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The Business of Being Human podcast discussion is all about the employee and how leadership in companies can care and support their employees with concrete, practical steps, all from a human centered approach.

In this episode, Wendy Horng Brawer speaks with Leslie Forde, the CEO and Founder of Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs. Leslie Forde has been a leading voice for policies that will benefit working families, such as increasing access to affordable and quality child care and transportation, expanding mental health initiatives, preserving child tax credits, and canceling student loan debt. 

Currently, she’s running a national study of 2500 parents on the pandemic’s impact on their lives and careers. She’s a frequent speaker, researcher, and consultant who’s working to help employers support parents in the workplace. 

Leslie and Wendy deep dive on the current state of employees and their needs. Leslie’s been conducting a survey for parents since the pandemic. What’s glaringly evident in the study is that for a long time work conditions haven’t been humane. There is a power rebalancing occurring due to a labor shortage and employees are now more than ever holding power to advocate for a more humane work environment. 

They discuss the top four needs of employees now: psychological safety, flexibility, subsidized mental health care, and child/elder care. Wendy and Leslie discuss how employers can shift their company culture, policies, structure, etc to be human-centered and address these needs. Making these shifts benefits everyone! Employees can be productive at work and still have the energy and time to care for their families, their health and more. How can workplaces make this possible?

For leaders who know your people need more from you as a company and management team and don’t know where to begin, let’s talk about how to build your culture through initiatives that bring your values to life and empower your workforce; no matter where they are in the world.