Write with heart

Hello, Happy Inbox followers! I want to express gratitude to all of you. I hope these topics land at the right time for you.

One topic near and dear to my heart now is writing with a sense of humanity. There is a wave of company memos regarding sudden lay-offs and return to work mandates. Many readers would agree that these memos can feel cold, corporate, and without humanity. We all need to feel respected, trusted, and understood.

After all, everyone has been through a whole lot and company messages need to have more heart and empathy. We need to take into account what is happening in someone's world. 

Let's focus on the Return to Office (RTO) message. Perhaps softening the message to include an understanding that everyone's needs are different. Since this is a sensitive topic, ask your Employee Resource Group leaders to review your messages. Their perspective can be gold. There are lived experiences you are not taking into account. Did you know that RTO messages can be triggering for Women of Color because they are being asked to step back into the office where they may not feel a sense of belonging and even experience microaggressions?

With U.S. inflation and an uncertain economy, we may see more lay-off memos. A broad email is a start but back it up with team meetings, a phone call, and real support. Executive town halls with ample time for Q&A are much appreciated too. Your communications should feel like a hug during a potentially traumatic time.

To sum it up, people aren't robots. It's time to adjust messaging and tone. Speak to your employees like you would a friend. Listen to employees. After all, they dedicate most of their hours to your company. If we communicated with more heart and aligned culture to do the same, we may find more love at work.