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As Ive been watching deep cuts unfold across the federal government and nonprofit sectors, I cant help but feel deeply sad for the work that is at risk or has been cancelled, the knowledge that will be lost, and for the people who did the work. I know firsthand what it means to be on both sides of the equation. Ive been the leader tasked with executing layoffs, and Ive also been the one laid off. Both experiences gutted me. They made me reflect on what leadership really means and what we should be measuring when we define success. The problem is that we often gauge success by revenue, efficiency, and productivity while completely overlooking a key factor:the well-being of the people doing the work. A 2024 Gallup report revealed that only 21% of employees strongly agree that their organization cares about their overall well-being. While I agree that there are inefficiencies in every bureaucracy and organization, leaders have a responsibility to balance financial performance with other measures of success. At Catapult Design, a social impact design firm, weve made well-being a non-negotiable metricon equal footing with financial performance and creative excellence. Because if an organizations work is meant to improve liveswhether in social innovation, government services, or private enterprisehow can we ignore whats happening inside our own walls? Well-being is the missing metric I worked at one consultancy that had indicators for measuring the quality of work and the financial health of the company. I thought that was amazing. It really kept the company on track because both were reported quarterly. The work was consistently good by many measures, and the company was very healthy from a financial perspective. When I left there to take a CEO position, I suggested to my new board that we measure the quality of our work and financial health but also add another indicator around team well-being. At first, this was around ensuring that we had the best benefits that a small business could offer. We were thoughtful around vacation time, sick leave, training days, and professional and personal stipends. But over time, we realized that well-being isnt just about benefits or hours workedits about how people experience their work. We started paying closer attention to overworknot as the cause of burnout, but as an early signal. Research shows that burnout is less about working too many hours and more about things like lack of clarity, autonomy, or alignment with values. Still, sustained overwork often points to deeper systemic issues. We use it as a check engine light of the well-being of the team. Thats why weve built a practice that if anyone is consistently working more than 45 hours a week, they message me directly. Then we talk about why. Is it a broken process? Poorly scoped projects? Is someone quietly drowning? We bring those issues to the board and leadership meetings, treating them as seriously as financial projections. As weve deepened our approach to well-being, weve also learned its shaped just as much by leadership behavior as by organizational policy. A few months ago, my team asked to formally review me. Their feedback was honest, thoughtful, and generous. One thing they shared was that when something seems obvious to me, I tend to move forward without discussion. But whats clear to me isnt always clear to othersand they wanted more transparency and space for shared decision making. That feedback was a gift. One small but meaningful change I made was to begin sharing my weekly board emails with the entire team. Its helped remove ambiguity and reduce stress about whats happening behind the scenes. We all know at Catapult Design that we are not immune to what is happening in the U.S. government right now. While Im happy to see efforts for efficiency in financial performance, I worry about whats being lost in the process. As budgets shrink and priorities shift, how will the quality of government services be measured? And what happens to the well-being of those providingand relying onthose services if we fail to track what really matters? 4 ways to prioritize employee well-being Prioritizing well-being isnt just a leadership philosophy; its a strategic decision. Were always refining what this looks like, but heres how organizations can make it real: Make well-being a key performance indicator. Measure engagement, workload balance, and psychological safety as rigorously as revenue. Normalize feedback loops. If leaders arent being reviewed by their teams, theyre missing critical data about whats working (and whats not). Recalibrate workloads. If overwork is the norm, the problem isnt employeesits leadership. Project scoping must align with reality, not just ambition. Champion transparency. When teams understand the organizations financial health and strategic direction, they feel more investedand less anxious. Well-being matters more than ever Were in a moment of reckoning. Layoffs are making headlines across industriesfrom tech to media to governmentand many organizations are under pressure to do more with less. It’s not surprising that burnout and questions about leadership are surfacing more often in the process. In a world where talent is mobile and exhaustion is widespread, the best organizations wont just be those that survive financiallytheyll be the ones that create workplaces where people want to stay, grow, and thrive. Ive learned the hard way that leadership isnt about having all the answers. But I do wonder, if we dont prioritize the people who make the work possible, will anything else matter. Angela Hariche is CEO of Catapult Design.
Category:
E-Commerce
The old adage the only thing constant is change seems to ring true in workplaces today. Workplaces are rife with challenges, from navigating economic uncertainty to rapidly adapting to technological change. Workplace mental health support plays a pivotal role in helping employees build resilience to navigate the stressors they face. When we discuss mental health in the workplace, we often think of a corporate office: a desk, a screen, and a Slack channel. In reality, the need for mental health support extends to all sectors and workers. From healthcare to hospitality, construction to retail, food service to utilities, workers in non-office jobs are just as in need of support as their desked peers. There is no such thing as a stress-free workplace. As a leader, what you do to address it can make all the difference. It’s a business imperative At Calm, weve seen this firsthand. Through our app, we support over 3,500 organizations, including 600 non-office industries. Across sectors and industries, employees come to Calm for stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and sleep support. Workers across the board might share similar challengesanxiety, burnout, family stressbut their experiences are unique to their role or environment. An office worker may fear being replaced by AI. A warehouse worker may worry more about the risk of injury or being replaced by automation. Each of those fears is valid, and each deserves bespoke support. Supporting workers isnt just the right thing to do; its a business imperative. According to yale researchers, the U.S. economy loses over $280 billion each year due to mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. Gallup found that employees who report poor mental health take nearly five times as many sick days. Thats $47.6 billion in lost productivity. But more than that, its millions of people quietly struggling to get through the day. It doesn’t have to be this way and making mental health support a priority goes a long way. It begins with open and honest communication. Leaders must be willing to share their own experiences with stress, anxiety, or burnout to normalize these conversations. Ive publicly discussed my personal journey with my team, from experiencing panic attacks starting as a teenager to leading Calm, aiming to inspire others to prioritize their mental well-being. This transparency has helped break down the stigma associated with mental health challenges and encourages employees to seek help when they need it. Steps leaders can take Here are some other ways leaders can help incorporate employee mental well-being as a workplace priority: Talk about it. Leadership sets the tone and should model and share their own experiences balancing mental well-being while at work. Listen. Be present. Find ways to hear from your teams.Understand the stressors that exist across different types of work. For some, its emotional fatigure. For others, its physical strain or unpredictable hours. All of it matters. Meet people where they are. Whether its a digital platform, a flyer in the locker room, or a text-based check-in, delivery matters as much as the message. Tailor support. One-size-fits-all solutions fall flat. A call center agent and a construction worker have very different needs, and your approach should reflect that. Normalize mental health in company culture. Mental wellness shouldnt feel like an afterthought. At Calm, we begin every all-hands meeting with a short meditation. I try not to start my day by checking emails or texts. These arent big shifts, but theyre grounding. When mindfulness is integrated into the rhythm of work, it becomes an integral part of the culture, rather than just a checkbox. At Calm, weve learned that purpose and performance arent opposites. When employees feel supported, they show up stronger and better. Engagement goes up, turnover goes down, and business benefits. Stress isnt going away. However, we have an opportunity to transform how we support employees in handling it. Workplace mental health support isnt optional; it’s essential. It is crucial to create a supportive and sustainable workplace that enables leaders to take a holistic approach to caring for their people. After all, we cant build healthy companies without a thriving workforce across all teams in every sector of our economy. David Ko is CEO of Calm.
Category:
E-Commerce
In today’s workplace, everyone’s racing to a digital finish line. Organizations have embraced transformation, but in a rush to adopt new technologies, many leaders have prioritized speed over strategy without aligning teams, systems, and goals. The result? Disconnected ecosystems where information gets lost and workflows become increasingly disjointed. To accelerate effectively, teams need more than just tools. They need clarity. The data from Lucids recent acceleration equation survey highlights that when teams build from a common foundation with shared context, processes, and alignment, they save time and enhance agilityenabling everyone to move faster together. Identify the visibility gap Theres an increasing divide in confidence and clarity around how teams understand their work. Visibility isnt just about dashboards, its about a shared understanding of expectations, deliverables, and goals. And that understanding is where the gaps are widening. While 93% of executives in the survey said they feel confident in project expectations, only 74% of individual contributors feel the same. Without clarity on how tasks contribute to broader goals, even high-performing teams face friction, redundancy, and missed opportunities. This lack of shared visibility is compounded by the scattered information thats become all too common in todays workplace. The average employee toggles between multiple platforms just to get a full picture of a project. It’s no surprise that 40% of knowledge workers dont know where to find key project resources, leading to delays, duplication, and frustration. These visibility gaps and scattered systems dont just slow teams down, they trap them in inefficient cycles that waste time and sap momentum. Workers are stuck in a cycle of disconnect Even the most capable teams can falter when processes lack consistency and documentation. Without clear guidance, employees often spend more time deciphering workflows than executing them. Our recent survey asked workers how often they recreate processes or documentation simply because they cant find themand nearly a third of workers recreate processes multiple times a week. With that, 43% of executives struggle with managing change effectively. This is not due to resistance to structure but stems from insufficient documentation and communication. Ive seen this firsthand while scaling a company. As deadlines pile up and teams shift into execution mode, process and visibility often take a back seat. What feels like progress can quickly turn into misalignment when theres no connective tissue holding efforts together. This fragmentation leads to significant time losses, with a staggering 85% of workers spending up to two hours daily searching for information. Thats an entire workday lost each week. Disconnected tools and fragmented project context can leave teams in a loop of improvisation and inefficiency. And while meetings are meant to solve that, more than 60% of employees say they walk away without clear next steps, which only adds to the confusion. One in five workers believe standardized, updated process documentation would save them at least three hours daily. This highlights an incredible opportunity for massive time and cost savings. What Ive realized, and what our customers consistently tell us, is that teams dont need more systems; they need clearer, more centralized information that meets them where they already work and breaks the unproductive cycle consuming their time and energy. What’s really needed to accelerate work Todays workplace isnt suffering from a lack of toolsbut from too many disconnected ones. About 28% of employees surveyed say outdated or inadequate tools are slowing them down, while scattered information across platforms creates confusion instead of clarity. Teams often end up working in parallel rather than in sync, wasting valuable time and losing momentum as they struggle to find what they need. What truly accelerates work isnt more tools but better orchestration that connects existing solutions in a way that enables clear, confident teamwork. While most firms aren’t looking to overhaul their tech stacks, theyve recognized that the key to efficiency lies in clearer communication protocols and more effective collaboration. So now is the time to invest in the right areas: streamlined processes and integrated tools that foster cross-functional work. But the real magic happens when creating consistency. When teams share the same view and access information effortlessly, they don’t just move forwardthey accelerate with shared purpose. Our opportunity as leaders? Transform scattered effort into a unified force that powers genuine, breakthrough innovation. Dave Grow is CEO of Lucid Software.
Category:
E-Commerce
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