Creating workplaces fit for the future

In today’s rapidly-evolving workplace, leaders must navigate the complex task of balancing technological advances against the challenges of generational diversity and inclusivity. To explore strategies to help develop a blueprint for these issues and more, Northumbria University and the North East Chamber of Commerce held the Leading The Workplace and Workforce Evolution event, which featured key insights from Joeli Brearley, Dr Helen Charlton and Aneela Ali.

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR A REFRESHED WORKING ENVIRONMENT

To stagnate in today’s fast-moving workplace is to surrender ground to relentless competition.

From perpetual technological advances to increasing flexibility demands and the challenge of managing a multigenerational workforce in a fiercely competitive labour market, staying ahead is essential.

To do so means embracing change, fostering adaptability and cultivating a culture that champions innovation and inclusivity.

For business leaders, it means redefining blueprints and reshaping operational frameworks.

And intrinsic to such, said Aneela Ali, North East Chamber of Commerce executive director – finance and corporate services, is a model rooted in greater transparency and collaboration, which strengthens emotional connectivity and empowers people to thrive.

Addressing attendees at the Leading The Workplace and Workforce Evolution event, held in Northumbria University’s Great Hall, she said: “We must create workplaces fit for the future.

“And the successful businesses will be the ones that listen to employees and strike the right balance.

“People today want to feel connected to the why of a business.

“Millennials and Gen Z are looking for more than a job title; they are driven by purpose and working for an organisation that matches their values.

“It is about creating environments where people feel empowered and have access to equitable opportunities, with diversity and inclusion more than just tick-box exercises.”

HOW CAN SUCH CHANGE BE IMPLEMENTED IN AN EVOLVING COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPE?

In a world driven by capitalist principles, engendering such change presents somewhat of a challenging contradiction.

But, said Dr Helen Charlton, organisations – and their leadership teams – must move away from a long-held doctrine that identifies people as a homogeneous resource to be exploited for maximum gain.

For this to materialise, she advocated a human-centred leadership approach, where sustainable value is driven by the unlocking of individuals’ potential, and success is defined through employee fulfilment, rather than profit and progress against key performance metrics.

She said: “The ultimate measure of success is happiness – humans, like plants, grow when given the right conditions.

“And human-centred leadership – a people-first focus on employees, customers and communities, and a focus on empathy, ethics and long-term wellbeing over short-term gain – provides those conditions.

“It allows us to intrinsically motivate people, which delivers better results and organisational resilience,” said Dr Charlton, who is an associate professor and head of executive education at Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University.

Highlighting a model she coined Fulfilment Squared, Dr Charlton urged leaders to adopt a “transformational” approach that places strong emphasis on employee wellbeing and connection, which, in turn, cultivates a workplace where individuals are deeply engaged and invested in their roles.

She added: “Fulfilment, rather than engagement, should be the goal for human-centred leaders.

“Fulfilment is where the promise of engagement pays off.

“We must move from passive avoidance leadership, and the very clear goals of transactional leadership, to transformational leadership, where you have individual consideration for every person, and place ethics at the heart of what you do.”

HOW CAN LEADERS CREATE A SAFE AND AUTHENTIC CULTURE IN THE WORKPLACE?

To build an environment capable of truly empowering employees, Dr Charlton said leaders must fashion spaces where individuals feel both safe and encouraged to be their authentic selves.

She said: “The most powerful thing a leader can do is make their team feel safe.

“If a team feels safe, it can do almost anything.”

Aneela added: “It’s important we’re able to talk to each other, rather than being scared to have a conversation.”

HOW CAN EDUCATION PLAY A ROLE IN HELPING EMPLOYEES THRIVE?

While breaking down the historic homogenous approach, Dr Charlton said organisations and leaders must also remove the rigidity of job roles.

Where positions may have once defined an individual, she highlighted the importance of employees going beyond factory and office walls to learn fresh skills and competencies.

Demonstrating trust and belief in a person’s potential beyond their title, she said the tactic would drive personal development and significant innovation, which could be used to harness present-day productivity while informing future growth strategies.

She said: “Leaders who see potential empower employees to grow beyond their on-paper roles.

“Businesses should use the Apprenticeship Levy to give opportunities to staff to develop their mastery.

“Cultivating autonomy and mastery gives people confidence and encourages curiosity, which leads to challenge and innovation.”

Dr Charlton found support from Aneela, who previously studied a senior leadership apprenticeship.

She added: “It was great to be exposed to work colleagues from different environments and sectors, and I learned a lot.

“There is an imposter syndrome in all of us, but, through additional learning, we can empower people.”

ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WORKPLACE CHALLENGES IS GENDER PREJUDICE. HOW IS THIS AFFECTING THE LANDSCAPE? 

Education. Job. Pregnancy. Unemployment.

It may sound stark but, said Joeli Brearley, founder of charity and campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, 74,000 women lose their roles every year in the UK simply for telling their bosses they’re expecting a child.

The process, said Joeli – who was fired by her female boss via voicemail after revealing she was pregnant with her first child – is known as the motherhood penalty.

And until the practice is eliminated, and wider societal biases about women’s roles and responsibilities are revised, Joeli said the workplace will never attain the diversity of personnel, nor the empowerment of individuals and ideas, that businesses need to truly prosper.

She said: “Men are expected to bring home the bacon and progress their careers, while the woman’s role should always be about the children.

“And it has devastating consequences.

“My experience almost broke me.

“I lost everything overnight for doing something women have been doing forever – I dared to procreate,” said Joeli, who founded Pregnant Then Screwed in 2015.

She said: “I’ve heard stories of bosses telling women to have abortions, and of bullying and harassment that caused one woman to go into premature labour.

“Another woman was told by her boss she deserved a promotion.

“Ahead of what was described as a formality of an interview, she told her boss she was pregnant – and then didn’t get the job.

“He discussed things with his wife, and they decided her priorities would change after pregnancy,” said Joeli, who was previously named one of British Vogue’s 25 Most Influential Women.

She added: “The motherhood penalty isn’t an inconvenience; it is a financial cliff.

“It isn’t about buying Asda-branded bread instead of a fancy sourdough, or going on fewer holidays – it is catastrophic for women’s quality of life.

“It means poorer rates of health, happiness and wellbeing; it means women can’t get away from a violent relationship because they don’t have the finances to leave; it means women having about half in a pension pot compared to men.

“But it is catastrophic for children too because a woman’s income is directly tied to the health and wellbeing of their children.

“And it is also catastrophic for our economy and for business because we’re not effectively using the skills and expertise of the people available to us.”

HOW DO MOTHERS BENEFIT THE WORKPLACE?

Put simply, said Joeli, in countless ways.

Rather than seeing their skills base shrink, she said mothers return to work with heightened problem-solving skills, greater resilience and a sharpened sense of empathy – each and all invaluable qualities for any business.

But by overlooking those strengths, said Joeli, leaders are continuing to preserve gender stereotypes while having an equally detrimental effect on companies’ output and success.

She said: “Motherhood is a neurological and psychological superpower.

“During maternity leave, a woman’s brain rewires and they return to work a different person.

“And those changes don’t just make them better caregivers – they enhance skills critical in the workplace too.

“They improve decision-making and problem-solving; they enhance the ability to multi-task; they heighten emotional intelligence, empathy and provide greater stress resilience.”

WHAT STEPS SHOULD LEADERS AND ORGANISATIONS TAKE TO REMOVE THE MOTHERHOOD PENALTY AND CREATE AN EQUITABLE WORKPLACE?

With the motherhood penalty so deeply entrenched in workplace psyche, dismantling the systemic barriers it has erected will require sustained, long-term action.

However, Joeli said leaders can kickstart change by introducing a structured blueprint that prioritises mothers’ wellbeing through policy including phased workplace returns, mentor support and reintroduction programmes.

It would also bring an end to office presenteeism, with mothers unable to “compete in the macho game of who is sitting in their seat the longest because they have to collect children”.

Equally crucial, said Joeli, would be an offer of paid carers leave, which would say to a woman “we’re not going to demote you because you need to care for your child”.

She added: “When mothers return to work, they often feel unsteady, unsure and disconnected.

“And if you don’t give a woman the support she needs, you will lose her.

“Get it right, though, and she will become one of the most productive people in your workforce.”

However, Joeli said change must extend beyond an employers’ four walls, urging the Government to tackle “one of the most expensive and dysfunctional childcare systems in the world” and transform a paternity leave programme that is “the worst in Europe”.

This, she said – allied to organisational changes focused on removing the taboo of discussing career goals and caregiving – would have a marked impact on employee wellbeing and company success.

She added: “De-gendering care, by increasing paternity leave, improves retention and recruitment opportunities, and it also helps children’s educational progress, mothers’ recovery from giving birth and improves the likelihood of couples staying married.

“Furthermore, we must create a culture where people feel empowered to talk about the messy reality of balancing care and work.

“If you parent out loud, you improve employee connection to a company, improve their mental health and improve productivity and profitability.

“It is about modelling equality for the next generation.

“Mothers are powerful, essential and incredible employees – and the world will be a much brighter place when we end the motherhood penalty.”

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