As the pandemic shaped a hybrid work environment across industries, how can employees maintain the ever-aspirational work-life balance?
The simple, perhaps shocking answer is – it’s no longer about work-life balance. Instead, it’s about holistically integrating as one “Life Experience.”
The struggle to achieve balance has become more prominent, leading to individuals forming part of the Quiet Quitters and Great Resignations. What is needed, according to Maya Chief People Officer Charee Lanza, is what Maya calls the “Great Refresh.”
“The pandemic forced us to focus on our well-being. What the Great Refresh means is that in this hybrid world, employees want to be seen as humans again, and this time for real,” said Lanza, who recently talked at the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) annual conference.
Over the past year, Maya transformed beyond payments to become the fastest-growing digital bank. To keep its employees engaged, Maya boldly shifted from work-life balance to overall Life Experience, which seamlessly blends work and life instead of juggling them.
So how does Maya do it? Lanza shared five tips for all companies.
Listen with intent.
Millennials and Gen Zs are typically vocal and transparent with how they feel. Making a conscious effort to listen to what they say will help a company better understand how to give them the support they need. Maya knows this as 90% of its employees belong to these generations.
Lanza said that conducting regular surveys backed by artificial intelligence technology has proven effective. With digital tools, management can provide insights and recommend actions for managing employee engagement.
Empower them to empower themselves
Millennials and Gen Zs value autonomy and independence. Being tech-savvy, they can learn things on their own, so their work should be able to support that.
“One key learning is to let your employees take their careers to the next level through always-on learning opportunities,” Lanza said. Maya gives its employees access to digital learning platforms—LinkedIn Learning, O’Reilly, Harvard Manage Mentor, and many more.
Make hybrid work fulfilling and enjoyable
While working full-time at home has its advantages, there are challenges too. From Maya’s experience, the pandemic hires are more likely to be disengaged, given that they cannot regularly see their teammates.
What worked for Maya was the concept of “Team Rhythms.” Teammates and leaders agree on “collab days” at Launchpad, Maya’s headquarters. Teams eagerly anticipate these agile sprints, R&D, coaching, and team bonding. With this reimagined shift, the office space has become a tool for purposive co-creation.
Give them the resources to innovate their work
Here’s what Maya found out among its young employees: they will make it their mission to make work easy for themselves and their teammates. Just provide the right tools.
And here’s what Maya has done: even before the pandemic, the company has digitalized its workplace by utilizing cloud-based platforms from onboarding to off-boarding. Over the past two years, employees have leveraged these digital tools to find ways to automate critical aspects of their daily work, like creating their own apps with platforms like Microsoft O365.
Invest not in the employee but in the person
This is an important lesson for Maya, Lanza says. It’s not enough that companies make work easy for employees – it’s more important to ensure their disposition in life is okay.
Lanza says Maya focuses on four aspects:
- Improve physical well-being by consistently encouraging safe work practices and providing accessible health care support.
- Focus on emotional and mental well-being with year-long education programs and on-demand counseling services.
- Strengthen social well-being by setting aside “no work” occasions and encouraging employees to take regular vacation leaves so they can rest and disconnect.
- Build their financial well-being by expanding employee benefits and extending benefits to family members.
“Going back to normal does not mean returning to the pre-pandemic world. We will go forward with a world that should be a lot kinder, a lot more caring, and a lot brighter than we are used to,” Lanza said. “Organizations that embrace the concept of Life Experience will become the magnet for purpose-driven, young professionals.”
To learn more about Maya’s culture and opportunities, follow Maya on LinkedIn.
