KATE BRAVERY, an organizational psychologist, draws from her time living in China and the United Kingdom during the pandemic and working with global firms on their talent strategies. Leading on Mercer’s Insight and Advisory agenda, she is close to workforce trends and emerging people practices around the world. During this period, she also partnered with the World Economic Forum to help CHROs innovate and respond to the evolving Future of Work agenda as it reset overnight.

WORK DIFFERENT: 10 Truths for Winning in the People Age (Wiley; November 30, 2023). by Mercer experts Kate Bravery, Ilya Bonic, and Kai Anderson is an insightful and practical new guide on how to sustainably manage people in today’s global economy, with guidance on how to transform the way organizations recruit, hire, upskill, and retain their people.  WORK DIFFERENT explains how leaders can adapt their people agendas to create an inclusive work environment that fosters employees’ growth.  

Bravery, Anderson, and Bonic look ahead to what’s next and highlight how to weave sustainability and resilience into business priorities and make real progress on profits, people, and the planet.

Topics include:

·       Why you should think of employees as contributors instead of workers—people want to be viewed as true partners who are invested in outcomes and have autonomy surrounding their work.

·       How to effectively combat burnout by identifying unsustainable work practices and by managing your energy like you would your budget, with forecasting and discipline—especially relevant as we approach the holidays.

·       How to establish a new rhythm of work in our new hybrid / remote workplaces by thinking differently about working hours, building a social aspect into meetings, and guarding against inequities when it comes to access to tech.

·       How AI can help us flag gaps in inequities in healthcare and learning at our organizations.

·       How to use empathy to connect with workers to find out what issues they value and help ensure people-centric cultures and policies.

·       Why hybrid / remote working situations have led to distrust and isolation among workers, and how to instead create more trust and accountability through less oversight.

·       How to successfully focus on people, planet, and profit by creating well-being programs, growing upskilling opportunities, and promoting social equity.

·       How to pivot to become a skills-based organization that focuses on upskilling and reskilling before the current skills workers have become obsolete.

·       How to retain employees who have no problem jumping ship for better pay by focusing on pay equity, competitive rewards, and better career pathing.

“COVID was the ultimate test,” the authors write. “Suddenly the watchful eye of the public was on businesses worldwide, and one work truth became ever more self-evident: Companies that demonstrated genuine concern for all of their employees—not just those at the top—stood a better chance of coming through these successive shocks stronger than before.”

Kate’s expertise is extremely relevant in our world today for a few reasons: According to Kate’s research, more and more employees are being vocal about their desire for a workplace that aligns with their beliefs, allows for greater flexibility, and helps them prioritize their health.  For example, in 2022 one in three employees said they would sacrifice pay hikes for greater flexibility and one in four would do so for time to focus on CSR. As a result, employers in today’s workplace need to understand that individuals are *the* core assets in an organization and that their well-being is vital for success and longevity. I would love to talk to you about interviewing Kate about why the future of work needs to include treating people with empathy and creating environments that center employees’ mental, physical, and emotional health.