The Human Experience at Work: What This Means to Me

I have worked with people who know this so intuitively that it almost seems too obvious to even discuss. And I have also worked with people whereby this is their kryptonite. Where they are so comfortable in task-mode, EBITDA and productivity, that they totally lose sight of the people making their business and the way to get the best out of them.

Everyone wants to feel like their contribution matters. That they feel challenged, stimulated and significant at work. That they are listened to and clear on how they and their work connects, to the bigger picture and makes a difference.

We can whittle people down to numbers on a P&L, or we can flip the focus, so both people and the business grow.

Happy, engaged teams, happier engaged customers, happier, healthier business.

There is a reciprocity to this too. People can expect the business to care for them, their growth, skills, support, and the business can expect their employees to contribute and care for the business too.

If you asked yourself, who is responsible for the happiness of your employees at work, what might you say?

Is it the employee's responsibility? Their managers? The businesses? What percentage would you give to each?

The theory of 100% responsibility suggests this, and it's two-fold:

Employees are 100% responsible for their career. Their learning, their contribution, their behaviours, their performance.

• Ownership over blame
• The power of choice
• An internal locus of control

The employer is 100% responsible too. For providing an environment that listens, offers clarity, sets clear expectations, sets meaningful goals, provides good leadership and management, motivation, reward and recognition, and a culture where people feel safe and thrive as individuals. Humanising leaders and managers with interpersonal skills beyond the task.

There is always nuance. The individual is not always in control of how it is impacted by organisational systems. And we need to consider the crucial role of a manager in providing that day to day clarity and support. Overall, I like the concept of mutual committed ownership and I think it helps both sides ask the right questions and make more conscious, considered decisions. It drives more of a mutual ownership culture over a blame one, on either side.

How often have you heard?

"Oh the business is making bad decisions.... and isn't living its values" Have you asked questions, what pressures might you not be seeing? How can you positively improve this?

And from the business side... "The team aren't performing, we have a low performance culture." Have you set clear expectations? How are leaders and managers aligning this with goals and motivation? What environment are you creating where people can learn, upskill and fail, to improve and progress?

It works both ways.

I have had the privilege of working with businesses who have won countless awards for being a 'great place to work', 'employer of choice', 'best of the best' and the difference is often leaders and organisational systems that recognise how people make businesses. That they are not there to be another robot on a conveyer belt. And where the robot piece does come in, is upskilling their people to work with tech, adapt and prepare for the future of work, working alongside technology without fear of being replaced. (This post might not age well, but you get my point!)

We want to feel safe. We want to matter. And there is so much evidence to say skills based in empathy and listening, social and emotional intelligence and managing conflict are critical for effective human-centred leadership. (Harvard, Ready for Anything Report 2025).

We need to be equipped to contend with constant ambiguity and flux, with access to support, learning and two-way feedback; especially when things feel difficult. All of this supports safety, learning and absolute clarity on expectations and high performance. We want to be recognised for the humans we are, not just the productivity output we bring. Although of course, feeling productive, challenged and doing great work is motivating in itself!

Businesses who show this, prevail. Those who panic, tighten under stress, and lose sight of this quickly lose their people (they might be present but probably wishing they weren't, and the subsequent negative impact this has on productivity). Being human is as commercial as it gets. People drive performance, loyalty and pretty much every meaningful outcome a business has.

Starting from EBITDA and working backwards is like building a roof first, very quickly you realise you don't have the foundations for a home!