In 2022, 32% of U.S. employees reported being engaged with work, continuing a steady decline since 2020. Employee engagement not only impacts work performance but can also negatively impact employee retention.

Good managers play a key role in improving employee engagement, Marni McDowell, senior director of global health and well-being at semiconductor manufacturing company Micron Technology, suggests.

At From Day One’s September virtual conference moderator Siobhan O’Connor, chief content officer at Atria Institute spoke with McDowell and other leaders on how their companies have taken key steps to support employee’s whole well-being at work.

“Our research has told us that what determines whether an employee chooses to take part in those things or self-engage has more to do with their relationship with their leader than if they actually need those solutions,” McDowell said. “Employees may think, ‘I'm not going to use your thing or take your class, if I don't like you,’ and it just shows you the power that a leader has on an employee.”

Employee engagement may vary depending on the environmental culture and company’s values, which means leaders need to develop tailored strategies for their employees to effectively drive change.

Tailored Approaches and Mindful Practices

Thomas Herdtner, vice president of human resources of pet supplier e-commerce Chewy, discussed how tailored approaches can help with employee engagement.

“There are so many nuances that depend on what region you’re in or what country you’re working with that need that kind of individualized, local focus and involvement with tailored solutions,” Herdtner said. “That really helps to drive success in terms of building a culture of belonging where people feel valued and that ties back to organizational effectiveness and performance.”

With a reported 60% increase in remote meetings per employee in 2022 compared to 2020, remote meetings instrumentally changed how the workplace operated. While remote meetings are beneficial in increasing work collaboration and productivity, Adam Wysocki, director of global wellbeing at Thomson Reuters recommends setting parameters that are respectful of an employee's time as a mindful business practice.

“Everybody wants to run effective meetings, but a lot of us don't do that so we have to be mindful to set that agenda,” Wysocki said. “One good strategy that we implemented that was so simple, but effective was shortening meeting times. Instead of allotting time every 30 minutes, shortening meetings to 25 minutes gave employees an extra five minutes to get to their next meeting and prepare for it. So it's not only reducing unnecessary sources of stressors, but it's about respecting boundaries and what people and managers can do to support that healthy environment.”

Personalized Benefits

Kathleen Davin knew the different life stages of women required more support than traditionally thought. As director of people operations at virtual fertility and family building clinic Maven, Davin and her team knew no two women had the same life journey and would require benefits that were more tailored to their needs.

It’s imperative to “Take a personalized approach to benefits for women. We need to be thinking about how we’re covering the end-to-end experience, because it’s not just fertility, it’s not just one point in time. It's everything from preconception and all the way through to parenting and menopause,” Davin said. “We’re very fortunate at Maven to offer our own product to our employees so we get to understand what employees’ needs are and how they might show up for an employee in their work.”

Like Davin, Kumud Sharma, chief people officer at investing company Betterment, realized the financial benefits also need to be catered to employees of different life stages. With a workforce mixed with young employees starting their careers to older employees ready to retire, Sharma understands the importance of catering financial advice to each individual.

“We learned that younger generations are feeling the most financial strain and they have a high desire for benefits like employer-sponsored emergency funds and wellness stipends, whereas the older generations that are approaching faster retirement ages are favoring other benefits like their 401k matches, and also programs like FSA and HSA,” Sharma said.

A recent study found that an astonishing 92% of employees are stressed by their finances, showing a clear need for companies’ support. At Betterment, employees have access to financial experts who can guide them on navigating financial situations like student loans to retirement, which helps alleviate their stress, Sharma said.

“Our employees know that things are taken care of when they use our product. They know they are getting advice and guidance from people that they can trust and rely on, and have the ease of navigating through complicated tasks and things,” Sharma said. “[Employees] can get different levels of service and get that personalization so we find that employees look at that as a huge benefit and relieves their stress.”

Training Managers to be People Managers

For employees to be engaged and supported, good managers are needed to help identify problems and solutions. However, not every manager possesses the qualities to effectively manage people.

Managing a team is heavily reliant on interpersonal and relationship building, and requires more than just having the proper skill sets or knowledge to do a skill-based job. The relationship can play an important role as it relates to employee retention, with 50% of U.S.-based employees leaving their jobs because of their boss.

Training managers to become people managers has been at the forefront for Wysocki.

“Sometimes people’s managers get into that role because they’re a subject matter expert in whatever they’re working on, but they’re not managing the people,” Wysocki said. “We’re focused on training our managers across the globe on what well-being really means, and how you as a people manager can support your employee through challenges.”

In these trainings, Wysocki points to the importance of role-playing case scenarios to help managers get comfortable with having these conversations.

“If you’re a people’s manager that’s not experienced in the space of managing people, you’ll struggle to say the right things,” Wysocki said. “As a people’s manager, you want to really make sure that that employee feels truly supported and cared for, and knows where they’re going for support and resources. You need to be able to help your employees through their struggles and know when you can avoid creating additional stressors for them.”

Wanly Chen is a writer and poet based in New York City.