In a world that often seems to prioritize efficiency and productivity over everything else, it can be easy to forget that people matter. But often, we ignore the importance of people at our own peril.

Despite the data and individualized culture we have so embraced today that essentially is all about #1; a narrative of “take care of yourself…be happy, above anything else.” As people, we thrive on connection and community, and our relationships with others can have a profound impact on our happiness, health, and overall well-being. When we feel valued, supported, and connected to those around us, we are more likely to feel fulfilled and satisfied with our lives.

It Doesn't Have to Be That Bad...

Ever been to an absolutely horrible holiday party? If Hollywood is any indicator, most people dread the mandatory corporate holiday parties. In the Army, we used to call these types of activities “mandatory fun”. So when I started Access Ventures, I made it my goal to create the best holiday party anyone had ever been to! I made it my goal for it to be a “night to remember.” Over the years, I can proudly say…I do believe it is a well regarded and annual event everyone looks forward to (perhaps ask them if you don’t believe me ;)). I do think these sort of events will always have an air of “have to” attend…but we might as well do our best to make them amazing!

Employers can make tax-free student loan payments until December 31, 2025, unless future legislation extends the deadline. You can give each employee up to $5,250 per year toward student loan payments - but keep in mind that this amount is the combined limit for loan repayment and other types of education assistance under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code.

No team is too small to track its health. With technology today, there are even more ways to do this and to get a more robust picture of a team. What used to be anonymous comment boxes or a simple rated net promoter score (NPS) can now factor multiple data points to assess health. In fact, the best tools will integrate with a teams natural flows (perhaps slack or asana) and will even consider aspects of a team member’s satisfaction that are not even directly related to the role (ie mental and physical health, etc).

Deepening a Shared Identity & Culture

Experiencing something together is vital to any team’s culture. You not only have a shared experience, but you begin to have a shared language; a shared framework/outlook; and deeper understanding of a place/people/content. These experiences build the exposure necessary for a team to deepen a shared identity and culture.

This post is both a reminder of the importance of defining your values…but also the practical steps that we took in defining our company values. I realized before writing this post, that I had read so much from others in my own development…that you too might find it helpful in seeing the process we undertook over a nine month period to redefine our core values at Access Ventures.

The Addictive Organization: Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss & Perpetuate Sick Organizations was written in 1988 and perfectly describes many of the situations some of us find ourselves in at work. It’s a little-known business psychology book, but it’s concept is quite profound and part of the reason we see around 70% of workers in the US today, unhappy with their work environment. This notion of the “addictive organization” properly defines an organization — not as an institution that is impersonal, static, sterile, and inhuman — but as the people, personalities, and preferences that they are.

Why The Simple Act of Closing the Office Matters

My encouragement…figure out your company’s rhythms. Figure out what might work in your context and I guarantee, you (and your team members) will not regret building in corporate rest.

Historically, employee turnover is tracked as the total number of people that worked for you for the year divided by the average number of workers. Employee turnover is also defined purely from the perspective of the business’ bottom line and ignores the myriad of reasons people leave to begin with — it fails to capture the why.