Steps to improve workplace safety
Communication, clarity are two keys.
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest HR professional society.
The questions are submitted by readers, and Taylor's answers below have been edited for length and clarity.
Question: What do you think the biggest story in HR was this year? – Anonymous
Johnny C. Taylor Jr.: Great question. The fact of the matter is HR stories are workplace stories. Some people consider the two as different but, when you think about it, they are really one and the same. They’re about people and where we spend a third of our lives: At work.
The news cycle is ever-changing, so it’s difficult to pinpoint one single story that was the “biggest” this year. In 2017, the #MeToo movement sent shockwaves throughout the world of work. Last year, we saw even more #MeToo stories, in addition to new rules on overtime and gender pay disparities.
What emerged in 2019 was a vitally important trend transforming the workplace: Culture. As employers deal with the ripple effects of #MeToo, a low unemployment environment, employee activism and other issues, conversations about the impact of workplace culture on both human potential and organizational success are bursting forth.
Take the debate around the romance the former McDonald’s CEO had with a subordinate. How Google’s well-intentioned attempt to curb employee political expression backfired. Or, the toxicity alleged by employees at luggage designer Away that resulted in the CEO
stepping down. While you could debate all day who was right or wrong, there’s no question that these workplace news stories put culture on the radar of business leaders worldwide.
We also saw surprising headlines on the rise of politics at work. Despite the belief that political conversations don’t belong at work, research found 42% of U.S. employees have argued about politics in the workplace. Such conflicts not only stand to stoke toxicity, they frame politics as an issue of diversity.
Whether it’s politics or romance, such questions of culture compel employers to reflect: Who are we? What are our values?
Once these questions are settled, organizations need managers who can live by those values and model that culture daily. When that happens, organizations are bound to succeed. But when communication and trust break down, employees are likely to grow dissatisfied and lose motivation.
Ineffective people management was 2019’s biggest issue because employees see managers as symbols of the organization. Here’s a New Year’s resolution: Master the art of people management, and employees will thrive. Make culture a priority, and organizations will reap the rewards – in more ways than one.