Archives for April 2023

Protection from Harm

Ensuring Protection from Harm in the workplace depends on fulfilling the needs of safety and security. This final element of the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being defines safety as protection “from physical harm, injury, illness, and death.”¹ Security “builds on safety to include financial, and job security, given the negative effects that layoffs and job loss can have on the workers and their families.”¹

Successfully crafting a plan to provide safety and security relies on four primary strategies. These are: prioritizing workplace physical and psychological safety, enabling adequate rest, normalizing and supporting mental health, and ensuring policies further diversity and inclusion.

Prioritizing physical and psychological workplace safety is crucial in appreciating employees as whole individuals and in cultivating an environment where they can reach their full potential.¹ Psychological safety is one’s ability to “speak up without the risk of being punished, retaliated against or humiliated, and without fear of these risks.”¹ In addition to developing their own safety policies and procedures, employers may leverage partnerships like the one Bookminders enjoys with Standing Firm, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting firms with policies and resources that can mitigate partner violence.

Enabling adequate rest and normalizing/supporting mental health are also important elements in providing for Protection from Harm. Research shows that fatigue reduces productivity and workers with sufficient rest time are less likely to experience injury and illness.¹

Making space for adequate rest time can be difficult when schedules are strenuous or rigid. To combat this, employers should consider offering greater flexibility in scheduling and workload so employees can choose what works best for them. Bookminders employees have benefited greatly from this approach. In our last bi-annual survey, 100% of our employees reported that their manager’s expectations were realistic and 100% stated they were comfortable requesting changes to their workload.²

Normalizing mental health requires “validating challenges, communicating mental health and well-being as priorities, and offering both support and prevention services.” In addition to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and insurance-related resources, employers should consider extending tools that contribute to daily wellness. As an example, Bookminders offers free premium Calm memberships to all employees and up to five of their family members. This sleep and relaxation app provides tools to enhance rest, stress management, mindfulness, and movement.

Implementing policies that extend diversity and inclusion are the final strategy in ensuring worker safety and security. “In inclusive workplace cultures all workers…feel safe to be authentic and express their feelings because they trust that their coworkers welcome and value their unique perspectives.”¹ Bookminders employees identify communication, strong core values, and caring managers as corporate strengths and place our company in the top 1% of accounting/bookkeeping firms for inclusivity. This feedback suggests that work cultures rooted in strong values and guided by caring managers have an advantage in crafting policies that foster inclusion.

Learn how Bookminders Accountants like Jennifer and Wendy have leveraged our flexible work culture to create schedules that support balance and wellness in their lives. In next week’s final Wellness installment, we’ll discuss the importance of centering the Framework on Worker Voice and Equity and the potential impact strengthening employee wellness could have on your business.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)

Connection and Community

Creating Connection and Community in the workplace improves social connectivity, allowing for the development of “supportive relationships” not limited to “close family and friends”.¹ These connections improve one’s engagement in the workplace and, given the significant time spent working, can have a large impact on overall health and well-being.

The Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being indicates that delivering Connection and Community relies on fulfilling the needs of social support and belonging.

In this context, social support refers to the “relationships and networks that can offer physical and psychological help, such as emotional support, informational support, and advice.” Belonging is “the feeling of being an accepted member of a group, or of connectedness given one’s interpersonal relationships.”¹There are several leading strategies available to fulfill the needs of social support and belonging.

Creating an inclusive culture where positive relationships render assistance and reassurance is a key approach. In these environments, all staff receive needed resources and are given opportunities to provide feedback without risk of negative perceptions or consequences. Bookminders’ staff benefit from this type of culture on a daily basis. In fact, 99% of employees indicate they are provided with the tools needed for success³ and, in a third-party administered survey, staff feedback placed Bookminders in the top 1% in Accounting/Bookkeeping for inclusivity.²

Imbuing trust in the workplace is another way to promote support and belonging, reduce stress, and improve employee performance.¹Through clear and consistent communication, individuals feel well-informed, connected, and regarded as a whole person by their employer rather than just a set of skills and abilities. Bookminders’ leadership team can speak to the success of this approach. Our staff report they “are kept well-informed about important decisions,” resulting in “confidence in the leadership,” and conviction that the company is “going in the right direction”.²

Lastly, fostering collaboration and teamwork creates a sense of belonging and expands the impact of the work support system. Employers are encouraged to structure teams and collaborations with intention and purpose, fully resourcing staff with the right tools and processes to support success.

The rise of hybrid and remote work has created barriers to team and interdepartmental collaboration. Bookminders has demonstrated how these barriers can be overcome, ensuring a productive, remote-first collaborative environment since 1991. Our employee feedback places Bookminders in the top 1% for interdepartmental collaboration, innovation, and efficiency across all benchmarked Accounting/Bookkeeping firms.²

Uncover why Laura, Francoise, and Pam feel supported and remain connected to our Bookminders community, no matter where life has taken them! Next week, we’ll examine the final element of the Framework, Protection from Harm.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)

Opportunity for Growth

The Opportunity for Growth element of the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being is dependent on fulfilling the needs of learning and accomplishment. In this Framework, “learning is the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills in the workplace” and accomplishment provides a “sense of competence that reduces stress, anxiety, and self-doubt.”¹

Learning and accomplishment are well-supported when employers offer appropriate training, share well-timed and relevant feedback, and identify “clear, equitable pathways for career advancement.”¹ Bookminders understands that, through proper training, staff are assured that leadership cares about their success and is willing to make the investment to support it. In an anonymous, third-party survey, our employee feedback placed Bookminders in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms for both providing formal training and for “enabling employees to work at their full potential.”²

Eliciting feedback is crucial for both employee and company growth. Through risk-free opportunities to share mutual feedback, employees are able to capitalize on their strengths and mitigate weaknesses, while employers receive insight into the perceived effectiveness of tools and resources. Bookminders provides multiple avenues for individual and group feedback internally and through an external, third-party managed platform. In our bi-annual internal staff survey, 100% of employees report they receive timely and useful feedback from their manager, are provided with the resources to easily get answers to questions, and feel their manager is understanding of mistakes and helps to course correct.³

The last strategy to support the Opportunity for Growth element is the provision of fair and accessible advancement opportunities. Remote work can expand these prospects among individuals for whom the traditional, full-time in-office structure is not ideal.

Bookminders was founded with a remote-first mentality in 1991, well before work-from-home was recognized as a business norm. Our platform, resources, and tools have been structured to enable employees to capitalize on advancement opportunities offered within their client portfolio, through special teams and projects, and through the ascension to senior and management roles. In fact, 100% of our employees feel they are provided with opportunities to grow their client portfolio, if they so choose.³ Staff feedback has placed Bookminders in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms for both “supporting professional development” and “employee motivation to give their best.”²

Discover how Melanie, Vanessa and Karen have each leveraged their Opportunities for Growth with Bookminders. In our next Wellness installment, we’ll explore Connection and Community.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)

Mattering at Work

Meaning and dignity are central to the Mattering at Work element of the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being. In this component, dignity refers to the “sense of being respected and valued” while meaning is defined as “the broader purpose and significance of one’s work”¹

The Framework further identifies four strategies an employer can use to cultivate dignity and meaning in their workplace.

These strategies include compensating fairly for work completed, communicating and including workers in decision making, building a culture of recognition and thanks, and reinforcing how an individual’s work supports the organization’s mission.

Bookminders’ unique compensation structure ensures that our accountants are rewarded for accuracy and efficiency, and it places the power to scale their wages and workload in their hands. In fact, 100% of our employees report they have the opportunity to change the size and structure of their client portfolio to increase compensation.² Additionally, in an anonymous, third-party survey, Bookminders placed in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms for fair compensation.³

Internal communications within bookminders is appropriate and effective, as confirmed by 100% of our staff.² Through transparent, timely information, our leadership ensures that staff know how the work they are doing furthers our business objectives. Furthermore, 100% of our employees report that Bookminders considers the well-being of all employees when making company decisions.²

Finally, ensuring staff feel seen, heard, and valued is core to the Bookminders culture. 100% of our staff report the work they do is appreciated by their manager and clients, that their manager listens and effectively responds to their concerns, has realistic expectations of them, and is committed to helping them succeed.² When benchmarked against other Accounting/Bookkeeping firms, our employee feedback placed bookminders in the top 1% for ensuring that staff are well-informed and diverse points of view are encouraged.³Perhaps our success in these areas is the reason Bookminders ranks in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms in terms of providing meaningful work.³

Read why Erica and Bob feel that their work at Bookminders has led to an increased sense of significance and value. Next week we’ll examine how learning and accomplishment create an Opportunity for Growth.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)