Shared by Lisa Gruenloh, MPAP, CPC 

Lisa Gruenloh is an International Coaching Federation (ICF)-certified executive and emotional intelligence coach. She’s Founder and President of Purpose Journey®, a consulting, training, and coaching company that helps individuals and organizations harness their unique values, strengths, and purpose with bold action to optimize wellbeing and impact. Learn more at www.purposejourney.com and www.purposejournal.com.

There are many simple, yet powerful ways to enhance individual well-being in the workplace – stand up desks, walking meetings, healthy food options, mindfulness breaks, just to name a few. However, organizations that are truly committed to employee well-being go deeper. They seed the culture with values and expectations that ensure people are treated with dignity and create an environment that allows employees to be at their very best.

Here are some of the differentiators of a human-centric organization:

• Individuals are accepted and appreciated for who they are without fear of judgment, discrimination, or marginalization.
• They know they can speak up, share ideas, take risks, and fail in the course of working toward goals and are encouraged to be courageous.
• Team members are listened to and supported when they face challenges, rather than expected to always be (or act) “okay”.
• Everyone connects with a shared purpose, while harnessing their greatest strengths and feeling appreciated for their contributions.
• Managers allow as much autonomy and flexibility as they can to help employees thrive and grow, as opposed to being treated as a means-to-an-end commodity.

While these commitments might sound simply like the right thing to do, they also drive business results and positive organizational impact. A human-centric workplace creates conditions for reduced experiences of burnout, lower employee turnover, higher engagement and productivity, and enhanced innovation and creativity. Healthy, happy employees are the foundation for healthy, high-performing organizations.