Dive Brief:

• In its mission to "make the workplace more human," Workhuman unveiled a "charter of workplace rights" Oct. 22. These include: the right to meaningful work, the right to work-life harmony, the right to belong, the right to be paid fairly and the right to protect the environment, among four others.
• The new charter is part of the platform’s Workhuman Certified program, which seeks to provide a "clear path of action" for other companies during a time of upheaval. To take part, companies have to pledge to the charter of rights and "submit evidence of their dedication and ongoing initiatives in relation to the tenets." Baystate Health, Cisco, and Schneider Electric are the first certified organizations.
• "This is a wake-up call and a call-to-action for both organizations and professionals; an opportunity to put a stake in the ground and be celebrated as a positive disruptor," Eric Mosley, Workhuman co-founder and CEO, said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

The COVID-19 pandemic and protests for social justice have, in some ways, forced a culture reckoning for employers.

A July Emtrain report noted that the pandemic may be eroding current workplace culture; the survey found a 10% decrease in employees saying "there are well-understood norms of behavior governing how people treat each other in their workplace" — a drop that Emtrain’s founder and CEO called "a red flag."

Employers can ameliorate potential issues by focusing on authenticity and "servant leadership," various studies have shown — values reflected in Workhuman’s charter. Supervisors that rate high on "servant leadership," or being attentive to employees’ emotional needs, tend to have direct reports who are less anxious and more engaged than other employees, particularly regarding COVID-19 response.

Some employers are using wellness perks to emphasize this culture of care, though the pandemic has required an overhaul of some benefits. Mental health apps, online fitness classes and Zoom happy hours have all emerged as ways to help employees cope with the post-pandemic world and establish a culture that puts employee health first. 

"It's not about coddling employees," Visier Chief People Officer Paul Rubenstein previously told HR Dive. "It's about adapting to this set of norms and making it easy for people to bring their best selves to work."

Especially now that the lines between work and home have blurred for many employees, some experts suggested that authenticity — the ability to bring one’s whole self to work — is even more important now than before the pandemic. 

"These days, it's more important than ever to be authentic because we are writing history each day by how we live and react to the challenges of our time," Naveen Bhateja, executive vice president and chief people officer of Medidata, previously told HR Dive.