5 Key Takeaways: Intentionally Crafting Strategies for Improving Work Life Moving Forward

Professor Theresa Glomb and Laurie Marsh, Executive Vice President, Human Resources of Ecolab, share their insights on workplace well-being and lessons learned from the pandemic in the latest installment of Carlson School’s Insight to Action series. Watch the recording, or read the highlights from their conversation:

As employers, managers, and leadership craft a “new normal,” many are concerned about making permanent decisions during a temporary situation. Even so, people and organizations that have actively addressed the challenges and changes of the year have been more successful.

Working in a Changing Environment

On a personal level, working professionals are responding to work-from-home, hybrid, or back-to-office scenarios. Regardless of the setting, a few intentional techniques can set you up for success throughout the workday. Perform the common “start-stop-continue-change” exercise with your workspace. Ask yourself how you can architect your worklife to fuel your productivity and happiness? Set yourself up for daily success by “parking downhill”--that is arranging tasks and activities so that you gain momentum throughout the day.

At Ecolab, the pandemic accelerated corporate trends that were already underway. Prior to the pandemic, Ecolab was actively moving to virtual learning for L&D initiatives. The pandemic helped people become more comfortable with this permanent change.

From the onset of the pandemic, Ecolab's goal was to provided job security and minimize team damage, which meant preserving jobs and paychecks. Ecolab has traditionally compensated its sales staff through salaries and commissions, including those whose commissions were going be significantly impacted by the shutdowns in the cruise, restaurant, and hospitality industries. In response, Ecolab changed its compensation approach under its “pay protection” policy. Impacted employees received either their average pay for the last 12 months pre-Covid, or whatever they earned, whichever was highest. Ecolab also paused hiring and suspended annual merit signaled bonuses. As the company moves forward and plans the future of work, the immediate focus is on listening and gathering feedback, driving collaboration, and encouraging reflection.

Finding Focus While Working from Home

For many, changes to work-life during the pandemic blurred the lines between home and work and created a whole new set of distractions. Professor Glomb talked about her new concept of AQ, “attention quotient” as a key capability for successful, resilient people.

Since distractions and gaps in attention are inevitable, there are several ways that you can stabilize your attention or get yourself back on track. One idea is to experiment with “uni-tasking.” Productivity methods such as the Pomodoro technique help you focus your attention on a single task for a set period of time. When you are interrupted, you can take steps to reduce the amount of time you need to regain your focus. If possible, take a minute to jot down what you were working on and where you were headed. Formalizing your transitions, for example, the transition from work to home, can also help sharpen your focus.

At Ecolab, one business unit is experimenting with a policy of no internal meetings on Thursdays to reduce distractions and remain focused on business goals. When distractions have occurred, kids on Zoom meetings, dogs barking, they’ve opened up teams to real conversations about flexibility. The company has expanded its support to include more resources such as tutoring, college prep testing assistance, and elder care resources. They expanded time off, highlighted underused resources, and took steps to emphasize a supportive work environment.

Forming Connections at Work

Even prior to COVID-19, many Americans struggled with loneliness. Without the usual social connections, the pandemic isolated people more, including those who live alone or support kids and elders. In this environment, work connections suffered too.

Team managers have to be proactive about reforming connections at work. Creating a team playbook around working hours, email response times, after hours work, meeting norms, and deep work time will help form a structure for productive work and improved connection.

To foster employee connection during difficult times, Ecolab moved its celebratory events online. Since they couldn’t travel, sales leaders enjoyed an online event, with games, special guests, and mixology kits delivered to their homes.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Ecolab’s June 2020 development week topics quickly pivoted to a new focus. In total, 19,000 people in 80 countries attended virtual conversations on career growth, allyship, and how to have conversations about race at work. Ecolab decided it cannot  create a healthy culture internally if racial injustice is ignored.

Healing After a Stressful Year

Amidst tumult, simple reflective practices have the ability to reduce stress and increase well-being. Our brains have a negativity bias and naming three good things that have happened during the day can be a helpful practice during difficult times. Helping others, building gratitude and forming new connections are also restorative. Going outside, getting a walk, backing away from screens and cameras for a few moments can be calming.

At the enterprise level, leadership at Ecolab wanted to signal that reaching out for help is a sign of maturity and not weakness. The company re-examined it’s U.S. benefits to provide more emphasis on whole person health. Throughout the year, associates were reminded of resources that are available to employees and how to access them.

Building the Future of Work

With the pandemic upending the routines and norms of working and personal life, individuals and workplaces are rethinking how to move forward. Whether it's through personal changes, or institutional shirts, we have the opportunity to re-imagine the future of work and make adjustments to make work a more supportive and productive environment.

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