Just as each and every one of us is unique, happiness means different things to different people, and this extends to the workplace—a topic that feels especially timely as we approach International Day of Happiness on 20th March.

With the spotlight firmly on not only work/life balance—where Deloitte’s 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey states that this is something these generations are striving for—but also factors such as meaningful career progression and sustainability, personalising the employee experience is not a nice to have anymore, it’s an absolute must have.

This is particularly pertinent when we consider that, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 report, just 23% of global employees are engaged.

Addressing changing employee expectations

While a competitive salary, bonus structure and pay rises are important, more than ever, employees want a seat at the table, to contribute to decision-making processes, and actively shape the future of the organisations in which they work.

This means it’s important we look beyond these generalised standards, and implement initiatives on an individual level. 

How do we uncover this vital employee detail, though?

Consider the Employee Owned Trust (EOT) model—operating within this structure ensures your people are firmly at the centre of the business, that their voices are heard and valued, and they are confident in knowing they have the ability to contribute to something bigger than themselves. 

Personalising the employee experience in practice

Of course, transitioning to an EOT shouldn’t be a ‘set and forget’ exercise. Truly living and breathing employee ownership and embracing a personalised approach means embedding it throughout your operations, and implementing initiatives ongoing in response to employees’ thoughts and feedback.

Ways to go about achieving this include:

• • Not only advocating for the flexible model, but dynamic working, by adjusting each individual’s hours and places of work based on their lifestyle, preferred ways of working, and current projects—such as if they are servicing clients across timezones different from their own.
  • Tailoring value-add experiences that form part of wider benefit schemes to reflect peoples’ roles and passions. This might mean providing team members with days off on dates that are meaningful to each of them, or so that they can take part in training courses that might not traditionally sit within your industry specifically, yet relate to their career aspirations.
  • Avoiding a one size fits all approach to employee development, by empowering team members to craft their own path. Implementing regular check-ins will allow you to tailor the tools, resources and support accordingly, so that they can achieve their goals—and also evolve their career paths within the organisation based on their passions.
  • Being employee owned means everyone has a stake in the business, and as such, have opportunities to engage in the business development process. Consider taking a tailored approach here too, by developing strategies and focus areas that are aligned with each person’s interests—whether that’s pursuing a specific sector, sparking up conversations with a handful of dream clients, or pitching a career-defining project.

Highlighting the importance of impact

In B Corp terms an Employee Owned Business is an Impact Business Model, which means there are not only opportunities to ensure all are aligned with and contribute to the development of your organisation’s vision and values, they are actively involved in your sustainability journey.

This may mean curating tools and resources that your people have highlighted will benefit their supplier relations, enable them to confidently communicate with clients when it comes to embedding sustainable practices into their own operations and projects, and reflect their passions. 

Consider, for example, from a social perspective, your company’s charity framework. While supporting organisations as a collective is key, there are a multitude of benefits in giving your people the freedom to select charities they wish to volunteer with individually, and providing them with the time off to do so. 

Out with the labels, in with the flexibility

Ultimately, shifting away from traditional labels and curating employee experiences based on a collective whole, or by factors such as seniority level, department and generation isn’t the way forward. 

We must champion a flexible approach, one where we make adjustments to suit individuals’ needs as their life stages and career goals evolve. 

The employers that do so? They can expect strong attraction and retention rates, high morale, and in turn, productivity, as team members are doing the work they love in an environment that nurtures their development, and brings them joy. 

We spend so much of our lives at work, and when we consider that research by the McKinsey Health Institute in collaboration with the World Economic Forum indicates enhanced employee health and wellbeing could generate up to $11.7 trillion in global economic value, there are financial benefits too. So, why not focus on ways to inject happiness into your company culture at every turn?