement): to experience states of “flow” or full immersion in meaningful activities.
• R (Relationships): maintaining strong relationships of trust, support, and affection.
• M (Meaning): finding vital meaning and feeling part of something greater than oneself.
• A (Accomplishment): pursuing goals and developing achievements that generate pride, meaningfulness, and satisfaction.

This approach seeks to counteract the growing unhappiness in youth with practical tools of gratitude, mindfulness, purposeful activities, and quality social connections, circumstances that would lead to a fulfilling life.

Waldinger and the science of relationships

Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, provides a finding that spans generations: the best predictor of long-term well-being and health is not economic achievements or extraordinary travels, but the quality of everyday relationships.

After more than eight decades of following hundreds of people, Waldinger and Schultz conclude that those who had solid relationships, capable of sustaining empathy, gratitude, and conflict resolution, aged with better physical and emotional health, and reported higher levels of life satisfaction.⁵

The happiness industry: promises, contradictions, and risks

The so-called “happiness industry” encompasses everything from mindfulness applications, motivational coaching courses, self-help literature, and alternative therapies to large corporations that promote “corporate wellness” programs. It is a multibillion-dollar market that turns the quest for meaning and happiness into a consumer product.⁶

This industry is based on three pieces of logic: the individualization of discomfort, through which the idea is conveyed that unhappiness is always a personal responsibility, making invisible structural social determinants such as inequality, job precariousness, urban loneliness, or vital insecurity; the standardization of happiness, which is disseminated as a normative model of well-being, associated with always being productive and positive, ultimately generating additional pressure and feelings of failure for those who do not conform to these frameworks; and finally, consumption as a solution, because it reinforces the notion that happiness can be acquired by purchasing a course, an app, a spiritual retreat, or even a material object that promises to transform one’s life.

Resilience: the silent strength of well-being

Resilience is understood as the ability to adapt positively to adversity, learn from difficult experiences, and emerge strengthened. Within the framework of Simon Dolan’s contributions, this concept takes on a central role in the construction of sustained emotional well-being.⁷

Dolan argues that the balance between the three major axes of values—Economic-pragmatic, Ethical-social, and Emotional-developmental—is key to generating well-being both individually and organizationally. In this sense, resilience acts as a moderating factor that helps maintain that balance in the face of pressure, uncertainty, or crises.⁸

When a resilient person goes through a difficulty:

• They reinterpret the experience from a framework of meaningful values (connection with meaning and purpose).
• They mobilize emotional resources (optimism, self-confidence, emotional regulation) that cushion the impact of stress.
• They strengthen social relationships, a key aspect that Dolan identifies as essential for emotional health and team cohesion.
• They learn and transform adversity into opportunity, aligning achievements (pragmatic values) with personal growth (emotional values) and ethical commitment to others.

In this way, resilience not only protects well-being but also expands the possibilities for emotional flourishing. Following Dolan’s line of thought, it becomes a practical value that enhances the capacity for positive leadership, change management, and the building of more humane organizational cultures.

Conclusion

The change in the unhappiness curve has profound consequences. In public policies, it is urgent to invest in accessible, preventive, and inclusive mental health, especially aimed at the youth. In education, resilience programs, emotional literacy, and a sense of purpose are needed from school stages. In everyday life, it is important to take a critical distance from the happiness industry, prioritize meaningful relationships, encourage spaces for digital rest, and cultivate practices of gratitude and authentic purpose.

The traditional U-shaped curve of happiness and the peak of unhappiness represented an optimistic narrative for years. Although one would go through a valley of disenchantment in middle age, recovery would come sooner or later. But contemporary reality breaks that logic; distress hits younger people harder, while well-being seems to increase with the passage of years.

This change poses a challenge for society, such as ensuring that new generations have the emotional, social, and economic resources they need to navigate life meaningfully. In the face of the temptation to rely solely on quick fixes from the happiness industry, it is crucial to reclaim a holistic vision of well-being through a daily practice of connection, gratitude, purpose, and collective care.

Happiness, more than a destination promised by emotional marketing, is a cultivable process that is built in the fabric of relationships, in the acceptance of ordinary life, and in the pursuit of shared meaning.

About the Authors

Pedro César Martínez Morán is a prominent professor and director in the field of human resource management and talent. With a career spanning over 30 years in the human resources consulting sector, he has served as the director of the Master’s in Human Resources at the Pontifical University of Comillas and the Master’s in Talent Management at Advantere School of Management. His research focuses on talent management and leadership, and he has published numerous articles in high-impact scientific journals. Martínez Morán has also collaborated with research teams in Talent Management and Leadership, significantly contributing to the development of the discipline in his area of expertise.

Simon L. Dolan is a prominent academic and university professor, known for his work in human resources and work psychology. He has been a full professor at ESADE Business School and at Montreal and McGill Universities in Canada. Additionally, he is the founder and president of the Global Future of Work Foundation and has been nominated for several research awards; he has recently received an honorary doctorate from the University of Huelva. He has written more than 88 books and hundreds of scientific articles. His focus on values, stress, and resilience in the workplace has influenced thousands of HR managers and other leaders over the years. Recently he is also focusing on the theme of building trust at work. www.learningaboutvalues.com

References

1. Members of the Board of the “Global Future of Work Foundation” (www.globalfutureofwork.com)

2. Famous poem in Spanish by Rubén Darío https://elbuenlibrero.com/juventud-divino-tesoro/

3. Dolan S.L., “Values and enduring happiness” https://simondolan.com/values-and-enduring-happiness

4. Seligman, Martin E. P. Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. New York: Free Press, 2011.

5. For more information on the studies of Waldinger and Schulz,
see: Waldinger, Robert J., & Schulz, Marc. (2023). The Good

6. Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

7. To read more see: Simon L. Dolan (2024) “The concept of enduring happiness as a panacea to work/life goals”, The European Business Review, May 17.

8. Dolan, S. L. (2023). DE-Stress at Work, Routledge.

9. To read more, see: Garti, Anat, Dolan, Simon L. (2021). “Using the Triaxial Model of Values to Build Resilience in a COVID-19 VUCA World.” The European Business Review. August.

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“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” — Carl G. Jung

In recent years, psychologists and behavioral scientists have turned their attention to a quietly powerful field of study: generational well-being — the idea that emotional patterns, stress responses, and even coping mechanisms are transmitted across generations through family systems and culture.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global cases of depression and anxiety rose by 25 percent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Behind the statistics lies a more complex story, one not only of stress, but of the breakdown of inherited resilience.

Can emotional strength be passed down just as trauma can? And if so, can it be consciously cultivated?

One Japanese researcher-practitioner, Maki Serizawa, offers a unique lens into that question. Her work integrates modern psychology and traditional Japanese perspectives to explore how families, the smallest social units , serve as the foundation for collective emotional stability.

The Concept: What Science Says About Generational Well-Being

The American Psychological Association (APA) notes that stress behaviors and emotional conditioning can indeed be intergenerational, influenced by both biology and environment.
Similarly, the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest-running research on human happiness, found that the single best predictor of lifelong well-being is not wealth or status, but the quality of one’s relationships.

In essence, the health of our family systems shapes the stability of our societies.

The late family-therapy pioneer Virginia Satir famously observed,

“The family is a microcosm of the world.”

When we understand and transform the emotional systems within families, we are, in effect, redesigning the emotional infrastructure of the wider world.

The Japanese Perspective: Harmony as Psychological Infrastructure

Japan has long placed cultural value on wa (和) , balance and harmony. When combined with Western psychology, this philosophy offers a distinctive framework for building resilience: one that treats emotional equilibrium as social infrastructure, not private sentiment.

Maki Serizawa’s work exemplifies this intersection. Her research-driven practice blends hypnotherapy, intuitive guidance, family-communication design, and Reiki, a Japanese healing tradition with over a century of history.

Her guiding principle, “healing the world, starting with the family,” positions the household not as a private sphere but as the smallest, most powerful engine of social coherence.

In doing so, her approach parallels global movements such as trauma-informed care and psychological safety in leadership,fields that increasingly recognize the family as the original model for cooperation, trust, and adaptation.

Case Study: Translating Theory into Practice

Beyond private practice, Serizawa has contributed to Japan’s growing academic interest in subconscious and behavioral studies.

She has lectured at Meiji University, Nihon University, and Rikkyo University, exploring how “invisible processes” ,the subconscious, intuition, and emotional energy,can be studied and applied within organizational and educational contexts.

One striking example of her intuitive-strategic mindset came in 2019, months before the global pandemic. Acting purely on instinct, Serizawa moved her entire operation online. When COVID-19 shut down in-person work, she was already fully adapted, a real-world instance of what the Harvard Business Review later described as “anticipatory resilience.”

“Act before certainty arrives. Trust the intuition that precedes logic,”
Serizawa says, a statement that mirrors emerging theories of adaptive leadership and cognitive flexibility.

The Data: Emotional Literacy as Competitive Advantage

Mental health is no longer just a personal issue; it is, according to the WHO, “a foundation of social and economic stability.”

Studies by the OECD show that organizations led by emotionally intelligent leaders outperform their peers by 35 percent in financial results.
Conversely, 86 percent of employees cite poor internal communication as a key cause of organizational failure.

These figures reinforce the central thesis of generational well-being: when families — and by extension, teams — learn to communicate with awareness, empathy, and clarity, the result is measurable resilience.

Serizawa’s model connects micro-level emotional awareness with macro-level performance.
When individuals restore trust within themselves, they communicate differently; when families shift their emotional tone, communities, schools, and workplaces follow.

Outlook: Designing Society from the Inside Out

The framework emerging from Japan’s generational-resilience movement is not spiritualism or self-help, it is applied social psychology in cultural form.

By placing human understanding at the center of organizational and familial design, it proposes a new blueprint for well-being, one that moves from the inside outward.

Serizawa’s next phase focuses on refining her model for international application, translating the Japanese balance of harmony and depth into a global methodology for cross-cultural resilience.

The vision recalls Lao Tzu’s timeless observation: “When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation.”

Inherited patterns need not be cycles of trauma. They can also be lines of wisdom,emotional DNA that, when understood, becomes a source of strength across generations.

Conclusion

Maki Serizawa’s work illustrates a broader truth: resilience is not merely the ability to recover from difficulty, it is an inherited intelligence that can be cultivated, studied, and shared.

The next era of leadership, mental health, and social design will depend not only on technology or economics, but on this deeper comprehension of human systems,the invisible architecture connecting one generation to the next.

By studying it, we are not only understanding the mind; we are designing the future of human connection itself.

The post The Psychology of Inherited Resilience: Studying Maki Serizawa’s Generational Well-Being appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Dr Leandro Herrero

For years, organizations talked about culture while quietly distrusting how culture actually works. The result was not confusion, but a persistent blind spot — one that shaped how behaviour was managed, influenced, and misunderstood. 

For decades, management spoke endlessly about culture while quietly mistrusting the very forces through which culture actually forms. This was not a lack of tools or good intentions. It was a deeper conceptual failure — one that shaped how organizations were designed, led, and “changed.”

Culture, we were told, was about values, leadership, alignment, and purpose. Yet the most powerful drivers of behaviour — imitation, peer influence, and social pressure — were treated as suspicious, juvenile, or ethically questionable. Something fundamental was missed.

Not accidentally, but systematically.

The respectable blind spot

Traditional management thinking was built on a narrow image of the human being: rational, individual, motivated by incentives, guided by leaders. This made hierarchy respectable and lateral influence uncomfortable.

Influence was acceptable when it flowed downwards — from leaders, from strategy, from formal authority. The same influence, when it flowed sideways, was treated with moral unease. “Peer pressure” sounded childish, manipulative, even dangerous. Something associated with playgrounds and adolescent conformity had no place in the adult world of organizations.

This moral framing mattered. By labelling peer pressure as something negative, management effectively disqualified one of the most powerful forces shaping behaviour — while pretending to address culture through speeches, training, and leadership programmes.

Culture was discussed. Social contagion was not.

The mislabelling of peer pressure

Peer pressure is not an anomaly. It is how norms are enforced in every human group that has ever existed.

What people wear, how they speak, how they work, what they tolerate, what they challenge — these are not primarily dictated by formal authority. They are stabilised through observation, imitation, and the subtle rewards and sanctions of belonging.

In organizations, peer pressure is already operating all the time. The only real question is whether it is left unmanaged or deliberately shaped.

Yet management treated peer pressure as something to be minimised rather than understood. Leadership was expected to “override” it. Values were expected to “counteract” it. Training was expected to “correct” it.

None of this worked because it misunderstood the nature of the force involved.

Leadership does not eliminate peer pressure. It only decides whether it operates blindly or deliberately.

Homo Economicus meets Homo Imitans

Much of management theory rests on an outdated anthropology: Homo Economicus — the idea that people primarily act as independent, rational decision-makers responding to incentives and instructions.

But humans are, above all, Homo Imitans. I dedicated a whole book to this.

We learn by copying. We calibrate behaviour by watching others. We adjust not to formal rules, but to what is normalised around us. This is not weakness or lack of originality; it is the primary mechanism through which social systems function.

By ignoring imitation, management tried to change behaviour without changing exposure. It focused on what people were told, rather than what they saw repeated. It invested in individual mindsets while neglecting collective patterns.

Culture change was designed as instruction, when it should have been understood as contagion.

The leadership displacement

The obsession with leadership that emerged in the late twentieth century can be seen, in retrospect, as a displacement activity.

Leadership became the respectable way to talk about influence without addressing the uncomfortable reality that most influence does not come from leaders at all. It comes from peers. From role models without titles. From what is rewarded informally, not declared formally.

This is not an argument against leadership. It is an argument against asking leadership to compensate for a flawed understanding of social dynamics.

No amount of leadership development can substitute for unmanaged peer norms. No vision statement can compete with everyday imitation. No cascade can override what people see their colleagues getting away with.

Culture does not follow leaders. It follows patterns.

The real failure

The failure of traditional management was not practical. It was conceptual.

It failed to take social forces seriously because they felt unruly, informal, and ethically ambiguous. It preferred clean models to messy reality. It trusted design over emergence. It valued control over contagion.

As a result, organizations kept trying to “implement” culture — and were repeatedly surprised when it behaved like a living system instead.

Ironically, many organizations did change. But not because management finally understood culture. They changed despite management — through informal networks, peer reinforcement, and imitation operating below the radar.

The tragedy is not that peer pressure exists. It is that management refused to name it, understand it, and work with it.

The uncomfortable inheritance

If there is a lesson here, it is not methodological. It is philosophical.

To take culture seriously requires taking social influence seriously — without moralising it, romanticising it, or pretending it can be replaced by leadership rhetoric. It requires accepting that behaviour spreads laterally far more than vertically, and that control is weaker than example.

Until management makes peace with this, culture will remain something it talks about fluently — and shapes accidentally.

The force that changes culture was never missing. It was simply distrusted.

About the Author

Dr Leandro Herrero is Chief Organizational Architect at The Chalfont Project, psychiatrist, author, and international speaker. For over 25 years, he and his team have transformed organizational cultures worldwide through his pioneering Viral Change methodology – where a social movement approach creates lasting change. Follow Dr Herrero on LinkedIn for his latest updates.

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By Alison Lucas and Lizzie Bentley Bowers

Here, Alison Lucas and Lizzie Bentley Bowers explore the emotional complexities of corporate restructures-emotionally complex endings that shape trust, performance and culture long after changes occur. It offers practical guidance for supporting those affected, emphasising the need for clarity, compassion and meaningful closure, making the case that, by attending to reality, emotions, accomplishments and ritual, leaders can create healthier endings and stronger beginnings.

Corporate restructures are no longer an occasional disruption to organisational life; they are a recurring feature of it. For leaders navigating mergers, restructures, redundancies and operating model changes, these moments are often framed in terms of strategy, savings and future growth. They are also something else: endings. Endings that bring loss, uncertainty and shifts in identity for the people living through them.

Leaders are constantly leading endings, whether they recognise it or not. The quality of those endings has a direct and lasting impact on trust, engagement and performance long after organisational charts change. This article offers practical guidance for leaders who want to lead restructures in a way that supports colleagues without leaving invisible damage behind, and that creates the conditions for stronger, more sustainable beginnings.

Why restructures are so challenging for colleagues

Restructures often involve losses that are not immediately visible. Alongside changes to role or employment status, people may experience loss of identity, certainty, status, team membership or a sense of future direction. Unspoken loyalties to legacy organisations, teams or leaders are also common and powerful. Together, these experiences can activate people’s threat response, reducing trust, narrowing attention and limiting their capacity to engage and perform at their best.

Those affected are not only the people whose roles end. Colleagues who remain must make sense of what the changes mean for them, while leaders are often required to implement decisions they may not fully agree with. The multiple endings created by a restructure ripple out in visible and unseen ways, shaping team dynamics, decision-making and performance.

Restructures are rarely a single moment. They tend to unfold as a sequence of endings over time. For some colleagues the ending is sudden and clear; for others it is gradual, ambiguous or repeatedly deferred. Timing differences matter. Some leaders are involved in restructuring conversations long before others know change is even being considered. In some cases, leaders who have helped design a restructure later find their own roles at risk, carrying complex emotions while still being expected to lead others through the process.

Why support often falls short

During restructures, leaders understandably focus on legal process, timelines and future plans. Communication can become centred on information delivery rather than helping people make sense of what is happening and what it means for them.

There is also pressure to remain positive and future focused. Optimism and vision matter, particularly when organisations are under strain. However, when positivity is used to move too quickly past uncertainty or loss, it can unintentionally shut down honesty. Endings that are rushed, minimised or left unnamed do not disappear. They are carried forward, often surfacing later as disengagement, mistrust or reduced productivity.

Supporting people well through restructure requires emotional intelligence and leadership skill in a vulnerable space of uncertainty and mixed emotions. These capabilities are not always explicitly valued or developed in organisational systems, yet this is precisely where leadership presence and emotional literacy matter most.

Paying attention to stayers, leavers and yourself

Restructures affect three distinct groups: those who stay, those who go, and those leading the process. Supporting colleagues well means paying attention to all three.

Supporting those who stay

Those who remain after a restructure are often the quickest to be overlooked. Because they still have a role, they are frequently expected to move on rapidly and refocus on delivery. Yet many experience survivor guilt, anxiety, reduced trust or a loss of confidence in the organisation, even when they also feel relief, hope or renewed motivation.

People may comply and perform, but with less clarity, energy and commitment than might otherwise be possible.

Leadership opportunities

• Name what has been lost as well as what remains.
• Make room for mixed emotional responses without rushing people into certainty.
• Acknowledge the contribution of those who are asked to carry on.

Supporting those who go

Most leaders care deeply about their people yet support for those leaving often falls short. This is rarely due to lack of goodwill. More often it reflects a misalignment between organisational processes and human needs at the end of a role, team or career chapter.

Well-led endings for those who leave require time, attention and acknowledgement. When this is absent, the emotional impact of the ending does not stop with the individual. It shapes how the organisation is experienced by those who remain and how trust is carried forward.

Leadership opportunities

• Be explicit about what is ending and how decisions have been reached.
• Allow emotion to be expressed without correction or premature reassurance.
• Find a way to mark the ending that reflects the significance of what is being left behind.

Supporting yourself

Restructuring is a marathon, not a sprint. Leaders are required to hold multiple perspectives, absorb strong emotions and make difficult decisions over extended periods of uncertainty. This work takes capacity.

Leading endings can feel uncomfortable and exposing. Leaders cannot outsource their own endings, and unacknowledged personal impact can quietly drain the energy needed to lead others well.

Leader tips

• Be honest about where you sit in the change and what it is asking of you.
• Pay attention to your own emotional responses and how they are shaping your judgement, decisions and behaviour.
• Create a deliberate pause before fully committing to what comes next.

A practical framework for leading endings well

In Good Bye, we offer leaders a practical structure for attending to endings: Reality, Emotions, Accomplishments and Ritual. Together, these steps provide a guiderail for leading restructures in a way that supports those who stay, those who go and those leading the work.

• Reality begins with clearly naming what is actually ending. This may include roles, teams, reporting lines, locations, identities or ways of working. Leaders need to be explicit about who is affected, what is known, what is not yet known and what remains undecided. Clarity, even when incomplete, helps people orient themselves.
• Emotions are not a side effect of restructures; they are central to the work. Shock, fear, anger, relief, guilt and grief often coexist. Effective leadership does not mean fixing emotions. It means naming them, creating safe space for them to be expressed and recognising that people may need different kinds of support at different times.
• Accomplishments are often overlooked during restructures. A role can be no longer required and yet the contribution of the individual is central to their sense of self and confidence to move forward. Acknowledging skills developed, contributions made and relationships built helps people separate identity from outcome and frees energy for what comes next.
• Ritual marks completion beyond words or process. It signals that a chapter has genuinely closed. Ritual does not need to be elaborate, but it does need to be intentional.

Better endings create better beginnings

Restructures will continue. When endings are attended to with honesty and care, trust is restored, energy is released and space is created for what comes next. Endings happen no matter what. Whether there is a good bye is optional.

About the Authors

Alison Lucas is an Executive Coach with more than two decades of experience guiding senior leaders through the complexities of modern organisational life. Her first career included leading commercial functions at Grand Metropolitan and Associated British Foods, followed by stewarding major client service and transformation programmes in a global consulting context. She partners with C-suite leaders, future leaders and high-performing teams on leadership transitions, personal impact, influence, legacy and team performance—helping them lead with greater clarity, confidence and at less personal cost.

Lizzie Bentley Bowers is a leading executive and leadership coach and facilitator, who works with senior leader and board members across all sectors. She has an MSc in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology and has particular expertise in ADHD coaching, Transactional Analysis, presence and storytelling. She’s also the founder of Towards Leadership, a leadership community to support leaders through challenges.

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By Dr Karolina Nieberle, Janey Zheng and Olga Epitropaki

Loneliness is rarely associated with leadership, yet it quietly shapes how leaders think, decide, and relate to others. Drawing on empirical research, Dr Karolina Nieberle, Dr Janey Zheng, and Prof Olga Epitropaki reveal how family connections can buffer leaders against isolation and protect both professional effectiveness and personal wellbeing. 

Loneliness is a topic we rarely discuss in the workplace, yet it affects many professionals in profound ways.  

Leadership roles in particular can be incredibly rewarding, but can also be isolating. The responsibilities leaders’ shoulder, the decisions they must make, and the constant pressure to perform can leave them feeling disconnected, not just from colleagues, but from their own support networks.  

In fact, one in three UK leaders reports feeling lonely often or always.

Despite its prevalence, loneliness in leadership is often overlooked. We celebrate qualities such as decisiveness, confidence, and resilience, but rarely talk about the vulnerability and emotional strain that leaders experience.

And yet, these experiences have real consequences, not only for leaders themselves but for their teams, organisations and, beyond work, their families too. This observation led us to ask two critical questions: how does workplace loneliness affect leaders and, crucially, are there factors that can buffer against its negative consequences?

How does loneliness affect leaders day-to-day?

To answer this, with our colleagues Dr Michelle Hammond from Oakland University and Dr Keming Yang from Durham University’s Department of Sociology, we designed two complementary studies to capture both the immediate and day-to-day effects of loneliness experiences of leaders.  

In our first study, we used an intensive, real-time methodology to track how leaders experienced loneliness during office hours. We surveyed over 170 UK managers multiple times per day, resulting in data from more than 1,000 workdays and over 4,000 individual data points. 

This allowed us to observe fluctuations in leaders’ loneliness and behaviours at a detailed level. For instance, we could see how a leader’s experiences of loneliness in the morning – feeling isolated in the early hours of the workday – might ripple through their engagement with their team and affect the rest of their day.

Our second study offered a different perspective. We interviewed 185 managers about past experiences of workplace loneliness and how they responded. This approach enabled us to explore not just behavioural patterns, but also typical situations that make leaders feel lonely and the strategies they used to cope with it. 

By combining these two studies, we provide a rich and holistic understanding of the phenomenon.

The impact of loneliness on leaders 

The results were striking. On days when leaders felt lonelier than usual, they were more likely to withdraw from their tasks and reduce their relational engagement with their teams.  

Task withdrawal might manifest as procrastination, avoidance of difficult decisions, or reduced problem-solving activity. Relational withdrawal, on the other hand, involved limiting interactions with team members, reducing mentoring or support, and creating emotional distance. Even brief, temporary feelings of loneliness – like starting the morning feeling disconnected – had measurable effects on leadership behaviour throughout the day. 

But the impact of loneliness did not stop at the office door. We discovered that leaders’ experiences of loneliness often spilled over into their home lives. On lonelier days, managers reported withdrawing from family interactions after workhours, reducing communication, and emotionally distancing themselves from loved ones. 

This created a self-reinforcing cycle: loneliness at work led to withdrawal at home, which in turn could intensify feelings of isolation both professionally and personally. It is easy to see how this cycle could erode relationships and wellbeing for leaders over time.

However, our research also highlighted a crucial protective factor: Identification and closeness with family. Leaders who reported having close, supportive family and friends networks outside of work were significantly less likely to let work-induced loneliness affect their home life.

Emotional support from family and friends acted like a safety net, providing a sense of belonging and helping leaders navigate stressful work situations without withdrawing from personal relationships. These leaders were able to maintain engagement with both their teams and their families, even on days when they felt lonely.

This finding is particularly relevant because it underscores the power of social connections outside of work. While organisations often focus on team-building and peer support, the role of family in sustaining leadership effectiveness has been largely overlooked. Our study demonstrates that family identity does not just provide comfort – it actively buffers against the hidden costs of workplace loneliness.

How can organisation’s help combat loneliness?

The implications of this research are profound for both individual leaders and the organisations they serve. For leaders, the message is clear: cultivating relationships outside work is not just personally fulfilling – it is strategically important.

Maintaining close family ties, nurturing friendships, and seeking emotional support can help buffer against the stress and isolation that leadership often entails. It may seem obvious, but in the day-to-day pressures of leadership, prioritising these relationships requires conscious effort and intentionality.

Whilst the key driver for preventing loneliness impacting leaders’ professional lives is the support they receive from their families, that does not mean that organisations do not have a role to play in tackling this issue. Recognising and addressing loneliness among leaders should be a priority. Even small interventions can make a significant difference. 

Peer-support networks are crucial for leaders, providing a space to share experiences and discuss coping strategies, which can help alleviate the pain that can come with role-related loneliness. Further, family-friendly policies and flexible working arrangements enable leaders to maintain a sense of agency in caring for their support network outside of work. 

Creating a culture where discussions about wellbeing and loneliness are welcomed, rather than stigmatised, is equally vital. Organisations that take these steps are likely to see tangible benefits in terms of team performance, employee engagement, and retention.

It is also important to note that loneliness is not a sign of weakness, nor does it reflect poor leadership ability. It is, instead, a natural consequence of the structural and emotional challenges of leadership roles. By recognising it as a systemic issue, we can remove the stigma, and start to develop solutions that support leaders while strengthening organisational outcomes.

Looking Ahead

Our research offers a timely reminder that leadership does not happen in isolation. Even the most capable and resilient leaders are vulnerable to feelings of loneliness, and these feelings can quietly undermine effectiveness. Yet, as our findings show, fostering meaningful relationships outside work is not a luxury – it is a cornerstone of sustainable leadership.

Leaders who invest in family, friendships, and support networks are better equipped to navigate challenging workdays, make effective decisions, and maintain positive engagement with their teams.

Organisations that actively address loneliness in leadership can protect the wellbeing of their staff while also enhancing performance, engagement, and retention. 

In the end, leadership is about connection; with teams, with organisational goals, and with oneself and one’s support networks. When leaders feel connected, supported, and understood – both at work and at home – they are better able to inspire, guide, and sustain their organisations.  

Addressing loneliness is not just a matter of personal wellbeing; it is a strategic investment in effective, sustainable leadership.

About the Authors

Dr Karolina Nieberle is Associate Professor in Social and Organisational Psychology at Durham University Business School and her research focuses on leadership, identities and well-being at the interface of work and home. Previously, Karolina was at the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Germany) and Durham University (UK).  

Janey Zheng is an Associate Professor in Leadership and Organisational Behaviour at Durham University Business School. Janey received her Ph.D. in 2018 from Durham University. Her research focuses on relational leadership (social exchange between leaders and followers, e.g., trust felt trust, LMX), identity (identity conflict, enhancement, and development), and emotion (e.g., envy and pride).

Olga Epitropaki is a Professor of Management and Deputy Executive Dean (Research) at Durham University Business School. She received her PhD from Cardiff University in 2000. Her research focuses mainly on social cognition, identity, and dyadic/group processes related to leadership. She is also interested in creative leadership and the application of arts-based interventions in management education. 

The post How Strong Family Ties Can Protect Leaders from Workplace Loneliness appeared first on The European Business Review.

Training Your “Neural Filter”

New year, new me. Vague resolutions rarely change much, but highly specific, well-defined goals can lead to meaningful change. Cognitive neuroscience shows that maintaining a clear goal representation engages prefrontal cortex networks responsible for planning, attentional control, and progress monitoring. The prefrontal cortex supports goal maintenance by actively biasing perception, memory, and decision-making toward information that is relevant to the current objective.

When a goal is specific and repeatedly revisited, top-down attentional control increases the likelihood that goal-relevant cues are noticed and integrated, while irrelevant information is deprioritized. This makes connections and opportunities easier to recognize – not because the brain automatically filters reality, but because attention is strategically guided by goal relevance and value. This is a valuable approach in the attention economy where attention is limited while content is infinite.

Sustained engagement with goal-directed thinking and tasking can also produce experience-dependent changes in executive control networks, reflecting well-established mechanisms of neuroplasticity that support improved planning and self-monitoring over time. In other words, if your New Year’s resolution is specific and revisited throughout 2026, there’s a higher chance that it will be impactful and create a meaningful change.

High performers also build structured reflection into their routines to ensure continuous learning and course correction.

Systematic Reflection and Micro-Reviews

Setting goals is a good start. High performers also build structured reflection into their routines to ensure continuous learning and course correction. Weekly or monthly micro-reviews allow you to step back and ask key questions such as:

• What tasks or strategies are producing the most impact?
• Where did I encounter friction, and why?
• What skills or resources could have improved results?
• Which opportunities am I missing by staying within my comfort zone?

These sessions are most effective when they are short, focused, and, most of all, consistent – even 15-30 minutes can make a difference. A progress journal helps make these reflections tangible: note wins, lessons learned, unexpected insights, and actionable next steps. This can be in a physical journal or even in a Google Docs or Notion document. Over time, this creates a personal knowledge base, allowing you to identify patterns, anticipate challenges, and make smarter decisions.

The Premortem as Strategic Foresight

The old “move fast and break things” mantra has gradually given way to disciplined foresight. In an environment shaped by volatility, uncertainty, and constant information overload, high-performing individuals increasingly rely on structured foresight not only to anticipate change, but to make progress toward specific goals with fewer avoidable missteps.

Before committing to a major personal or professional initiative, many now use a prospective hindsight exercise, commonly known as a ‘premortem‘. In this exercise, you imagine it is December 2026 and your initiative has failed spectacularly, then work backward to identify the most plausible reasons for that failure. Research shows that this framing helps counter overconfidence and the planning fallacy by making risks easier to identify and acknowledge.

For individuals, the value lies in how the premortem legitimises self-critique and future-oriented analysis. By deliberately surfacing hidden assumptions, unrealistic timelines, and foreseeable obstacles early, premortems act as a career immune system: strengthening judgment, improving prioritization, and thereby increasing resilience.

Adopting the “Future-Back” Skills Framework

The Future-Back method, also known as Backcasting, is an opposite approach to foresight that starts by envisioning your desired state at the end of the year with extreme granularity. From this future vantage point, you work backward to identify the high-stakes skills you currently lack. The skills that are critical to achieving your goals. Examples might include AI auditing, cross-cultural negotiation, or data analysis.

By defining the end-state first, this method helps individuals spot mission-critical skill gaps before they become urgent, turning abstract goals into a data-driven roadmap for skill acquisition. It focuses attention on what truly matters, prioritizes learning, and reduces the risk of investing effort in low-impact areas. Backcasting from a detailed future allows you to act with foresight, ensuring your personal development aligns with long-term objectives.

Strategic Experimentation and Small Bets

Beyond reflection and foresight, a valuable method is to do a series of small, testable experiments. Instead of committing to a single rigid path, take small bets and prototype, test, measure, and iterate. This approach is especially valuable for professionals seeking a career breakthrough, where the stakes are high but uncertainty is unavoidable.

Career breakthroughs rarely happen by following a clear, defined path. Experimentation allows you to try multiple approaches safely, identifying what works before fully committing. Over time, these small bets compound, revealing patterns, building skills, and creating visibility that can accelerate promotions or entrepreneurial opportunities.

Examples include:

• Experimenting with content or being more active on LinkedIn to attract a new following.
• Learning a new tool or skill with a small, applied project. Test interest by seeing how many people sign up for your newsletter or expresses interest in a product.
• Pitching an idea to a mentor, social media followers, or peer network as a trial before scaling.

For each micro-experiment, track outcomes carefully – successes, failures, unexpected insights, and lessons learned.

An AI audit begins with mapping your tasks and workflows. Ask: Which parts of my work are repetitive, data-heavy, or research-intensive.

AI Audits: Finding Where AI Can Boost Your Work in 2026

As AI tools continue to evolve, 2026 will be a year where individuals can continue to unlock productivity gains through strategic AI use. Rather than chasing the hype around multi-agent systems, for most professionals a good first step is conducting a personal AI audit: systematically identifying where AI can enhance your workflows today – and preparing for future breakthroughs.

An AI audit begins with mapping your tasks and workflows. Ask: Which parts of my work are repetitive, data-heavy, or research-intensive? Large language models can assist with summarization, drafting, and analysis. Specialized AI tools can support data visualization, coding, or content generation. Even if multi-agent systems aren’t yet mainstream, evaluating where agents can safely orchestrate multiple steps – research, drafting, reviewing, generating leads – helps you anticipate future skill needs and avoid scrambling when these tools mature.

This mindset also counters the major pitfall of agent overconfidence: assuming AI can replace judgment. Not every task benefits from automation, and poorly scoped agents can produce noise rather than value.

Mastering “Energy Management” Over “Time Management”

Failing to match when you work to how your brain functions can erode decision quality, focus, and creative capacity. As AI assumes more of the repetitive work, humans are left to provide strategic insight, judgement, and complex reasoning. Qualities that are best expressed when biological energy is optimised.

Recent research confirms that performance on high‑level cognitive tasks fluctuates systematically with time of day and an individual’s internal biological clock, known as chronotype. When tasks are aligned with a person’s optimal time of day, performance on attention, memory, and executive functioning can be significantly better than when misaligned, with some studies showing measurable differences in cognitive performance across the day.

Energy management starts with understanding your chronotype – whether you’re a morning peak, afternoon peak, or evening peak – and attempting to structure your workload to match your internal rhythms. To many people, that looks like scheduling deep work sessions and demanding meetings in the early hours of the day and doing more exploratory work later in the day. This, however, depends on the chronotype and varies from person to person.

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By Barbara Salopek

Silicon Valley’s 996 work culture is often framed as commitment, but it undermines innovation. Drawing on experience and research, Barbara Salopek explores how overwork breeds fear, conformity, and silence, as well as how competitive advantage stems from psychological safety, learning, and leadership practices that prioritise insight over hours worked. 

The illusion of dedication.

I have been there. At twenty-five, I managed a customer relations department in a fast-growing start-up. My days began at seven and ended close to eight in the evening. The pace was relentless, the stakes high, and the pressure constant. At first, I thought this was what success looked like: intensity, long hours, and competition. But behind the glossy façade of ambition, the company was crumbling from within: mistrust, political games, and fear had replaced collaboration. Nobody felt safe to speak up or admit mistakes.

After one exhausting year, I left – and realised that overwork may sustain performance for a quarter, but it silently kills innovation in the long run.

Silicon Valley’s “996” culture – working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week – has become a global symbol of commitment. But in truth, it is a symptom of panic, not progress.

The real signal behind 996

996 is more than a schedule; it is a cultural signal. It tells people that time matters more than trust, and presence more than progress.

When organisations celebrate long hours, they unintentionally punish reflection, experimentation, and creative risk-taking; the very foundations of innovation.

Research supports this. Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety, the belief that you can speak up without fear of humiliation or punishment, was the single strongest predictor of high-performing, innovative teams. Psychological safety is not about comfort or leniency. It is about creating conditions where people can take interpersonal risks, challenge assumptions, and share half-formed ideas.

In contrast, 996 normalises fear. How? Very simply, it tells people: stay late, don’t question, just deliver. The result is efficiency without evolution.

Why 996 kills innovation

1. Exhaustion breeds conformity

Creativity requires cognitive space: time to reflect, connect ideas, and experiment. And creativity is not like a pizza that you can order when you are hungry for it. It requires a relatively fresh brain and clear eyes. Under constant fatigue, the brain defaults to routine patterns, a phenomenon psychologists call functional fixedness. We stop seeing new possibilities because we are too tired to question old ones. Teams caught in perpetual motion may produce more output but fewer breakthroughs.

In cultures dominated by overwork, mistakes are more likely to be hidden than discussed. People avoid suggesting controversial ideas that could backfire. This leads to organisational silence, where everyone appears busy but no one is learning. In innovation, silence is the loudest danger signal.

2. The psychological cost of speed

996 glorifies speed as if faster automatically means better. Yet when fear replaces safety, teams shift from problem-solving to self-protection. They focus on avoiding blame rather than exploring solutions. Managers under pressure tend to micromanage, which further erodes trust.

The irony is that fear slows organisations down. Without open dialogue, problems escalate unseen until they require crisis management. The constant “panic productivity” creates short-term busyness and long-term fragility. The more time leaders demand, the less thinking they receive.

Just because the market is in panic does not mean we have to be as well. In such situations, we need to be calm and, as Norwegians like to say, breathe with your stomach i.e. slowly.

3. What drives innovation instead

The opposite of 996 is not laziness; it is psychological safety combined with accountability. In my work with innovation teams, the most successful leaders model three core behaviours:

• Show vulnerability. Admit what you don’t know, and invite others to help solve it. This turns authority into credibility. People open up more to those who are human; leaders who show they are just like them.
• Listen actively. When people share ideas, don’t interrupt, dismiss, or instantly evaluate. Curiosity builds ownership. As much as I love to talk, I’ve learned that others love to talk too — and my role as a leader is often to stay quiet and listen with curiosity.
• Clarify roles and goals. Ambiguity breeds anxiety. When people know their scope, they dare to experiment within it.

These small habits have a disproportionate impact. They create a sense of collective responsibility, where failure becomes feedback, not a threat. Innovation flourishes in environments where people feel both trusted and challenged.

4. Lessons from adaptive cultures

Companies known for innovation, whether in Scandinavia, Japan, or Silicon Valley itself succeed not because of endless hours but because they design for learning. They intentionally protect space for reflection, exploration, and collaboration.

The idea is not to copy “Google’s 20 percent time,” but to understand what it represents: a protected environment where curiosity is safe and learning is valued as much as results. These organizations replace “hours logged” with “experiments run.” They measure innovation by hypotheses tested, not weekends sacrificed.

Leaders who want to compete on innovation must reframe productivity from effort to insight. The goal is not to do more, but to think better.

Replace fear with focus

996 is not a symbol of dedication, it is a red flag. It signals a culture that confuses exhaustion with excellence. Innovation depends on energy, not depletion; on trust, not terror.

Leaders who genuinely want speed must first create safety. Without it, every new idea feels like a risk too big to take.

Remember Formula 1: there is no room for fear or ambiguity when changing tyres in the middle of a race. Asking employees to sprint 996 and to innovate in that state is like asking a pit crew to redesign the car mid-lap. It will never work, and we both know it.

The companies that will win the next decade are not those that run the fastest, but those that learn the fastest.

The companies that will win the next decade are not those that run the fastest but those that learn the fastest.

Three shifts every leader can start this week:

• Replace “Who made this mistake?” with “What did we learn?” or “How can we not repeat it next time”
• Replace “Work harder” with “Let’s experiment more and learn faster.”
• Replace “Be perfect” with “Be curious.”

When organisations stop glorifying exhaustion and start rewarding learning, innovation returns naturally. Because the real shortcut to performance is not more time in the office, it’s the courage to make thinking safe again.

About the Author

Barbara Salopek is the author of Future-Fit Innovation and Founder & CEO of Vinco Innovation, a consultancy helping companies build sustainable innovation cultures. She is also a lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School and an internationally recognised expert in innovation, leadership, and organisational transformation.

The post 996 is Not a Competitive Advantage – Why it Stifles Innovation appeared first on The European Business Review.

Understanding Burnout Beyond Fatigue

Burnout is not simply feeling tired after a long day. It is a psychological and physical condition marked by emotional exhaustion, detachment, and a reduced sense of accomplishment. The World Health Organization officially classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon in 2019, acknowledging its impact on workers around the world.

Burnout often develops gradually as ongoing stress accumulates over time. Small, unresolved pressures can build until they overwhelm an individual’s ability to cope. Symptoms include chronic fatigue, irritability, loss of focus, and disinterest in work. Recognizing these early warning signs allows both employees and employers to take preventive steps before productivity and well-being begin to decline.

The Cost of Ignoring Burnout

Failing to address burnout can affect individuals and entire organizations. The American Institute of Stress estimates that workplace stress costs U.S. employers more than $300 billion each year in absenteeism, turnover, and lost productivity. Burnout also erodes workplace culture, lowers morale, and reduces innovation.

Organizations that view burnout as a systemic issue instead of a personal weakness are better equipped to create lasting change. Providing flexibility, mental health support, and open communication about stress can reduce stigma and build a healthier workplace. Encouraging empathy and mutual respect helps employees seek help early, which strengthens engagement and long-term performance.

What Are Recovery Principles?

Recovery principles come from mental health and addiction treatment programs and focus on empowerment, connection, and holistic wellness. They encourage individuals to balance effort with rest, productivity with reflection, and self-care with responsibility.

Applied to the workplace, these principles help create conditions that prevent chronic stress and promote personal growth. Key recovery-based elements include:

• Self-awareness: Identifying and addressing stress before it escalates.
  
• Support networks: Building relationships that foster trust and belonging.
  
• Empowerment: Giving employees control over how they manage their well-being.
  
• Flexibility: Allowing adaptable schedules that meet individual needs.
  
• Purpose and meaning: Aligning daily work with personal values to boost motivation and fulfillment.
  

How Recovery Principles Are Changing Workplace Wellness

Traditional wellness programs often focus only on physical health or occasional stress management workshops. Recovery-oriented strategies take a more comprehensive and proactive approach to employee well-being.

From Reactive to Preventive Wellness

Modern organizations are shifting from responding to burnout to preventing it altogether. Many now include short, structured recovery breaks during the workday for mindfulness, stretching, or deep breathing. Some companies are redesigning workflows to minimize constant multitasking and digital fatigue. By setting clear boundaries and encouraging focused work, employees are better able to maintain mental clarity and consistent energy levels.

Leadership’s Role in Promoting Recovery

Managers play a central role in shaping company culture. When leaders model healthy habits such as taking time off, maintaining reasonable work hours, and discussing well-being openly, it normalizes these behaviors across the organization. Training managers to recognize signs of burnout and respond with compassion helps foster a supportive environment where employees feel valued and understood.

Technology as a Recovery Tool

Technology can both contribute to and help manage burnout. Constant connectivity often increases stress, but when used intentionally, technology can support wellness. Mindfulness apps, digital peer support platforms, and analytic tools that track workloads can help identify stress patterns and prompt early intervention. When implemented thoughtfully, technology enhances awareness and access to mental health resources rather than adding pressure.

Examples of Recovery-Focused Workplaces

Salesforce and Holistic Wellness

Salesforce has embraced recovery principles through its “Wellbeing Reimbursement Program,” which covers mental and physical wellness activities such as counseling, fitness, and meditation. The company promotes flexible scheduling and encourages managers to model balance. These efforts have improved employee engagement and reduced burnout across teams.

Buffer’s Mental Health and Transparency Culture

Buffer, a fully remote company, prioritizes mental health by offering unlimited paid time off and encouraging employees to take mental health days when needed. Regular check-ins and virtual community events help maintain connection among remote workers and reduce isolation. This transparency builds trust and reinforces the importance of self-care.

Implementing Recovery Principles at Work

Transitioning to a recovery-centered culture requires consistent effort and collaboration. The process begins by evaluating current wellness practices and identifying areas that need improvement.

Steps to begin include:

1. Educate leaders and employees about burnout and recovery concepts.
   
2. Create safe channels for employees to share concerns confidentially.
   
3. Offer flexible policies that accommodate different well-being needs.
   
4. Integrate short recovery or mindfulness activities into the workday.
   
5. Use employee feedback and performance data to refine wellness programs.
   

Recovery is not a quick fix. It is an ongoing commitment that evolves with workplace dynamics and employee needs.

The Future of Workplace Wellness

As burnout continues to affect employees worldwide, recovery principles offer a sustainable path forward. By promoting balance, empowerment, and connection, companies can transform workplaces from sources of stress into environments that nurture growth and creativity.

Investing in recovery-focused strategies benefits both employees and organizations. It builds resilience, strengthens culture, and enhances long-term success. The future of work will depend not on working harder but on learning how to recover smarter.

The post From Burnout to Balance: How Recovery Principles Are Shaping the Future of Workplace Wellness appeared first on The European Business Review.

Are you willing to go the extra mile above your paycheck? Despite decades of focus, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 data revealed that only 21% of employees worldwide feel engaged. It’s a critically concerning decline, as it costs the global economy $8.8 trillion annually in lost productivity.

The problem? Traditional engagement strategies often relied on guesswork and outdated annual surveys. In this article, we tackle not only the latest data-driven insights but also redefine employee engagement in the modern workplace.

What Does ‘Data-Driven Engagement’ Really Mean?

Simply put, data-driven engagement means using data to understand and influence what drives your team’s motivation, satisfaction, and commitment inside the workplace. Beyond collecting numbers, it’s about interpreting signals to uncover stories that guide informed decisions.

Where the Data Comes From

Modern engagement analytics blends various key metrics from sources like:

• Pulse surveys and employee listening tools are integrated to capture real-time feedback.
• Sentiment analysis can be done through text tools and engagement surveys that reveal emotional tone.
• Performance and recognition data that represent where efforts and appreciation are misaligned.
• Turnover, absenteeism, and promotional trends are tracked to observe how people respond to culture and leadership.

Each data metric is analyzed in isolation and offers a limited value, but combined, they become a living map of engagement across the organization. For example, a steady decline in pulse scores from a specific team might indicate a risk of burnout, and months before resignations start.

The Benefits of Using Data for Engagement Strategies

1. Personalized Engagement

Each employee is different. While one values flexibility and growth, other expects recognition and stability. Data helps in understanding every goal and tailoring engagement strategies accordingly. For instance, a SHRM study found that personalized engagement efforts maximize participation in initiatives by 30% compared to standard programs.

With data, HR teams can segment their workforce by understanding what Gen Z employees prioritize compared to senior leaders, or how the remote staff is treated compared to those in the office. These factors make engagement personal, actionable, and measurable in all aspects.

2. Real-Time Feedback Loops

Companies don’t have to wait 12 months for survey results anymore. Today’s leading competitions use continuous listening systems that can collect data and create actionable strategies in real time. Modern strategies include pulse surveys, quick check-ins, and AI-powered sentiment analysis tools that effectively detect mode changes.

For example, when a company introduces a new hybrid work policy, it can monitor live feedback and adjust within weeks rather than quarters. As per ContactMonkey’s 2025 Employee Engagement Trends, a staggering 67% of HR leaders are using pulse feedback at every stage.

3. Better Decision-Making

You understand the real benefits of data-driven strategies when you quantify engagement. Leaders can now link people initiatives to tangible outcomes that translate into productivity, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

WellStep’s 2024 study found that highly engaged teams deliver 23% higher profitability and 18% higher productivity than disengaged teams. With these insights, organizations can move from activity tracking to impact tracking. This shift from intuition to intelligence transforms engagement into a strategic lever for long-term business growth.

4. Predictive Insights: Seeing Problems Before They Happen

Predictive analytics enables organizations to forecast disengagement or turnover risks long before they’re encountered in exit interviews. We can analyze patterns like declining participation in team meetings, reduced peer recognition, or repeated low sentiment scores, and predict employees or teams at risk of burnout or attrition.

Analysis from Efectory has revealed that organizations using predictive engagement analysis are twice as likely to retain high-performing talent. You can use the predictive power to intervene early through meantoring, workload adjustments, or recognition before disengagement spirals into many resignations.

5. Measurable ROI

Measurable ROI is perhaps the most powerful outcome of data-driven engagement. By connecting engagement initiatives directly to KPIs such as retention rate, productivity, or NPS (Net Promoter Score), leaders can now demonstrate a clear ROI that is impenetrable without precise data points.

Some global tech firms have already started using AI-powered analytics to tie engagement improvements to a 12% reduction in voluntary turnover. This can save millions in replacement costs, and they’re the proof that managers need to make engagement a board-level priority and create new policies accordingly.

How to Use Data to Improve Employee Engagement

1. Collect the Right Data

Getting quality data is more crucial than getting more data. This way, you can combine structured data like survey scores and performance metrics with unstructured data such as comments, Slack messages, or open feedback. The goal is to understand continuously and ensure all segments of the workforce are represented.

Using digital tools is also beneficial since you can automate data capture and anonymize responses to build trust and loyalty. If your talent believes their voice is impacting company decisions, they tend to participate more.

2. Analyze Patterns and Context

You can predict great things when you start to analyze the emerging patterns. Data alone doesn’t engage people, but it’s their interpretation that does. When you need context, look for the recurring trends, for example:

1. A specific department is showing consistently low recognition scores.
2. Employees under one manager have reported having higher stress signals.
3. Post-promotion engagement dips after two quarters.

Each pattern tells a story about your company culture, leadership, and business growth. Advanced analytics platforms can even perform text sentiment clustering by grouping feedback into themes like communication, career development, and work pressure.

These are the pure insights you must look for to empower leaders to target interventions where they matter most.

3. Connect Insights to Action

Insight, like a metric, a timeline, or a funnel, leads to an actionable step. For instance,

• If data reports declining trust and loyalty in leadership communication, monthly AMAs must be planned and measured by trust sentiment shift patterns.
• If engagement scores dip after organizational restructuring, manager training must be launched to cover empathy-led change communication.

When actions follow insights, employees see feedback as a change initiative and reinforce a virtuous cycle of trust and involvement.

4. Track, Test, and Adjust

You can use a small set of engagement KPIs to track outcomes that matter. eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score), recognition frequency, turnover rate, manager effectiveness, and many other KPIs like these become crucial to track, test, and adjust the data.

Treat each initiative as an experiment through testing, measuring, learning, un-learning, and re-learning what matters. For instance, after launching a new recognition platform, tracking whether engagement scores rise among previously low-scoring teams can be helpful.

If not, analyze why. Maybe the recognition frequency improved, but perceived fairness didn’t? Data guides you in ways you’ll be surprised, and saves enough time so you can spend it where it matters.

5. Balance Analytics with Empathy

The best engagement strategy is a balance between logic and reason. When data precision highlights the issue, empathy explains the reason behind it.

Managers must use insights as conversation starters, rather than judgment or interrogation. An inclining engagement score leads to a supportive and understanding narrative, not a diagnosis.

If you prioritize reasonable emotions over numbers, data empowers you, not intimidates. Employees become active partners in shaping the company culture and transform engagement data into personal and professional growth.

The Future of Employee Engagement

The future of engagement isn’t just technical but deeply resonable. It’s pure human insights powered by intelligent data. In the frontier of the modern workplace, AI will play an increasingly pivotal role in employee listening. Tools will automatically summarize thousands of feedback comments, detect tone, recommend micro-actions, and much more.

HubEngage trend reports 2025 predicts that 70% of large organizations will deploy AI-assisted engagement platforms that will be initiated and utilized by 2026. However, technology isn’t the only answer to this human problem. Organic engagement happens when leaders use data to understand talent and use analytics to illuminate, empathize, and interpret their employees. This helps in creating workplaces where people feel recognized, valued, and connected to everyone.

Organizations can turn employee data into meaningful action through AI-powered analytics and consulting that uncover the hidden drivers of engagement, predict retention risks, and translate feedback into personalized strategies that strengthen culture and performance.

By moving beyond static surveys, companies can build truly connected workforces and transform employee data into measurable impact.

The post How Data-Driven Insights Are Redefining Employee Engagement appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Leanne Maskell

As AuDHD – the co-occurence of autism and ADHD – awareness grows, employers face new legal and cultural challenges. Here, Leanne Maskell explores how equality law applies to neurodivergent employees, why single-condition approaches fall short, and how proactive, systemic inclusion strategies can reduce legal risk while supporting innovation, wellbeing, and performance.

When diagnostic manuals changed in 2013 to allow dual diagnosis of autism and ADHD, few employers anticipated the legal complexity this would create. Today, with research suggesting up to 70% of autistic individuals also meet ADHD criteria, organisations face a pressing challenge: how to support employees whose neurodivergence doesn’t fit neatly into pre-defined boxes.

The term AuDHD describes this co-occurrence, and it represents far more than a new buzzword. For businesses, it signals a fundamental shift in how workplace disability law must be understood and applied.

The Legal Reality

Under equality legislation including the Equality Act 2010, both autism and ADHD can be recognised as disabilities, triggering mandatory duties for employers to provide reasonable adjustments. However, many AuDHD employees remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, with research indicating that between 89-97% of autistic adults over 40 have never received a formal diagnosis.

The legal test for disability is precisely that: legal, not medical. Formal diagnosis is not required for an employer’s proactive duties to be triggered, which means that employers cannot simply wait for disclosure or diagnoses. Once they become aware, or reasonably should have become aware, that an employee may be disabled, legal obligations commence.

Employment tribunal claims relating to disability discrimination have surged, rising by a third in just one year in the UK. With compensation awards uncapped, and cases occasionally reaching millions of pounds, the financial risk is substantial. The average award runs to tens of thousands, but recent cases include a £4.5 million settlement for an employee with ADHD and PTSD dismissed during probation.

Why AuDHD Complicates Compliance

Single-condition approaches to neurodiversity risk falling short of legal duties. When autism and ADHD co-occur, traits interact in complex ways. ADHD may drive impulsivity and rapid decision-making, while autism brings a preference for structure and routine. This combination can produce both exceptional problem-solving capabilities and internal conflict.

Similarly, autism’s capacity for intense, sustained focus combines with ADHD’s interest-driven nervous system to create employees who excel dramatically in areas of passion but struggle with mundane administrative tasks. As a result, performance may appear inconsistent through a conventional lens, but makes perfect sense when both conditions are understood together.

Employers who implement adjustments designed solely for autism or ADHD in isolation may inadvertently disadvantage AuDHD employees, exposing themselves to discrimination claims from individuals who don’t fit the expected profile.

Practical Strategies for Legal Protection

Rather than attempting to master every diagnostic nuance, organisations should focus on systemic approaches:

1. Implement neuroaffirmative training that moves beyond labels. Train all staff to recognise signs of vulnerability and approach colleagues with curiosity rather than judgment. This reduces the fear of disclosure while equipping teams to handle difficult conversations constructively.
2. Ensure managers understand their legal exposure. Managers and HR professionals can be held personally liable for failures to meet legal obligations around disability. They don’t need to become medical experts, but must recognise their duty of care and understand when to seek guidance.
3. Create robust, accessible policies. Clear reasonable adjustments policies ensure consistency and accountability, providing straightforward processes that anyone can follow with confidence. Policies should explicitly state that adjustments aren’t limited to specific diagnostic labels, reducing barriers for those with complex or co-occurring conditions.
4. Consider specialist coaching resources. Building in-house AuDHD coaching expertise allows organisations to navigate industry-specific requirements while demonstrating genuine commitment to inclusion. This transforms potential legal liabilities into competitive advantages.

Beyond Compliance

The business case extends far beyond risk mitigation. With 51% of neurodivergent employees reporting time off work due to their neurodivergence, and workplace absences at 15-year highs, the cost of inadequate support is measurable – and significant.

Providing adjustments purely out of legal obligation leads to reactive firefighting. Employers who instead tailor environments to individuals unlock not just compliance, but creativity, loyalty and innovation. When almost 1 in 4 people are disabled under the legal definition, supporting all employees effectively isn’t a niche concern, but a core business strategy.

The legal framework around AuDHD is complex simply because human neurology is complex. However, the fundamental principle remains straightforward: understand difference, support it systematically, and treat legal compliance as the floor, not the ceiling, of workplace inclusion. This isn’t about special treatment for individuals, but updating workplace cultures for the realities of our post-pandemic world, making them work for every mind.

About the Author

Leanne Maskell is National Specialist Coach of the Year, the founder of ADHD coaching company, ADHD Works, and best-selling author of AuDHD: Blooming Differently  and ADHD Works at Work

The post AuDHD and Workplace Law: Avoiding Pitfalls, Unlocking Potential appeared first on The European Business Review.

That shift has raised a quiet but essential question: how do we design spaces that help us think, focus, and feel well – all in the same room?

This article explores how environment design is shaping the future of work, and why the most forward-thinking professionals are reimagining home offices not just as work zones, but as tools for mental clarity and freedom.

Key Takeaways

• The line between home and office is gone; design must support both roles.
• Focus-friendly spaces improve cognitive performance and reduce stress.
• Lighting, color, and layout strongly influence mood and decision-making.
• Communities like the Style Your Space Subreddit highlight how individuals are learning to personalize work environments.
• The best hybrid spaces combine structure with softness – discipline with comfort.

1. Work has become personal again

For decades, the workplace dictated how people worked – fixed desks, fluorescent lights, identical setups. But remote and hybrid work have turned that model inside out.

Now, the home office isn’t standardized; it’s personal. It’s shaped by morning rituals, energy peaks, even where the sunlight lands at 3 p.m. Workers are no longer adapting to environments – they’re adapting environments to themselves.

That subtle reversal has big implications. When we build spaces around human rhythms, productivity stops feeling forced. It becomes intuitive.

2. The psychology of space and focus

Cognitive scientists have long known that our surroundings affect attention. Visual clutter competes for mental bandwidth. Natural light helps regulate alertness. Warm tones encourage calm; cool tones promote concentration.

In practical terms, that means a well-designed home office isn’t about décor. The goal is to reduce cognitive noise so that focus can flow.

The most successful professionals treat their workspace like a partner in their performance. It’s not an aesthetic indulgence; it’s a mental strategy.

3. From productivity to presence

The hybrid era has exposed a deeper truth: good work doesn’t come from constant motion, but from sustained presence.

To sustain presence, people need more than Wi-Fi and ergonomics – they need spaces that signal when it’s time to focus and when it’s time to rest. A soft lamp, a small plant, or even a visual boundary between zones can make that shift easier.

This is where design and psychology meet: boundaries don’t restrict us; they free us to perform better.

4. Learning from community-driven design

One of the more interesting side effects of remote work is how it’s democratized design. You no longer need an architect or corporate budget to create a supportive space –  just intention, observation, and a little curiosity.

Online communities have become unexpected design classrooms. The Style Your Space Subreddit is a perfect example: professionals, students, and creatives share how they’ve built inspiring home offices with limited space or resources.

The lesson isn’t about trends. It’s about agency. People are discovering how much design influences mood and motivation – and they’re teaching one another how to make small, meaningful changes that improve both.

5. Designing for flexibility and freedom

As work and life continue to blur, design must evolve to protect both focus and rest.

A room can have dual purpose if the design acknowledges that. Lighting that shifts from bright task mode to warm relaxation mode. Desks that fold, chairs that move, and shelves that double as acoustic dividers. These small gestures help people transition without losing the sense of separation that keeps burnout at bay.

The future of hybrid work isn’t about squeezing the office into the home. It’s about creating homes intelligent enough to know when to work – and when to stop.

6. The next evolution: emotional ergonomics

Ergonomics once meant posture and desk height. Now it means peace of mind. Designers and companies alike are recognizing that emotional wellness is a productivity metric.

Spaces that balance visual quiet, natural materials, and personal touches act as cognitive anchors. They help people return to focus faster and disconnect more completely.

In other words, design has become strategy.

Closing Thought

The home is now an ecosystem – part workspace, part sanctuary. The challenge for the modern professional isn’t just to organize it, but to understand it.

As we design our environments to support both ambition and ease, we’re redefining what productivity feels like. It’s no longer about efficiency alone, but about the quality of energy behind the work.

Because in the end, the best workspace doesn’t just help you perform – it helps you stay human.

The post The Future of Home as Workplace: Designing Environments That Support Focus and Freedom appeared first on The European Business Review.

Employment law, like so many aspects of 21st-century life, is subject to constant evolution. It’s challenging for employers, who must be aware of their legal responsibilities at all times, but also for employees, who need to know exactly where they stand. Enter Tessa Harris and her team at Redmans.

You have built an impressive career in employment law, now serving as Employment Law Director at Redmans. What inspired you to specialise in this field?

Having a family who are largely in the medical profession, I have always been interested in medicine and healthcare (even questioning whether, at one point, I chose the right profession). So, I initially wanted to specialise in clinical negligence.

However, during my Legal Practice course, which I carried out at the University of the West of England in Bristol, clinical negligence was not a topic to specialise in, so one of my optional modules was employment law. Since it felt easier than my other modules, I enjoyed it the most out of all.

It is also fast-paced and ever-changing, which means I have to be on my toes. I benefited from knowing the law and understanding my rights as an employee, as did my friends and family when ad hoc advice was needed.

Following the end of my university life, as luck would have it, a paralegal opportunity arose in the Employment team at Lyons Davidson solicitors. And although I grabbed the opportunity merely because it was one foot in the door in an incredibly competitive industry, I quickly discovered how much my enjoyment of employment law actually increased in practice.

I found employment law to be highly relatable, as most of the population is employed or in some form of work capacity. It is also fast-paced and ever-changing, which means I have to be on my toes. I benefited from knowing the law and understanding my rights as an employee, as did my friends and family when ad hoc advice was needed.

I love that I can help so many people, and every person’s case is different. I couldn’t imagine being in a position where some of my clients find themselves having been unfairly dismissed or discriminated against. But I can, however, as an employee, sympathise with them. I am therefore able to show a human / relatable side of being a lawyer, which can be lost in other legal areas.

How have your academic and professional experiences, including your master’s in Clinical Negligence, shaped your approach to employment law and client advocacy?

I say this to many aspiring lawyers that a degree, the Legal Practice course, and a training contract are all useful to gain the basics of the theoretical side of law. However, I only had a firm grasp of what I was doing once I had a caseload myself, and I was applying the theoretical side of law to actual real-life situations.

Nothing can prepare you for dealing with those initial client calls, drafting and submitting your first claim form, or representing your client, during the first preliminary hearing.

As Employment Law Director, you balance client work with mentoring and guiding your legal team. What principles define your leadership style in such a people-focused area of law?

Being a specialist in employment law, I know first hand how poor management can result in significant repercussions. So, I am always conscious of ensuring that I strike a fine balance between acting in the best interests of the firm as a business, as well as my team.

The most important principle is that I will always listen and take opinions and points on board. If I can find a solution, fantastic; if I can’t, I will suggest alternatives.

Because of the nature of my role and my experience, I have developed empathy and look to understand the “why” before reaching a conclusion. While I honestly communicate the potential issues that may occur, I also look to work with my team to reach a conclusion and a way forward.

Moreover, part of managing a team is being able to make difficult decisions. So, having an open and transparent dialogue and offering support from the start allows those difficult decisions to be communicated with discussion and suggested options, where equal respect is offered both ways.

I am very fortunate to work with an incredible team, where we have developed a fantastic working relationship. As a collective, we work on solutions and ways forward and always support one another.

Redmans is one of the few UK firms that focus solely on employment law and has earned recognition for its success in resolving cases efficiently. What makes Redmans’ approach distinctive, and how does this shape your work with clients and colleagues?

The lawyers we hire are key to maintaining our high levels of success at Redmans solicitors. We pride ourselves on being approachable and try to offer solutions where clients may feel there are none.

In our initial calls, we will always offer advice and suggest best ways forward for clients. We believe that the human approach is key, as empathy and understanding are so important.

While more experience will assist with having these skills, we also ensure that our new recruits are the right fit for not only working as a team but, equally, for offering the same level of approachability and professionalism that our clients come to expect.

The discussion around employee empowerment and day-one rights has become increasingly important. How do you think these developments are influencing workplace culture and employer responsibilities?

It’s significantly reshaping workplace culture and redefining employer responsibilities. As employees increasingly expect greater autonomy, fair treatment, and a voice in decision making, organisations are being challenged to create more inclusive, transparent, and supportive environments, which in my view is a positive way forward.

Employers are expected to offer more by way of training, communication, and mental health support to meet the expectations of this new workplace culture.

Workplace culture is shifting from traditional, top-down management to more collaborative and flexible styles. This then allows employees the space to be more engaged, motivated, and innovative, which can lead to higher productivity. However, this also means that employers are expected to offer more by way of training, communication, and mental health support to meet the expectations of this new workplace culture.

Employers are now, more than ever, accountable for creating safe and respectful workspaces. It requires a review of pay equality, work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, and harassment prevention. A higher onus is on employers to ensure that employees are safe, and if day-one rights come in (which seems likely), the risk to employers is far more significant. Thus, policies and procedures will need to be reviewed carefully, legal advice sought and prepared in readiness for this change.

Mental health and well-being have become top priorities in many workplaces. How do you see employment law supporting this shift toward healthier and more inclusive working environments?

The law hasn’t changed much since the implementation of the Equality Act 2010, which protects those who have a disability from discrimination. Although not everyone who struggles with mental health issues will be considered disabled, that does not necessarily mean that employees who do struggle with mental health have nowhere to turn to.

Health and safety regulations require employers to provide a safe physical and mental working environment, reducing risks of injury and stress. So, businesses are now swiftly adapting their ways of working to accommodate mental health and provide support systems in place.

Implementation of stress risk assessments at work and providing hybrid working for a positive work-life balance are two areas which employers seem to adopt at present. Additionally, employment law covers areas such as equal pay, protection against unfair dismissal, flexible working rights, and parental leave, all of which contribute to an employee’s well-being and work-life balance.

From your experience handling cases such as disability discrimination and absence management, what key trends or challenges are shaping employment law today?

Since COVID, employers have adopted hybrid working, which has improved work-life balance. However, now that some time has passed, some have reduced that flexibility or removed it completely. This has resulted in many employees, who have relied upon such flexibility to manage their mental health and personal circumstances, feeling disgruntled and stressed.

So, the vast majority of discrimination claims that I now receive are with a greater focus on mental health as a disability.

In the past, physical impairments were traditionally the conditions relied upon for disability discrimination claims. However, with the growing recognition of mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD, employers are increasingly required to consider adjustments for mental-health-related absences or performance issues, even before determining whether the condition is in fact a disability or not. This helps to ensure that they have taken steps to protect themselves from the possibility of litigation.

There is also more of an emphasis on reasonable adjustments being implemented at work. A rising expectation for employers is that they be proactive in ensuring that adjustments have been discussed and implemented.

Moreover, employers are expected to consider each individual pattern of absence per employee, as a generalised absence-management policy tends to be outdated and rigid in structure. Adapting a more flexible way of managing absence would show that care and attention have been given to the individual’s needs.

Failure to do the above can lead to grievances being raised and, again, litigation.

Looking ahead, how do you see employment law evolving to meet the changing expectations of employees and employers in the future world of work?

As employee awareness grows and their rights increase, so will litigation matters. With day-one rights likely to be implemented as well, employment law practitioners are likely to see an influx of cases, which will have a knock-on effect on the capacity of Acas and the Employment Tribunal.

I foresee an increase in not only unfair dismissal claims but, given how the culture is shifting, in disability discrimination claims, specifically failure to make reasonable adjustments, as well as discriminatory dismissals by way of sickness absence.

Employers will need to have a sound business justification for removing or reducing flexibility around hybrid working. While, at present, Employment Tribunals tend to avoid interfering with how a company wants to run its business, if there is no sound commercial reason for the justification, this could result in Tribunals finding that such action is unlawful. Again, employers should be considering, therefore, why they need to change, what the pros and cons are, and what alternatives can be offered to assist those most in need.

Fairness and inclusion are key. A reasonable employer will now be expected to include its employees in decision-making processes, consider individual needs based on any underlying medical condition, and adopt a supportive and understanding environment. If an employer does not, there is likely to be a significant litigation risk.

Executive Profile

Tessa Harris is the Employment Law Director at Redmans solicitors and is at the forefront of managing diverse cases. Serving as a deputy to the firm’s Partner, she brings her wealth of experience to supervising and guiding the legal team.

She focuses on litigation, particularly in areas like disability discrimination and absence management.

The post Evolutionary Forces at Work: Keeping Abreast of Employment Law appeared first on The European Business Review.

As mental ill health becomes the leading cause of workplace absence, leadership must redefine its priorities. For World Mental Health Day, experts share practical strategies – from fostering psychological safety and coaching cultures to modelling healthy habits and tackling vaping – showing that wellbeing-centric leadership drives performance, resilience, and sustainable organisational success.

According to the CIPD’s latest Health & Wellbeing at Work Report, mental ill health has now overtaken all other causes of long-term absence. Nearly half of organisations (47%) report a rise in mental-health-related absences, yet fewer than one in three (29%) equip line managers with the training to address the issue.

This gap exposes a critical weakness in leadership capability. Employee wellbeing is no longer optional – it is a core business priority with direct consequences for performance, retention, and resilience.

As World Mental Health Day (10 October) approaches, we asked six leading voices in leadership and organisational wellbeing to share their practical advice. Their message is clear: leaders who put wellbeing at the centre of their agenda will build healthier, more productive, and more sustainable businesses.

Leadership’s Duty of Care

Lord Mark Price, former UK Trade Minister, founder of WorkL, and author of Work Happier, believes wellbeing must be viewed as both a moral duty and a commercial necessity. His Workplace Happiness Survey places global wellbeing at just 73%, with more than one in four employees at risk of low wellbeing. Anxiety and low mood score as low as 66%.

“Employees are clear about what they need,” Price says. “Practical mental health support such as therapy or mental health days, flexible and shorter working hours, and fairer pay structures that match today’s realities.”

When leadership prioritises fair pay, work-life balance, and psychological safety, the benefits are tangible: reduced stress, higher engagement, and what Price calls a “20% productivity lift” associated with high wellbeing. “Creating a respectful, positive workplace isn’t a perk,” he insists. “It’s prevention – and it secures long-term performance gains.”

Practical Actions to Build Safety and Learning

Barbara Salopek, author of Future Fit Innovation and CEO of Vinco Innovation, emphasises that psychological safety is not an abstract ideal but a practical leadership responsibility.

“Too often I have seen workplaces where it’s all about blame, not learning,” she says. “Switching this perspective requires effort from leadership first.”

Her advice is straightforward:

• Replace “Who’s at fault?” with “What did we learn?”
• Celebrate learning, not just results.
• Create regular spaces where employees can speak openly without fear.

“These small, consistent actions reduce stigma, improve wellbeing, and foster innovation,” Salopek explains. “When employees feel safe to speak up, organisations gain twice: healthier teams and stronger performance.”

Glimmers, Grit, and Getting Real

For Gavin Oattes, global speaker and author of Confidently Lost: Finding Joy in the Chaos and Rediscovering What Matters Most in Life, the conversation about wellbeing must go deeper than perks. “The 2025 CIPD report confirms what many of us feel in our bones—work isn’t working for everyone,” he says. “If you’re still viewing wellbeing as a nice-to-have, it’s time to recalibrate.”

Oattes argues that mental health is about creating space for people “to breathe, to belong, and to bring their whole selves, wobbles and all.” In his own experience, what mattered most were not grand gestures but “glimmers—micro-moments of connection, joy, and being seen.”

He urges leaders to model rest, to notice small signs, and to embrace play. “Adults learn best through play. It unlocks new thinking, disarms fear, and builds connection faster than any strategy slide. Mental health is the heart of sustainable leadership. Treat it that way—with compassion, curiosity, and a little creative mischief.”

From Command-and-Control to Coaching

Dominic and Laura Ashley-Timms, CEO and COO of performance consultancy Notion and authors of The Answer is a Question, highlight the cost of outdated management styles.

“Too often, management training focuses on the ‘what’ of management, not the ‘how’ of engaging people,” they note. As a result, managers default to command-and-control, which pressures them to always have the answers while marginalising employees.

Research shows the stakes are high: Gallup estimates that disengagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion. Yet the Ashley-Timms argue that the solution lies not in more mental health training, but in tackling the root cause of disengagement.

Their solution is Operational Coaching®, an enquiry-led approach proven in London School of Economics research to dramatically improve engagement, productivity, and inclusion. “Asking powerful questions rather than providing all the answers gives employees autonomy, confidence, and psychological safety,” they explain. “It’s a management revolution—one that leaders urgently need to embrace.”

Role Modelling Healthy Habits

Leaders are often guilty of neglecting their own wellbeing, warns Nik Kinley, leadership consultant and author of The Power Trap.

“Most leaders, on their way up, work longer than they should, sacrifice personal life, and look after themselves less well than they ought to,” he explains. “Then one day they’re at the top—and what they do becomes more visible. If they cut corners with their health, it sends a message that such behaviour is normal, even expected, if you want to succeed.”

The challenge, Kinley admits, is that changing entrenched habits can be hard. But World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to reflect. “Senior leaders should take a moment to identify one area where they can send a different message—by role modelling healthier choices. Even small changes in behaviour can ripple across an organisation.” 

Building Psychological Safety Through Trust

Fay Niewiadomski, award-winning change strategist, leadership coach, and author of Decisions That Matter points out that data alone can mislead. She recalls seeing a dysfunctional team reporting fewer incidents than a high-performing one. “The numbers told a statistical lie,” she explains, “because incidents were left unreported out of fear of punishment and lack of trust.”

For Niewiadomski, psychological safety is not a myth but a function of corporate culture: “Culture equals leadership’s beliefs, thoughts, values, feelings, and resulting behaviours—and how these are communicated to the workforce.”

She recommends three steps to build trust:

1. Make it safe to speak up and find collaborative solutions.
2. Be consistent in how behaviours are rewarded.
3. Use accountability as a tool for problem solving and growth.

“Psychological safety isn’t soft,” she argues. “It’s the foundation of high-performing, resilient teams.”

Tackling Vaping to Protect Wellbeing

Finally, Dr Marc Picot, GP, vaping expert, and author of The Last Puff, highlights how nicotine dependence undermines both health and workplace performance.

“Employees who vape often struggle with focus, productivity, and stress,” he explains. “Sustained vaping is linked with anxiety and mental health challenges, which contribute to absenteeism.” For employers, the costs include higher insurance premiums, reduced efficiency, and lower retention.

Picot recommends simple steps:

• Share information about the risks of vaping.
• Encourage wellbeing initiatives, such as coaching or group support.
• Create an open culture where employees can discuss challenges without judgement.

“Supporting employees to quit vaping is a tangible way for leaders to prove their commitment to wellbeing—while also improving performance,” he adds.

From Intention to Impact

Taken together, these expert insights highlight one truth: wellbeing must move from the margins to the core of leadership and strategy. Whether it’s building trust, modelling healthy behaviours, shifting from blame to learning, creating micro-moments of joy, empowering through coaching, or tackling health risks like vaping, leaders have practical levers they can pull today.

World Mental Health Day is not about token gestures. It is a reminder that leaders have a duty of care – and an opportunity. Prioritising wellbeing not only protects mental health but strengthens productivity, creativity, and resilience.

The post Putting Wellbeing at the Heart of Leadership – Expert Insights for World Mental Health Day appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Professor Debbie Bayntun-Lees

New research from Hult International Business School offers a fresh perspective on male engagement in gender equity. The Gender Equity Mindset Model provides a practical, emotionally attuned framework to help leaders and HR teams understand and support men at different stages of allyship, moving from disengagement to active partnership in creating inclusive workplaces.

The Missing Piece in Gender Equity

The business case for gender-diverse leadership is well-established. McKinsey’s latest findings show organisations with high gender diversity are 25% more likely to outperform on profitability, while the World Economic Forum has repeatedly emphasised gender equity as a driver of resilience and innovation in leadership teams.

Despite this, progress remains slow, and one persistent gap is men’s limited involvement in driving that change.

In one of the organisations we studied, fewer than 10% of over 2,500 invited male leaders responded to a survey on gender equity. In the second, the response rate was even lower – just 3.6% out of over 13,000 senior male employees. While these figures initially appear discouraging, they speak volumes: many men are not opposed to inclusion efforts, but feel unclear about their role, uncomfortable with the discourse, or unsure how to engage without risk.

To create systemic, sustainable change, we must first understand how men perceive gender equity—and what organisations can do to help them step into allyship with purpose and confidence. That was the goal of our latest study, which received 576 responses in total. 

Understanding the Mindset Behind Allyship

Working with these two multinational organisations, we surveyed male employees across a range of business functions, seniorities, and geographies. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, a clear pattern emerged: men don’t fall neatly into categories of “engaged” or “resistant.”

Instead, allyship emerged as a dynamic, developmental journey, shaped by organisational context, emotional readiness, personal identity, and cultural norms. We developed a framework to capture this progression: the Gender Equity Mindset Model. 

In our latest research, we found that men’s engagement with gender equity efforts doesn’t fall neatly into categories of “supportive” or “resistant.” Rather, allyship is a developmental journey, influenced by emotional readiness, organisational culture, personal experiences, and broader social norms. To help organisations understand, and support, this evolution, we developed the Gender Equity Mindset Model.

Figure 1: The Allyship Journey – Gender Equity Mindset Model

The model/this diagram maps four core stages that men typically progress through on their journey to allyship. Each stage is associated with a distinct mindset and emotional state, and each presents unique opportunities for leadership development and cultural change. While the stages are described sequentially, our data shows that men may move fluidly between them depending on their context, support systems, and leadership environment.

This diagram illustrates the four progressive stages of male allyship – Apathy, Ambivalence, Reflective and Responsible, and Energised and Motivated, each aligned with a dominant mindset and emotional state. It provides organisations with a lens to understand where men are in their journey and how best to support their development into active equity partners.

Figure 1: The Mindset Journey to Gender Equity

In Stage 1: Apathy, men express emotional detachment and intellectual disengagement from gender equity. The prevailing mindset here is one of zero-sum bias—the belief that gains for one group necessarily come at the expense of another. The emotional tone is often indifference or even quiet resistance, rooted in the perception that equity initiatives are unnecessary or irrelevant to their experience. As one participant shared, “It’s not something I’ve thought about. I’ve worked hard to get where I am—I assume others have the same opportunity.”

Stage 2: Ambivalence is marked by uncertainty and internal conflict. Here, men may agree with equity in principle but feel confused about their role or unsure how to contribute without risk. The dominant emotion is confusion, and the mindset is conflicted. Some men describe feeling excluded from the conversation or hesitant to speak for fear of being misunderstood. One participant reflected, “I’m aware of it, but sometimes it feels like the message is: ‘You’re the problem’- even if you’re trying to help.”

As men begin to reflect more deeply on their own social identity and observe the realities faced by women around them, they enter Stage 3: Reflective and Responsible. This stage is underpinned by a mindset of seeking solutions and an emotional shift toward awareness. It is often triggered by personal experiences, becoming a parent, mentoring a female colleague, or hearing stories of workplace inequality. “It makes me feel disappointed,” said one respondent. “I wouldn’t want my daughter to be treated like that at work.”

Finally, Stage 4: Energised and Motivated represents active, empowered allyship. These men are not only aware of gender equity issues, they feel a personal responsibility to challenge them. The mindset here is one of active allyship, and the emotional state is empowerment, often accompanied by urgency. These individuals advocate for systemic change, mentor others, and serve as visible champions of inclusion. As one participant put it, “It’s about doing what’s right, not just what’s expected. I want to be part of making this better – for everyone.”

From Awareness to Action: Targeted Interventions

One of the most powerful aspects of the Gender Equity Mindset Model is its developmental potential. It not only explains where men may be in their allyship journey; it also offers interventions aligned to each stage to help them move forward.

By aligning engagement efforts with the mindset stage of the individual, organisations can make allyship feel personal, possible, and purposeful.

Table 1: Enhanced Gender Equity Allyship Intervention Table

Why This Model Matters Now

Too often, allyship is framed as a compliance issue, or worse, a performance. But genuine allyship requires inner work, relationship-building, and a willingness to challenge dominant norms.

Our research also revealed several reasons why some men hesitate to engage in gender equity efforts. Many expressed a fear of saying the wrong thing, concerned that even well-intentioned contributions could be misinterpreted or criticised. Others worried about being perceived as “the problem”, especially in environments where gender conversations were framed in ways that felt accusatory. Some men felt excluded from equity discussions altogether, unsure if their perspectives were welcome or relevant. Underpinning all of this was a lack of clarity around what allyship actually entails—what it looks like in practice, and how to do it authentically and effectively.

Organisational culture can either amplify these fears or create the conditions for growth. When companies offer men the psychological safety to explore, question, and reflect without judgement, they create space for transformation.

“Men who haven’t personally experienced discrimination often don’t engage—not because they don’t care, but because they don’t see how they fit in.”
—Participant

Allyship as a Shared Leadership Responsibility

This work is not only relevant for HR – it’s a leadership issue.

Equity cannot be achieved through policy alone. It must be embedded in how leaders behave, how teams operate, and how individuals make decisions. Allyship should be recognised in leadership assessments, tied to progression, and supported through continuous learning.

“I want to lead a team where everyone feels valued, and everyone sees the value in others. That’s not just a DEI issue-it’s a business imperative.”
—Participant quote, Energised Stage

Organisations that do this well report not only improved engagement and innovation but also greater retention of talent, particularly among women and underrepresented groups.

Looking Forward: Building a Culture of Shared Commitment

The Gender Equity Mindset Model offers a new language for understanding where men are in their allyship journey. But more importantly, it offers a roadmap for how to move forward together.

We’re also in the process of piloting a self-assessment tool, enabling organisations to map individual mindsets and tailor development plans accordingly. If you’re interested in learning more or integrating this tool into your equity strategy, feel free to get in touch.

Meaningful change happens when people are invited into it, not pressured or excluded. When men are given space to grow, reflect, and act with purpose, allyship becomes more than a value, it becomes a shared, sustained practice.

That’s how we create the cultures we say we want.

About the Author

Professor Debbie Bayntun-Lees is Professor of Leadership & Organisational Development at Hult International Business School, specialising in inclusive leadership and organisational transformation. Her research focuses on allyship, systemic change, and how organisations build inclusive and resilient cultures through emotionally intelligent leadership.

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Over 1.3 billion people live with disabilities yet their entrepreneurial potential remains overlooked. Entrepreneurs with disabilities innovate, seize opportunities, and reshape markets. With inclusive ecosystems supportive policies and strong networks they can drive innovation, resilience, and economic growth. Supporting them means unlocking a powerful source of creativity and transformation. 

The World Health Organization reports that over 1.3 billion people worldwide are living with a disability. It is the largest minority in the world, and a group that anyone can join at any time. Because disability is not necessarily permanent; it can also be temporary. Too often, they remain excluded from mainstream economic life. And with an unemployment rate that is twice the national average, it goes without saying that career prospects are sometimes compromised., But is starting a business necessarily the default choice for people with disabilities? But framing it this way misses the point.

Entrepreneurs with disabilities do more than create livelihoods; they generate innovation, competitiveness, and social impact. Their lived experience becomes a strategic resource, helping them navigate uncertainty, adapt to constraints, and solve problems in original ways. They identify unmet needs, spot gaps in existing systems, and anticipate opportunities, building ventures that are economically viable and socially meaningful. Blind since birth, Baptiste “realized the lack of interest, and the media treatment on the subject of parasport.” Driven by this observation, he launched an organization to publicize and promote parasports and their athletes. “It was about undertaking something. It was an idea. As I went along, I built something important.” Step by step, he shaped an editorial line and gathered a community around his desire to inform and encourage participation in sport. “It reaches a lot of people.” His presence on social media quickly gained influence, and he began using it not only to raise awareness of parasport but also to inspire change in the job market for PwD by spotlighting remarkable and motivating profiles. “I went further than just the sports sphere. Now I’m really in the disability sphere in the broadest sense, and also impacting the professional world, human resources and project managers.”

Research tends to view entrepreneurs with disabilities as a homogeneous group, at the risk of failing into clichés. Yet it is important not to fall into clichés. The most common one is that of the ‘everyday fighter,’ the entrepreneur who constantly overcomes challenges. Conversely, it would be misleading to pretend they are just like any other entrepreneur. A balance must be struck. They are not different from others; they are different like others. It is this very otherness that is a source of richness. Contrary to stereotypes, entrepreneurs with disabilities start businesses not only out of necessity, but also to seize real opportunities. Decisions are opportunity-driven, informed by strategic planning and experiential knowledge. Daba has built her company around two complementary areas. The first is a general-interest sector that serves the broader mission and purpose of her work. The second is a business arm that sustains and finances the activities of the non-profit side. Her goal “is to change perceptions on disability issues, and on the business side, it provides support for companies and clients through consulting, communication, and events.” Entrepreneurs with disabilities position themselves deliberately in the market, mobilize resources, and structure organizations to maximize impact and sustainability. Drawing on social, human, and network capital, they gain legitimacy, attract critical support, and remain adaptable to shifting market conditions. Societal prejudice may exist, but it does not necessarily determine entrepreneurial choices. Their scope can be broad, ambitions high, and objectives strategically aligned. At just 25 years old, Vincent, who has been blind since birth, has already launched three companies. His entrepreneurial journey began with a platform designed to connect restaurant owners and consumers. He then went on to create a business specializing in three-dimensional screens, giving blind individuals the ability to make the most of their mobile phones. “My latest company is my favorite.” Today, this third venture offers consulting, training, and support services to law firms. “We are growing very, very fast.”

This potential does not emerge in isolation. Organizations and institutions play a central role in providing enabling environments. The threat of budget cuts looming over social and solidarity economy organizations could jeopardize this essential support for entrepreneurs with disabilities. Targeted funding, tailored incentives, and structured mentorship programs strengthen opportunity recognition and decision-making. Incubators and training initiatives can go beyond foundational skills, offering sector-specific expertise, market insights, and tools to integrate inclusion and social responsibility into business models. Collaborative networks and entrepreneurial communities allow experiential knowledge to combine with broader industry perspectives, fueling innovation and scaling ventures. Public policy is equally decisive. Inclusive ecosystems that bring together policymakers, social sector actors, vocational organizations, and industry stakeholders create the structural framework that supports entrepreneurs with disabilities at every stage. Well-designed policies embed accessibility and inclusion into entrepreneurship, encourage adaptive business models, reward socially responsible innovation, and integrate disabled entrepreneurs into mainstream networks. If the State is the guarantor of the common good, it cannot, on its own, carry out all the actions in support of people with disabilities. Entrepreneurs with disabilities are increasingly numerous. Entrepreneurship offers them the possibility to flourish on their own terms, for who they are rather than for who others would want them to be.

The evidence is clear. Entrepreneurs with disabilities are already innovating, adapting, and leading change. Yet their potential remains underutilized because the ecosystems around them are not designed with inclusion at their core. This is a missed opportunity not just for individuals, but for economies and societies that need resilience, innovation, and fresh ideas more than ever. Business leaders can design funding, mentoring, and innovation programs that actively include disabled entrepreneurs. Institutions can integrate inclusion into training and incubation programs. Policymakers can embed accessibility and support into every stage of the entrepreneurial process, from education to finance to market access. Some entrepreneurs with disabilities require the support of caregivers, whose status deserves to be formally recognized. Supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities is not charity, it is a strategy for innovation, resilience, and growth. The choice is obvious: either continue to overlook this potential, or build economies that are inclusive, dynamic, and future-ready. Entrepreneurs with disabilities are ready.

About the Authors

Julien Billion holds a PhD in Sociology (EHESS), a PhD in Management Science (Polytechnic Institute of Paris), and a habilitation in Management Science (Polytechnic Institute of Paris). As a professor at ICN Business School and an affiliated researcher at the CEREFIGE laboratory of the University of Lorraine, he is an expert in social innovation and social entrepreneurship. He is the author of numerous articles, books, and documentaries in these fields.

Christel Tessier Dargent is an ESCP Business School alumni and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Jean Monnet University and CoActis Research Lab, Saint-Etienne, France. Previously a manager at Accenture, Christel conducts research on inclusive entrepreneurship and responsible entrepreneurial education, with a particular focus on necessity entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship by persons with disabilities.

Jérémie Renouf leads the Entrepreneurship specialization and the incubator at ISC Paris Business School. His expertise lies in career mobility, hybrid and inclusive entrepreneurship. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship and has previously worked as a Startup Project Manager at EDF, as an Entrepreneurship Advisor at AFE (acquired by Bpifrance in 2019), at Boulogne-Billancourt City Hall, and as an Incubator Project Manager at Cnam.

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By Diane Newell

Amid slowing UK private sector growth, employee engagement is a strategic necessity. In this article, OCM Discovery’s Managing Director, Diane Newell reveals how clarity, conversation, commitment and culture drive performance, highlighting that clarity is the often overlooked foundation. This article explores the practical ways HR and business leaders can embed clarity, align goals, and unlock employee trust, productivity and profitability.

Private sector growth is expected to decline steadily over the next quarter according to the CBI’s latest Growth Indicator^[i]. With businesses facing growing pressure to maintain performance in a challenging economic climate employee engagement isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s a strategic necessity. Gallup’s research^[ii] shows that engaged teams are 23% more profitable, 18% more productive and far less likely to be absent or leave.

But engagement doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built intentionally through four key drivers: Clarity, Conversation, Commitment and Culture. This article focuses on the first of those, clarity, exploring what it means, how it drives engagement, and how HR leaders can embed it into the day-to-day reality of work.

Clarity starts at the top

Organisational clarity begins with a clear, consistent purpose, one that defines why the organisation exists and what it stands for. This provides the foundation for a clear strategy, decision-making, and performance expectations. But while clarity starts at the top, Boards and C-Suite leaders often overestimate their collective clarity, assuming their individual understanding is shared. This creates confusion, misalignment, and conflict across the organisation. Investing in executive team coaching can build and sustain shared clarity by enabling honest conversations and developing the capability to have creative conflict in leadership teams.

Clarity is personal

It’s important to remember that having clarity amongst the leadership team is not enough. Leaders, and particularly HR leaders, need to communicate purpose and values effectively and consistently across the business. However, if by ‘clear communication’ HR read this as ‘telling people clearly,’ then they are missing half the story.

Being ‘told’ is never enough. People need to make sense of it for themselves, which means understanding why the organisation exists, how it operates, and how their role contributes to its success. When individuals are clear about what’s expected of them, including how their performance is measured, how it supports the team, and connects to the organisation’s purpose, true clarity begins to form.

But clarity isn’t just organisational, it’s also personal. If the organisation’s goals don’t align with an individual’s own values, ambitions, or sense of purpose, sustained engagement is unlikely. This is particularly vital for an HR leader working to create clarity for others. How can a leader be inspiring if they are not personally inspired and committed to the company?

HR leaders must be able to answer and communicate:

• Why is the organisational purpose important to them?
• What in the strategy of the organisation, the HR strategy and individual or team goals, gives them an opportunity to develop in line with their own goals?
• How does delivering success against their team and personal targets give them satisfaction?

Coaching for clarity

The world is never static, and ‘perfect clarity’ is an ideal, rarely attained and constantly being reinvented.  Purpose should always be clear, but strategy can only ever be a current hypothesis to which teams are working. Clarity does not imply certainty or rigidity, which is why clarity of purpose and values, and alignment with them, need constant attention and focus from leaders at every level.

Some leaders abdicate responsibility if they aren’t ‘given’ clarity by their bosses.  Those who lead must be responsible for creating clarity for their team, and to build wider clarity with others, even if they don’t have it delivered to them by their boss. Leadership or executive coaching can be a tremendous catalyst to help senior leaders develop that clarity, providing reflective learning in a supportive and challenging thinking space.

HR leaders often recognise the value of personal leadership coaching as a space to examine and hone personal clarity and authenticity. They also recognise the value of insight into individual values that allows teams to have the honest and open conversations that enable work on the engagement and performance of the team.  That team element is particularly vital in today’s diverse and virtual teams.

HR leaders invest in it for others, however they can be guilty of neglecting their own opportunities to develop more powerful clarity, and to invest in HR teams.  This is a missed opportunity to empower HR to support clarity throughout the organisation.

The role of HR in creating clarity

HR as a function can support leaders in creating and sustaining clarity.  The key levers that they hold are in:

• Role design
• Performance evaluation,
• Feedback
• Development

Building clarity into role descriptions means working to ensure that the purpose of a role and how it contributes to team and wider purpose is stated clearly and coherently.  HR professionals support leaders by coaching them on how to develop and communicate clear direction, particularly when setting goals and targets that align with and measure progress toward the organisation’s purpose.

Evaluation and reward systems, both formal and informal, must be built and operated to be coherent with the organisation’s purpose and values.  It is important at an organisational level that people are rewarded and recognised when they meet these expectations. If reward and performance evaluation is inconsistent with purpose and values, then clarity is lost, and engagement, productivity and trust in leadership undermined.

Feedback is a vital tool in sustaining clarity.  The world is complex and changing; navigating to deliver on purpose requires constant adjustment. If leaders and managers are not giving and seeking individual and team feedback, both positive and negative, consistently and coherently then clarity can’t be sustained.  It’s not productive to wait for an end of year performance evaluation for employees to find out they are way off course. Plus, just ‘giving’ feedback to others is insufficient if HR leaders can’t coach for change.

Unfortunately, the complex, changing nature of the world can make leaders feel like they lack the time to give constant feedback and coach their teams. Leaders may also avoid giving feedback because they lack confidence in their ability to give and receive feedback effectively.  They may resort to directive styles because they lack confidence that they can drive performance through coaching, but avoiding difficult conversations means that clarity can be lost.

HR is key to overcoming these barriers in companies, both by providing effective development through coaching skills training and supporting leaders and leadership teams with effective coaching, whether that is internally or externally provided. Building giving feedback and being an effective coach into the role requirements of leaders and ensuring reward systems and evaluations reflect a manager’s performance keeps these key facets of their role on leader’s priority lists especially in challenging times.

Clarity isn’t just a concept; it’s a daily leadership discipline.

The time to invest in clarity is now. Without it, everything else HR work on, all the effort and energy spent in the organisation is diluted, productivity squandered. HR leaders should ask themselves how clear they really are on the organisation’s purpose, strategy, and expectations, and, more importantly, how clear is their team. Exploring their own purpose and values, and how these values align with organisational goals can help HR leaders gain greater clarity which in turn will drive greater impact on engagement and performance.

About the Author

Diane Newell is a seasoned leader with extensive experience in engineering, technology, logistics, and professional services. As MD Discovery at The OCM, she champions coaching for sustainable success. Diane coaches and mentors leaders and teams, partnering with organisations to foster purposeful, adaptive, and appreciative leadership.

References

^[i] https://www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/articles/private-sector-growth-expectations-remain-weak-cbi-growth-indicator-june-2025/

^[ii] https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236927/employee-engagement-drives-growth.aspx

The post Clarity is the Catalyst: How HR Leaders Can Drive Engagement and Performance appeared first on The European Business Review.

This blog explores strategies that enable businesses to optimize both expense reduction and output enhancement. The strategies discussed below can guide decision makers toward sustainable workplace excellence.

Understanding Cost Versus Performance

Cost Considerations

Cost management involves more than cutting budgets. It means evaluating fixed and variable expenses, recognizing where waste exists, and targeting areas where savings generate real value. Technology, energy use, and staffing represent major cost centers. Monitoring spending on supplies and services reveals chances to negotiate better deals or explore alternatives.

Performance Drivers

Performance depends on employee productivity, process efficiency, customer satisfaction, and innovation. Time wasted due to inefficient workflows hurts morale and reduces output. Quality shortcomings result in rework and dissatisfied customers. Investments in training, tools, and systems raise performance, while collecting feedback from staff and clients helps pinpoint performance gaps.

Aligning Goals With Strategy

Set Clear Objectives

Defining measurable targets links cost savings to performance. Goals might include reducing operational waste by 15 percent, lowering energy bills, cutting supply expenses, or improving delivery timeframes. Targets should have deadlines, assign accountability, and include metrics for monitoring progress.

Prioritize Investments

Investments must produce value that offsets their costs. High ROI improvements like new software that automates processes or ergonomic furniture that reduces fatigue merit serious consideration, while supplies that frequently run out or cost too much deserve evaluation. For example, selecting cost-efficient printing supplies without sacrificing quality can reduce budget leakage. For sourcing printing needs with reliable performance, consult trusted suppliers such as TonerGiant that offer quality and cost options.

Optimizing Resource Allocation

Streamline Processes

Examine workflows to find steps that do not add value. Eliminate redundant approvals, automate manual reporting, or adopt lean approaches. Efficiency improvements often cost little but enhance performance substantially.

Invest in Technology Wisely

Technology solutions improve performance if chosen based on needs. Flexible cloud services, collaboration platforms, and analytics tools deliver returns on investment when aligned with organizational goals. Procurement should include warranties, support, and scalability that match demand.

Consider Flexible Staffing Models

Full-time staffing brings stability while temporary or contract staffing offers flexibility. Cross-training allows staff to cover multiple roles during peak periods or absences. Performance remains high when coverage is reliable; cost savings appear when the structure adapts to actual demand.

Balancing Short-Term Savings With Long-Term Gains

Avoid Cutting Essentials

Sacrificing core performance elements to reduce cost leads to hidden expenses. Low-quality input materials, undertrained staff, or outdated technology may save money now but incur costs later via breakdowns, losses, or reputational damage.

Focus on Continuous Improvement

Small incremental improvements compound into significant gains. Regular review cycles allow performance metrics to inform cost decisions. Suggestion programs enable employees to propose improvements. Data collection and analysis allow timely adjustments.

Risk Management

Identify Potential Trade-offs

Every cost-saving move brings the risk of affecting quality or employee satisfaction. Reducing staff support may increase errors. Cutting maintenance might lead to equipment failure. Recognizing trade-offs helps mitigate risks through pilot programs or phased implementation.

Monitor Performance Indicators

Use key performance indicators such as turnaround time, error rate, customer complaints, safety incidents, or resource utilization to track the impact of cost-saving measures. Dashboards or reports with real-time data assist leadership in making informed adjustments.

Conclusion

Building strategies that balance cost and performance requires discipline, data-driven decision making, and commitment to quality. Setting clear goals, choosing investments wisely, optimizing resources, and managing risk serve as the foundation for success. Organizations that refine workplace practices in this way achieve cost efficiency without sacrificing performance.

The post Building Workplace Strategies that Balance Cost and Performance appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Lord Mark Price

An engaged workforce drives performance, but dissatisfaction often surfaces quietly. Drawing on 40 years’ experience, Lord Mark Price identifies six warning signs that signal team unhappiness. He outlines his Six Steps to Workplace Happiness: recognition, information, empowerment, wellbeing, pride, and job satisfaction, to restore morale and strengthen organisations. 

An engaged workforce is a productive workforce but too often, unhappiness creeps into teams unnoticed until it’s too late. In my work with organisations worldwide for over 40 years, I’ve seen how six tell-tale signs can reveal underlying dissatisfaction. Here’s how to spot them and how my Six Steps to Workplace Happiness, from WorkL, the employee engagement platform I founded, can help turn things around.

Employee unhappiness rarely arrives with a grand announcement. It shows itself in subtle ways, such as the once-vocal team member who now stays silent in meetings, the sudden uptick in employees off sick, or the dip in collaboration. Recognising these signs early allows leaders to act decisively. Below, I share six common warning signs, along with practical steps you can take, guided by my Six Steps to Workplace Happiness; reward and recognition, information, empowerment, wellbeing, sense of pride, and job satisfaction.

1. Drop in Productivity

A noticeable decline in performance or output is often one of the first visible signs that something isn’t right. Targets are missed, deadlines slip, or quality falters. While external factors may play a part, consistent underperformance usually reflects disengagement.

What to do

Focus on reward and recognition. People want to feel their efforts are seen and valued. Recognise contributions both publicly and privately. Sometimes a simple “thank you” or acknowledgment of good work goes further than financial reward. By making appreciation part of your daily leadership style, you restore motivation and pride.

2. Increased Absenteeism and Turnover

When employees are unhappy, they disengage physically as well as emotionally. Absenteeism rises, sick days become more frequent, and eventually, people leave. High turnover is costly, not just financially but culturally.

What to do

Focus on wellbeing. Unhappiness often stems from stress, poor work–life balance, or burnout. Leaders must create environments where taking care of mental and physical health is encouraged, not stigmatised. Encourage flexible working, ensure workloads are manageable, and create a supportive culture where people can ask for help.

3. Silence in Meetings

Silence is not golden in the workplace. When employees stop offering ideas, questioning processes, or contributing to discussion, it’s usually a sign of disconnection. It may also mean they don’t feel safe speaking up.

What to do

Prioritise empowerment. Employees thrive when they feel trusted to contribute and make decisions. Invite input, create forums for safe discussion, and make it clear that diverse perspectives are valued. Empowered employees are more engaged, more creative, and more invested in outcomes.

4. A Breakdown in Communication

When gossip replaces open dialogue, or when team members seem left out of the loop, morale suffers. Poor communication is both a symptom and a cause of unhappiness, it signals a lack of transparency and erodes trust.

What to do

Improve information sharing. Leaders often underestimate how much employees want to understand the bigger picture. Be open about company performance, strategy, and challenges. Consistent, honest communication helps employees feel involved and respected. Even when the news isn’t positive, transparency builds trust.

5. Loss of Pride in Work

When employees no longer talk positively about their organisation, or stop recommending it to friends and family, it’s a clear sign of declining engagement. Pride is an emotional anchor, without it, people feel disconnected and uninspired.

What to do

Reinforce a sense of pride. Celebrate successes, share customer stories, and connect individual roles to the bigger mission. Remind people why what they do matters. Pride grows when employees can see the positive impact of their work, both for the business and for wider society.

6. Going Through the Motions

Perhaps the most insidious sign of unhappiness is when employees do only the bare minimum. They show up, complete tasks, and leave, without passion or initiative. This “quiet quitting” reflects a lack of job satisfaction and can spread quickly across a team.

What to do

Revisit roles and responsibilities to ensure they align with employees’ skills and aspirations. Provide opportunities for development, training, and progression. When people feel they are learning and moving forward, satisfaction rises. Encourage managers to have regular career conversations, not just annual reviews.

My Six Steps to Workplace Happiness

When you align leadership practice with the Six Steps to Workplace Happiness, reward and recognition, information, empowerment, wellbeing, sense of pride, and job satisfaction, you create the foundations of an engaged workforce. These aren’t one-off fixes, they’re ongoing commitments.

1. Reward & recognition

Pay must be fair and transparent, or nothing else lands. But don’t wait for annual reviews to say “thank you.” Build weekly recognition rituals tied to outcomes, not presenteeism.

2. Information sharing

Lack of sharing breeds rumour and disengagement. Adopt a “show the work” cadence where a monthly all-hands meeting includes reviewing real metrics, a working roadmap, and team-level dashboard for all to see.

3. Empowerment

Empowering employees means involving them in decision-making, valuing their ideas, and integrating their feedback into the company’s strategies. Everyone brings unique experiences and perspectives to the table, and only by considering all views can a team achieve the best possible outcome.

4. Wellbeing

Employee wellbeing encompasses physical, emotional, and financial health. Addressing all three areas leads to improved engagement and productivity. A positive workplace culture can reduce absenteeism, as engaged employees tend to be healthier and more committed.

5. Instilling pride

Employees who take pride in their work and workplace naturally become advocates, sharing their positive experiences with colleagues, potential hires, customers, and the community. Their pride will be evident when they talk about where they work.

6. Job satisfaction

A range of factors influence job satisfaction, but two stand out; opportunities for personal growth and the quality of the employee-manager relationship. Employees are an organisation’s greatest asset, and high engagement is essential for success.

No team will ever be free from challenges. But as leaders, our responsibility is to ensure those challenges don’t translate into unhappiness and disengagement. By staying alert to the subtle signals and applying the Six Steps to Workplace Happiness, you can transform dissatisfaction into resilience, negativity into purpose, and silence into a stronger, more collaborative voice.

After all, when teams are happier, organisations are stronger and everyone wins.

About the Author

Lord Mark Price is former UK Trade Minister, founder of happiness at work platform WorkL and author of Work Happier: How to be Happy & Successful at Work, published by Kogan Page.

The post Six Red Flags Your Team is Unhappy and How to Fix Them Fast appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Nic Marks

We need stability and change, but too much of either can be problematic. Without change, things stagnate, and we get bored. This evolutionary tension is managed by emotions, evolved to help us adapt. This article explores two kinds of happiness that foster a dynamic balance between our competing needs for stability and change.

Stability and change. We need both in our lives, but too much of either can be a problem. If everything is always change, change, change, we become unsettled and exhausted. If nothing ever changes, things stagnate and we get bored. There is a tension between the two states.

This tension has deep evolutionary roots. All living beings must maintain internal stability to stay alive. They also must interact with an ever-changing external environment. Our feelings and emotions have, at least partially, evolved to help us navigate this tension, with that self-regulation often referred to by biologists as homeostasis. Keeping our body temperature, blood pressure and heart rates within certain ranges are all examples of this process. For a wonderful exploration of the evolution of emotions, see Antonio Damasio’s book The Strange Order of Things (Damasio, 2018).

In this article, I will explore the fact that it is helpful to think about there being two different kinds of happiness, and that together they help us create a dynamic balance between our competing needs for stability and change.

Two types of positive emotions

Over the years, more and more research attention has been focused on the power of positive emotions. A key breakthrough came in the 1990s when psychologist Barbara Fredrickson proposed her broaden-and-build theory. She demonstrated that when people feel good, they become more creative, collaborative, and open to new ideas. Positive emotions, she argued, don’t just make us feel better — they broaden our range of responses in the moment, and over time they build resources like resilience, confidence, and social bonds. In short, they are not just pleasant extras but part of our evolutionary toolkit for survival and growth.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the complexity of emotions, over the intervening years, some caveats have emerged, especially in regard to the broaden element of the theory. For example, a positive emotion such as interest explicitly narrows our attention so that we can focus on details. Enthusiasm drives us towards pursuing a goal, but in this mood we are less likely to be open to new ideas. Courage demands that we close ourselves off to hazards and ignore risks.

The idea that some positive emotions broaden our attention and others narrow it might at first appear to be a trivial spat over words. However, the Norwegian psychologist Professor Joar Vittersø, who I have collaborated with on several projects over the decades, proposes that this difference is due to positive emotions activating two different motivation systems: one that maintains stability and one that drives change (Vittersø, 2025). This makes it clear why we have an array of positive emotions and it is useful to differentiate between these two underlying types, which I call sustaining and striving.

Sustaining

Sustaining emotions such as contentment, tranquillity, safety, caring, lovingness and pleasure help us relax and connect with other people. They are restorative when we are depleted, raising our spirits when we feel low. When we are feeling good in this way, we are more open, which helps us see the bigger picture, enhancing our creativity and making us more flexible. These emotions help us maintain the stability we need, both internally and relationally.

Sustaining emotions are related to what some people call our rest-and-digest system (Gilbert, 2009). They are associated with oxytocin, the so-called love hormone that helps us build relationships; and with endorphins, which can make us feel calm. The opposite of feeling sustained is to feel stressed, depleted or isolated. 

Striving

Striving emotions help us accomplish tasks and achieve goals. They are sometimes called our drive system. Enthusiasm, excitement and interest all help us mobilise our own energy and that of others. Striving emotions are, to varying degrees, characterised by a narrowing down of attention, which naturally helps us focus on the tasks at hand and to create change.

The hormone most closely associated with these striving emotions is dopamine – sometimes called the molecule of more, as it drives our desires (Lieberman and Long, 2019). The opposite of experiencing striving emotions is to feel directionless, disengaged or bored. 

Sustaining and striving at work

Striving emotions have a clear link to productivity – they help us focus and achieve goals. It’s not surprising that they are much valued in the business world. The quieter, sustaining emotions are just as important, though, as they are related to creativity, resilience and, ultimately, staff retention. They also critically help teams create the psychological safety needed to work well together.

Our need for both stability and change means that building happy, successful teams is a very dynamic process. Things are always in flux, which can be fun and exciting as well as sometimes quite challenging.

To summarise, happiness balances stability and change, as our emotional lives navigate a fundamental tension between needing consistency and embracing growth. Happiness plays a key role in managing this dynamic. There are two types of positive emotions: sustaining emotions, like calmness and connection, which restore us and promote flexibility; and striving emotions, like enthusiasm and drive, which focus our attention and push us towards goals. Great teams need both types. While striving fuels productivity and ambition, sustaining emotions support creativity, resilience and psychological safety, and both are essential for long-term success.

About the Author

Nic Marks is an award-winning statistician and author of the best-selling book, Happiness is a Serious Business. He is also a TED speaker with over two decades of experience connecting happiness and data. As the founder of Friday Pulse and creator of the Happy Planet Index and Five Ways to Wellbeing, he has helped hundreds of organisations worldwide unlock the power of happier teams.

The post Why Great Teams Need Both the Positive Emotions of Sustaining and Striving appeared first on The European Business Review.

To mark the week, we’ve curated a selection of thought-provoking insights from WBS experts and research. They explore lessons in leadership, company culture and practical strategies for building more inclusive organisations. Our transformational learning experiences at WBS take these ideas further, equipping leaders with practical strategies to inspire inclusive, high-performing teams. From fostering employee wellbeing and cultivating positive work cultures to applying behavioural science for people-centred decision-making, our courses empower you to lead inclusively and make an immediate impact.

Empower your leadership. Secure your place on one of our programmes today:

Inclusivity insights

Five strategies to change company culture, inspired by Maro Itoje

British Lions captain Maro Itoje’s leadership style illustrates how embedding inclusivity into everyday routines can foster belonging, spark creativity, strengthen retention and build resilient teams.

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Unlocking the power of inclusive leadership

Inclusive leadership ensures everyone feels valued, respected, and included. But what qualities make a leader truly inclusive and how does this drive organisational success?

Read more

Culture of inclusion: Four lessons to embrace diversity

What can businesses learn from Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture? Its inclusive approach demonstrates how co-creation and tailored initiatives can build buy-in, foster social cohesion, and improve wellbeing.

Read more

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If people don’t feel like they have a purpose, they tend to drift. I believe that our primary purpose needs to be to look after ourselves. This is selfless because we can’t give from an empty cup.  If you commit to recharging your battery every day, you will always be on purpose.

Having run wellbeing workshops all over the world, I know that the culture, country, psychographic or demographic I’m presenting to doesn’t matter. Wherever I am, less than half of my audience would say they have a strong purpose —that is, a distinct purpose that they wake up with every morning, knowing what they want to do with their life and, most importantly, why.

What I’ve seen through coaching is that if people don’t feel like they have a purpose, they tend to drift. If they don’t have a strong enough why, they don’t have the motivation to prioritise their own wellbeing. Typically, most of us think about purpose as outward-looking, with a focus on helping others, which is a good thing. However, I believe that our primary purpose needs to be to look after ourselves. This is selfless —rather than selfish —because we can’t give from an empty cup. You can’t be the best version of yourself with an empty battery —and you surely don’t want to be the one to end up needing help because you pushed yourself to breaking point.

If you commit to recharging your battery every day, then no matter what you’re doing, no matter what path you’re on, you will always be on purpose. As you recharge, you become the best version of yourself and start to thrive sustainably. This, in turn, inspires and encourages others, and has a positive impact on all your relationships. Once you are thriving sustainably, you will have the energy to uncover your strengths, passions and beliefs, and how you can use these to help others. You can then combine them to formulate a more defined purpose. My personal purpose is ‘to inspire others to reconnect to self and others through nature’.

I do this through many pathways, whether it’s speaking, coaching, consulting or just being there for someone. Rather than asking yourself, ‘What can I do?’, consider first asking yourself, ‘What kind of person do I want to be? What qualities, values, strengths and passions do I appreciate in myself and others?’ When you can find the things that are important to you —and not just what others expect of you —you can contribute to making those things happen. You become part of a greater community and feel you are contributing to something outside of yourself. This helps you feel connected and valued, and improves your self-worth. To help find your purpose, ask yourself these important life questions:

• Why do I want to be the best version of myself?
• What or who am I really doing it for?
• What kind of person do I want to be?

Prioritising yourself —and then others

When we talk about wellbeing and wellness, we are talking about two different things. Wellbeing means ‘to be in a comfortable state —mentally, emotionally, physically and

spiritually’. Wellness means ‘to make the deliberate effort to nurture your wellbeing’.

You really do have to prioritise yourself first to make sure you can continue to thrive sustainably and give the best version of yourself to others. I’m sure you are aware of the two versions of yourself —the one where you are full of energy and life, nothing seems to bother you and everyone enjoys being around you, and the one where you feel like you are just surviving and everything seems to get on your nerves. This version of you gets frustrated easily, and even the simplest roadblocks feel like you’re trying to move heaven and earth —and that’s just trying to open the strawberry jam jar!

Being kind to yourself isn’t just a nicety; it’s your birthright and, if you’re not already, you need to get good at it. If you don’t have enough self-worth or self-love, you won’t have the motivation to make that deliberate effort to want to look after yourself. Next time you’re looking in the bathroom mirror, look at yourself —really look at yourself —deep into your eyes as if you’re admiring a beautiful work of art. When you’ve connected with yourself, say, ‘I see you’. And keep saying it until it registers, until you feel it deep in your heart and you truly believe it. You’re worthy.

Edited extract from Energised: The Daily Practice of Connected Leadership and Sustainable Wellbeing (Wiley $32.95) by Tim Jack Adams. 

About the Author 

Tim Jack Adams is a global speaker and a pioneering thought leader in human sustainability and performance and has spent over a decade guiding leaders and teams to reconnect with themselves and others through nature. Join The Great Reconnect movement at http://www.greenx7.com.

The post Why Finding Your Purpose is More Important than Ever appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Dr. Anat Garti and Dr. Simon L. Dolan

In a world wired for stress, success takes more than strategy. This article shows how to build real resilience and combat burnout in high-demand workplaces so teams don’t just survive; they lead and thrive.

Introduction

In a world that is ever-changing and fraught with unpredictability, the strength of an organization lies not just in its resources but in its spirit. “Cultivating Endurance: Empowering Your Organization for a Resilient Future” speaks to the heart of what resilience truly means—an unwavering commitment to rise stronger, to adapt, and to flourish despite the challenges that lie ahead.

This title encapsulates the essence of transformation, emphasizing the nurturing process of building resilience as a continuous journey rather than a one-time initiative. It resonates on an emotional level, inspiring leaders and teams alike to embrace the challenges of today as stepping stones toward a more promising tomorrow. In this article, we embark on a path that not only fortifies the foundations of an organization but also ignites a profound sense of purpose and connection within it.

Resilience stands as a vital pillar in ensuring the stability and effectiveness of organizations, acting as a beacon of hope in turbulent times. Across various industries, professionals grapple with the weight of high-pressure situations, the emotional turmoil that often accompanies demanding roles, and the relentless flux of ever-changing work environments. These stressors, if left unaddressed, can spiral into the dark abyss of burnout, robbing individuals of their passion and diminishing their sense of purpose. The result? A profound sense of discontent that permeates job satisfaction and stifles overall performance, leaving once vibrant and engaged employees feeling drained and disconnected. In recognizing and fostering resilience, we not only protect the health and well-being of our workforce but also empower organizations to thrive amidst uncertainty, allowing their spirits to soar even higher.

In recognizing and fostering resilience, we not only protect the health and well-being of our workforce but also empower organizations to thrive amidst uncertainty, allowing their spirits to soar even higher.

In 2019, the World Health Organization announced its decision to include burnout for the first time in history in the official International Classification of Diseases. According to the World Health Organization’s Disease Index (ICD-11), Occupational Burnout is a syndrome resulting from persistent, unsuccessfully managed work stress. Consequently, developing resilience within organizations is essential to ensure the well-being of employees and the sustainability of operations. This article unveils a transformative process for cultivating resilience that can benefit any organization, illustrating its powerful application within a healthcare company. Through this journey, we reveal not just a framework but a beacon of hope for organizations by sharing the experiences of a healthcare team embracing resilience, and we aim to inspire others to embark on their own paths of growth and fortitude, ensuring that together, we can weather any storm.

Resilience is the human capacity to cope with, overcome, grow stronger, and even change in response to experiences in times of adversity.¹ This concept can be applied to individuals, families, organizations, and communities. Resilience encompasses the ability to avoid dangers and the ability to cope with them when they occur. The article explains stress mechanisms, burnout symptoms, and its impact. Then, we introduce the Stress Regulation Model. We will also introduce the consulting process for developing organizational resilience using the Stress Map and the Value of Values tools.

Understanding Stress and Burnout

Stress is a natural response to external demands and pressures, activating physiological and psychological mechanisms designed to help individuals cope with challenges. According to the Transactional Model of Stress,² it arises when individuals perceive a situation as threatening and believe they lack the resources to manage it. This model highlights the role of perception in determining whether stress is experienced as a manageable challenge or an overwhelming burden. While short-term stress can enhance focus and performance, chronic stress that is not effectively managed can lead to burnout—a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion.³

In the classical sense, and based on the research of Maslach and colleagues, burnout includes the following three dimensions.⁴

• Emotional Exhaustion – A state of deep fatigue and depletion of emotional resources.
• Depersonalization – Developing negative, detached, or cynical attitudes toward work and colleagues.
• Reduced Personal Accomplishment – A diminished sense of competence and achievement in one’s professional role.

Across numerous industries, high-demand organizations are grappling with a pervasive crisis: the relentless grip of stress and burnout. In a world where the pressure mounts from demanding workloads, tight deadlines, and soaring expectations, employees often find themselves caught in an unyielding cycle of exhaustion. This isn’t just a professional issue; it’s a deeply human one. Each day, talented individuals strive to meet the demands placed upon them, yet they are left feeling drained and overwhelmed, struggling to nurture their well-being while still delivering exceptional results. Imagine the toll this takes—not just on performance metrics but on the very essence of what it means to be a thriving workforce. When stress remains unaddressed, the vibrant spirit of engagement begins to wane. Performance plateaus and the high turnover rates that ensue not only disrupt team cohesion but also drain the organization of its most important asset: its people.

But there is hope. By embracing structured resilience-building initiatives, organizations can transform this narrative. We have the power to cultivate an environment where employees not only survive but flourish under pressure. Picture a workplace where individuals feel supported, where their well-being is prioritized, and where they are empowered to tackle challenges with renewed vigor.

Resilience Development Strategies

Building resilience within organizations is a proactive approach to mitigating the negative effects of stress and burnout. The Stress Regulation Model provides a structured framework for understanding and fostering resilience.⁵ This model is based on four key regulatory factors that influence how individuals perceive and manage stress within the workplace.

The Sequence and Methodology for Implementing the Stress Regulation Model

To implement the Stress Regulation Model effectively, we must adopt a comprehensive, organization-wide strategy that seamlessly weaves resilience-building practices into the fabric of our workplaces. This isn’t just a matter of following best practices; it’s about nurturing a culture that places the well-being of every individual at its core. When organizations prioritize stress management, they empower their employees with the vital tools needed to navigate and regulate their stress levels. Imagine a workplace where every team member feels supported, understood, and equipped to face the daily challenges of their roles. This is not merely a dream—it’s a vision we can bring to life. By fostering an environment that values mental well-being and proactive stress management, we not only enhance individual resilience but also strengthen our entire organization. It also means creating a space where every employee can thrive, not just survive, and where the journey of managing stress becomes a shared commitment to collective well-being.

The implementation of the Stress Regulation Model follows a structured six-stage process designed to equip managers with the necessary tools to regulate stress and develop a resilient organizational culture (see Figure 1). Each stage builds upon the previous one, ensuring a gradual and comprehensive integration of stress management strategies.

Stage 1: Opening Lecture – Understanding Stress and Burnout

The process begins with an introductory lecture aimed at providing managers with an initial understanding of the stress and burnout mechanisms. This session offers an overview of how stress affects individuals and organizations and highlights the critical role of resilience in mitigating its negative impacts. Managers are also introduced to the intervention process that will guide them through the stages of developing organizational resilience.

Stage 2: Workshop – Practical Application of Stress Regulation Tools

In the second stage, managers participate in a hands-on workshop that deepens their knowledge of stress and burnout mechanisms. In the workshop, we use biofeedback training, where managers use a biofeedback tool to observe and understand the physiological responses that occur during stressful situations. By gaining real-time insights into their stress reactions, managers can better grasp the importance of stress regulation.

A key component of this workshop is the “Stress Map” tool, which helps participants identify their stress triggers and assess their regulation patterns. Through guided exercises, managers learn how to apply stress regulators, which are essential techniques for managing workplace stress effectively. This stage is interactive and experiential, ensuring that managers not only learn theoretical concepts but also practice their respective applications in real-time scenarios.

Stage 3: Application and Supervision in Learning Groups

At this stage, we form learning groups where the managers implement the stress regulation tools introduced in the earlier stage. These groups meet under the guidance of trained supervisors to ensure consistent practice and reinforcement of resilience strategies.

Through structured exercises and real-world case studies, managers apply the “Stress Map” tool in their daily work environment. They share their experiences, challenges, and successes with their peers, fostering a collaborative learning process. The emphasis is on practicing stress regulation in real-time situations, allowing managers to internalize these skills as part of their leadership approach.

Supervision is a critical element of this stage, providing managers with ongoing feedback, adjustments, and reinforcement of best practices. As they gain confidence in using stress regulation strategies, they develop a more adaptive and resilient leadership style, preparing them for the next phase of the implementation process.

Stage 4: Value-based Leadership as a Tool for Anchoring the Change

In the fourth stage, we return to a workshop framework in which managers learn about value-based leadership as a tool for anchoring the change they have implemented. Through the “value of values” tool, managers choose the set of values that will allow them to anchor the change and embed it as part of the unit’s culture.

We use Dolan’s 3Es Tri-axial model to ensure systemic anchoring of the change.⁶ This model describes how a balanced set of values needs to include three groups of values:

• The economic-pragmatic group deals with values that direct behavior in an effective way to achieve goals.
• The ethical-social group deals with relationship values like thoughtfulness, influence, loyalty, and tolerance.
• The emotional-developmental group focuses on values that encourage a life filled with interest and passion.

By translating these values into practical action, managers build the psychological contract that will enable the assimilation of the value system and anchor the change in the unit’s culture.⁷

Stage 5: Application and Supervision in Learning Groups

In the fifth stage, the managers are again divided into small learning groups, as was done in stage three, to implement the culture change designed in the previous stage. These groups meet under the guidance of trained supervisors, providing managers with ongoing feedback, adjustments, and reinforcement of best practices. In the groups, they share their experiences, challenges, and successes with their peers, fostering a collaborative learning process.

Stage 6: Closing Lecture

At the end of the process, a summary lecture is given, framing the entire process and integrating the change processes that the managers have made.

Conclusion and Postscript

Through workshops, learning groups, and value-based leadership, the process not only enhances individual coping strategies but also instills lasting cultural changes that promote well-being and sustained high performance across teams.

The paper shows how a structured resilience development process can effectively address stress and burnout in high-demand organizational settings. By leveraging tools such as the Stress Regulation Model and the “Stress Map,” organizations can create a culture that fosters resilience, empowering managers to effectively manage stress and enhance their leadership capabilities. Through workshops, learning groups, and value-based leadership, the process not only enhances individual coping strategies but also instills lasting cultural changes that promote well-being and sustained high performance across teams.

The process that was presented was recently implemented in “Maccabi Healthcare Services”, one of the four HMOs operating in Israel, by consultants from the Israel Values Center and Effect-Tiv Empowering Leaders. At the end of the process, 86% of participants, namely people in managing positions, responded that they frequently use the tools acquired in the process. So, a cascade effect in the organization was observed. The survey conducted before and after the implementation showed an increase in the managers’ feeling that they have room for choice and discretion and a significant increase in the feeling that they have the resources and tools to manage the challenges. Here are several quotes from participants:

“The process turns the issue of resilience into an active action in practice.”

“An excellent combination of theoretical knowledge and practical tools for immediate implementation.”

“Working in small groups added great value and allowed for a more personal and in-depth work process and allowed for an open dialogue in which everyone had a place and the ability to express themselves safely.”

We argue that the triumphant implementation of this model within a healthcare organization in Israel stands as a powerful testament to the profound impact that resilience development can have on employee engagement, satisfaction, and the overall health of an organization. Witnessing the transformative effects on the healthcare staff stirred something deep within, the realization that this approach could be a beacon of hope beyond the walls of healthcare organizations.

Thereafter, a new collaboration was initiated with the R&D Unit of a Clinically Based Teacher Education in “Mofet Institute” in Israel. Fueled by a shared commitment to combat the alarming levels of burnout faced by their dedicated teaching teams, a decision was made to develop a training program for mentors who support student teachers. The goal is to equip these mentors with the ability to serve as “stress-regulating guides” by effectively applying the four stress regulation factors. This initiative is the first step in enhancing the resilience of future educators, ensuring they can navigate the challenges of the teaching profession with greater confidence and well-being. This is more than just a project; it is an emotional journey toward healing, empowerment, and revitalization in our schools. It is our conviction that together, we are crafting an innovative solution that honors the passion, resilience, and unwavering spirit of those who shape the minds of our future.

About the Authors

Dr. Anat Garti is a psychologist, certified family and couple therapist, senior coach (MCIL), organizational consultant, group instructor and lecturer in various academic institutes. She is a psychotherapist and supervisor with wide experience working with adults, adolescents and children in individuals, couples and family contexts and settings. She also consults for organizations in the field of stress and burnout, implementing ISO 45003 – Psychological Health and Safety at Work, with a focus on the field of work-family conflict. Garti is the chief psychologist of the Israel Values Center (www.values-center.co.il) and the author of “The Parent as a Value Anchor”(Garti & Dolan, 2016)  and “Work Family Triangle Synchronization” (Garti & Tzafrir, 2022).

Dr. Simon L. Dolan is a full professor, senior researcher and director of programs at Advantere School of Management (affiliated with Comillas, Duesto and Georgetown Universities). He has published 85 books (in multiple languages) and over 150 articles in referees’ journals. He is also the cofounder and President of the Global Future of Work Foundation. His work, consulting and research focus on values, leadership, coaching, stress management and resilience as well as issues connected to the future of work. He created the concept, methodology and tools connected to leading and coaching by values as well as the Stress Map. His full bio at: www.simondolan.com or www.learningaboutvalues.com

References

1. Grotberg, E. H. (1997). The International Resilience Research Project. Meeting Paper, 55th Annual Convention, International Council of Psychologists, Graz, Austria, 14-18.

2. Lazarus R.S. and Folkman S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. (New York: Springer)

3. Dolan, S. L. (2023). De-Stress at Work: Understanding and Combatting Chronic Stress. (Routledge).

4. Maslach Burnout Inventory, Wikipedia Maslach Burnout Inventory – Wikipedia

5. Dolan S.L, Garti, A.  Ben-Hur R., and Landau A. (2025). Managing Stress and Burnout (in Hebrew, Forthcoming).

6. Simon L. Dolan, Salvador Garcia and Bonnie Richley (2006). Managing byValues: A Guide to Living, Being Alive, and Making a Living in the XXI Century. (Palgrave-MacMillan, London, U.K); and Simon L. Dolan (2011). Coaching by Values: A Guide to Success in the Life of Business and the Business of Life. (iUniverse. Bloomington, IND).

7. Garti, A., and Dolan, S. L. (2019). Managing by values (MBV): Innovative Tools for Successful Micro Behavioral Conduct. The European Business Review.

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By Paul Grant

Emotionally present leadership fosters trust, connection, and psychological safety. By tapping into the power of personality diversity, leaders can respond with empathy and intentionality. Here, Paul Grant explores how practicing vulnerability and self-awareness cultivates workplaces where people feel seen, valued, and empowered to thrive authentically.

In today’s fast-paced, high-performance workplaces, leaders are under constant pressure to achieve results, deliver on expectations, and appear consistently composed. But a growing body of leadership research – and real-world experience – suggests that emotional presence, not perfection, is what truly inspires trust and drives performance.

When leaders show up as fully human – imperfect, emotionally aware, and engaged – they create space for connection, resilience, and authentic collaboration.

What Does It Mean to Lead with Emotional Presence?

Emotional presence means showing up as your whole self: aware of your emotions, open to others, and willing to be vulnerable when necessary. It’s about listening deeply, acknowledging your own mistakes, and creating psychological safety for your team. In contrast, the pursuit of perfection can create distance, fear of failure, and a culture where people feel the need to “perform” instead of being authentic.

Leadership rooted in presence allows people to feel seen, heard, and valued – not just measured. But emotional presence doesn’t mean being reactive or overly emotional; it means being intentional, grounded, and self-aware in how you lead – intentionality.

Two powerful tools that help leaders embrace this mindset are the E-Colours personality diversity model and the Personal Intervention technique. Together, they empower leaders to better understand themselves and others, and to choose connection over reaction – presence over perfection.

Understanding the E-Colours

E-Colours is a simple but powerful behavioural awareness framework that helps individuals recognise their communication styles, decision-making tendencies, and potential limiters. There are four core personality styles each associated with a colour:

• Red (Doer): Bold, action-oriented, and decisive. Reds provide confidence and urgency.
• Yellow (Socialiser): Expressive, energetic, and optimistic. Yellows inspire and engage others with enthusiasm.
• Blue (Relator): Compassionate, empathetic, and relationship driven. Blues prioritise harmony and emotional well-being.
• Green (Thinker): Analytical, precise, and cautious. Green value structure, logic, and well-thought-out decisions.

Most people have a blend of two dominant colours that influence how they show up in life and at work. For example, a Red/Yellow leader might be fast-paced, decisive and inspiring, while a Blue/Green leader may be thoughtful, emotionally attuned and analytical.

Knowing your own personality tendencies – and understanding those of your team – helps you lead more intentionally, with empathy, effectiveness, structure and motivation.

The Problem with Perfection

Many leaders feel they need to have all the answers, never show doubt, and always remain composed. This drive for perfection, often reinforced by organisational culture or past expectations, can cause leaders to suppress their emotions or avoid vulnerability.

However, when leaders try to be flawless:

• They can become unapproachable.
• Their team may hide mistakes or avoid sharing ideas.
• They risk emotional burnout by constantly performing instead of connecting.
• They may unintentionally create fear-based work environments.

In contrast, emotionally present leaders say things like:

• “I’m not sure, but let’s figure it out together.”
• “I made a mistake, here’s what I learned.”
• “I can see you’re frustrated. Let’s talk about it.”

This authenticity builds trust. But emotional presence requires awareness and discipline – especially when our instincts push us toward autopilot reactions.

Personal Intervention: The Gateway to Emotional Presence 

Personal Intervention is the practice of pausing before reacting, especially in emotionally charged or high-pressure situations. It allows leaders to override their default tendencies and choose responses that align with their values and the needs of the moment.

It works in three steps:

1. Recognise your internal response – frustration, defensiveness, the urge to fix.
2. Pause before reacting.
3. Choose a response that reflects presence, empathy, and conscious leadership.

This practice is essential for leaders who want to shift from reactive perfectionism to relational responsive presence.

Real-Life Application: Presence Over Perfection

Scenario:

A leader is presenting a major initiative when a team member challenges a key assumption in front of others. The leader feels embarrassed and triggered. 

Default (Perfection-Driven) Reaction:

• Red may respond with authority: “We’ll discuss this later. Let’s stay on track.”
• Yellow may brush it off with a joke or deflect.
• Blue might freeze, avoid conflict, or agree even if they disagree internally.
• Green may become overly critical or dig into the data to defend themselves. 

Personal Intervention Response:

The leader pauses and considers, What does the moment need?

They might say: “That’s a fair point – I appreciate your perspective. Let’s take five minutes to explore it together.”

This response:

• Validates the team member.
• Models humility and openness.
• Reinforces a culture of safety and contribution.

Over time, these micro-moments of presence build psychological trust – and dismantle the myth of perfection.

Know Thyself: How Self-Awareness Helps Build Emotionally Present Leaders

Self-reflection and other-awareness are both key to emotional presence.

Here’s how:

1. Self-Awareness

Knowing your own personality tendencies – expressed, for example, through your E-Colours – helps you recognise when your potential limiters become dominant under stress:

• Reds may become domineering.
• Yellows may gloss over problems.
• Blues may avoid necessary conflict.
• Greens may get stuck in analysis.

With this awareness, you can catch yourself and apply Personal Intervention to determine the appropriate response for the situation at hand. 

2. Understanding Others

When you understand the personality dynamics at play in your team, you lead with more empathy:

• You’ll know that a Blue teammate may need reassurance before change.
• A Red colleague values efficiency and decisiveness.
• A Yellow thrives on appreciation and creative freedom.
• A Green wants clarity and logic before acting.

This perspective lets you lead through connection, not control.

3. Building Safety

Emotionally present leaders build psychological safety, and E-Colours provides a shared vocabulary for discussing behaviours openly – without judgment. When team members can say things like, “I’m going into my high Red right now,” or “I need a moment for a Personal Intervention,” they build emotional intelligence together.

The ROI of Emotional Presence

Emotionally present leaders don’t just create nicer workplaces – they create better performing, relating, enjoyable and structured workplaces. Emotionally intelligent leadership fosters:

• Higher engagement and retention
• Stronger collaboration
• Faster conflict resolution
• Better innovation and adaptability
• Greater overall trust in leadership

And perhaps most importantly, emotionally intelligent leaders create cultures where people feel safe being human – bringing their full selves to work without fear of judgment or failure.

Aim for Presence – Not Perfection

Perfection might get compliance, but presence earns commitment.

Leadership in the modern world isn’t about being flawless. It’s about being real, being aware, and being willing to grow. The combination of E-Colours & Personal Intervention gives leaders the tools to recognise who they are, understand who their people are, and meet every moment with intentionality and humanity.

So, the next time you’re tempted to be perfect – pause and then choose how to respond. That’s where real leadership begins.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this article should be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. The contents of this article are the opinions of the author.

About the Author

Paul Grant is a serial entrepreneur, a leading expert on personality diversity and co-author of Personalities Remixed.

The post Leading With Humanity: Why Emotional Presence Beats Perfection appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Tom Preston and Luciana Nuñez

An effective team leader is at the same time the team’s coach. But how should they approach that role? Tom Preston and Luciana Nuñez offer some valuable pointers, not the least of which is “The Performance Equation”.

Much of leading is around helping teams to perform at their best. In the past, that might have been through sharing experience or deciding on a structure and roles and responsibilities. However, with so much change in the air all around us, team leadership requires far more agility and adaptability than it did in the past. In other words, it requires the leader of a team to also be the team’s coach.

We know that when trust is high, we look forward to time spent together, to solving problems and celebrating achievements together.

We all know the thrill of working in a team that is creative, supportive, and helps each other to perform. We know that when trust is high, we look forward to time spent together, to solving problems and celebrating achievements together. Success not only breeds success but it is also fun—and both of these can be strong talent magnets that can make high-performing teams sustainable. Yet we also know the sense of dread when none of those things are true and teams are fraught with politics, are low in trust, and the time spent together feels like walking on eggshells or stepping through a minefield. It is the difference between these two states that makes the leadership and coaching of teams so critical.

Common Traits of High-Performing Teams

We have coached a huge number of teams over the past 20 years. It is clear to us that, regardless of what the team is responsible for or the sector they operate in, there are commonalities to all high-performing teams. As a team’s coach, understanding  which key characteristics to coach the team on is the first step, so identifying and understanding these similarities is a good place to start.

We have observed these 10 commonalities among high-performing teams:

1. They share a clear vision of collective success
2. They respect and value difference, and they act on it
3. They define and document shared values, attitudes, and behaviors
4. They trust each other and show positive intent
5. They regularly have courageous conversations to make the best decisions
6. They give each other helpful feedback
7. They are thinking partners, actively listening and comfortable asking for help
8. They hold each other accountable
9. They role-model behaviors that we expect people to live by
10. They have fun together!

Coaching Your Team

Thinking about your team or the teams that you lead, how many of these points have you taken time to discuss and to codify? Can you fill in the team’s definition of collective success and your attitudes and behaviors? If you talked about trust levels in your team, consistency of message to those around your team, and the level of clarity they transmit, what would they say and how could these be improved? How strongly would they rate their ability to have courageous conversations and to hold each other to account? What could be done to improve these areas of high performance?

Laying Down the Foundations

We recommend that you take time, at least one and a half days, with your team to discuss these topics. It is only by doing so that the whole team will get behind the importance of these “soft” topics that are key to their ability to deliver on the hard outcomes that will be required of them.

In the process, you will be able to gauge how strong the team’s foundations are and whether or not you need to do additional work on making sure that the team environment is actually psychologically safe, inclusive, and embracing of diversity or if, in fact, you need to collectively work on these topics in the same way.

We recommend leveraging the following Performance Equation with teams by means of introduction and mind-setting. The team can understand the importance of spending valuable time to get these aspects of high-performing teams right and the value that this work can bring.

When defining Performance, it’s all about aligning on what success looks like for the team and the business. From “doubling market share” to “being recognized as industry trailblazers,” make sure that these criteria are motivating yet within the realm of control of your team.

As you discuss your Capabilities, the goal is to clearly pinpoint the three to five key capabilities that will help you achieve your definition of success: from faster time to market in innovation, to data-driven decisions, help your team align on the critical factors that will truly move the needle of performance.

When it comes to Attitude², it’s all about how you show up as leaders, individually and collectively. Attitude is squared in the equation because it is in fact a limitless driver of performance, and is fully within your control. How we show up is a choice we can make every day, many times over. Defining key behaviors and mindset is the language you are looking for here. From “empowering others to act and decide fast” to “resilience in the face of setbacks,” make sure that you prioritize the characteristics that your team can be a role model of, to drive positive impact in the organization at large.

As the leader and coach, your job is to set up the team to be open to discuss what is and is not yet working and then make changes that will be helpful to everyone. Then you can help them to do the work needed to identify what those changes are and how they can be implemented. A note of caution here. Be careful not to slip into the overuse of your leadership mantle here and be tempted to “tell them” what needs to be done differently. You are the team’s coach primarily at this time and they will never fully own what they have not co-created.

Whenever possible, it is always better to do team coaching off-site in an environment where the team is not anchored in behaving in a certain way or where they can get distracted with computers and the normal workings of an office that they are used to. It also signifies that the work the team is going to do together is important.

We recommend that team coaching happens every three to four months to review progress and make any changes that are critical, although beware not to change things just for the sake of it. Effectively, coaching your team allows you to set the culture of the team and to maintain it in a healthy and transparent manner.

About the Authors

Tom Preston, co-author of COACHING POWER, is the founder of The Preston Associates, one of the world’s premier executive coaching firms. With decades of experience coaching leaders across industries and geographies, he has helped organizations achieve extraordinary outcomes. A former private equity executive and bestselling author of Coach Yourself to Success, he brings deep insights and practical wisdom to his work.

Luciana Nuñez, co-author of COACHING POWER, is Head of Americas and Partner at The Preston Associates. She is an accomplished executive coach and former CEO with more than 20 years of leadership experience at Fortune 500 companies, including Bayer, Danone, and Roche. She blends her strategic expertise with a passion for coaching, serving as a board member, investor, and advisor to entrepreneurs and executives worldwide.

The post The Performance Equation: How Great Leaders Coach Teams to Excellence appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Amy Brann

Motivation isn’t about perks or pressure. In this eye-opening piece, Amy Brann, author of Make Your Brain Work, reveals why outdated incentive models fail and how leaders can truly energise teams by understanding the brain’s reward system, directing attention wisely, and creating space for deeper meaning, reflection, and self-driven motivation.

Did you know that leaders are not just setting goals—they’re shaping brains? Every conversation, priority, or performance framework subtly rewires what your team pays attention to—and therefore what drives them. In short, leaders are custodians of attention. And that makes them architects of motivation.

Yet many organisations are still clinging to outdated motivation models: carrot-and-stick incentives, short-term rewards, and generic ‘engagement’ initiatives. The science is in—and these approaches are not only ineffective, but often counterproductive. If you want a high-performing, energised, resilient team, it’s time to rethink what actually drives people at work.

1. Understand the Brain’s Reward System—Or Risk Working Against It

Most motivation strategies fail because they misunderstand how the brain processes rewards. Dopamine, the chemical often associated with motivation, is not simply released when someone gets a bonus or praise. It’s released in anticipation of something meaningful—especially when a person feels they had some autonomy or identity in achieving it.

This is where traditional rewards go wrong. Monetary incentives, performance rankings or superficial perks often light up the brain’s reward circuitry only briefly—a dopamine spike followed by diminishing returns. The neuroscience is clear: lasting motivation is fuelled not by short-term external rewards, but by internal ones that connect to purpose, contribution, and personal identity.

If you want sustained motivation, design roles and recognition systems that help people feel proud of who they are becoming—not just what they’ve done.

2. Motivation Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All—It’s Shaped by Attention and Conditioning

Here’s a truth that surprises many leaders during my keynotes: there’s no such thing as a ‘Gen Z brain’ or a ‘Boomer brain.’ All generations share the same neurological architecture. What differs is how their reward systems have been conditioned to light up.

Some individuals will be energised by hitting a metric. Others by solving a complex puzzle, or knowing their work has made someone’s life easier. These triggers are shaped by culture, personal values, and formative experiences—not by age or job title.

And this is where your role as a custodian of attention becomes vital. What you choose to spotlight in meetings, what you celebrate in others, what you measure—these direct attention, and attention shapes behaviour. If you focus only on revenue, expect short-termism. If you focus on mastery, collaboration or growth, expect a very different culture.

To motivate your team, know what lights them up—and then keep drawing their attention there.

3. Coaching Conversations Elicit Identity-Level Motivation

The best motivation doesn’t come from external nudges – it comes from within. But most organisations don’t give people the space to discover what truly drives them.

That’s where coaching-style management makes all the difference.

Unlike performance reviews or directives, coaching creates a space for employees to reflect, explore, and find meaning in their work. It encourages people to ask not just what they’re doing, but why it matters—and how it aligns with their own sense of identity.

From a neuroscience perspective, this isn’t soft skills – it’s highly strategic. Identity-level reflection activates the medial prefrontal cortex, involved in self-relevance and future-oriented thinking. It allows someone to connect a task not just to the company mission, but to their own values, growth, or who they aspire to be.

Want your people to feel truly engaged? Ask better questions (e.g. What part of this project feels most meaningful to you personally? Or What kind of reputation or impact do you want to build through this role?), listen longer, and help them find their own why—not just yours.

4. Downtime Isn’t a Luxury – It’s Where Motivation Gets Wired In

We often think motivation is about doing more. But sometimes, the key is in doing nothing – deliberately.

Research into the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) has shown that during rest, reflection or daydreaming, we integrate ideas, solidify memories, and generate new connections. These moments are not wasted – they are where deeper meaning is made. When people have time to pause, they’re more likely to link their daily work with broader goals, values, or insights. That connection builds intrinsic motivation.

This is why relentless busyness kills motivation. It gives people no time to internalise, reframe, or extract meaning from their work.

If you want lasting motivation, don’t just encourage downtime—protect it.

5. Purpose and Identity Trump Pay Cheques—Every Time

Compensation matters. But beyond a certain point, it stops motivating. What keeps people going through uncertainty, complexity, or setbacks is purpose—and its close cousin, identity.

Meaningful work doesn’t have to change the world. But people do need to see how their effort contributes to something worthwhile—and how it reflects the kind of person they want to be. Whether it’s being known as the go-to problem-solver, or the person who always has time to mentor others, these identity hooks activate deep neural reward pathways far more powerfully than short term material gains.

So when you connect a task to an organisational mission, don’t stop there. Ask: How could this role connect to who this person wants to become?

Because when people do work that aligns with their identity, they don’t just show up—they shine.

Rethinking Your Role as a Leader

The carrot-and-stick model belongs to a different era. Today’s business leaders need to become neuroscience-literate, emotionally intelligent custodians of attention and meaning.

Start by asking:

• What do I draw my team’s attention to most?
• Do I know what truly lights each person up?
• Are my conversations helping people feel seen, stretched and aligned with who they want to be?

Because motivation isn’t something you give to people. It’s something you help them find—and fuel.

And that’s not just good leadership. That’s good science.

About the Author

Amy Brann is the founder of Synaptic Potential and author of Make Your Brain Work (Kogan Page), out 3^rd August 2025.

The post Motivation Myths: Why Carrots and Sticks are Failing Your Team appeared first on The European Business Review.

Toxic colleagues don’t always shout or sabotage openly. Often, their behavior is subtle—undermining, exclusionary, and hard to pinpoint. But the impact is real. If you find yourself second-guessing, bracing before meetings, or emotionally drained, this guide offers clear, practical strategies to help you protect your well-being and reclaim your confidence.

You may believe you’d recognize workplace toxicity if you saw it. You’d expect raised voices, power plays, backstabbing, open conflict, or a combination of those. The reality is often far more subtle, especially when the dysfunctional behavior comes from a peer. Toxic colleagues are not always disruptive in obvious ways. Sometimes, they operate through small gestures and patterns. They may consistently dismiss your contributions, leave you out of key decisions, and their praise may sound more like criticism. Each incident, on its own, may seem minor. But when a colleague consistently undermines you, subtly or not, this may lead you to second-guess yourself, brace before meetings, or slowly withdraw from the work you used to enjoy.

In my coaching practice, I often encounter high-performing professionals who find themselves doubting their own judgment and abilities when confronted with the emotional friction of working with someone whose behavior chips away at their confidence.

If you’re in this situation, here’s how to recognize the impact of a toxic colleague and some practical ways to protect your well-being.

Look for the pattern behind the behavior

One of the most confusing characteristics of toxic behavior is unpredictability. Your colleague might be helpful and collaborative one day, and aloof or passive-aggressive the next. That inconsistency often keeps you on your toes. You spend more energy anticipating and managing their mood than focusing on your work.

You might notice:

• Feedback that’s vague or undermining (“I wouldn’t have done it that way, but okay.”)
• Exclusion from relevant meetings or email conversations, followed by casual deflection (“Oh, I must have forgotten to cc: you on this thread. So sorry.”)
• Over-familiarity in the form of inappropriate jokes, comments framed as “banter,” or unsolicited advice about your performance.

This is behavior that’s designed, consciously or not, to keep you off-balance. If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not imagining it.

Validate your experience

The first step is not to confront the toxic colleague, but to gain clarity. Many people stay in toxic dynamics because they assume it’s just them (the “Maybe I’m too sensitive” assumption). But noticing that something feels off is a signal worth trusting.

Try writing down the behaviors you’re seeing, without judgment or interpretation. What was said? What was the context? How did it land? Naming the specific actions helps separate facts from emotions so that you can identify the pattern and have a clearer picture of it over time.

Maintain your boundaries

Toxic colleagues will almost always test your boundaries, both in obvious and subtle ways: dropping last-minute tasks on your plate, speaking over you in meetings, or adding pressure on you in the context of “collaboration.” Once you recognise these are behaviors for what they are – designed to destabilise you – instead of getting defensive, try being assertive:

• “I’ll need that request by [x time] if it’s going to fit into my priorities.”
• “I’d like to finish my point before we move on.”
• “I’d prefer we keep this focused on the work rather than personal opinions.”

You don’t need to justify your limits, but you do need to communicate them clearly and consistently, with calm and composure.

Find your allies

Dealing with a toxic colleague can feel isolating. Especially if others don’t seem to notice or are hesitant to speak up – which happens often. Find one or two people in your organization who you trust to validate your concerns without amplifying the drama. That might be a peer who’s experienced something similar, a mentor, or a manager you trust. Frame the conversation emphasising the impact this disruptive behavior has on your contribution, not necessarily the personal impact: “Here’s what I’ve observed, and here’s how it’s affecting my ability to contribute effectively to the organisation.”

It’s important to keep track and document the patterns of behavior so that, if the situation escalates or doesn’t shift, it’s easier to involve HR and/or escalate through appropriate channels, should you choose to do so.

Protect your energy

Having to deal with a toxic colleague can take a toll on your mental and emotional bandwidth. You might find yourself spending more time anticipating problems than solving them. Reclaiming space for yourself and safeguarding your energy might look like:

• Taking a break after a tense meeting.
• Starting your day with one task you enjoy before dealing with your colleague’s demands.
• Finding moments in your day to connect with people whom you trust and who energize you.

The goal isn’t to avoid discomfort (you can’t do much about that), but to stop internalizing it.

A toxic colleague might not have formal authority, but their behavior can still shape how you feel about your job, your team, and yourself. And while you may not be able to change how they operate, you can absolutely change how much power their actions hold over your day-to-day experience. The strategies above aren’t about fixing them, but about reclaiming your sense of safety, clarity, and control in an environment that might not always offer it freely. You don’t need permission to protect your well-being. You just need to acknowledge (rather than normalise) what’s unacceptable, and then choose your response. That choice is yours.

About the Author

Katia Vlachos is a reinvention coach and the author of Uncaged: A Good Girl’s Journey to Reinvention. She helps accomplished professionals navigate career transitions and create meaningful change without sacrificing their authentic selves.

The post How to Handle a Toxic Colleague – Strategies to Protect Your Wellbeing appeared first on The European Business Review.

The podcast and the article are brought to you by The Better Boards Podcast Series.

In recent years, transformation skills have gained significant importance at the board level, as highlighted by our board evaluations. Culture and talent have steadily climbed the board agenda—yet notably, HR professionals remain rare in boardrooms. Why?

In this episode of the Better Boards Podcast Series, Dr. Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards, explores the vital role of transformation, culture, and talent with Devyani P. Vaishampayan. Devyani is the Remco Chair and NED at Norman Broadbent Plc and Supply Chain Coordination Limited, and an Independent NED on the Audit Board of ForvisMazars. She is also a Fellow at Chapter Zero—an initiative focused on climate-conscious board leadership—and a Board Mentor with Critical Eye.

Over the past seven years, Devyani has emerged as a successful AI entrepreneur. She recently completed a strategic exit from her AI Innovation Hub, which supported organisations in adopting AI for leadership, culture, and future-of-work initiatives. Her journey is underpinned by over 30 years as a global, multi-sector FTSE 30 Group CHRO, where she led complex, multi-billion-dollar organisations.

“It’s still quite rare to find HR professionals on the board. There’s a perception that HR is a support function, lacking commercial acumen—and therefore not a strong partner at board level.”

Despite this, Devyani believes HR leaders can earn their place at the table by demonstrating commercial insight, a firm grasp of business drivers, financials, customer impact, and strategic thinking. She advocates that HR professionals consider roles beyond HR or entrepreneurial ventures to broaden their perspectives and build credibility.

“It’s a cliché now—every second person is talking about AI—but very few understand how swiftly change is occurring.”

Transformation is not new, but the pace of transformation today is unprecedented. Devyani points to recent geopolitical shifts, such as tariff changes, as examples of fast-moving developments requiring boards to act with agility. Within this context, AI emerges as both an accelerant and a disruptor.

Boards must recognise AI’s dual nature: its vast potential for insight and efficiency, and its inherent risks—such as bias, data privacy, and trust issues. Instead of imposing heavy restrictions that could stifle innovation and employee engagement, boards should invest the time to understand and prepare for AI’s full impact.

“When it comes to transforming culture and talent, boards need to lead more, engage more, and get hands-on with what’s happening on the ground.”

According to Devyani, boards that excel in managing culture and talent transformation do three things well:

1. They bring in specialists. Recognising that not all leaders are well-versed in culture and talent transformation, high-performing boards engage experts who can help design the right systems and processes.
2. They stay connected. One exemplary board Devyani works with holds dedicated two-day sessions to meet directly with employees. This face-to-face feedback surpasses what annual surveys offer and provides invaluable insights into workforce sentiment and leadership capability.
3. They lead by example. Board chairs in particular can role-model values and lead cultural initiatives rather than leaving everything to the executive team.

“Boards today need to become mentors to the executive team.”

While some executives prefer a “nose in, hands out” approach, Devyani argues that most executive teams don’t have all the answers in today’s fast-paced world. A board that listens actively, provides context, and shares wisdom can become a trusted mentor and guide.

Skilled board chairs facilitate this by aligning the strengths of board members with executives, creating natural mentoring relationships. Subcommittees and cross-committee meetings can be structured to support ongoing conversations around leadership, strategy, and culture, without overburdening anyone.

Top Three Takeaways for effective boards:

1. HR leaders have a unique board advantage. Like CFOs, they regularly engage with the board in their executive capacity. Use this access to understand board dynamics, shape leadership discussions, and position yourself as a trusted advisor.
2. Go beyond your domain. Today’s board roles require more than deep expertise—you need breadth. Broaden your skills and perspectives to remain board-relevant and bring fresh value.
3. AI will reshape everything. As a board member, you are responsible for going beyond webinars and getting hands-on with AI. Understand its capabilities and risks firsthand to guide your organisation wisely.

Don’t forget to subscribe never to miss an episode of the Better Boards Podcast Series. Available on their website, Apple, Spotify or Google.

To find out how you can participate in the Better Boards Podcast Series or more information on Better Boards’ solutions, please email us at info@better-boards.com.

The post The Better Boards Podcast Series: Living with Uncertainty – The Importance of Transformation, Culture, and Talent appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Dr. Siew Fang Law and Hannes van Rensburg

“Toughen up” or “power through” mentality is no longer sufficient to build resilient leaders and leadership. As leaders, you need to give yourself permission to prioritise care. By doing so, you will be able to alter the energy within yourself and the workplace. 

Do you feel that you are at the edge of compassion fatigue or burnout? Are you currently navigating the increasingly complex, challenging, and dynamic nature of workplaces? In today’s high-pressure and fast-paced environment, the focus on productivity and performance often overshadows the importance of checking in with our sense of well-being.  

We need an effective model to help us navigate our inner landscape and external currents, so we can feel safe to recharge our energy and build a more caring organisational culture. One of the most effective ways to begin building a compassionate work culture is by looking at a surprisingly simple concept: the Japanese bento box.  

The bento box, a compartmentalised lunch box designed to provide a beautifully balanced meal with various delicious flavours, textures, and nutrients, can offer valuable insights into the delicate art of balancing the interconnectedness of its elements. The principles of the bento box can inspire us to make sense of the interconnected nature of building a culture of care in today’s workplaces. The compartments within the bento box provide a structure to remind us of the importance of maintaining our well-being so we can continue to support our teams and our organisation effectively. We, much like the bento box, can maintain equilibrium across multiple dimensions of our lives. These dimensions span from our individual well-being to our relationships with others, shaping the organisational culture, and beyond. 

How to Care for Leaders Who Care 

We can use the bento box as an analogy for a visual and metaphorical well-being barometer.  The aim is to create a healthy balance across different dimensions. You can draw on key principles inspired by the bento box, such as consciousness, action, reciprocity, and equilibrium, to design and implement workplace strategies and programs with hearts to lift and sustain your and the organisation’s energy and still remain effective in your roles through experiencing the power of care. You could ensure your department has the resources (funding, time, people, space, capacity, and capabilities) to foster compassion throughout the organisation.  Here are three practical tips inspired by the bento box principles that can help you achieve equilibrium within yourself and your organisation: 

1. Encourage Self-Care as a Priority (Individual Dimension)

Just like the bento box, you can assess or check-in on your personal and organisational barometers to understand whether self-care has been prioritised and practiced. Are there reasonable space and time allocations to engage in regular healthy activities that recharge your emotional, mental, and physical energy? These activities could range from exercise to hobbies or spending time with loved ones. Additionally, leadership coaching and mentoring may help you and your leaders work on your psychosocial safety and well-being. You may find suitable coaches who can guide you through some of your shadow work and ensure that you are practicing what you preach when it comes to self-care. 

By normalising and mainstreaming self-care starting at the leadership level, you can promote a culture where prioritising personal well-being is normal and is considered a strength, not an abnormality or limitation, in your workplace.  

2. Foster Connection and Peer Support (Relationship Dimension)

Leadership can be a lonely endeavour, but a leader cannot work alone. This is where the bento box principle of reciprocity comes into play. Connect with your peers beyond the organisation. Consciously organise the right kind of peer support groups or mentorship programs, where you and others feel safe to connect, build trust, share challenges, brainstorm solutions, and emotionally support each other. These connections help prevent the sense of isolation and loneliness that often contributes to an empty tank. 

3. Shape a Culture of Care (Organisational Dimension)

In the bento box, the food is arranged thoughtfully to create balance. Similarly, you can cultivate organisational culture with care to ensure that priorities are not just expected to deliver results but also to nurture the well-being of yourself and your teams. You can build programs that embody and celebrate empathy, work-life balance, and emotional intelligence.  

You may articulate clear expectations around the behaviours of compassionate leadership, such as encouraging active listening and presence, showing appreciation for team efforts, and maintaining transparency.  

The need for compassionate leadership has never been more critical. When compassionate leaders are not cared for and leave the organisation, less compassionate leaders stay. Resulting in key leadership talent being lost and workplace culture shifts. Essential for long-term trust and sustainability, you can set the process in motion by revising policies to encourage and celebrate compassionate behaviours, promote training in emotional intelligence, and role model caring values. 

You can create an environment where you and your leaders feel empowered and normal to take time and hold space to care for both yourselves and your teams. Starting with showing care and providing a road map to yourself and your leaders, especially when you are aware that people are struggling from within but want to change for the better, you can shift a work environment from an apathetic and toxic culture to a caring and healthier one. The ripple effects will benefit your clients and customers and positively impact your communities and society.  

“Toughen up” or “power through” mentality is no longer sufficient to build resilient leaders and leadership. Give yourself permission to prioritise care. By doing so, you will be able to alter the energy within yourself and the workplace. Ultimately, when you feel cared for, you are better equipped to care for others—and that is the foundation of a truly compassionate and sustainably productive workplace.

About the Authors 

Dr. Siew Fang Law and Hannes van Rensburg are co-authors of The Power of Care. Dr. Siew Fang is a social psychologist and peace psychology expert, Hannes is a leadership coach and former senior executive. Together, they bring their combined expertise and personal experiences to champion a movement of care, offering practical tools and insights to transform lives and create a more compassionate world. Find out more at www.BentoBoxOfCare.com. 

The post 3 Things a ‘Bento Box’ Approach Can Teach Leaders about Building a Culture of Care  appeared first on The European Business Review.

Today, employers work in a fast-moving and competitive landscape, where making a bad hire can be quite costly. The risks are significant, ranging from damage to reputation and financial losses to disruptions within the team. So, establishing trust before signing the contract isn’t just a good idea—it’s essential. When organizations check a candidate’s qualifications, identity, and professional background, they lay the groundwork for a successful working relationship.

Why Pre-Employment Checks Matter More Than Ever

With remote hiring and digital applications becoming the norm, it’s getting harder to genuinely evaluate the accuracy of the information candidates provide. Although many applicants are truthful, there are still instances where academic qualifications are overstated, work experiences are made up, or legal issues are conveniently left out. Bypassing pre-employment checks can result in unexpected issues that put the integrity and safety of the organization at risk.

In some sectors like finance, healthcare, education, or government, performing these checks is not only recommended but often mandated by law. Employers in these fields need to carry out thorough background checks, which include looking into criminal records, verifying professional licenses, and confirming right-to-work status. If this isn’t done, it could lead to regulatory issues, lawsuits, or major operational risks.

Pre-employment screening is quickly becoming a common best practice, even in industries that aren’t regulated. This shows that an organization is dedicated to due diligence, professional ethics, and employee safety, which are all essential for sustainable growth.

What Do Pre-Employment Checks Involve?

The extent of pre-employment screening can differ based on the job, industry, and location. There are a few key elements that you’ll typically find in most checks. The process usually begins by confirming a candidate’s identity and their legal ability to work. After that, employers usually check educational qualifications, previous job history, and references.

In positions that require interaction with vulnerable individuals or handling sensitive data, it may be necessary to conduct more thorough checks. These may involve checking credit history, reviewing criminal records, conducting global sanctions screening, and even looking at social media to identify any potential red flags. When it comes to managerial or high-stakes roles, it’s really important to check leadership credentials and ensure decision-making integrity.

Every step in this process is designed to make sure that the candidate not only fulfills the necessary qualifications but also doesn’t present any unnecessary risks to the organization’s clients, assets, or culture.

When Should These Checks Be Done?

The timing of pre-employment screenings is really important for their effectiveness. Typically, in hiring processes, these checks happen after a conditional job offer is made but before the final contract is signed. This stage lets both the employer and the candidate progress positively while keeping the option to reevaluate if any significant issues come up.

Placing the screening process between the job offer and the official hiring helps businesses safeguard their interests while allowing candidates to be open and honest. This step usually serves as a last checkpoint in the hiring process, giving companies the chance to pause or retract an offer if important details don’t align with the information given.

Also, having a clear process and sharing it with the candidate helps maintain transparency. This clears up any confusion and emphasizes that the company prioritizes integrity, accountability, and fairness.

The Shift from Manual to Digital: How Technology Is Changing the Game

In the past, pre-employment screening involved a lot of manual work, including heaps of paperwork, faxed forms, numerous emails, and lengthy waiting times. HR teams had to manage various verifications, reach out to institutions and former employers manually, and at times depend on outdated systems that slowed down hiring decisions.

Today’s competitive hiring landscape requires us to be quick, precise, and secure. When verifications are delayed, companies risk losing out on top talent, and using outdated processes can lead to mistakes. There’s been an increasing need for tech-based solutions that streamline the whole process and enhance security.

PESCheck is a contemporary background screening platform that allows employers to easily request and manage checks in a secure, centralized, and automated way.

How PESCheck Streamlines the Screening Process

PESCheck makes a once tedious task easier by transforming it into a smooth and organized workflow. Companies can easily start different checks online through the platform, including identity verification, criminal background checks, reference validation, and more, all without the hassle of managing documents by hand.

We make sure that data is encrypted and stored safely, and only authorized users can access it. This helps us comply with privacy laws such as GDPR. This is particularly important in areas with strict data protection rules, where mishandling candidate information can result in significant legal issues.

PESCheck helps HR departments by automating parts of the verification process and providing easy-to-use dashboards, allowing them to concentrate on strategic hiring instead of getting bogged down in paperwork. With real-time updates, progress tracking, and result summaries, guesswork is minimized, allowing for informed decision-making at each stage.

Benefits for Employers and Candidates Alike

A major benefit of thorough pre-employment checks is that they help build a sense of trust between the employer and the candidate. As companies become more confident in their hiring choices, candidates enjoy a more seamless and clear onboarding process.

When done properly, background checks don’t come across as intrusive—they actually provide a sense of reassurance. The organization shows the candidate that it values professionalism, quality, and ethical standards. It makes a great first impression and establishes the mood for the entire employee experience.

Platforms such as PESCheck aim to improve this experience. We guide candidates through the process step by step, clearly explaining what data is needed and why it’s important. This reduces friction and increases engagement.

The Strategic Value of Background Screening

Pre-employment screening is not just about protection; it also significantly influences the long-term culture of a company. When organizations hire individuals with verified backgrounds and qualifications, they boost the likelihood of employee success, decrease turnover rates, and cut down on training costs.

Every successful hire that comes from this effort makes the team stronger. It helps keep things running smoothly and creates a workplace where everyone feels they’re collaborating with equally qualified professionals. This trust we share creates a ripple effect. It lifts morale, encourages collaboration, and enhances performance metrics.

It helps to safeguard the company’s brand image. A single scandal from a hire that wasn’t properly vetted can lead to bad press, customer backlash, and a lack of trust within the organization. Using tools like PESCheck, businesses can reduce these risks and make sure their teams are established on strong foundations.

Legal Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Not carrying out the required checks can lead to legal issues for a business. If a candidate who isn’t qualified or is fraudulent causes problems, the company could end up dealing with lawsuits, regulatory fines, or issues with insurance. This is particularly important in areas where compliance is essential.

Pre-employment checks act as a way for organizations to ensure they are following the necessary rules regarding data security, workplace safety, and financial transparency. When businesses incorporate a legally compliant platform like PESCheck into their workflow, they show their dedication to due process and ethical hiring practices.

Additionally, employers take steps to safeguard themselves against claims of negligent hiring. If an employee commits misconduct that could have been anticipated during the screening process, the company might be held responsible unless it can demonstrate that it took appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.

Scaling with Confidence

As companies expand, they tend to hire more, which creates a greater demand for solutions that can scale effectively. Using manual methods just doesn’t work when you’re hiring a lot of people. Integrating digital tools into the recruitment process helps businesses maintain consistency and accuracy, regardless of the number of candidates involved.

Platforms such as PESCheck provide scalability while maintaining quality. No matter if you’re bringing on ten people or ten thousand, the process stays quick, dependable, and completely trackable. This scalability enables companies, from startups to global enterprises, to grow with confidence.

Transparency as a Core Hiring Principle

A successful workplace starts with being open. When candidates and employers are open with each other, it creates stronger partnerships. Open and respectful communication during the screening process helps to build trust and demonstrates professionalism.

When pre-employment screening is conducted with understanding and transparency, it not only safeguards companies but also enhances the overall hiring experience. When candidates feel respected, organizations benefit from valuable insights, leading to a more cohesive work environment.

When you combine this philosophy with the right tools, such as PESCheck, it integrates smoothly into your recruitment strategy instead of being an afterthought. Companies can stick to their values, follow the law, and still hire quickly—all while keeping their integrity intact.

Final Thoughts

Bringing someone on board is about more than just filling a spot. It’s about welcoming someone into your environment—someone who will impact your brand, support your clients, and work alongside your team. The importance of this responsibility is why pre-employment checks are now essential in today’s hiring process.

Thanks to digital solutions like PESCheck, employers can now perform these checks more quickly, safely, and intelligently than ever before. It’s not only about verification; it’s about creating a workplace grounded in trust, transparency, and accountability from the very beginning.

If you want to improve your hiring process while ensuring compliance and efficiency, think about how pre-employment checks can serve as a strategic advantage rather than just a necessary step.

The post Pre-Employment Checks: Building a Culture of Trust Before the Hire appeared first on The European Business Review.

Introduction 

Emotional well-being and mental health of employees have become an increasing concern over the last few years. The modern workplace have witnessed a significant transformation. Employee well-being has increasingly gained attention in modern organizational practices, especially within human resource management. With a growing recognition of its impact on productivity, mental health, and job satisfaction, many organizations are investing in strategies that focus on enhancing the psychological health of their workforce. Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to their community  (Herrman et al., 2004). Programs like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), leadership development, and promoting psychological safety are just a few methods used to address these needs.

This article will explore the various ways HR practices influence mental health in the workplace. It will highlight the importance of implementing psychological safety and mental health initiatives, as well as the role of EAPs and leadership development in improving employee well-being, preventing burnout, and fostering a supportive work environment. Case studies, such as Caterpillar’s hybrid EAP model, will provide insight into how these strategies are applied and the benefits they bring to both employees and organizations.

Importance of emotional well-being 

Outside the field of organizational sciences, “happiness” is often understood as psychological well-being (PWB), which is sometimes referred to as personal or subjective well-being. PWB is generally described as the overall effectiveness of an individual’s psychological functioning. Unlike job satisfaction, which includes both cognitive and emotional components, PWB is primarily an emotional experience. It refers to the ability to manage emotions effectively, and cope with the challenges and stresses of daily living.  

Relationship between job satisfaction and performance

For decades, researchers have explored the theory that happiness and job satisfaction are directly linked to productivity, with studies dating back to the early 20th century consistently examining this relationship. Two primary theories emerge from the literature a) Human Relations Theory, and b) Emotion theory. Let us have a closer look at the two:

1. Human Relations Theory originating nearly a century ago, suggests that higher employee well-being, often assessed through job satisfaction, fosters higher morale, which subsequently enhances productivity.
2. Emotion Theory suggests that positive emotions and moods enhance motivation and performance, either directly or by influencing attitudes and behaviours. These frameworks highlight the significant impact of well-being on workplace outcomes.

Burnout

The adage “Happier workers work better” serves as a driving motivation to Human Resources departments to create a healthy and psychologically safe workplace for the employees. One of the main issues standing in the way of employees being happy is burnout. Maslach and Jackson (1981) conceptualized job burnout as a stress syndrome with three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment. It is a state of chronic physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. Burnout is not just about being tired, it represents a deeper crisis in which stress exceeds an individual’s capacity to cope effectively. Burnout has been a prevalent issue for a long time, but it is only in recent times that it has gained attention. Historically, the concept of burnout was not fully understood or acknowledged, and workers often pushed through stress and exhaustion without considering the long-term impact on their health or productivity. In many cultures, especially in highpressure industries, there was an expectation of constant output, and signs of burnout were often seen as personal failings rather than systemic issues. However, as awareness of mental health and well-being has grown, burnout has increasingly been recognized as a serious concern. The impact of burnout on productivity, job satisfaction, and overall health has prompted companies and HR professionals to take more proactive measures in addressing the issue. 

HR Strategies for Fostering Mental Health

In recent years, organizations have begun to prioritize employee well-being, implementing strategies such as mental health support programs, stress management workshops, and policies promoting work-life balance. There is also a growing emphasis on creating psychologically safe environments where employees feel supported, heard, and empowered to manage their workloads effectively.

Figure 1. Created by the author

Psychological safety

Psychological safety is described by Edmondson (1999) as the “shared belief held by members of a team that their team is safe for interpersonal risk taking – that others will not embarrass, reject, or punish them for speaking up”. Psychological safety is broadly defined as a climate in which people are comfortable expressing and being themselves. More specifically, when people have psychological safety at work, they feel comfortable sharing concerns and mistakes without fear of embarrassment or retribution. They are confident that they can speak up and won’t be humiliated, ignored, or blamed. They know they can ask questions when they are unsure about something. Psychological safety is an essential component of a healthy and highperforming workplace culture. When organizations prioritize it, they tend to experience lower turnover rates, higher employee engagement, and improved productivity. Employees in such environments feel valued, respected, and supported, which leads to greater job satisfaction and better overall performance. In contrast, a lack of psychological safety can foster a toxic work environment. Employees may become hesitant to speak up, share their ideas, or voice concerns, which stifles innovation and creativity. This is especially harmful for marginalized or underrepresented groups, who may already feel vulnerable or excluded, making them even more reluctant to express themselves in a psychologically unsafe environment.

HR practices play a crucial role in implementing psychological safety. Behaviourally, psychological safety leads employees to engage in open communication, voice their concerns, and seek greater feedback; all of which are interpersonally risky behaviors (Pearsall & Ellis, 2011). HR can also promote inclusivity by ensuring that all employees, especially those from marginalized groups, feel heard and valued. Training programs on empathy, bias reduction, and conflict resolution are often part of this approach, helping to create an environment of trust and respect. By embedding these practices into organizational culture, HR can help ensure that psychological safety becomes a foundational element of the workplace. This shift reflects a broader cultural change that recognizes the importance of sustainable working conditions for long-term success, both for employees and organizations alike. By implementing psychological safety in the workplace HR ensures reduction of stress and anxiety, enhanced emotional wellbeing, lower risk of burnout, encouragement of help-seeking behavior, positive organisational culture, increased job satisfaction and motivation which then sums up to positive impact on employees’ mental health.  

Occupational Health Psychology

Occupational Health Psychology is a field that is increasingly utilized by HR departments to improve mental health of employees within organizations. Occupational health psychology (OHP) is an interdisciplinary field focused on the well-being—specifically health and safety— of individuals in the workplace. Worker well-being is a crucial outcome for the employees themselves, as good health and safety directly impact their personal lives. Management often prioritizes employee well-being, recognizing that it can lead to valuable organizational outcomes such as lower healthcare costs, reduced absenteeism and turnover, and increased productivity. Thus, worker health is vital not only to the individual and the organization but also to society, as it affects national healthcare costs, productivity, and overall quality of life.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

These programs provide confidential counseling and support for employees facing personal problems, including mental health issues, substance abuse, and work-life balance challenges. Research consistently demonstrates that EAPs provide a significant return on investment by reducing absenteeism, improving employee productivity, and addressing mental health issues effectively, thereby enhancing overall organizational performance (Attridge, 2009). HR promotes and administers these services to help employees manage stress and maintain mental well-being.  

Wellness Programs

HR may implement initiatives focused on improving employees’ physical and mental health. Examples include fitness challenges, meditation sessions, ergonomic assessments, or providing resources for healthy eating. These programs are designed to improve employee well-being, reduce absenteeism, and increase overall productivity.

Stress Management Training

HR offer stress management workshops or seminars to teach employees techniques for coping with workplace stress, building resilience, and improving time management skills. This helps reduce burnout and improve overall job satisfaction.

Leadership Development Programs

HR often provides training for managers and leaders to enhance their emotional intelligence, communication, and conflict resolution skills. Leadership development programs have been shown to enhance leaders’ skills, foster team cohesion, and improve organizational effectiveness by creating a culture of trust and empowerment” (Day, 2000). These programs aim to help leaders create a positive work environment and manage teams more effectively, which directly impacts employee morale and productivity.

Case Study: 

Evaluating the Impact of Caterpillar’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) on Workplace Outcomes

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have become a cornerstone in supporting employee well-being, particularly in addressing work-related and personal challenges. Caterpillar, a leading manufacturer, conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of its EAP in improving work performance and overall life satisfaction. This case study details the methodology, findings, and implications of the study. 

Study Design

The study used a repeated-measures design to assess changes in five workplace outcome scales (WOS) before and after the utilization of EAP services. Key aspects of the study included:

• Data Collection: Initial data were gathered during EAP intake, while follow-up data were collected 90 days post-EAP service (Caterpillar Inc., 2015).
• Participants: Only employee clients (excluding family members) were included, with no incentives for participation (Caterpillar Inc., 2015).
• Methodology: Each participant served as their own control, reducing the influence of demographic and clinical factors (Caterpillar Inc., 2015).
• Limitations: The study lacked a comparison group, and potential biases due to non-random sampling and self-selection could not be fully examined (Caterpillar Inc., 2015).

The primary goal was to determine whether improvements in work performance persisted three months after using the EAP.

Results

The analysis revealed statistically significant improvements in several workplace and life satisfaction metrics (Caterpillar Inc., 2015). The table below summarizes the findings:

Discussion

The results of the study revealed significant improvements in absenteeism, presenteeism, and work distress, along with a modest increase in life satisfaction. These findings suggest that Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can play a crucial role in enhancing key workplace outcomes.

Notably, absenteeism showed the most improvement, indicating that addressing personal issues through the EAP may help reduce the time employees take off work. Similarly, presenteeism was reduced, implying that employees were able to focus better on their tasks as personal problems had less of an impact on their work.

However, the study found no substantial change in work engagement. This may reflect the limitations of EAPs, which, while effective at supporting individual well-being, may not have the capacity to directly address larger organizational factors that influence engagement.

These outcomes align with other studies that suggest hybrid EAP models, particularly those emphasizing face-to-face services, can provide notable benefits in improving employee productivity and reducing workplace stress.

Conclusion

Caterpillar’s EAP proved effective in enhancing employee well-being and improving workplace outcomes. The study highlights the value of EAPs in addressing absenteeism, presenteeism, and work distress, as well as their role in fostering overall life satisfaction (Caterpillar Inc., 2015). These findings underscore the importance of integrating EAPs into organizational strategies to promote a healthier, more productive workforce.

Organizations leveraging similar hybrid EAP models can expect comparable benefits, particularly when focusing on personalized and accessible services. However, broader systemic interventions are needed to address areas like work engagement that extend beyond the EAP’s scope.                                                                                                              

Conclusion

In conclusion, HR plays a vital role in shaping employee mental health by implementing programs and fostering a workplace culture that prioritizes well-being. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), such as the hybrid model used by Caterpillar, are a prime example of how HR can support employees through both onsite and offsite counselling services. By addressing personal challenges that affect work performance, EAPs help employees overcome issues like stress, burnout, and anxiety, which can otherwise hinder productivity and engagement. These programs not only support employees’ mental health but also contribute to a healthier, more productive workforce.  However, the effectiveness of EAPs and other mental health initiatives relies heavily on the environment in which they are delivered. Creating a psychologically safe workplace is crucial to ensure that employees feel comfortable accessing these services. Prioritizing mental health is not just a benefit for employees; it’s a key factor in building a resilient, engaged, and high-performing workforce.

About the Author 

Semra Delić is 26 years old with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and in currently pursuing Master’s degree in Business Psychology at the Media University in Frankfurt am Main. Her research interests are related to emotional well – being and mental health. Her business article describes how HR practices influence mental health at work. 

References

1. Herrman, H., Saxena, S., & Moodie, R. (2004). Promoting mental health: concepts, emerging evidence, practice [Dataset]. In PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e538802013009

2. Maslach, C, & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 2, 99-113.

3. Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44,350–383.

4. Pearsall, M. J., & Ellis, A. P. J. (2011). Thick as thieves: The effects of ethical orientation and psychological safety on unethical team behaviour. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96,401–411.

5. Attridge, M. (2009). Employee Assistance Programs: A Research‐Based Primer. International handbook of work and health psychology, 383-407.

6. Day, D. V. (2000). Leadership development:: A review in context. The leadership quarterly, 11(4), 581-613.

7. Workplace mental health – caterpillar. (2015). https://workplacementalhealth.org/casestudies/caterpillar

The post Emotional Well-being and Its Relationship to Employee Productivity: How HR Practices Influence Mental Health at Work  appeared first on The European Business Review.

By Syed Balkhi

Although it requires striking a balance between productivity and privacy, remote work calls for some form of productivity monitoring. Time tracking, regular check-ins, and performance system implementation are the fitting techniques. But, you need to be cautious and ask for consent when using keystroke logging and screen recording. You must emphasize results, open communication, and employee participation in productivity-tracking policies. 

Remote work is very popular these days, especially among startups and small businesses. It promotes flexibility in the workplace, which can boost productivity. 

However, just like everything else, it accompanies certain challenges, especially when it comes to ensuring team productivity. Plus, it can be difficult to monitor the performance of your remote team effectively without invading their privacy. 

Liberating your teams can make them complacent. You’re not wrong to fear that. You must have certain measures in place to ensure that everyone does their part and helps you keep the needle moving. However, you shouldn’t make your teams feel like you’re constantly looking over their shoulders. 

We’re here to help you with that. We help you explore effective methods to track the performance of your teams while making sure that you’re respecting their privacy and building a culture of trust.  

Tracking Productivity Without Invading Privacy 

Tracking productivity in a remote work environment is difficult, no? No matter which method you choose, you invade your team’s privacy in one way or another. 

It’s not the productivity tracking mechanisms that generally cause the problems. It’s how you implement them. There’s a right and a careless way to do things here. 

Our job is to share some efficient techniques with you that will help you track your productivity without having to invade your team’s privacy. 

1. Active Hours Tracking 

Time tracking is a popular choice for productivity monitoring by many remote companies around the globe. 

The benefit of using this monitoring tactic is that it helps you see how long tasks actually take, helping with project planning and deadline management. You can also identify team members who are overwhelmed or underutilized. You get valuable insights about how your teams spend time on different projects or tasks. 

The disadvantage of using this tactic is that it gives micromanagement vibes. It’s not a good feeling when you think someone is watching over your shoulder all the time. 

Suppose you want to track active working hours. By all means, go on. But don’t promote a culture that rewards logging hours rather than actual results. Your goal should not be to track how many hours someone spends at work but to see what they actually accomplish during active hours. 

2. Regular Check-Ins 

You shouldn’t underestimate effective communication, especially in a remote work setting. Regular check-ins with your teams may prove to be an effective way to keep them aligned and productive. 

Implementing a policy of daily stand-ups that last 15 minutes or less can help you stay up-to-date with what everyone is working on, their priorities, and any roadblocks they encounter. When you pair it with weekly team meetings, you create an efficient performance-tracking mechanism.

Aside from evaluating team performance, consistent check-ins foster team unity. Your teams feel linked, which is absolutely crucial to maintaining their morale when working remotely. 

Moreover, you can handle problems before they become significant by means of proactive action against obstacles. You can only create a culture of support and cooperation when your team openly shares their progress, obstacles, and workload concerns.  

3. Performance Management System 

You can have a performance management system in place to assess your team’s productivity. However, for a performance management system to give you promising results, you must set clear expectations and align tasks with key performance indicators to track progress toward goals. 

You must provide constructive feedback to your teams and encourage their performance to help them improve without losing morale. It’s more of a long-term approach where you schedule quarterly or annual reviews to discuss team performance, identify areas of improvement, and plan for the future. 

You should be transparent with your teams to get the best results. Plus, you must tell them how their work contributes to achieving the company’s goals. A well-thought-out performance management system can help you ensure productivity in a remote work setting without being intrusive. 

4. Keystroke Logging 

Monitoring output using this method is quite delicate. You track every key pressed by your staff members. Honestly, you should have a compelling reason to proceed with this strategy. Given how very invasive it is, you have to move quite carefully. 

If you’re looking into a possible data leak or security breach, then keystroke logging may be a reasonable course of action. But, you should avoid doing so only to monitor the output of your team. 

You still need your staff’s permission even if you proceed with it. Furthermore, you have to view it as a temporary performance-tracking tactic. Prolonged use of this method may seriously harm employee morale.  

5. Screen Recording 

This method is somewhat akin to keystroke logging. Actually, it’s a step forward. Here, you set up a system that either takes screenshots of your team’s screens or randomly records a video. 

You have to inform your teams about this and obtain their permission before using the system, much like you do with keystroke logging. But, unless you have a reasonable reason, we advise against such extremes. 

It gives a constant surveillance vibe, which undermines trust and raises privacy concerns. If you have to consider implementing such a mechanism, it must follow informed consent and clear justification. 

It’s a Wrap 

We shared with you five ways through which you can effortlessly monitor the productivity of your remote teams. Some of them may be privacy-invasive. But sometimes, they may be the need of the hour. 

The way you balance privacy and productivity when monitoring your remote teams depends on how you implement the productivity tracking mechanism. 

You must clearly communicate your expectations and have a constructive feedback mechanism in place. What makes productivity tracking effortless is when you pair the right key performance indicators with tasks. So you don’t have to resort to extreme measures. 

Transparency and open communication play a huge role. Even though you resort to privacy-invasive productivity tracking methods, take your team’s consent and involve them in policy development.

About the Author 

Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner, the largest free WordPress resource site. With over 10 years of experience, he’s the leading WordPress expert in the industry. You can learn more about Syed and his portfolio of companies by following him on his social media networks. 

The post How to Balance Privacy and Productivity in Remote Work Monitoring  appeared first on The European Business Review.

The rapid integration of AI into workplaces has transformed how employees engage with their tasks. By automating repetitive work, AI offers a promising solution to boost efficiency and free up time for strategic and creative thinking. Yet, despite AI’s ability to simplify workflows, many businesses are still struggling with an overload of disconnected productivity tools that create constant distractions. While AI can eliminate tedious tasks and create space for meaningful work, the proliferation of such non-integrated platforms risks creating a “ping-fatigue” crisis that leaves teams overwhelmed and exhausted.

I’ve worked extensively with organisations navigating the AI landscape, and I understand the promise of AI to unify workflows and create a more efficient digital experience. The challenge isn’t AI itself, but how businesses integrate it with their wider tools and platforms. The key lies in striking the right balance, leveraging AI as an opportunity to consolidate and simplify workflows, rather than adding to the noise and complexity. When implemented strategically, AI helps create a seamless and stress-free digital experience, while keeping employee well-being front and centre.

The rising tide of digital overload

With various platforms managing different tasks – collaboration software, communication apps, automated workflows – employees must constantly switch between interfaces.

While productivity tools are designed to enable efficiency, their sheer volume has led to an unintended consequence – overwhelmed employees grappling with an influx of digital distractions. From real-time project updates to instant chat messages, employees often find themselves constantly responding to a tidal-wave of notifications, rather than engaging in meaningful work. Research by Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, found that people typically take about 23 minutes and 15 seconds to fully regain their concentration. With constant notifications disrupting their workflow, it’s understandable why many employees feel they can never get through tasks effectively if every notification can potentially impair their cognitive focus and productivity.

One of the biggest obstacles is the fragmentation of collaboration tools across different departments. With various platforms managing different tasks – collaboration software, communication apps, automated workflows – employees must constantly switch between interfaces. This “app overload” not only disrupts focus but also creates inefficiencies that AI can help us eliminate. Add to that the stress of the always ‘on’ culture with employees feeling the need to deliver on managerial demands regardless of what they’re doing or the time of day (especially when it comes to global teams). It’s no surprise that teams report feeling more stressed and less productive despite having more “productivity tools” at their disposal than ever before.

Leveraging AI to cut through the noise

To combat ping fatigue, business leaders must take a strategic approach to AI adoption by first uncovering what their organisation truly needs and then incorporating the right AI tools to support those goals. Rather than deploying multiple standalone tools, organisations should focus on integrating AI within a single, intuitive system that consolidates tasks and minimises unnecessary distractions. AI should be seen as the unifying force that streamlines workflows and eliminates redundant processes, rather than an additional layer of complexity. By carefully selecting and integrating the AI tools that align with their specific business objectives, companies can create a cohesive stack that directly addresses operational challenges and enhances workflow efficiency. The right AI solutions can help reduce unnecessary notifications, surface only the most relevant information, and improve overall productivity – all without overwhelming employees.

Companies can also consider adopting AI solutions that incorporate smart prioritisation, where notifications and tasks are surfaced based on urgency and relevance. For example, with Smartsheet, users can configure their notifications to ensure they only receive a specific type of notification on their desired device and can also opt out of notifications like ‘changes to a document’ to reduce the notification noise.

By aligning communication methods with employee needs, organisations foster a more effective and less overwhelming digital work environment, ensuring that technology enhances collaboration rather than becoming a source of frustration.

Beyond technological solutions, implementing a culture that prioritises digital well-being is crucial. Encouraging teams to set clear boundaries, limit non-essential notifications, and embrace productivity techniques – such as the famous Pomodoro technique (25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break) – can help mitigate mental exhaustion. It’s also helpful to encourage employees to have their ‘focused ping-free’ hour where they can concentrate on tasks exclusively.

Another key element of reducing digital overload is recognising that communication preferences vary among employees. While some may prefer instant messaging on platforms like Teams and Slack, others might find email more manageable, and some may opt for more direct phone or video calls for clarity. Leaders should engage in open discussions with their teams to understand these preferences and, where possible, establish guidelines that respect individual working styles. By aligning communication methods with employee needs, organisations foster a more effective and less overwhelming digital work environment, ensuring that technology enhances collaboration rather than becoming a source of frustration.

Prioritising employee well-being in the AI era

The AI revolution in the workplace is still unfolding, and businesses must remain agile in addressing its challenges. Leaders have an opportunity to reshape how AI is implemented, not as just another tool, but as a way to simplify and streamline work processes and move towards a cohesive, employee-first approach. By thoughtfully consolidating AI tools, respecting individual work styles, and prioritising mental well-being, businesses can create digital environments that truly serve their teams.

As organisations seek to optimise their digital strategies, discussions around AI adoption and workplace well-being will take centre stage. I’ll be speaking at Smartsheet’s upcoming London Summit on June 3, where we will explore these themes in depth – offering insights into how businesses can harness AI effectively while keeping employee experience at the forefront. With registration now open, it’s an opportunity for leaders to engage in meaningful conversations about the future of work in an AI-powered world.

The goal isn’t to implement technology for its own sake, but to build systems that empower employees to do their best work without unnecessary friction. This human-centred approach to AI adoption will distinguish tomorrow’s workplace leaders from those who simply chase the latest innovations without consideration for their impact. As we continue to refine our relationship with AI, let’s remember that the most valuable workplace asset remains human creativity and collaboration – qualities that technology should enhance, not hinder.

About the Author

Caz Brett is a Sr. Director of Product Management responsible for Smartsheet’s Enterprise Administration teams. Caz joined Smartsheet in 2022, prior to which she led product, engineering and design teams at the BBC and a global software development agency.

The post Productivity Versus Ping Fatigue – is AI the Answer to Simplifying our Workflows? appeared first on The European Business Review.

Bringing clarity to your goals

Many people struggle to achieve their goals because their targets are too general. Starting with broad goals like “I want to get fit” or “I want to grow my business” is useful. However, putting no concrete direction makes these targets easily overwhelming and difficult to achieve.

You can create measurable and specific goals through goal-setting software systems. The majority of apps support the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal framework. This maintains the structure and attainability of all set ambitions.

For instance, you should establish a goal of “working out for 30 minutes four times weekly throughout the next 3 months” instead of the vague objective of “exercising more.” The explicit goals enable you to monitor your advancements and maintain your dedication levels.

Tracking progress in real-time

Seeing how much progress you made is one of the most satisfying aspects of pursuing goals. The visual performance monitoring system of goal-setting software shows progress through charts, streaks, or milestone celebration features.

The addition of this minor aspect proves itself to be an effective motivational tool. Your dedication to continue moving forward becomes stronger when you observe steady forward development, irrespective of the size of the steps you take.

Increasing accountability

The absence of observers makes it simple to drop your objectives. A goal-setting application allows you to reveal your goals to platform members, such as friends, coaches, and accountability partners. You can utilize integration features between the apps and social platforms which enable social sharing during goal achievement butts.

The goal-setting process transforms into an interesting activity because of these features. Continuous observation allows you to make better progress toward your goals.

Overcoming procrastination and staying focused

Goal-setting software offers active tools to combat procrastination, which can hinder the achievement of outcomes. Task management becomes more effective through deadline alerts, daily alert systems, and priority organization abilities.

Goal-breaking tools transform complex objectives into realistic steps that you can easily accomplish. This allows you to split large, challenging goals into smaller daily steps, which reduces overall stress and enhances productivity levels.

Building long-term motivation

Building motivation requires more than initial start-up energy since it involves continuous, sustained effort. Goal-setting software fosters desirable habits by introducing continuous performance tracking, incentive systems, and progress tracking capabilities. You can access reflection tools that enable you to review your previous accomplishments before setting your upcoming targets.

The process of regular achievement monitoring combined with accountability helps you develop self-control habits that sustain your motivation for the long term. The mutual frequency of goal-setting methods eventually turns productivity from a challenging process into a natural habit.

The bottom line

People who experience difficulties maintaining their productivity levels should consider using goal-setting applications for improved performance. It can help convert dreams into reality through its combination of scheduling tools, progress monitoring features, and performance tracking capabilities.

The post How Goal-Setting Software Can Boost Productivity and Motivation appeared first on The European Business Review.

You may not realise it yet, but the way businesses approach office furniture is changing—radically. Imagine a workspace that evolves with you, minimising waste and maximising flexibility. In this interview, Aïssa Laroussi, Founder and CEO of Enky, reveals how his game-changing model is transforming sustainability, finance, and the future of work.

Good day, Mr. Laroussi! Thank you for gracing us with your time despite your busy schedule. To start, what inspired the creation of Enky? 

The inspiration for Enky came from a desire to revolutionise the way businesses approach workspace design and sustainability within the context of the circular economy. I recognised that traditional furniture purchasing models were often rigid, costly, and environmentally wasteful. Enky was born out of the need for a more dynamic, sustainable, and financially accessible solution that aligns with the evolving needs of modern businesses. 

Where did you first get the idea for its Furniture-as-a-Service (FaaS) model?

The idea stemmed from the rise of subscription-based services in other industries, such as software services. I’d already had the experience of working on the digital transformation of factoring for businesses with Ebedex which raised €1Bn for small businesses. The FaaS model is based on circular economy principles. I saw an opportunity to apply this concept to office furniture, allowing businesses to access high-quality furniture but without the cost of ownership, being able to free up capital to deploy to other areas to help either shore up a business needing some flexibility because of market conditions, or to help it  grow more quickly. 

How does Enky’s subscription model provide flexibility and value for businesses compared to traditional furniture ownership?

Our subscription model allows businesses to scale their workspace efficiently, adapting to changing needs without the capital expenditure associated with furniture ownership. It eliminates large upfront costs, offers maintenance services, and offers access to the latest ergonomic designs. This approach not only offers financial flexibility but also reduces waste by promoting reuse and refurbishment. 

Enky recently launched a leaseback model. Can you explain how this works and why it is a game-changer for businesses?

Our leaseback model allows businesses to sell their existing furniture to Enky and lease it back immediately, unlocking cash flow while retaining access to high-quality ergonomically and ethically sourced furniture. This approach provides an immediate financial boost – particularly valuable in a challenging economic climate where liquidity is key. Additionally, it ensures that furniture remains in use for as long as possible, reinforcing our commitment to the circular economy. 

We understand Enky also has its investment program. Can you walk us through what was the motivation behind launching the My.Enky Invest platform?

My.Enky Invest was launched to democratise investment in the circular economy. We wanted to give individuals and organisations the opportunity to contribute to a more sustainable future while benefiting from financial returns. It provides an avenue for impact investing, where investors support a business model that prioritises environmental responsibility and resource efficiency. 

How does My.Enky Invest support the broader goals of Enky’s circular business model?

The platform fuels Enky’s ability to expand its sustainable offerings by funding the production and refurbishment of high-quality furniture. By reinvesting in our circular ecosystem, we reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and extend product life cycles, reinforcing our commitment to responsible consumption and production. 

Can you elaborate on the synergy between sustainable furnishings and investment opportunities that My.Enky Invest offers?

By reinvesting in our circular ecosystem, we reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and extend product life cycles, reinforcing our commitment to responsible consumption and production. 

Sustainable furnishings and impact investing go hand in hand. Through My.Enky Invest, stakeholders can directly contribute to sustainability while receiving financial returns. By supporting the circular economy, investors help drive responsible manufacturing and encourage businesses to adopt environmentally friendly workspace solutions. The platform has already raised €750,000 in crowdfunding in just one quarter, and we anticipate a fivefold increase in financing volume over the next 12 months. Taken together with investment in client projects and furniture, we’ve raised over €2.5M to date and delivered over 50Tonnes of sustainable furniture, all ethically sourced from within Europe, and extended the life cycle of the items four-fold. 

What types of investors are you targeting? How do you make investment opportunities accessible to a wider audience?

We welcome a diverse range of investors, from individuals looking to align their portfolios with (Environmental, Social and Governance) ESG values to institutional investors seeking out green investments and sustainable assets. By offering flexible investment plans and clear impact metrics, we ensure that My.Enky Invest remains accessible and transparent, allowing more people to participate in the green economy. With more than 2,000 active investors, our platform is proving to be a major force in the sustainable, green finance arena. 

Enky has already made a significant impact in multiple European countries. What are your plans for scaling the business further?

We plan to expand into new markets across Europe and beyond, focusing on regions with growing demand for sustainable office solutions. Our strategy includes forming strategic partnerships, such as working with architects and town planners, enhancing our digital infrastructure, and increasing the accessibility of our services to businesses of all sizes. Recently, we entered the Luxembourg market, known for its strong business density and eco-innovation initiatives. We have a plan to launch into the USA within the next few years. 

With growing interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), how has your company aligned its strategy with the evolving priorities of businesses?

Enky aligns with CSR priorities by offering solutions that help businesses meet their sustainability commitments. Our circular model reduces waste, cuts carbon footprints, and promotes ethical consumption. By integrating sustainability into workspace solutions, we empower companies to enhance their CSR impact effortlessly and, indeed, profitably. 

What lessons from your fintech background have you applied to Enky’s operations and strategic growth?

My fintech experience has shaped Enky’s approach to innovation, scalability, and customer-centric solutions. I have applied the principles of digital transformation, subscription-based finance, and data-driven decision-making to optimise Enky’s business model and enhance the customer experiences. We recently won the 2024 PropTech Community Award for example. That was a big moment for us and a validation for the whole team that we’re on the right track. 

And lastly, as a Founder and CEO, how do you define success?

Success, for me, is about creating lasting impact. It’s not just about financial growth but about driving meaningful change in how businesses approach the circular economy. Enky’s success is measured by the value we bring to our clients, our contribution to a greener planet, and the empowerment of individuals to make responsible investment choices. The rapid growth of our My.Enky Invest platform and the strong demand for our leaseback model confirms that we are making a real difference in the industry. 

Executive Profile

Aïssa Laroussi’s diverse work experience covers leadership roles across various companies. In 2006, he founded Genisys and served as the Founder until 2011. From 2012 to 2017, he co-founded and served as the CMO of Edebex. In 2018, he joined Talundra as a Board Member and held the position until 2021. Since 2020, Aïssa Laroussi has been the Co-Founder and CEO of Enky, a Furniture Subscription (Furniture-as-a-Service) business.  

The post Furniture-as-a-Service: How Enky is Redefining Sustainability and Flexibility in Workspaces appeared first on The European Business Review.

The current pace of change driven by digital innovation can feel overwhelming. With rapid advancements in generative AI and the sheer volume of new tools, platforms, and techniques on offer, many business leaders feel they’re constantly playing catch-up to simply keep pace with their competitors, never mind pulling ahead of them. The market is loud and overflowing with choices, and simply abstaining from engaging with it, is not an option for any organisation. According to a recent report from KMPG which surveyed more than 500 top executives from major global firms, as many as 98% of Global Business Services have either already deployed or are in the process of launching Generative AI tools within the next twelve months.

The key to maintaining this competitive edge is to build a culture of continuous learning within yourself, and within your organisation, and to combine this with a dedication to exploring transformation, innovation and experimentation.

Providing some small comfort, the same report also shares that 79% of these firms also shared that they lack the tech-savvy skills in-house to provide effective digital services. Such figures, and the reality that the pace of technological change is only going to increase as AI and data capabilities grow means that whether you’re a business leader seeking to ensure your company’s survival, or a professional looking to take the next step up the ladder developing a greater acumen in digital application and strategy is vital for sustained success. It also means that, for those that can get it right, there is a significant advantage to be gained.

However, the secret isn’t mastering every new technology that comes along, it’s about knowing just a little bit more than your competitors and leveraging that knowledge to drive competitive advantage.

The key to maintaining this competitive edge is to build a culture of continuous learning within yourself, and within your organisation, and to combine this with a dedication to exploring transformation, innovation and experimentation.

Why Building A Learning Culture Matters

No matter the sector or the focus, organisations that can encourage continuous learning amongst their staff see multiple benefits. Agility is one such strength – creating teams that can identify when industry trends change and quickly pivot to meet them, and skilled employees with a mindset to explore and take advantage of new tools and techniques early-on, rather than shying away from them.

This, in turn increases the potential for innovation, as a structured learning culture brings with it new ideas developed from fresh knowledge, insights and the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues.

Another benefit is a higher level of employee retention. Staff value professional development opportunities. As a result, not only are they more skilled and fulfilled, they are more likely to stay with an organisation that invests in their growth.

Creating a culture of learning starts with leadership. If senior leaders and executives champion the importance of continuous education, the rest of the team will follow. Leaders should engage in the practices they want to see from their staff, such as keeping up their qualifications and sector knowledge, attending webinars or taking courses. They should also provide staff with access to similar resources, and allow them the time to explore these, encouraging experimentation without worry of reprimand or failure.

However, building such a culture in already established skills and disciplines is altogether a more straightforward prospect that embarking on embedding something new, unexplored and untested, as much digital technology is. The key here is found in the attitudes and actions of leadership – being willing to step into the unknown and break new ground.

To do this, organisations and individuals can find value in reaching beyond their industry and their existing networks to benefit from the knowledge of other organisations and institutions. Short Executive Education courses offer the opportunity to both upskill in a new discipline and gain a network that can help further embed a culture of learning for the future.

At Imperial, the Digital Transformation Strategy programme offers exactly this – a short-term, expert-led deep dive into the most prominent, impactful digital transitions impacting industry.

Gaining A Competitive Advantage Through Executive Education

With solid foundations in both business and technological innovation, Imperial offers learners the advantages of a scientifically solid curriculum that is designed to be instantly applicable to the real needs of industry. This gives them the opportunity to build their knowledge as well a means of actioning it in their professional lives.

Taught over five days, the Digital Transformation Strategy programme provides mid-to-senior level leaders with the skills to navigate through the noise of digital innovation. Participants begin by exploring the current technological landscape, understanding its scope and the implications this has on business practice.

With solid foundations in both business and technological innovation, Imperial offers learners the advantages of a scientifically solid curriculum that is designed to be instantly applicable to the real needs of industry.

From here they refine their focus over the following days, identifying the tools, knowledge and techniques to best address their own and their organisation’s needs. To help ensure that learners can be successful in their digital transformation efforts, studies take on a personal approach, auditing strengths and weaknesses and building a robust plan to work from. Learners can build a robust digital transformation strategy for their own organisations with guidance from industry experts.

With academic exploration and a strong foundation in analytics, supported by best practice shared by organisations currently succeeding in this field, the programme is practical at its heart, but instils enough broader knowledge to allow participants to continue learning after the programme’s conclusion.

Crucially, learners also gain an insight into what causes organisations to fail at digital, enabling them to identify potential pitfalls early on in their own work. Here a grounding in data comprehension and analysis can allow organisations to effectively measure the success of their strategies and the ROI they offer, helping to tie digital transformation to financial success and identify further opportunities for development and growth. Because of this, data science also forms a core part of the curriculum.

Who Benefits?

The programme offers mid- to senior-level leaders more than just a world-class education—it provides a powerful network of peers facing similar challenges, and the critical skills many organisations are missing. Learning doesn’t stop at the classroom; faculty and advisors remain accessible for ongoing guidance, while participants also benefit from the broader expertise and resources of Imperial.

In the workplace, the knowledge gained can empower leaders to curate more effective learning resources for their teams—whether through formal training programmes or accessible options like podcasts, YouTube channels, and industry white papers. Leaders can also create tailored initiatives such as internal workshops with industry experts, peer-to-peer learning sessions where team members share insights, or mentorship schemes that connect junior staff with experienced professionals to promote cross-level learning. Learning shouldn’t be a solitary pursuit; by fostering a collaborative learning culture, organisations can ensure that knowledge is not only acquired but actively shared and retained across teams.

It’s not enough to encourage learning – like your digital strategy, you also need to measure its impact. Digital literacy can assist here in demonstrating the return on investment for learning initiatives, tracking how often team members are experimenting with new strategies, tools, or channels, or employee retention rates and satisfaction surveys to see how learning impacts your workplace culture.

Leveraging Learning for Long-Term Competitive Advantage 

Digital transformation is about more that digitisation. Research carried out as part of Imperial Digital Transformation Strategy Programme, looking at over 300 real-world transformations, found that there are 14 areas that organisations need to address digital transformation successfully, and technology is just open of them.

But, true digital transformation can drive cultural change. By combining our approach to education with a structured approach to innovation and experimentation, we can go beyond just trying to stay up to date and create real competitive advantage.

To find out more about the 5 day ‘Digital Transformation Strategy’ programme visit: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/executive-education/marketing-innovation-strategy/digital-transformation-strategy-programme/

About the Author

Daniel Rowles is an expert in digital transformation strategy, and Programme Director of the Imperial Executive Education ‘Digital Transformation Strategy’ programme.

Outside of Academia, Daniel is the CEO of Target Internet, an online hub for digital marketing career advice and education.

The post How Creating a Learning Culture Can Help Your Company Master Digital Transformation and Gain a Competitive Edge appeared first on The European Business Review.

Introduction 

Every day, we enter a state of unconsciousness for six to eight hours, diving into a mysterious world shaped by dreams (Walker, 2017). Despite its critical role in emotional, cognitive, and physical restoration, sleep often goes unnoticed in discussions about workplace performance. Yet, it remains a cornerstone of human health and productivity. In recent years, sleep duration has been steadily declining among workers, raising significant concerns about the impact of this trend on their professional lives (CDC, 2017). 

Current statistics highlight the gravity of the issue in the United States: over 40% of workers in industries such as production, healthcare, and food preparation report sleeping six hours or less per night (CDC, 2017). This widespread sleep deprivation, driven by demanding schedules and increasing workplace stress, underscores the need for a deeper understanding of sleep and its critical role in workplace performance (Barnes, 2011).  

To address this growing concern, this article explores the question: “What is the impact of sleep on workplace performance?” By examining both the benefits of sufficient sleep and the detrimental effects of deprivation, this discussion aims to reveal how sleep shapes essential aspects of work, such as emotional regulation, decision-making, productivity, and learning. To answer this question, it is first necessary to explore the intricate mechanisms of sleep and the physiological and psychological roles they play. 

Understanding Sleep 

Sleep is a complex biological process essential for human survival and optimal functioning. It is regulated by two key mechanisms: sleep-wake homeostasis and the circadian rhythm (Holzinger, 2013). These mechanisms collaborate to ensure restorative sleep, cycling through distinct phases that contribute uniquely to physical, emotional, and cognitive well-being.  

The Phases of Sleep  

Sleep comprises multiple stages, broadly categorized into Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM), Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Deep Sleep. These stages alternate in cycles throughout the night, each lasting approximately 90 minutes (Schulz, 2013). The transitions between these stages are illustrated in Figure 1, showcasing the distinct phases and their cyclic patterns throughout the sleep period (Zhang et al., 2022).  

Figure 1: The general sleep transitions and sleep cycles. Adapted from Zhang, Zhou, & Liu (2022).

Non-REM Sleep: This phase includes the lighter stages of sleep, preparing the body for deeper, restorative rest. During Non-REM sleep, physiological activities decrease significantly, with reductions in heart rate, breathing, and body temperature (Schulz, 2013).  

Deep Sleep: Also known as slow-wave sleep, this stage is vital for cellular repair, immune system strengthening, and the consolidation of declarative memory (Wießner, 2016). In deep sleep, the body reaches its most relaxed state, characterized by minimal brain activity and lowered blood pressure and heart rate. 

REM Sleep: In this stage, the brain becomes highly active, processing emotions and integrating experiences into long-term memory. REM sleep is associated with creativity and problem-solving (Rasch, 2013). Despite the heightened brain activity, the body experiences temporary muscle atonia, while breathing and heart rate may become irregular. 

The Circadian Rhythm 

The circadian rhythm serves as the body’s internal clock, regulating the sleep-wake cycle and aligning it with environmental cues like light and darkness (Holzinger, 2013). This rhythm is primarily influenced by external factors, notably daylight exposure, which affects melatonin production, a hormone that induces sleep and controls your internal body clock (circadian rhythms). 

Notably, the circadian rhythm evolves throughout an individual’s life. Younger individuals often have a delayed circadian rhythm, leading them to fall asleep and wake up later. As people age, this rhythm shifts earlier, explaining why older adults frequently wake up earlier in the morning (Schulz, 2013). Such natural changes can impact daily routines, productivity, and social interactions, especially in age-diverse workplace environments

Modern lifestyles heavily disrupt the circadian rhythm, particularly through widespread exposure to artificial lighting from electronic devices

Modern lifestyles heavily disrupt the circadian rhythm, particularly through widespread exposure to artificial lighting from electronic devices. The blue light emitted by screens suppresses melatonin production, which is produced by the pineal gland, delaying the body’s natural sleep cycle. This not only makes it harder to fall asleep but also increases the likelihood of frequent awakenings during the night, disrupting the entire sleep cycle. With nearly all individuals using smartphones, computers, or TVs during evening hours, the prevalence of disrupted circadian rhythms has significantly increased, contributing to insufficient and fragmented sleep across all age groups (Holzinger, 2013). 

Chronotypes  

Individual differences in sleep patterns, known as chronotypes, further influence sleep’s impact. Early birds, or “larks,” peak in productivity during the morning, while night owls function better in the evening. Mixed chronotypes fall between these extremes. Importantly, chronotypes are largely biologically determined and resistant to change when influenced externally, such as through imposed schedules or environmental pressures. Nevertheless, natural changes in chronotypes are evident over the human lifespan, with shifts toward earlier tendencies as individuals age. 

Figure 2: Chronotype distribution by age and gender. Data derived from Fischer, Lombardi, Marucci-Wellman, & Roenneberg (2017).

Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of chronotypes across genders and age groups. Chronotypes exhibit notable shifts as individuals age: younger men and women tend to have a higher prevalence of night owl tendencies, whereas older individuals increasingly identify as early birds. For instance, among men, the proportion of early birds rises from 18% in the 15–19 age group to 38% in the 60–64 group, while the prevalence of night owls steadily declines. A similar trend is evident for women, with the percentage of early birds increasing from 20% to 40% across the same age range. 

On average, 26% of men and 30% of women identify as early birds, while 31% of men and 29% of women are night owls. Mixed chronotypes dominate across genders, with approximately 43% of men and 41% of women falling into this category (Fischer et al., 2017). 

The majority of individuals fall within the categories of mixed chronotypes or night owls, particularly among younger populations where this trend is most pronounced. This presents a systemic challenge, as standard work start times frequently fail to align with the natural sleep-wake patterns of a significant portion of the population. Such misalignment disrupts overall sleep quality and duration, leading to cumulative sleep debt, increased fatigue, and diminished cognitive and emotional performance, ultimately affecting workplace productivity and well-being (Saalwirth & Leipold, 2021).  

While chronotypes naturally shift with age, gradually aligning with conventional work schedules, the impact on younger individuals and especially night owls remains substantial. As a result, individuals with night owl tendencies face significant challenges in adhering to early work schedules, further amplifying the adverse effects on productivity and health. These findings underscore the need for workplace policies that accommodate chronotypical diversity, fostering environments that promote both well-being and productivity.  

Sleep’s Role in Workplace Performance 

Sleep is a critical determinant of workplace success, influencing numerous factors that contribute to both individual and organizational outcomes. Among these, emotional regulation, decision-making, productivity and creativity, and learning and memory consolidation stand out as particularly impactful. Together, these aspects shape employees’ effectiveness, peer group dynamics, and the broader organizational culture. 

Emotional Regulation 

A well-rested individual brings balance and composure to the workplace. Sufficient sleep allows the brain to better regulate emotions, reducing stress and promoting harmony in interactions. Employees who sleep at least seven hours per night demonstrate 23% greater emotional stability, enabling them to navigate conflicts with patience and maintain positive team relationships (Barnes, 2011). This emotional resilience fosters collaboration, boosts morale, and strengthens workplace cohesion. 

Sufficient sleep allows the brain to better regulate emotions, reducing stress and promoting harmony in interactions.

In contrast, sleep deprivation throws emotional regulation off balance, heightening irritability and impulsivity. The brain’s prefrontal cortex, essential for managing emotions, becomes less effective, leading to a 60% increase in emotional lability among sleep-deprived individuals (Rasch & Born, 2013). These shifts can create workplace tension, increase conflicts, and weaken team cohesion, ultimately diminishing productivity and morale (Sachdeva & Sharma, 2021).  

The above comes to suggest that for a better emotion regulation and for a better performance at the workplace, individuals should have at least 7-9 hours sleep per day so that to be able to better navigate through workplace challenges and life’s adversities.  

Decision-Making 

Good decision-making is rooted in clarity and confidence, qualities that thrive with sufficient sleep. REM sleep, in particular, enhances problem-solving skills and neural processing, enabling individuals to perform 42% better on complex tasks compared to those who are sleep-deprived (Rasch, 2013). Rested employees are more adept at evaluating risks and benefits, making them reliable contributors in high-pressure situations.  

Sleep deprivation, however, clouds judgment and slows cognitive processing. Studies show that individuals operating on insufficient sleep are 30% less accurate in decision-making and far more prone to errors in high-stakes scenarios (Hoermann et al., 2021). When poor sleep quality becomes a pattern, impulsive choices and avoidable mistakes can disrupt workflows and jeopardize organizational goals (Sachdeva & Sharma, 2021).  

The above comes to suggest that in case we want to do better decision-making and to ameliorate the functioning of our higher cognitive processes, we have to pay a closer attention to a quality sleep that has the utmost power of improving the aforementioned processes. 

Productivity and Creativity 

Productivity thrives when energy levels are replenished and creativity is nurtured, a dual benefit of adequate deep sleep. Employees who sleep well are 35% more productive and commit 50% fewer errors compared to their sleep-deprived counterparts (Wießner, 2016). Creative industries, in particular, see a notable advantage, as rested individuals excel at reorganizing and integrating information, leading to innovative ideas and solutions.  

On the other hand, chronic sleep deprivation drags down productivity. Workers with poor sleep quality face an average 29% decline in output, while errors and delays increase significantly (Munafo et al., 2016). Insomnia symptoms alone contribute to the loss of approximately 7.8 productive days per employee annually, further compounding workplace inefficiency (Kessler et al., 2011). 

This comes to suggest that sleep deprived individual perform worse than those employees who have had a good night’s sleep, which hints to the fact that performance levels and quality sleep are very tightly interlinked. 

Learning and Memory Consolidation  

Every training session, brainstorming meeting, or new skill learned relies on the brain’s ability to consolidate information, a process fundamentally tied to sleep. Both slow-wave and REM sleep play critical roles in enhancing memory retention, with individuals who sleep seven to nine hours retaining up to 40% more information than those with insufficient sleep (Rasch, 2013). This advantage allows employees to adapt quickly to new challenges and continuously grow in their roles.  

Conversely, inadequate sleep disrupts the memory consolidation process, leaving employees struggling to retain and apply new knowledge. Poor sleep quality is linked to a 30% decline in job performance related to learning and adaptability (Sachdeva & Sharma, 2021). Over time, these gaps in skill retention hinder both individual development and organizational innovation.  

Improving Sleep for Better Workplace Performance  

Having explored the profound effects of sleep on workplace performance, it becomes essential to address the solutions. While the challenges posed by insufficient sleep are significant, there are actionable strategies that organizations, managers, peer groups, and employees can implement to mitigate these effects. By fostering healthier sleep habits across these levels, workplaces can enhance both individual well-being and organizational success, also by means of providing their employees with correlated training and/or introducing nap pods. 

Organizational Strategies 

Organizations play a vital role in promoting sleep health by creating an environment that supports work-life balance and well-being. Policies such as flexible working hours and limits on overtime can significantly reduce the strain on employees’ sleep schedules. Additionally, workplaces designed with stress-reducing elements, such as natural lighting and quiet spaces, help employees maintain better sleep quality. Introducing wellness programs or offering sleep education workshops further empowers employees to prioritize rest, fostering a culture of health within the organization. Research indicates that organizations implementing flexible schedules see up to a 20% reduction in employee sleep deprivation, contributing to higher productivity and morale (Reddy et al., 2020). 

Management Approaches  

Managers and leaders influence sleep health through the behaviors they model and the expectations they set. Encouraging leaders to prioritize their own sleep and advocate for reasonable workloads creates a ripple effect that benefits the entire team. Setting realistic deadlines and avoiding last-minute demands reduces employee stress, ensuring that workloads do not encroach on personal rest time. For night-shift workers, providing sleep-friendly environments, such as nap rooms or designated rest breaks, can mitigate the negative effects of irregular schedules. Studies show that leaders who model a balanced approach to work and rest improve team productivity and morale by 15% (Barnes, 2011). 

Social and Peer Group Dynamics 

The influence of social dynamics on sleep health is significant. Fostering a workplace culture where colleagues respect boundaries regarding after-hours communication is crucial. Peer support systems that promote healthy behaviors, including prioritizing sleep, help reduce workplace stress and its associated sleep disturbances. Additionally, discouraging group activities that disrupt sleep, such as late-night social events or excessive weekday drinking, contributes to healthier habits. Research highlights that teams with strong social support report 25% fewer sleep-related issues due to reduced workplace stress (Hoermann et al., 2021).  

Employee Actions 

Mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises are proven methods to reduce stress and improve sleep quality.

Employees themselves can adopt several strategies to improve their sleep quality and its subsequent impact on workplace performance. Practicing good sleep hygiene—maintaining consistent sleep schedules, avoiding caffeine and screen exposure before bedtime, and creating a relaxing pre-sleep routine lays the foundation for better rest. Mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises are proven methods to reduce stress and improve sleep quality. Recognizing the direct link between sleep and professional success motivates employees to prioritize rest, resulting in measurable improvements in their well-being and performance. Studies demonstrate that sleep hygiene education can improve sleep quality by 30% and reduce insomnia symptoms significantly (Sachdeva & Sharma, 2021). 

Conclusion: A Collective Responsibility for Better Sleep  

Sleep, as explored throughout this article, is influenced by a multitude of interconnected factors, spanning individual habits, social interactions, management practices, and organizational policies. While companies and managers can play a critical role in fostering a sleep-supportive environment, the ultimate responsibility for improving sleep lies with the individual. Sleep is deeply personal, shaped by one’s unique biology, behaviors, and lifestyle choices. 

Nevertheless, as individuals within a workplace context, we are part of a broader living continuum with significant social impact and shared responsibility. Organizations and leaders have the opportunity to create environments that encourage healthier behaviors, reflecting the principles of new work. This modern perspective emphasizes that work should not only drive productivity but also actively support the well-being of employees. By promoting flexible schedules, modeling healthy behaviors, and fostering a culture of respect and collaboration, workplaces can empower individuals to prioritize their health, including sleep.  

Ultimately, achieving better sleep and its associated workplace benefits requires collective effort. It is not solely about assigning responsibility but about acknowledging the interconnectedness of all levels: individual, social, and organizational. By understanding and addressing these dynamics, we can cultivate a more sustainable and human-centered work culture, where sleep is valued as an integral part of both personal and professional success.

References  

• Barnes, C. M. (2011). Sleep and organizational behavior: Implications for workplace performance. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2(1), 69–91. 

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2017). Short sleep duration among workers—United States, 2017. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(8), 1–8. 

• Fischer, D., Lombardi, D. A., Marucci-Wellman, H., & Roenneberg, T. (2017). Chronotypes in the US – Influence of age and sex. PLOS ONE, 12(6), e0178782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178782 

• Holzinger, B. (2013). Sleep, circadian rhythms, and sleep disorders: An introduction to sleep science. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 90(3), 3–10.  

• Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P. A., Coulouvrat, C., Hajak, G., Roth, T., Shahly, V., & Shillington, A. C. (2011). Insomnia and the performance of US workers: Results from the America Insomnia Survey. Sleep, 34(9), 1161–1171. 

• Munafo, M. R., Stamatakis, E., & Wareham, N. J. (2016). Sleep deprivation and workplace performance. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58(7), 671–678.  

• Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). About sleep’s role in memory. Physiological Reviews, 93(2), 681–766.  

• Reddy, A. B., O’Neill, J. S., & Maywood, E. S. (2020). Circadian rhythms and workplace health. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, 31(8), 543–555. 

• Saalwirth, C., & Leipold, B. (2021). Chronotypes and their impact on workplace productivity. Sleep Health, 7(2), 198–204. 

• Sachdeva, S., & Sharma, P. (2021). Sleep quality and job performance in working professionals. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(3), 199–208. 

• Schulz, H. (2013). Phases of sleep and their impact on human health. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 9(5), 489–495. 

• Walker, M. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. Scribner. 

• Wießner, M. (2016). The role of deep sleep in workplace productivity. Neurobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, 1(1), 15–23. 

• The general sleep transitions and sleep cycles. Adapted from Zhang, X., Zhou, X., & Liu, Q. (2022). AI-empowered virtual reality integrated systems for sleep stage classification and quality enhancement. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360908182_

AI_Empowered_Virtual_Reality_Integrated_Systems_for_Sleep_Stage_Classification_and_Quality_Enhancement.  

• Fischer, D., Lombardi, D. A., Marucci-Wellman, H., & Roenneberg, T. (2017). Chronotypes in the US – Influence of age and sex. PLOS ONE, 12(6), e0178782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178782 

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