Culture

We are thrilled that Something Big has once again been recognised by Great Place to Work as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Wellbeing this year. Wellbeing is not something we take for granted or just a box we tick once and move on from. On the contrary, we recognize the fragility of health and wellbeing and understand that it requires ongoing attention.

Here’s a brief overview of what we’ve been doing to take care of ourselves over the past year:

Physical wellbeing

Given our employees’ largely sedentary roles and the increase in remote work, it wasn’t surprising when our employee surveys revealed a decline in physical activity levels. We know that this is a challenge many businesses are facing, with one in four people in England doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.

Of course, it’s not for employers to dictate their employees’ lifestyles. However, if back-to-back Teams calls and long hours at a laptop are causing unhealthy levels of inactivity, it becomes the employer’s responsibility to step in. And that’s exactly what we did.

As is often the case, the best place to start was an honest conversation with our team. We discussed the results from our employee wellbeing survey and explored ideas such as standing desks and walking meetings. We emphasised the health benefits of a daily 10-minute brisk walk, which can reduce the risk of early death by 15%. We encouraged everyone in the business to support each other in taking breaks from their laptops. This can be as simple as asking a colleague, “Have you taken a walk today?”

Following that, we launched our Big Walk challenge to coincide with National Walking Month, motivating the entire team to boost their step counts by setting a goal to collectively walk the length of the country and back again.

We achieved a 90% participation rate, increasing our average number of intentional physical activity days to 6 days per week – a 1.86 day improvement. Additionally, 55% of participants reported being inspired by the Big Walk to reduce their sedentary time.

Critical illness

1 in 2 of us will get cancer at some point in our lifetime, so it is vital that as employers we support our workforces through critical illness, be that their own or someone they’re caring for.

It’s been a difficult year for many of us at Something Big, from living through the realities of cancer treatment, caring for loved ones or working through the grief of those we’ve lost.

As employers, we can make these situations easier by showing empathy, being flexible, listening to the needs of individuals, encouraging preventative screening, raising awareness and critically, and creating a safe environment to have open discussions about this difficult and sensitive topic.

Sadly 50% of people with cancer are afraid to tell their employers. A proactive step to alleviate this concern is for employers to educate themselves and, like us, commit to signing the Working with Cancer pledge.

Mental wellness

With so much uncertainty prevailing outside our workplaces – financial concerns due to the cost-of-living crisis, global conflicts, and the rapid evolution of technologies like ChatGPT influencing the future of work – it’s understandable that employees are anxious about what lies ahead.

Employers can have significant influence on the mental wellbeing of their workforce, by fostering open and honest workplace cultures. Establishing psychological safety, offering platforms for employee voice, linking work to a greater purpose, and actively acknowledging and respecting contributions can all help.

At Something Big, we have maintained regular Time to Talk sessions, fostered an environment where employees feel safe disclosing neurodiversity, and supported flexible working arrangements.

Our leadership remains committed to transparency, providing ample opportunities for employee voice. We’ve also established clear pathways for employees to seek assistance when needed, ensuring a supportive environment for all.

Flexibility

Regardless of where anyone is within their career, work is just one aspect of our lives and needs to be balanced with other conflicting priorities. From raising a family to caring for loved ones, pursuing hobbies, side hustles, staying active, engaging in volunteer work, and more, it’s essential to carve out time in our lives for activities beyond our primary jobs.

Employers need to take a clear stance on flexibility, making flexible working arrangements accessible to all and adaptable to changing circumstances as employees lives ebb and flow around their changing priorities. We’ve always prided ourselves on our flexibility at Something Big, but we’ve continued to make arrangements accessible, transparent and equitable.

We know it’s not always easy to work around colleagues working different or restricted working hours. It requires careful planning and management. But we also recognise how much our team appreciates this flexibility and the significant reduction in stress it can bring to their lives.

We’re committed to making workplaces fairer, healthier, and happier through inclusive and effective communications. If you share this mission or need a partner to enhance your workplace culture, please get in touch. Let’s drive positive change together.

At Something Big, we have lots of experience working within industries that are typically male-dominated, like logistics, engineering, construction, finance and tech. To start a dialogue and share insights across businesses and sectors we brought together HR, Diversity, and Internal Comms leaders for a meaningful discussion on how to attract women into traditionally male-dominated sectors and drive a better gender balance. In this article, we’ll share the insights gathered and the actionable takeaways you can use to enrich your DEI toolkit.

Are we bridging the gender gap?

There are many industries that are male or female-dominated. For example, within the construction industry, 15% of the workforce is female, with just 2% of on-site workers being female. In contrast, some industries are predominately female, with just 2.22% of nursery nurses and assistants being male. A quick glance at the statistics reveals a stark gender imbalance across various sectors.

But the big question is, are we making any progress in this area? When looking at early careers, internships, and apprenticeships, a report by the Young Women’s Trust showed that in key sectors such as engineering, men outnumber women 25 to one. This glaring inequality emphasises the need for change.

What can communicators do to attract women to male-dominated industries?

During our discussion, we identified multiple ways that communicators can drive change and address gender imbalance in the workplace.

During the recruitment process:

• Ensure that gender-biased language is removed from job ads. You can use AI tools or dedicated gendered language decoders to help you identify any subtle bias in job ads.
• Simplify technical jargon in job descriptions to better welcome new people to your industry.
• Listen to the experiences of women within your business to find out why they like working there and use that insight to understand what could attract new employees.
• Use diverse advertising channels to reach new audiences. Within our discussion group, both Mosques and school newsletters were identified as channels for reaching new audiences.
• Have diverse and inclusive imagery in your recruitment materials, while ensuring your photography is representative of your workplace and culture.

Within workplace culture:

• Recognise that the workplace can still be a challenging environment for women. 61% of Gen Z’s and 49% of Millennials believe they’ve been harassed in the workplace in the last 12 months, including physical advances, inappropriate emails, exclusion and gender-based undermining.
• Implement safe avenues for employees to speak up and seek help about any negative experiences.
• Develop a culture of allyship and consider training all team members on the 5Ds of active bystander intervention – Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct.
• Consider the language that is used within your business. It’s common to hear things like ‘working mums’ and ‘women in business’, and often these are meant in a well-meaning way, but we never hear about ‘working dads’ or ‘men in business’.
• Properly fund, support and empower employee resource groups (ERGs) to ensure your employees have a voice. This will enable you to get to the crux of what’s working, and what’s not.

Employee communications:

• Avoid empty communications or empty promises by ensuring your communications align with your actions. Employees are quick to spot inconsistencies, and empty promises can lead to a loss of trust.
• Effective communication is not one-size-fits-all. Tailor your messages to reach employees at the right time with the right information. Avoid sending blanket messages that may make it difficult for employees to access the specific information they need.

Policies and processes:

• Scrutinize your policies and processes to identify any unnecessary barriers that hinder the hiring and retention of female talent. An example shared during our discussions was a company writing into the contract of an autistic worker that they did not need to answer the phone, making the role accessible without affecting performance.
• In the UK, men spend about 16 hours a week on unpaid tasks like taking care of children and cleaning, whereas women dedicate 26 hours a week to these responsibilities. Businesses could consider revising some policies to better support men and women in achieving a work-life balance. For example, in Norway fathers are entitled to 15 weeks of non-transferable parental leave, designed to foster a more equal split of childcare responsibilities. Whilst this might not be the regulations within your country, that doesn’t mean organisations can’t support changes like this.

Leading the charge in attracting women to male-dominated industries

In the journey toward creating more gender-diverse workplaces, it’s essential to acknowledge and support the organisations and individuals who are already pioneering change. Here are some organisations that may be relevant to your sector:

• Women in Logistics
• Women into Construction
• Women in Tech
• Women’s Engineering Society
• Women in Fire Services
• British Association for Women in Policing
• Lean In Circles – Women in Finance

As a final point within our discussion group, we underscored the advantages of cultivating a growth mindset and exchanged recommendations for three insightful books to help develop our thinking and understanding: “Lift as I Climb,” “Invisible Women,” and “Lean In.”

By adopting clear communication, shifting cultural norms, and embracing a diverse and inclusive workplace, businesses can create environments that support all employees. This not only fosters gender diversity but also contributes to a more inclusive, caring, and productive work environment for everyone.

If you’re looking for a partner agency to help make your workplace fairer, healthier and happier, then we’d love to hear from you.