B the Change Weekly: September 27, 2019
The expected career trajectory is changing rapidly as new generations move into the workforce. Studies show that millennials often change jobs, and even industries, an average of four times in their first 10 years of employment, which is twice as often as the preceding Gen Xers. Reports cite multiple reasons: Employees looking for more purpose and responsibility coupled with some employers treating employees as disposable.
Certified B Corporations, which consider workers among their key stakeholders, aim to improve employees’ lives at and beyond the workplace — and see better statistics on employee satisfaction (and longer job stints with employees) as a result.
This week, B the Change Weekly highlights employee-friendly practices at Best For The World: Workers honorees, which stand out from the business crowd through ownership opportunities, job flexibility, fair-chance hiring policies, and other employee-friendly practices that build bottom-line success by valuing and empowering all workers.
‘A Massive Change-Management Project’
As a 2019 Best For The World: Workers honoree, B Corp Ian Martin Group puts into practice the latest science on human behavior and motivation in its recruiting and hiring services for engineering, technology and other industries. The B Corp took the idea of practicing autonomy, mastery, and purpose to a new level by starting a shift toward a self-management organizational structure back in 2015.
Why Businesses Should Flex for Their Workers
Do maximum work hours equal maximum productivity? Research confirms that’s not the case, showing that the average employee stays productive for less than three hours a day, regardless of how much time they stay in the office. B Corps and other businesses that consider workers among their stakeholders know the success of their companies depends on both the happiness and the productivity of their employees.
Breaking Down the Mental Health Stigma
The public-relations industry — service-based work with client requests and deadlines that don’t always fit the 9-to-5 model — regularly ranks among the most stressful jobs in the United Kingdom. Reports indicate that one in three PR workers there experiences a form of mental illness, compared to the national average of one in four.
Stay in the Know
Here’s your chance to catch up on all the good stuff we shared this week:
- Self-Management Can Take Meaningful Work to a New Level: Learn From Best For The World Honoree Ian Martin Group How to Adopt ‘a Massive Change-Management Project
- Bridging the Gap Between Food Waste and Hunger, One Apron at a Time: Cooks Who Feed Founder Transforms Love for Cooking into Business That Benefits Artisans and Connects with Nonprofits
- Dealing With Paper Waste As an Eco-Friendly B Corp: Tips to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle All That Paper at the Workplace
- Spreading Wealth and Healing While Dismantling White Supremacy: Edgar Villanueva Sees Path to Social Justice Through Philanthropy
- 5 Ways to Create a Flexible Work Culture: The Average Worker Is Productive for Only 3 Hours a Day. Here Are a Few Tips to Make the Most of Their Time
- Transitioning from a Traditional Business to a Social Enterprise: Social Entrepreneur Bernie Geiss Shares Insights and Lessons Learned on the Path to Restructuring His Company for the Impact-Driven Space
B the Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.
How the Best For The World Make It Work was originally published in B the Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
