Support Employees Through Major Life Events

Whenever an employee goes through major life events, the support companies and leaders provide helps carry the employee forward and also creates a unique opportunity for the organization to strengthen a work culture of care and connection. Forbes reported the strategy of simply demonstrating care does more to motivate employees than other methods of increasing engagement. 

When employees feel their leaders would support them through grief or a pivotal life change, their emotional connection to their work increases. And, if employees experience such support firsthand, and leaders allow them to process their social and emotional journey openly, they can become evangelists for their organization. 

Safety and connection through personal milestones and difficulties can contribute to employees’ long-term performance levels and higher retention among colleagues who can see clearly that the company cares for its workforce. 

When an employee undergoes a significant life event, their organization could lean in to support them as they process their emotions and absorb the effects of personal change. HR leaders can put a game plan together for taking employees through personal life-altering events while preserving their capacity to perform work. 

In addition, through measures that address the individual’s specific professional and personal needs, HR can help employees arrive at the other side of their situation with clarity and their sense of purpose intact. 

Gifting More Time

Whether it’s such events as marriage, childbirth, or the loss of a loved one, HR can support an employee in the throws of change by gifting them with more time. It does not matter if the employee’s life event brings celebration or grief. Any significant personal change requires a person to stop and take it in, and figure out their plan for moving forward in the new situation. If they are juggling complex emotions and new or different responsibilities at home, working at their standard capacity in the office will likely add unhealthy weight they can’t successfully carry. 

Adequate Leave and Flexible Work Options

HR can give employees the time they need by implementing policies such as flexible work hours and leave options. Employees can draw from their time allotment benefits differently as they progress through their change reaction. For example, an employee could begin by taking a temporary absence, then gradually increase their work hours with the freedom to maneuver the timing of when their work gets done. 

Permanent Remote or Hybrid Work Structure

Some significant life events, such as childbirth, might bring the need for permanent flexible work options. HR can prepare these options ahead of time to account for the part of their workforce that needs them. Remote work options and hybrid models can offer peace of mind for an employee who’s preparing to return to full capacity and imagining how their life continues with their change in place.

Well-being Coaching and Meaningful Support

Dramatic change can take a toll on a person’s physical and mental health, especially if they don’t have access to other supportive influencers. A person facing a major life event can tend to isolate and immobilize themselves, often without noticing. That’s why access to personal coaching during these times can be so important. 

Employees can benefit from talking with someone who provides a safe place to share their thoughts and feelings and a helpful perspective. Employees with TaskHuman’s benefits extended to them can speak with coaches who understand their specific circumstances and the challenges they pose. A specialized coach can walk employees through the stages of grief, post-partum, or survivor guilt, providing them solid insight along with a listening ear. Social and emotional support from an expert who’s qualified to do so can protect employees’ mental health and help them instill healthy coping mechanisms. 

Employees undergoing major change are at risk of neglecting their physical health more seriously than others not facing change. New emotions such as intense love, sadness, or fear can move a person’s priorities entirely off their physical well-being, which left unchecked, can produce: 

• Stress
• Sleep loss
• Dietary complications
• Mood instability
• Muscle loss and fatigue
• Cardiovascular decline

Employees can avoid negative health consequences with the help of physical health coaches who can keep them invested in physical self-care while they deal with other aspects of their lives. Healthy physical habits can increase an employee’s ability to recover from emotional stress, as published in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Benefits include improved brain health and cognition, a reduced risk of anxiety and depression, and improved sleep. 

For a healthier, more productive workforce, HR professionals can fashion helpful benefit strategies that specifically address significant life events that occur in the lives of employees.  A deliberate and consorted effort to build supportive resources can result in well-adjusted employees and high-functioning teams, come what may in their personal lives. 

TaskHuman Coaches support employees in various stages of their lives through our Live Events Coaching solution. Want to support your team through personal changes? Contact us!