Decoding Workplace Happiness: Insights with Heather Haslam

WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.880
Music.
00:00:08.726 --> 00:00:12.946
Welcome to the Insights at Work podcast. My name is Shauna G.
00:00:13.286 --> 00:00:17.506
In this month's edition, we're delighted to welcome Heather Haslam,
00:00:17.766 --> 00:00:20.746
Vice President of Marketing for ADP Canada to the podcast.
00:00:20.986 --> 00:00:24.006
In this episode, we talk about the Happiness at Work Index.
00:00:24.386 --> 00:00:28.286
Listen in and learn what makes workers in Canada happy.
00:00:28.706 --> 00:00:34.346
And on the other side of the coin, where we could improve. We hope you enjoyed the episode.
00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:42.160
Music.
00:00:41.286 --> 00:00:46.106
Heather, welcome to Insights at Work. Thank you so much for having me.
00:00:46.246 --> 00:00:51.066
I've been super excited about talking about the ADP Canada Happiness at Work Index.
00:00:51.386 --> 00:00:56.986
And I know that a number of our listeners have probably heard your voice before.
00:00:57.286 --> 00:01:03.926
You've joined me for a few different episodes, one being the annual review at the end of last year.
00:01:04.086 --> 00:01:07.586
So if you haven't checked that one out, folks, go take a peek, take a listen.
00:01:07.726 --> 00:01:12.086
And you also act as a spokesperson for the ADP Canada Happiness at Work Index.
00:01:12.286 --> 00:01:16.306
So perhaps folks have seen you out there in the news media. So thank you for joining us.
00:01:17.306 --> 00:01:22.306
I'm certainly not a star, but I do love to talk about the happiness at work.
00:01:22.426 --> 00:01:27.046
It makes a big difference for how it is that we spend our time when we're not
00:01:27.046 --> 00:01:30.726
working as well as when we are working. Absolutely.
00:01:31.146 --> 00:01:35.566
And interestingly, the happiness at work index is,
00:01:35.913 --> 00:01:39.433
has just had its second birthday. Very exciting stuff.
00:01:39.773 --> 00:01:44.413
So I thought today we could take some time and we could talk about the Happiness
00:01:44.413 --> 00:01:46.333
at Work Index, the evolution of it,
00:01:46.553 --> 00:01:49.693
any potential trends that we've seen over the last two years,
00:01:49.713 --> 00:01:54.573
and maybe just dive into a few personal anecdotes and see how happiness levels
00:01:54.573 --> 00:01:56.453
stack up with you and your team.
00:01:56.773 --> 00:02:01.533
That sounds amazing, Shawna. Despite the fact that I get to talk about the ADP
00:02:01.533 --> 00:02:06.233
happiness at work index all the time. And it is having this birthday,
00:02:06.453 --> 00:02:09.113
which is amazing, two years in the market and going.
00:02:09.313 --> 00:02:14.153
I don't think we can assume that all of the listeners know what it is that we're talking about.
00:02:14.293 --> 00:02:20.153
So can I just take a minute and share what the index is and why it is that we do it?
00:02:20.413 --> 00:02:26.653
Absolutely. On a monthly basis, ADP Canada works with a company to go out and
00:02:26.653 --> 00:02:28.533
speak to workers in Canada.
00:02:28.533 --> 00:02:33.153
So that's both part-time and full-time workers, as well as workers that are
00:02:33.153 --> 00:02:36.833
working for themselves and working in an organization.
00:02:37.353 --> 00:02:42.773
And the index is a sentiment. It's essentially tapping into how workers in Canada
00:02:42.773 --> 00:02:46.293
are feeling about the workplace. And it spits out a score.
00:02:46.593 --> 00:02:52.373
And the score is made up of two parts. The first half is made up of directly
00:02:52.373 --> 00:02:54.073
the answer to one question.
00:02:54.113 --> 00:02:58.193
How are you feeling in your current role and responsibility?
00:02:58.533 --> 00:03:02.553
How happy are you? And then the second half is made up of what we refer to as
00:03:02.553 --> 00:03:04.053
the secondary indicators.
00:03:04.373 --> 00:03:08.973
So answers to questions about how you feel about work-life balance,
00:03:09.413 --> 00:03:15.233
around compensation, recognition, and support, as well as career advancement
00:03:15.233 --> 00:03:16.953
and career development opportunities.
00:03:17.393 --> 00:03:20.773
And so together, both of those make up this score.
00:03:21.013 --> 00:03:27.153
And why I'm so excited about the birthday is that on this monthly basis,
00:03:27.153 --> 00:03:33.873
we're able to slice data and provide the insights by both region,
00:03:34.233 --> 00:03:38.253
so by different provinces, as well as by different generation.
00:03:38.633 --> 00:03:42.673
You know, how boomers are feeling are different than Gen Z, say.
00:03:43.333 --> 00:03:48.733
And so being able to provide this data to two folks on an ongoing basis helps
00:03:48.733 --> 00:03:51.393
people understand what is the sentiment of workers.
00:03:51.593 --> 00:03:55.653
And the why always is the like, What's the value of this?
00:03:55.793 --> 00:04:00.273
When people leaders, HR folks, business owners.
00:04:00.973 --> 00:04:08.613
Executives, when those that support employees working in Canada really understand
00:04:08.613 --> 00:04:13.333
some of the nuances and the trends and understand the factors that are driving
00:04:13.333 --> 00:04:15.933
happiness, they're able to better manage.
00:04:16.207 --> 00:04:20.847
Better business decisions, first and foremost. And so it's about,
00:04:21.047 --> 00:04:25.947
in a real-time way, empowering and equipping folks with this information so
00:04:25.947 --> 00:04:29.187
that they can use it for their purposes within their organization.
00:04:29.507 --> 00:04:33.567
And the value of, you know, a lot of people say, like, happiness,
00:04:33.727 --> 00:04:34.987
why, you know, why happiness?
00:04:35.427 --> 00:04:38.707
Happiness is directly related to engagement.
00:04:38.987 --> 00:04:44.907
When we are in a workplace, Shauna that we feel, again, tapping into those four
00:04:44.907 --> 00:04:48.087
secondary indicators, when we feel that we're being paid fairly,
00:04:48.087 --> 00:04:50.267
when we feel that we're being supported,
00:04:50.587 --> 00:04:53.907
when we feel like we're being recognized for really good work,
00:04:54.087 --> 00:04:56.227
we tend to be really engaged.
00:04:56.427 --> 00:05:00.567
We're more what I normally refer to as jazzed about the work that we're doing.
00:05:00.747 --> 00:05:05.427
And that engagement, why it's really important, isn't just because,
00:05:05.447 --> 00:05:10.287
you know, the community's happier and we're better in our workplaces.
00:05:10.287 --> 00:05:11.867
It goes straight to the bottom line.
00:05:12.007 --> 00:05:16.887
It's good for us as employees on the happiness front, but it's good for us around
00:05:16.887 --> 00:05:25.987
organizations because those companies that report out higher engagements have higher profits,
00:05:26.247 --> 00:05:29.687
have more improved productivity, have less turnover.
00:05:30.247 --> 00:05:35.127
So happiness, this idea, this sentiment around how it is that we're feeling
00:05:35.127 --> 00:05:37.927
in the workplace is really important to understand.
00:05:38.107 --> 00:05:41.627
And I know you said two years, I'm just I'm excited because we now are starting
00:05:41.627 --> 00:05:46.387
to see the annual ebbs and flows, if you will, about the happiness index.
00:05:46.727 --> 00:05:51.647
Awesome. So let's talk about that a little bit, the natural ebbs and flows that seem to happen.
00:05:51.727 --> 00:05:54.847
I know in reviewing some of the data over the past two years,
00:05:54.887 --> 00:06:01.987
I noticed that folks in January were I think I think they were actually happier year over year.
00:06:02.207 --> 00:06:05.907
It seemed to be it was a happier month, which is a little bit counterintuitive
00:06:05.907 --> 00:06:09.607
when you think about it. most people tend to think of January as kind of drab.
00:06:09.747 --> 00:06:14.607
And I noticed too, as people, as the index moves into the spring,
00:06:14.847 --> 00:06:18.767
it seems like people get a little boost in their happiness. And is that correct?
00:06:19.047 --> 00:06:23.487
What are some trends that you have noticed over the last couple of years in terms of seasonality?
00:06:23.707 --> 00:06:31.747
I warmly refer to it as the patio season impact because we're tapping into workers in Canada.
00:06:32.187 --> 00:06:38.547
And because we have very, very different weather patterns, you know,
00:06:38.727 --> 00:06:42.987
when we when the weather gets warmer, when we're able to spend more time outside,
00:06:42.987 --> 00:06:46.227
we tend to actually see this boost in happiness.
00:06:46.647 --> 00:06:51.467
Now, we don't ask the question around, you know, hey, are you happier because
00:06:51.467 --> 00:06:54.527
we're we're able to go sit on patios.
00:06:54.787 --> 00:07:00.167
But the truth is, yeah, we've seen repeatedly that as Once weather gets warmer,
00:07:00.407 --> 00:07:02.627
we tend to have this increase in happiness.
00:07:02.907 --> 00:07:08.027
But there are a whole pile of trends that are super interesting around seasonality.
00:07:09.007 --> 00:07:15.267
One thing that's become clear is that what's happening outside of the workplace,
00:07:16.099 --> 00:07:19.179
impacts what's happening inside the workplace.
00:07:20.039 --> 00:07:25.479
So we've seen changes when there's been economic changes, when,
00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:28.239
you know, a perfect example is the wildfires.
00:07:28.599 --> 00:07:33.199
Everybody can remember when there was, you know, a terrible time last year when
00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.499
we were dealing with wildfires.
00:07:36.039 --> 00:07:40.919
Just interestingly enough, not necessarily, you know, I can't prove a causation,
00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:45.659
but there's a high correlation. When you're dealing with stressful things outside
00:07:45.659 --> 00:07:50.599
of the workplace, it impacts how it is that you show up inside the workplace.
00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:55.719
And so the trends aren't just seasonality ongoing in terms of,
00:07:55.799 --> 00:07:57.959
hey, when the weather gets better, we tend to be happier.
00:07:58.059 --> 00:08:02.679
It's also tied to what are the things that are happening outside of the workplace
00:08:02.679 --> 00:08:04.999
that impact how we feel, right?
00:08:04.999 --> 00:08:09.839
So, and economic changes, right, in terms of when we've seen increase in inflation,
00:08:10.119 --> 00:08:15.859
all of a sudden, you know, scores dip around compensation and benefits.
00:08:16.219 --> 00:08:23.879
Because, you know, simply put, when inflation is high, and you are just having
00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:25.499
more output, in other words,
00:08:25.779 --> 00:08:28.819
you know, the cost of groceries, I'm not going to get on the cost of groceries,
00:08:28.979 --> 00:08:32.099
but I could, you know, when those increase significantly,
00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:38.999
what's happening is, If your inputs haven't changed, you're more crunched for money.
00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:45.359
And so those are all the things that even outside of just regular annual seasonality.
00:08:46.527 --> 00:08:50.687
Yes, what impacts you outside of work definitely, in my opinion,
00:08:50.907 --> 00:08:53.847
is going to impact you inside the walls of your workplace.
00:08:54.147 --> 00:09:00.087
Are there regional differences within the index? Is there measurement for different provinces?
00:09:00.547 --> 00:09:02.827
And who's the happiest?
00:09:03.987 --> 00:09:08.107
So regions tend to sway more than generations.
00:09:09.047 --> 00:09:12.447
Quebecers, off the top of my head, certainly. it's
00:09:12.447 --> 00:09:15.167
not necessarily every single month they're at the
00:09:15.167 --> 00:09:18.787
top of the happiness index but fairly
00:09:18.787 --> 00:09:25.967
you know fairly consistently they they have kind of been the winners to happiness
00:09:25.967 --> 00:09:33.087
by region the east coast is as well but there's often these shifts around you
00:09:33.087 --> 00:09:35.627
know second place if you will for happiness.
00:09:36.387 --> 00:09:43.147
And sadly, speaking to you from Toronto, Ontario, Ontario and the central region
00:09:43.147 --> 00:09:48.707
really tends to be at the lower end of happiness fairly consistently.
00:09:48.927 --> 00:09:52.747
Again, there are always exceptions and we do, we can point to things that are
00:09:52.747 --> 00:09:57.927
happening outside of the workplace by province that we suspect are correlated
00:09:57.927 --> 00:09:59.467
to happiness within the workplace.
00:09:59.647 --> 00:10:05.247
But overall, Quebecers, East Coast folks are happier and Ontario's at the bottom
00:10:05.247 --> 00:10:09.967
of the leaderboard, if you will. But I'm a marketer, Shauna.
00:10:10.167 --> 00:10:13.307
So I'm going to turn that into it just means that there's an opportunity.
00:10:13.647 --> 00:10:18.367
It just means that, you know, I always joke that I, when my son Abram comes
00:10:18.367 --> 00:10:23.407
home with his report card, I'm supposed to focus on the happy, the highest grades.
00:10:23.587 --> 00:10:27.727
But, you know, I do often go to the lowest grade and say, what happened there?
00:10:27.907 --> 00:10:34.027
So it is an opportunity to focus on where are we regionally least happy and
00:10:34.027 --> 00:10:39.267
understanding and speaking to our employees about what it is that's driving
00:10:39.267 --> 00:10:42.647
that so that we can make shifts and changes.
00:10:42.927 --> 00:10:44.827
Absolutely. That makes tons of sense.
00:10:45.327 --> 00:10:50.327
Interesting to hear that our friends in Quebec and on the East Coast tend to
00:10:50.327 --> 00:10:53.547
roll a little bit higher in terms of the happiness scale.
00:10:53.707 --> 00:10:57.547
It'd be really interesting to potentially someday take a deeper dive into that
00:10:57.547 --> 00:11:02.167
and understand the real nuts and bolts as to why that is. Very interesting.
00:11:02.704 --> 00:11:08.184
I know you mentioned generations as well, and rumor has it that one generation
00:11:08.184 --> 00:11:14.724
has really maintained the crown as the happiest generation. Can you share any insights about that?
00:11:15.124 --> 00:11:20.784
Very clearly, and without, I don't think any exception, month after month,
00:11:21.284 --> 00:11:25.144
since inception, boomers are the happiest.
00:11:25.644 --> 00:11:31.124
Boomers are scoring always at the top of the leaderboard in terms of their sentiment.
00:11:31.124 --> 00:11:36.504
And that's, again, made up of both their simple answer to how it is that they're
00:11:36.504 --> 00:11:41.404
feeling in their current role and responsibility, as well as all of those secondary factors.
00:11:41.704 --> 00:11:46.984
And we, when you dive into those, like, why is it the boomers are so happy?
00:11:47.104 --> 00:11:54.644
What can you, you know, their happiness and their sentiment about a career advancement is high.
00:11:54.644 --> 00:12:03.084
When there's less of your career in front of you, you put less waiting and priority on that, right?
00:12:03.204 --> 00:12:06.004
Certainly, you know, work-life balance is very critical.
00:12:06.204 --> 00:12:11.064
It is actually critical to all of us working in Canada. But there are trends
00:12:11.064 --> 00:12:17.084
around boomers that really help us understand, yeah, they're doing really well.
00:12:17.244 --> 00:12:20.744
And so we need to take a page from boomers in order to understand what are the
00:12:20.744 --> 00:12:25.824
things that we can do to help support younger generations in the workplace in
00:12:25.824 --> 00:12:30.164
order to improve their happiness, driving engagement and driving productivity.
00:12:30.164 --> 00:12:31.944
That brings up an excellent point.
00:12:32.104 --> 00:12:37.464
Obviously, boomers being the more seasoned individuals in the workforce,
00:12:37.464 --> 00:12:43.124
many of them eyeing retirement or their second act in terms of what their career is.
00:12:43.224 --> 00:12:45.424
Maybe it looks a little bit different than working, you know,
00:12:45.484 --> 00:12:49.084
a nine to five or working inside of a traditional organization.
00:12:49.084 --> 00:12:52.724
Maybe they were moved to something part time. Maybe they're fully retiring.
00:12:53.004 --> 00:12:57.124
It could look different for each individual. But in contrast,
00:12:57.144 --> 00:13:02.704
when you look at the younger generation in the workforce that are Gen Z, Gen Z folks.
00:13:03.244 --> 00:13:10.364
I noticed that sometimes they are actually really close to boomers and happiness.
00:13:10.664 --> 00:13:14.604
And then other times they swing to the bottom of the list. They seem to have
00:13:14.604 --> 00:13:22.444
some variability in their scoring, not quite as consistent, but end up on both ends of the spectrum.
00:13:22.444 --> 00:13:29.604
Can you think of any reasons or trends around why that may be or where you actually
00:13:29.604 --> 00:13:32.484
see those swings happen in terms of Gen Z?
00:13:32.744 --> 00:13:38.744
Like, do they tend to be happier in June than January?
00:13:38.944 --> 00:13:42.924
I'm not sure if you have that data specifically, but really curious how the
00:13:42.924 --> 00:13:47.864
younger generation fits into the mix in terms of the Workplace Happiness Index.
00:13:47.864 --> 00:13:51.784
Yeah, there is more variability with Gen Z.
00:13:52.224 --> 00:13:59.324
One of the things that I think when I share the boomers are the happiest, we tend to assume that.
00:13:59.923 --> 00:14:05.083
Directly boomers are the happiest and then our Gen Xers would be the next happiest
00:14:05.083 --> 00:14:08.623
and then millennials and then Gen Z would be the least happy.
00:14:08.983 --> 00:14:11.923
It's not at all the case at all.
00:14:12.503 --> 00:14:21.563
So in Gen Z, and so that's kind of 18 to 26-ish, workers in Canada have significant swings.
00:14:21.563 --> 00:14:30.163
We do see the external, potentially seasonal factors impacting Gen Z more than boomers.
00:14:30.383 --> 00:14:34.263
So, you know, I highlighted patio season, for instance.
00:14:34.543 --> 00:14:39.123
We do see that when weather gets better across the country, you know,
00:14:39.223 --> 00:14:42.743
we see these increases in Gen Z scores.
00:14:42.743 --> 00:14:50.263
You know, May, June, July all tend to be in the kind of what I'll say the 7.0 range.
00:14:50.443 --> 00:14:56.763
Again, not as high as boomers who, you know, like that sit at 7.2 or 7.3,
00:14:56.983 --> 00:15:02.963
but they do tend to swing with the weather more than Xers and millennials.
00:15:02.963 --> 00:15:07.483
I also want to share with you, it's not linear in terms of age.
00:15:08.123 --> 00:15:12.763
Gen Xers, even though I'm not supposed to focus on the bottom of the report
00:15:12.763 --> 00:15:14.523
card. Yes, boomers are the highest.
00:15:14.783 --> 00:15:17.023
Gen X, consistently.
00:15:17.775 --> 00:15:22.055
Are at the bottom of the happiness index from a generation perspective.
00:15:22.375 --> 00:15:29.095
They are fairly consistently the lowest score, and it doesn't really fluctuate.
00:15:29.255 --> 00:15:36.795
It's anywhere between what I'll say is 6.3, has gone as high as 6.6,
00:15:37.035 --> 00:15:42.115
but never broaching anywhere near boomers, or for that matter,
00:15:42.395 --> 00:15:43.635
any of the other generations.
00:15:43.635 --> 00:15:47.675
They are consistently at the bottom of the leaderboard. How interesting.
00:15:48.215 --> 00:15:51.635
I wonder, and this is just, of course, my opinion,
00:15:51.935 --> 00:15:54.795
anecdotal evidence perhaps from my own life,
00:15:54.915 --> 00:16:00.015
but I do wonder if perhaps the reasoning behind some of that is really tied
00:16:00.015 --> 00:16:08.815
to life stage in terms of most Gen Xers at this stage are either facing the
00:16:08.815 --> 00:16:13.515
impact of aging parents and potentially losing parents,
00:16:13.515 --> 00:16:16.415
as well as managing.
00:16:16.795 --> 00:16:21.875
In some cases, children still and coming up through a difficult stage of teenagehood,
00:16:22.035 --> 00:16:26.675
most likely if you're a Gen Xer for the most part, or a little bit older in
00:16:26.675 --> 00:16:29.575
their journey into adulthood.
00:16:29.575 --> 00:16:36.535
So I can imagine that along with potentially looking ahead to get to that stage
00:16:36.535 --> 00:16:41.535
of being in a position to retire like our boomer friends,
00:16:41.535 --> 00:16:45.655
there's probably some financial pressure mixed in there as well in terms of
00:16:45.655 --> 00:16:50.835
how do they maximize their income and managing all these responsibilities and
00:16:50.835 --> 00:16:56.335
still meet that goal of retirement at whatever stage they have set that for.
00:16:56.475 --> 00:16:57.755
So that's really interesting.
00:16:57.975 --> 00:17:04.255
And again, more anecdotal from what I see in my own life in terms of what those reasons may be.
00:17:04.395 --> 00:17:08.755
But interestingly enough, I sit inside the millennial generation.
00:17:08.855 --> 00:17:12.635
Now I'm an old millennial, I guess, as they would say.
00:17:12.775 --> 00:17:17.355
I'm one of the first years that it kind of was considered to be a millennial.
00:17:18.387 --> 00:17:22.407
Interestingly, folks often look at my generation sometimes as,
00:17:22.467 --> 00:17:26.547
you know, the generation who perhaps is a little bit more high maintenance in
00:17:26.547 --> 00:17:31.227
terms of wanting to be acknowledged or promoted or all of those great things.
00:17:31.647 --> 00:17:38.167
So it surprises me that we tend to be in the middle, fairly run of the mill.
00:17:38.567 --> 00:17:43.267
Oh, it's fine. We're carrying on. Not really fussed either way about it.
00:17:43.407 --> 00:17:46.847
Do you think there's any reasoning behind that? Or do you think perhaps,
00:17:47.027 --> 00:17:52.287
again, maybe it's just something tied to life stage or place in your journey?
00:17:52.487 --> 00:17:58.007
For sure, the generational stuff is tied to life stage, right?
00:17:58.167 --> 00:18:05.307
And perhaps you've heard me talk about my experiences being in the sandwich generation.
00:18:05.307 --> 00:18:11.487
And so you're, I'm one of your examples for sure around dealing with aging parents
00:18:11.487 --> 00:18:14.507
as well as, you know, trying to manage teenagers.
00:18:15.527 --> 00:18:21.747
And the pressure financially, not only to manage those two things,
00:18:21.927 --> 00:18:27.687
but knowing that there's a window of time for me to be able to make money, that's part of it.
00:18:28.067 --> 00:18:30.347
Tied to millennials, you know, I was...
00:18:30.954 --> 00:18:34.854
I always reflect that for a long time, millennials just got a really bad rap,
00:18:35.474 --> 00:18:38.734
right? They were in high maintenance. You said it. I didn't call you that.
00:18:38.914 --> 00:18:44.354
But part of that was around the expectations around career advancement and career development.
00:18:44.354 --> 00:18:50.374
And you see that in millennial expectations around the priority that they put
00:18:50.374 --> 00:18:56.334
on compensation, but as well as career advancement, because Because where you
00:18:56.334 --> 00:18:58.954
are in your life stage is, you know,
00:18:59.214 --> 00:19:05.674
you're becoming more established, you're having more under your belt,
00:19:05.754 --> 00:19:09.314
if you will, around different types of roles and getting better at understanding
00:19:09.314 --> 00:19:12.234
what are your strengths, what do you want to continue to do,
00:19:12.374 --> 00:19:14.134
what are the things that come easier to you.
00:19:14.134 --> 00:19:20.974
And I used to always be frustrated with my millennial colleagues around their
00:19:20.974 --> 00:19:28.014
lack of patience and willingness to sit in a role and what I say is get a whole
00:19:28.014 --> 00:19:30.214
pile of experience before moving on.
00:19:30.594 --> 00:19:34.434
But gone are the days where I have that assumption because I actually think
00:19:34.434 --> 00:19:39.934
Xers should take a little bit of a page from millennials around being clear
00:19:39.934 --> 00:19:43.694
about what is required next in the career.
00:19:43.694 --> 00:19:49.074
What it is that they want to have opportunities to learn, what are different
00:19:49.074 --> 00:19:54.234
pathways so that they get exposed to something that maybe isn't in their current
00:19:54.234 --> 00:19:56.674
role, but could help them be developed.
00:19:56.854 --> 00:20:00.994
And I'm not just talking about traditional training and development,
00:20:00.994 --> 00:20:05.934
but I'm also talking about exposure and what are the projects that are being
00:20:05.934 --> 00:20:08.154
worked on. I think that's really good.
00:20:08.354 --> 00:20:13.374
I think that as Xers, we might have been a little too patient and we should
00:20:13.374 --> 00:20:20.374
be clear around our expectations and be clear around what's working and what's not. So I...
00:20:21.331 --> 00:20:26.631
I don't think it's as much high maintenance and demanding as much as a role
00:20:26.631 --> 00:20:31.451
model for both generations that are coming up behind millennials,
00:20:31.451 --> 00:20:36.331
as well as those of us that may be a little bit older that need to take a page
00:20:36.331 --> 00:20:38.471
from the book of the millennials.
00:20:38.471 --> 00:20:47.071
But I will tell you, there's also lots of fluctuation with millennials as well as Gen Z, but less.
00:20:48.371 --> 00:20:55.991
If anything, millennials are a very stable group within workers in Canada around
00:20:55.991 --> 00:21:00.211
happiness. generations is always an interesting topic to dive into.
00:21:00.591 --> 00:21:04.251
We've definitely talked about it a little bit here today. And just as a plug
00:21:04.251 --> 00:21:10.371
and a reminder to listeners, we actually had a generational expert on earlier in the podcast series.
00:21:10.571 --> 00:21:15.011
So if you want to dive deeper into generations, you can check out Dr. Karen Gordon.
00:21:15.451 --> 00:21:19.431
You can find her on the Insights at Work page, but some really interesting insights there.
00:21:19.691 --> 00:21:24.851
One of which I'll just briefly touch on, which I think was really interesting and intriguing.
00:21:25.331 --> 00:21:31.471
And I use this example simply because we've self-identified here as a Gen X and a millennial.
00:21:31.711 --> 00:21:37.851
Interestingly enough, millennials and Gen Xs tend to have the most conflict in the workplace.
00:21:38.271 --> 00:21:43.971
Now, part of that apparently comes from the fact that we are close together
00:21:43.971 --> 00:21:46.531
in terms of generational existence.
00:21:47.211 --> 00:21:53.571
And most Gen Xers, if they have children probably have Gen Zs at home.
00:21:53.731 --> 00:21:58.231
So there's a little bit of, I understand you, I have one of you at home.
00:21:58.651 --> 00:22:02.091
Whereas the Gen X millennial relationship is a little bit
00:22:02.526 --> 00:22:03.946
less unknown. It's kind of like
00:22:03.946 --> 00:22:07.326
that little brother, little sister energy that exists between the two.
00:22:07.546 --> 00:22:11.386
So I think that's interesting that they, you know, sometimes come into conflict
00:22:11.386 --> 00:22:12.826
in the workplace. But that's an aside.
00:22:12.986 --> 00:22:18.426
Again, if you want to check out Dr. Karen Gordon, she'll take a deep dive into that for our listeners.
00:22:18.946 --> 00:22:22.806
But in terms of some of those secondary indicators, Heather,
00:22:22.886 --> 00:22:26.826
that you mentioned earlier on, the work-life balance and flexibility,
00:22:27.146 --> 00:22:31.306
compensation and benefits, you know, being able to upskill.
00:22:31.506 --> 00:22:36.866
What can you tell us about the secondary indicators and how workers in Canada
00:22:36.866 --> 00:22:38.766
are feeling about those different areas?
00:22:39.086 --> 00:22:46.246
Sure. So first, you know, I'll be the positive one and focus on what do we get
00:22:46.246 --> 00:22:50.466
from the data to help us understand what's really working.
00:22:50.746 --> 00:22:57.506
And happiness around work-life balance and flexibility is, again, not always,
00:22:57.806 --> 00:23:06.026
but fairly consistently one of the indicators that we're reporting out that we're most happy.
00:23:06.446 --> 00:23:10.846
And interestingly enough, I mean, we've been doing this now for a couple years.
00:23:11.306 --> 00:23:20.086
That has less seasonality and really sits in the high sixes and low sevens from
00:23:20.086 --> 00:23:25.166
a happiness perspective across the board, and there's no real big swings.
00:23:25.446 --> 00:23:31.646
So when workers are reporting out work-life balance and flexibility,
00:23:32.006 --> 00:23:38.326
that tells us that that's not only important because it's part of the equation, right?
00:23:38.606 --> 00:23:42.066
The secondary indicators, just to back up for a second, Shauna,
00:23:42.406 --> 00:23:50.726
they're all intertwined and they weigh in on how it is that we feel in the workplace
00:23:50.726 --> 00:23:54.006
because it's not just money, right?
00:23:54.226 --> 00:23:59.186
The employer-employee relationship isn't just compensation and benefits.
00:23:59.346 --> 00:24:03.346
And we have other data that tells us very clearly both from work that we've
00:24:03.346 --> 00:24:08.226
done specifically in the Canadian market as well as from the ADP Research Institute
00:24:08.226 --> 00:24:16.086
that highlights we're not saying that compensation and benefits are the number one factor.
00:24:16.466 --> 00:24:20.646
In fact, work-life balance and flexibility is very important.
00:24:21.226 --> 00:24:27.986
So it's really great news that work-life balance is something that we're fairly
00:24:27.986 --> 00:24:32.686
happy about and is fairly consistent.
00:24:33.006 --> 00:24:39.046
The other indicators, and I want to highlight that the options for career advancement
00:24:39.046 --> 00:24:42.426
tends to be at the lowest level.
00:24:43.006 --> 00:24:48.846
And so we've talked a little bit in other places around the productivity gap
00:24:48.846 --> 00:24:55.066
in Canada, around our adoption of technology, but this is really important to workers.
00:24:55.066 --> 00:24:59.546
And so if the sentiment is coming back that it's low...
00:24:59.852 --> 00:25:03.212
Options for career advancement. I'm the least happy with that.
00:25:03.612 --> 00:25:08.552
That's a tremendous opportunity for leaders and organizations,
00:25:09.172 --> 00:25:16.992
HR folks, and direct individual contributors as well to be able to set expectations.
00:25:17.192 --> 00:25:23.992
But to highlight where there are pathways, if you will, I'll take a page out of education, right?
00:25:24.192 --> 00:25:29.152
Where there are places that you can go and what are the skills that you're developing
00:25:29.152 --> 00:25:33.592
in the role that you're in today that will be able to, you know,
00:25:33.692 --> 00:25:37.072
be used in other types of roles as you advance.
00:25:37.392 --> 00:25:43.252
Being able to reinforce that for workers so that they can see that is really
00:25:43.252 --> 00:25:48.232
important, but also helping people understand what it is that they're looking
00:25:48.232 --> 00:25:49.552
for around career advancement.
00:25:49.832 --> 00:25:52.732
The big takeaway, Shauna, like
00:25:52.732 --> 00:26:00.132
the thing that consistently comes back when we put out the monthly ADP Canada
00:26:00.132 --> 00:26:11.412
happiness at work index around the so what is that when leaders and people leaders, specifically HR.
00:26:11.912 --> 00:26:14.972
Those of us that are working for our employees who have to,
00:26:15.252 --> 00:26:21.972
you know, it's part of our job to support folks when they take the time to actually
00:26:21.972 --> 00:26:28.272
know their people, and there's trust and communication established.
00:26:28.732 --> 00:26:36.832
And I can really understand that one person's needs for career advancement and
00:26:36.832 --> 00:26:43.512
where it is that they want to go, which pathway, so that I'm better able to support them in,
00:26:43.812 --> 00:26:48.632
say, exposure or stretch opportunities or which projects they get assigned to
00:26:48.632 --> 00:26:50.192
in order to support where that
00:26:50.192 --> 00:26:54.952
individual wants to go, there is higher happiness and more engagement.
00:26:55.212 --> 00:27:03.232
So the big aha out of all of this that I consistently say is that people, leaders,
00:27:03.492 --> 00:27:09.772
need to allocate time and capacity and care in order to know what's important
00:27:09.772 --> 00:27:15.072
to each of their people and be able to accommodate and support,
00:27:15.292 --> 00:27:17.472
whether or not that's money,
00:27:17.712 --> 00:27:21.532
whether or not that's career advancement, or whether or not that's flexibility.
00:27:21.792 --> 00:27:26.952
Because flexibility for you is very different than what flexibility means for me.
00:27:27.132 --> 00:27:33.552
And so I want to make sure that listeners really get the big insight from my perspective.
00:27:35.204 --> 00:27:38.444
It's individual. And we really need to,
00:27:38.704 --> 00:27:43.804
despite using the trends that the index give us, and be able to understand that
00:27:43.804 --> 00:27:49.664
overall, it's really important for people to allocate energy and compassion
00:27:49.664 --> 00:27:51.844
in order to develop relationships.
00:27:52.144 --> 00:27:56.244
Because human connection's what it's about, simply put. Absolutely.
00:27:56.744 --> 00:28:01.844
And I'm going to sound cliche, but we know it's very well known that workers'
00:28:02.004 --> 00:28:07.344
happiness often is dependent on who their leader is and who their direct leader is.
00:28:07.504 --> 00:28:12.164
Not necessarily, you know, the CEO of the organization, but within my team and
00:28:12.164 --> 00:28:17.924
my relationships, how is my leader treating me? How do my colleagues treat me?
00:28:18.084 --> 00:28:23.644
What is that direct impact that I have inside my particular working group?
00:28:23.884 --> 00:28:26.884
Teams, if you will, become exceptionally important.
00:28:27.144 --> 00:28:31.824
So perhaps a good takeaway for folks who are in leadership positions,
00:28:31.824 --> 00:28:34.744
or even if you're not in an official leadership capacity,
00:28:35.084 --> 00:28:40.444
maybe some self-reflection and recognizing that we do all have an impact on
00:28:40.444 --> 00:28:44.084
one another's work-life happiness, if you will.
00:28:44.084 --> 00:28:47.304
Maybe we'll take that away and move through the world.
00:28:47.804 --> 00:28:51.484
Yeah, I just want to add on to that because that's the other thing, right?
00:28:51.844 --> 00:28:56.984
It's actually not just people leaders that influence our workplace. We all do.
00:28:57.384 --> 00:29:06.204
We all impact the culture, the psychological safety, the environments in which we work.
00:29:06.204 --> 00:29:13.284
So I want to encourage, this isn't just about empowering and equipping managers
00:29:13.284 --> 00:29:14.944
with what they need to know.
00:29:15.304 --> 00:29:19.304
This is actually about empowering all of us working in Canada,
00:29:19.304 --> 00:29:23.384
because we all have a significant impact, not just on ourselves,
00:29:23.424 --> 00:29:25.504
but those in which we spend lots of time with.
00:29:25.644 --> 00:29:28.984
Is there anything else that you wanted to add about the index that we didn't
00:29:28.984 --> 00:29:31.944
get a chance to cover? There really is some...
00:29:32.756 --> 00:29:36.376
Often very good insights. And the supplemental,
00:29:36.856 --> 00:29:41.176
what I'll say is the additional information on a monthly basis that is often
00:29:41.176 --> 00:29:46.556
very timely and connected to what workers in Canada are experiencing outside
00:29:46.556 --> 00:29:49.516
of their workplaces is very helpful.
00:29:49.676 --> 00:29:54.496
So I do encourage folks to have a look at the index once, twice.
00:29:54.836 --> 00:29:59.976
That's all it'll take in order to see kind of the value for them and their workplaces,
00:29:59.976 --> 00:30:03.636
as well as in their communities, because when I'm better at work,
00:30:03.776 --> 00:30:06.556
I'm a better mom and I'm a better wife and I'm a better friend.
00:30:06.816 --> 00:30:11.816
So these things are all very interconnected. For listeners, this episode is
00:30:11.816 --> 00:30:19.656
going to drop on April 29th, which is actually the day before the release of
00:30:19.656 --> 00:30:21.456
the April Happiness at Work Index.
00:30:21.796 --> 00:30:25.536
So take a listen into this episode and then you can move right to seeing how
00:30:25.536 --> 00:30:27.676
people are feeling for the month.
00:30:27.876 --> 00:30:32.056
And Heather, thank you for taking the time to join us. And I'm sure we'll have you back again.
00:30:32.436 --> 00:30:36.456
Wonderful. Thanks so much, Shauna. I love that you're so happy in your workplace.
00:30:36.796 --> 00:30:39.536
It makes my life much better. So thank you.
00:30:37.040 --> 00:30:43.920
Music.
00:30:44.036 --> 00:30:48.796
That's a wrap on this edition of Insights at Work. We look forward to seeing you next month.
00:30:48.856 --> 00:30:52.376
And if you haven't had a chance to dive into the archive, take a peek.
00:30:52.476 --> 00:30:55.316
There's some great episodes available in our history.
00:30:55.600 --> 00:31:14.770
Music.