What It Takes To Thrive: Making The Move Toward Human Sustainability

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What It Takes To Thrive: Making The Move Toward Human Sustainability

By Caitlin MacGregor | Forbes Magazine | March 20, 2024

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As every HR professional and business leader knows, conveying value is critical for key initiatives—from recruiting and hiring to internal and external communications. Being clear and concise about what your team and organization offer is particularly important when attempting to connect with new audiences.

If we follow the available research, this is an opportune moment to lean into human sustainability, which Deloitte defines as how organizations create value for their workforce. That means accounting for health and well-being, skills and employability, career advancement, progress toward equity, increased belonging and a connection to purpose. It’s a tall order, but it’s an achievable one if organizations start to make meaningful changes to recognize and reward their workforce’s value.

Moving toward human sustainability requires a shift in employers’ mindsets that begins by setting a new starting point. According to Deloitte’s 2023 Well-being at Work survey, while 89% of executives say “their company is advancing human sustainability in some capacity,” only 41% of workers agree. That is a staggering gap, which may be why 94% of the C-suite “admit they could use help in developing human sustainability programs.” This is where HR factors in because sustainable employment and the very idea of value are inextricably linked.

Organizations simply can’t implement strategies focusing on human sustainability without understanding the value that’s offered throughout the employee life cycle. To quote Seth Godin, “The purpose of a beehive isn’t to make honey. Honey is a by-product of a healthy hive.” It’s vital to begin seeing human sustainability as part of overall organizational sustainability strategies.

The biggest hindrances to human sustainability are often internal constraints, lack of resources or a “this is the way we’ve always done it” mentality. But as the saying goes, the only way out is through. When it comes to organizational success, one side cannot thrive without the other. Here are a few tactics that can help:  Embrace Skills-Based Workforce Models, Foster A Culture Of Well-Being, Use Data Advantageously, Create Career Opportunities, and Keep The Community Connected.

3 key takeaways form the article

1. If we follow the available research, this is an opportune moment to lean into human sustainability, which Deloitte defines as how organizations create value for their workforce. That means accounting for health and well-being, skills and employability, career advancement, progress toward equity, increased belonging and a connection to purpose. It’s a tall order, but it’s an achievable one if organizations start to make meaningful changes to recognize and reward their workforce’s value.
2. The biggest hindrances to human sustainability are often internal constraints, lack of resources or a “this is the way we’ve always done it” mentality. But as the saying goes, the only way out is through. When it comes to organizational success, one side cannot thrive without the other. 
3. Here are a few tactics that can help:  Embrace Skills-Based Workforce Models, Foster A Culture Of Well-Being, Use Data Advantageously, Create Career Opportunities, and Keep The Community Connected.

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Topics:  Sustainability, Human Talent, Productivity, Potential