Workplaces are an integral part of our societal ecosystem. The way we manage our employees impacts their health, wellness, and capacity to be good parents, friends, and citizens. Without intention towards building a mutually beneficial partnership, our workplaces can become parasitic. And these toxic cultures damage our human ecosystem by debilitating our most precious resource - our people.

What if workplaces viewed themselves as being part of an ecosystem that they depended on to flourish? Like coral and the microorganisms that rely on one another to thrive, workplaces could intentionally frame their relationships to employees as one of mutualism - where each party contributes, and each party benefits. Perhaps then, we would realize a more sustainable culture of work in this country.

The statistics about U.S. worker wellbeing today are disheartening to say the least. As companies are faced with the reality that over 4 million U.S. workers continue to quit their jobs every month, innovative workplace policies are no longer considered perks, but necessities to attract and retain talent. Companies that care about staff wellbeing are more than twice as likely to meet financial targets. And leaders who choose to invest in their workers’ wellbeing can also go to sleep each night feeling proud that their actions are making the world a brighter place.

Do you feel like you never have enough time to take care of all the items on your ever growing to-do list? Then like 80% of working Americans, you are experiencing “time poverty”. This sense that there are never enough hours in the day makes us feel stressed, overwhelmed, and unsuccessful. Running from meeting to meeting and between personal and professional responsibilities, we don’t create moments for reflection or true connection with ourselves and those around us.

I am so curious to see what our world of work looks like in ten years. The optimist in me is jazzed about the possibilities, because It’s clear that we have reached an inflection point. It’s impossible to listen to or read the news without hearing about “The Big Quit”, or the Great Resignation. Since April 2021, 20 million people have chosen to leave their jobs, and Linkedin data shows career changes are at the highest rates since the platform launched in 2003. So what is causing these once in a lifetime shifts, and what can employers do to fill jobs when there are only 8.3 million people seeking the 10.4 million open positions in the U.S.?