Over this past year, I have noticed that stress levels are rising in a way that I have not seen before. The pressure on the companies to be more efficient, fighting to keep up with shareholders expectations, keeping the competitors away, and ensuring that customers remain loyal is taking its toll on the human side of business. Despite the revolutionary forces in technology and AI -inventions that are supposed to simplify our lives, the increasing feeling that leaders seem to share is that no matter how fast they run, or how many meetings they attend, they still leave at the end of the day feeling un-accomplished. People are being pushed into unattainable expectations of their own capacity. I believe that it is important to remember that humans are the ones who make companies thrive and succeed. AI and Tech are great supplements, but in order to be useful the setting needs to be human.

It's time that we begin to focus on what will make our businesses thrive: human connections.

Play to your natural strengths

A human workplace is a place where peoples' natural strengths can be used to their full potential. You don't need a fancy assessment tool or an expensive consultant-just take some time and ask questions about what people like doing, what makes them feel good, and how they like contributing. Then listen carefully as they tell you about their past successes; these are all clues as to what kind of environment would be best suited for that person's needs.

In a world where people are increasingly expected to work longer hours, it's important to create an environment that allows everyone to work at their best. A place where people feel that it is ok to be human, to make mistakes or to feel too tired or stressed out by the increasing pressure to be high performing no matter what.

In order for this to happen, it's not enough to offer flexible working solutions such as hybrid, you also need to pay attention to how to create an open and non-judgmental space. This means not only being accepting of different ways of working but also encouraging others by sharing your own experiences with them. It's important not just for the individual employee but also for the company as a whole because if one person feels like they cannot be themselves at work then this will affect the entire team dynamic.

It can be really difficult for people to feel comfortable expressing themselves at work, especially if they are pressed for time and unsure how their colleagues will respond. If you want people to be more productive, it's important that everyone feels like they have a voice and can speak freely without fear of being punished for speaking out against what may be the popular opinion. 

Help people connect with each other

To help people connect with each other, you need to make sure they have the tools they need to do their jobs well. And I don't mean better bandwidth or fun addons to Teams or Zoom. I mean that you have to make an effort in how you come across and how clear you are with your intentions. Be honest about why you want people to collaborate with each other. This will help them understand the benefit of live human interaction rather than solely online relationships.

Make sure that people understand what is expected of them and how they fit into the bigger picture. And finally, if there are teams within your organization (or even just groups), make sure that people know who else is on their team so they can rely on one another when needed. How else can you expect them to connect and collaborate?

Encourage communication, not avoidance.

One of the biggest problems in a workplace is the lack of communication. If you are not talking to each other, then how can you understand what is happening? You could be missing out on important information or not know if something needs to be fixed or changed.

Something that kills me is the lack of communication in workplaces. If you are not talking to each other, then how can you understand what is happening? You could be missing out on important information or not know if something needs to be fixed or changed. This can lead to conflict which is not good for morale nor productivity in any way whatsoever. Trust me, there are a lot of problems that can come up due to bad communication. So turn off your phone and chatting apps, get up from the computer (if you're at one), and talk to each other. You may spend a minute or two longer doing this than by sending emails back and forth—but in my experience it’s worth the time investment to have an actual conversation with another human being.

Understand that people are people.

The first step to making your workplace a place for humans is to understand that people are human.

People are not machines, and they don't work like machines either. People have feelings and needs and families, just like you do! They also want to feel valued, respected and appreciated-just like you do!

You can't ask someone to work harder than they already do and expect them to be happy about it. You also can't expect people to want to come in early or stay late if they don’t feel like their work is valued or appreciated.

People need to feel like their work is valued. This means that it should be recognized when things are done well and people should have opportunities to grow within the company. People want to feel like they’re making a difference and contributing something valuable to society. They also want control over their own lives, which means having flexibility in how they work and what they do each day. If you want your employees to come in early or stay late without getting paid for it, then you should at least let them take some time off during the week instead of just adding more hours onto their weekly schedule.

be honest

Being "nice" in times of trouble or stress isn't always the best way to get your message across. Sometimes saying things the way they are without sugarcoating them will actually be nicer. Keep track of what you want from each other and give frequent, honest feedback.

If you're honest with yourself and your employees about what's working, what isn't, and why that is — they'll respect the insight. Plus it gives them something to build on!

ensure that people have what they need

If you want to create a more human workplace, the first rule is this: You need to make sure people have what they need to do their jobs well.

This may sound obvious, but it's actually not that simple. A lot of companies focus on making sure people feel connected to each other and to the company culture, but forget about making sure people have what they need to do their jobs well. The mere basics such as the right tools/equipment, skills and potentially needed training are all necessary. And if you don't take care of this aspect of your culture, then your employees won't be able to do their jobs well and will inevitably become disengaged.

The second rule is that if you want people to feel human rather than machines, then you need to give them the possibility to feel connected not only with the people they work with directly but also with the broader team or organization — so that they feel like part of something bigger than themselves. People want to feel like their work has meaning and makes a positive impact on society or our environment; that they're part of something bigger than themselves. If you can make people feel this way, you'll find that they will go above and beyond what's expected of them, because they want to do good work.

The third rule is to make sure that people feel connected to people. Be willing to connect people who might not otherwise interact with each other; for example, if someone has expertise in a particular area but doesn't know anyone else on your team who does, introduce them! Or if you know two people who would really get along well together but they've never met because they're in different departments. This is where many companies fall short because they tend not to invest enough time and effort into building relationships between different levels within an organization or between teams working in different locations.

You might think that this is easy to achieve — just pay people well and treat them well! But it's not always so simple. I've worked at big companies where the culture was toxic, where people didn't feel connected with each other or with their company's values — and yet these were companies that paid well and treated employees well! So what went wrong? The answer lies in one word: forgetfulness: forgetting that humans are humans and not machines.