GrokTalk Blog

Two weeks ago, the U.S. aviation industry struggled after an FAA issue caused a 90-minute delay on all departing flights. This followed what can only be classified as a disaster of epic proportions for the airline Southwest, when operational and IT issues caused the cancellation of over 16,000 flights during peak holiday travel. A frequent traveler myself, you’d think my mind would hop to the frustration felt by stranded and delayed passengers, and while they have my sympathy, that’s not who was on my mind; instead, my heart went out to all airline employees. As a founder of a company that works to solve workplace wellbeing, I know through first-hand knowledge and studies the extraordinarily high-risk of burnout and exhaustion aviation employees face. I also realize how events like these merely serve to compound and accelerate that rate of burnout.

In talking with HR leaders at companies with large, diverse and dispersed workforces, the conversation rarely fails to touch on the fact that no matter how great the wellbeing benefits offered, some employees can’t “get around” to using them.

Corporate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) programs are a work in progress, as HR leaders across industries are continually learning what it takes to make a long-term difference in attracting, retaining, supporting, and promoting a diverse workforce today. But change doesn’t happen overnight, and for many, it feels like all of the hard work they’re putting in to build a more diverse team and attractive employee value proposition isn’t resulting in happier, more engaged employees fast enough. 

Grokker Innovation Labs — Grokker’s research organization — is putting the finishing touches on research studies and events for the year ahead. We asked for feedback from HR leaders on the HR leadership topics that matter most to them and the speakers they’d like to hear from at webinars and roundtable discussions.

Like virtually everything else in the modern workplace, Grokker’s Wellness Minute is transforming to better sync, quite literally, with today’s workforce. It’s still 60-seconds long. It’s just as motivating as it’s always been. It does as much for your health, happiness, and sense of purpose, belonging, and balance as ever before. But now, it’s called the Wellbeing Minute! Let us take a minute (or two) to explain…

The Grokker Innovation Labs’ 2021 Frontline Industries’ Leadership Sentiments research explores how managers are dealing with the challenges of workforce burnout and turnover 18+ months into the pandemic. Looking specifically at leaders in industries with large frontline workforces (including healthcare, retail/wholesale trade, and hospitality), the research uncovers best practices and emerging opportunities for managers to strengthen both team culture and working relationships to improve the employee experience and drive improvements in worker retention.

We just wrapped a webinar, Mental Health: Bracing for the Next Pandemic. The pandemic we addressed, incidentally, is what many are expecting to be a surge in issues like anxiety, depression, and substance abuse related to the collective trauma of the past 18+ months. Towards the end of discussion, after unpacking the stats and trends around mental health and its impact on the workforce, we shared with participants the 4 key strategies Grokker’s clients are using to support their employees’ mental health — and the advice was met with such enthusiasm from the HR professionals and company leaders at the live event that we decided to share the highlights here!

Technology has brought us to the age of information, the age of digitization, the age of AI, smartphones, and, yes, the age of convenience. From the advent of food and grocery delivery services to live TV and movie streaming networks, people have become accustomed to personalizing and digitizing their various needs and entertainment experiences.

Employee retention is one of the most important metrics for companies. High retention rates will save you time, money, and resources. When companies have high churn rates, they need to invest in the recruitment process and take a chance on an employee that might not fit with their unique culture and structure.

The advent and popularity of unlimited paid time off (PTO) is continuing to grow. Even before the pandemic, some industry leaders started implementing unlimited PTO and flexible work structures that allowed employees to take time as needed, so long as it didn’t interrupt with their ability to meet deadlines and finish tasks. 

Providing support through wellbeing programs that your employees will love is only half the battle for industry leaders. There’s no use in offering a wellbeing program if your employees never actually participate, which is where incentives come in.

The CDC found that approximately 24-48% of Americans, depending on the state they reside in, sleep less than the recommended amount of seven hours per night. In fact, 70 million Americans have some kind of sleeping disorder and 30% of those include short-term insomnia.