The Story: A Tuesday Afternoon Zoom
It was 2:47 p.m. when a manager muted her camera for the fifth time that day—not because she needed a break, but because her face had grown too heavy to perform “energy.” On paper, she was “engaged”: she attended every meeting, submitted every deliverable. But inside? She was drained, doubting her leaders, and quietly wondering if she still belonged.
She’s not alone. Across industries, teams are showing up—but not fully alive at work.
The Tension: Old Tools, New Limits
Organizations have spent decades building engagement surveys, recognition platforms, and wellness perks. Yet burnout has reached record levels—with 44% of employees reporting frequent stress on the job (Gallup, 2024). Disengagement costs U.S. businesses $1.9 trillion annually in lost productivity (Gallup). And workplace trust? Just 1 in 5 employees say they strongly trust their leadership (Edelman Trust Barometer, 2023).
These numbers tell a truth practitioners already feel: we can’t policy our way out of disconnection.
Practitioner Affirmation
If you’re a culture or DEI leader, you’ve been asked to fix disengagement with another program, another survey, another “initiative.” You know the invisible labor of holding space for teams when the tools don’t match the moment. This isn’t a failure of your effort. It’s the limits of an outdated playbook.
The Insight: Humanity is the New Performance Imperative
The workplaces thriving today share one trait: they center humanity, not just efficiency. When people feel seen, safe, and connected, performance follows. Harvard Business Review found that employees who feel a strong sense of belonging show 56% higher job performance and 50% lower turnover risk.
In other words: human connection isn’t soft—it’s a competitive advantage.
The future of work depends on how we show up for one another.
Practical Moves to Center Humanity at Work
Here are 4 measurable ways to begin:
- Micro-pilot a “human check-in.” Start one team meeting per week with a 2-minute “What’s one word for how you’re arriving today?” Track participation and tone shifts over 30 days.
- Audit trust behaviors. Instead of another survey, observe and log how leaders respond to mistakes—are they met with curiosity or blame? Share the data back to leaders with examples.
- Redesign recognition. Move from quarterly awards to in-the-moment appreciation. Encourage managers to name one specific, human-centered behavior they noticed this week.
- Set a humanity metric. Add one measure to your dashboard: e.g., “% of employees who feel safe asking for help.” Pair it with business outcomes to show ROI.
(See our earlier post on organizational competencies to explore the structures that enable humanity, and our piece on individual humanity practices for how people can build these habits themselves.)
Reflection Exercise
Take 5 minutes with your team or journal:
- What would change if humanity became the core of your workplace strategy?
- Where in your culture do people perform “okayness” instead of speaking truth?
- What small action could you try this week to build trust instead of extracting performance?
Burnout, disengagement, and distrust aren’t individual failures. They’re signals that our workplaces need a new core. Humanity isn’t just “nice to have.” It’s how we unlock performance, belonging, and trust.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored the competencies organizations need to create human-centered systems—and the individual practices that help people show up with more humanity day to day. This week adds the why: the performance imperative behind it all.
If you’re ready to explore how to build a more human-centered organization, schedule time with us to learn about what we’re building: Book a Conversation.
