Innovative Concepts for Working Together in a Post-Pandemic World
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Even our Global board members share personal stories. Like our CEO, when they visit,
they walk around and talk to people. You don't get that everywhere. That is our culture.
Showing personal vulnerability and sharing struggles shows empathy and allows others
to be more comfortable to share.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Siemens executive management messaged:
"We are in this together. We will come out of this together." We need to collectively work
on adjusting our work style, environment, and expectations to create our new normal,
and accept that it may look different for each one of us.
PRAXIS – Support the way people want to live
We used to have the standard benefits package, providing $300 for mental health
appointments which is pretty limited. That's only going to get you one maybe two
appointments. We increased the annual amount to $1500. I wasn't sure how employees
would react. When I started to release the information at a Town Hall Meeting, I didn't
even fully get it out and everyone erupted into applause. I realized people really need this
and they were appreciative.
We also allow people to work from other locations (with some time zone restrictions)
which contributes to mental well-being.
With the four-day week, our staff have reported significant improvement in doing
things that matter most. We created a Slack channel called "Rest Day Wins." We
encourage everyone to share what they do with this time. It's heartwarming. People are
volunteering, spending time with elderly parents, or just getting things like groceries
done. We want to support them and the way they want to live as much as we can.
