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The Disappearing Sick Day And Your Organization’s Health

Somehow, the COVID-19 pandemic put the sick day in danger.

That may sound impossible — it’s definitely ironic. But emerging research says it’s true. HR tech company Beamery recently reported that 39% of workers are more likely to work through sickness from home. And a quarter said they believe sick days themselves are a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, data from the U.K. revealed that the country’s sickness absence rate fell to 1.8% in 2020 — the lowest recorded level since the country began reporting the data in 1995.

Companies may be excited by this prospect: Workers are getting stuff done, even when they’ve got the sniffles. But encouraging workers to push through on their crummiest days may cost companies in the long run.

Burnout is contagious — and spreading fast

Workers are burned out. In a November 2021 survey from Eagle Hill, 56% of women and 51% of men said they are burned out at work. Among younger workers, reports of burnout are even higher; 62% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said they are fatigued at work.

When workplaces encourage employees to forgo the occasional sick day — even if it’s for a mild head cold — they tell workers that their health comes second to their productivity. In a talent market that’s being bowled over by the Great Resignation, that’s not the message employers want to send.

Lead by example (no, really)


Employers need to pick a sick day policy and live by it. Maybe your company gives workers unlimited time off and trusts employees to take the time off when they need it. Works for me. Or maybe you tell workers they’ve got two weeks for sick time. It’s fine either way.

The important thing is to model the policy. Workers will not take the rules seriously if leaders and managers don’t model them. Your managers need to send out an offline notice when they’ve taken the day off to recover from food poisoning. They need to let their teams know when they need a mental health day.

Use behavior data to help the stragglers

Some workers won’t get this, even with perfect modeling from managers and leaders. When you run into these employees, it’s important to take a step back and look for broader issues. You may have a star performer who believes their success is rooted in perfection. If they have a hard time taking a sick day, they’re not likely to take any vacation either. Soon your best employee is burned out and considering a new gig.

Behavior data can help illuminate potential problems like this one. To find out how PeopleBest can flag great work and room for improvement on your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies

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People

How behavior data can boost HR’s people analytics

People analytics is a term that has become buzzworthy in the last five years. People analytics? It’s essential. It’s game-changing. It’s the secret to HR’s success!

But what exactly is it?

Gartner puts it this way: “People analytics is the collection and application of talent data to improve critical talent and business outcomes.” This “talent data” generally measures a few different areas, from engagement and diversity to retention and recruiting.

People analytics is a good thing, and it can absolutely help HR departments get down to business. But datasets often lack one key element: Behavior. Information about employees’ habits will decode all of the other intel they report about their productivity, satisfaction and hang ups.

Add behavior — it just makes sense

Behavior data informs other areas of people analytics. Let’s consider how it can illuminate findings about company leaders.

Perhaps HR’s people analytics flag that there’s some frustration brewing in the engineering department, and many employees are reporting dissatisfaction with team leadership.

The analytics stop there.

HR pulls the performance reviews for engineering managers completed by the chief technology officer, but everyone has exceeded expectations. What does HR do now?

Behavior data lights the path forward. Behavior data can tell HR, for example, whether a manager’s leadership style is out of sync with a team’s preferences. A boss with micro-managing tendencies may irritate a group of workers who want to work hard on their long lists of tasks without a lot of interruption.
The situation could skew the other way, of course. A group of early career, entry level employees may falter without extra support from a hands-off boss.

Behavior data will tell you exactly how people are oriented. Regular people analytics? It won’t get you there.

You can’t count on lackluster data

With workers leaving their jobs in droves, employers must do whatever they can to recruit and retain the best talent. Data can help them do that, but the numbers have to reveal why people struggle or thrive in their roles.

When a dataset reports underwhelming results, employers are left guessing at their next move. But when the numbers flag the biggest issues and indicate the best response, HR knows the right path forward.

To find out how PeopleBest can provide the data to round out your people analytics, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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People

Changing behavior with the help of a digital personality change intervention

It’s February, which means most people’s New Year’s resolutions are already out the window. The daily yoga challenge is a goner. The diet ended on January 8th. And that savings account — well, at least it didn’t shrink, right?

The point is: Change is hard. It’s a monumental task to shift our behaviors, especially when those behaviors have been with us for so long. Now imagine you’re not just trying to break a bad habit but transform elements of your very personality. Ouch.

But there’s hope. A recent study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined the effect of digital intervention tools on people’s efforts to change their behaviors. Here’s the exciting part: The tools worked.

And that’s a good sign for everyone who wants to do a little better in 2022.

What does the data say?

The PNAS study considered a group of 1,500 people who signed up for a personality coaching app. Participants were split up into two groups: One group got the greenlight to use the app, and the other was notified it had to wait one month before starting the program.

The first group showed greater self-reported changes compared to those in the second group. In fact, changes were significant for those who wanted to increase a certain behavioral trait and for those who wanted to decrease one.

What’s more, friends, family members, or partners of the participants observed personality changes in the desired direction, too — particularly for those who wanted to increase a trait.

Behavior is malleable

The study authors came to a striking conclusion: “Self- and observer-reported changes persisted until 3 months after the end of the intervention. This work provides the strongest evidence to date that normal personality traits can be changed through intervention in nonclinical samples.”

This news is positive. The study indicated that we can change our behaviors — personality doesn’t dictate our every move. It may sway us one way or the other, but behaviors put us in the driver’s seat.

For instance, say a digital tool reveals you score high for self responsibility — a trait typically defined as an individual’s ability to own a particular issue. Your high score translates to a likelihood that you take on too much too often. You might even gravitate toward the tasks that feel more valuable or important.

When you understand this inclination, you can set boundaries more easily and delegate more effectively. You’ll help others grow instead of doing the work for them.

Outcomes are possible

So what does all this mean for those of us with a resolution that’s been put on the back burner?
It means we need to focus on our choices, big and small.

To achieve change, we need one key ingredient: awareness. Without it, we can’t know which behaviors are holding us back and which are propelling us forward. But once we’re in the know, action becomes possible.

To find out how PeopleBest can serve your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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Product Features

PeopleBest Identifies Six Leadership Styles to Strengthen Agility and Confidence

Technological advancements, commercial innovations and disruptions spurred workplace change in the last decade. In turn, leaders adjusted the way they interact with their teams and honed the methods they use to succeed.

PeopleBest now measures the six leadership styles identified by Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence. The resulting insights equip organizations with the information they need to hire the best candidates and develop those they bring on board.

Leaders typically possess a natural style, but that doesn’t mean they’re confined to a singular approach. Leaders demonstrate great aptitude and potential when they are able to adjust their approach based on business challenges and employee dynamics.

Leadership styles are rooted in emotional intelligence. Each style offers different components of emotional intelligence encompassing self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills. These areas are supported by behaviors giving insight on individuals’ degree of strength and helps to prioritize development opportunities.

Tech Specs

Individuals take the PeopleBest assessment by responding to a series of statements. The assessment gathers responses to score behavioral areas supporting each leadership style. An organization can view an entire group of leaders to understand their predominant style and discover other style strengths they have to address changing situations and needs.

Content Summary:

Leadership styles have a direct impact on business success and the culture or atmosphere that employees experience.  In any given week, leaders’ style needs can vary based on the stakeholders they lead.  The more seamlessly a leader can discern what’s needed in real time and adjust accordingly, the more likely that bold progress can be made.

Do you find your organization in a turnaround? Is it encountering complex internal and external factors that require leaders to give specific and timely direction? The best style for this situation involves direct and specific communication. Perhaps your workforce needs a boost in morale. Managers who know how to mobilize employees toward a vision will make timely progress in boosting your culture.

Sign up today to discover how PeopleBest’s Leadership Styles feature provides the insight and impetus you need to prepare your leadership for tomorrow’s challenges.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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Research Spots Connection Between Personality and COVID-19 Coping

What are the factors that allowed people to get through the enormous challenge that was and is the COVID-19 pandemic?

When the coronavirus began its first sweep through the U.S., the country transformed, almost overnight.

Suddenly, people were conducting their whole lives from the confines of their homes. Working, learning, shopping, eating, playing, praying — it all happened right there in the living room.

Normalcy disappeared and challenges took root. Adults reported worsening mental health conditions, linking depression, anxiety and other difficulties to the pandemic and its consequences.

The coronavirus pushed people to new levels of strength. That demand hasn’t faded, especially with the omicron variant’s nationwide sweep. Amid the tragic losses and frustrating inconveniences the pandemic caused, Americans have had to cope. Emerging research is beginning to examine the factors that allowed people to get through the enormous challenge that was and is the COVID-19 pandemic. One recent report spotted a fascinating connection: behavior’s role in resilience.

Can behaviours predict coping?

A study published earlier this year by the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences studied the relationship between the pandemic and human behavior. The researchers considered about 500 young adults living in North America and found direct links between habits and positive and negative coping responses.

The research revealed, for example, that individuals who demonstrated strong emotionality and extroversion were more likely to seek socioemotional support. Participants whose behaviors featured conscientiousness were more ready to adapt COVID-19 safety measures.

The report suggested a connection between personality and negative coping mechanisms, too. Individuals who lacked honesty or humility demonstrated behaviors like increased substance use. The researchers linked low openness to experience with a resistance to emerging science and a hesitancy to problem solve.

Coping beyond the pandemic

As the pandemic continues to unfold, Americans continue to cope. On a large scale, they cope with continuing cases, economic frustrations and health implications. Everyday Americans like you and me also continue to cope with the small and large challenges our lives offer.

Our behaviours offer us insight into how we might deal with those challenges. How will we meet the frustration of an incapable coworker? Will we step up to the plate when the car breaks down, again? The answers to those questions are wrapped up in our behaviours.

Tools and tricks

Our behaviors may hold a lot of information about why we do what we do, but that doesn’t mean we must accept those answers once and for all. Today, the tools exist to help us learn about our personalities and channel our strengths and weaknesses into resilience. My poor crisis response may stand in my way in an emergency, but my vitality will sustain me when the going gets tough.

To find out how PeopleBest can help you and your team learn more about your behaviours, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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Growth or Fixed Mindset: Is One More Important than the Other?

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work — brains and talent are just the starting point.” — Carol Dweck

Awareness is the first and essential stepping stone to change. Without it, effort and action make way for frustration — not progress.

What role does awareness play in mindset? Mindset is often perceived as passive and untouchable.
There’s some truth in that idea: childhood, education and personality all work to define our mindset.

There’s an element of autonomy in that mix, too. But that choice doesn’t exist without awareness.

We have to understand how our mindset functions before we consider how we can change it. This task has been made far easier by scholars who have organized the human outlook into two helpful categories: growth mindset and fixed mindset.

What’s more, our modern age has produced tools that help individuals untangle their thought patterns to discover where on they fall on the growth-fixed spectrum.

Why growth?

American psychologist Carol Dweck spent years examining the self-conceptions that inform behavior. “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work — brains and talent are just the starting point,” Dweck wrote. “This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”

Some jobs make a growth mindset an absolute necessity. A teacher, for example, would be greatly helped by his ability to see the opportunity for learning in his students’ inability to distinguish between there, their and they’re. So might a researcher benefit from her willingness to work through the frustration of failure to discover the makeup of a toothpaste that fights garlic breath.

In short: Any job that requires comfort with ambiguity, willingness to take risks and ability to change quickly requires a growth mindset.

Why fixed?

Growth mindset is great. That doesn’t mean fixed mindset is inherently awful.

Dweck spoke quite harshly of the fixed mindset. “In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits,” she wrote. “They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them.”

True, there are real drawbacks to the fixed mindset. But it’s also an appropriate frame of mind for jobs that require audits, strict compliance and reduced risk, for instance.

A fixed mindset may also help workers whose jobs rely on strict processes. A product — an N95 mask, maybe — may require several checks throughout manufacturing to ensure quality and safety. Someone in quality assurance would benefit from a mindset that responds to process well.

Similarly,  few would want to employ the electrician who sees beyond the guidelines of code and wires a house according to her creative instinct.

At the same time, self awareness could aid the electrician who believes their skills to be unimprovable. A mindset that is too fixed could lead them to give up her wires and seek out an easier gig. Or, they could nudge their thoughts along the growth-fixed spectrum and apply a little practice until they win a deeper understanding of the lightswitch.

Making sense of mindset in everyday life

Why does mindset matter day to day?

Whether we’re at work, home or play, our mindset influences our thoughts and actions. Perhaps you feel stuck in a project that tests your abilities. Does your frustration make you want to stress eat those stale donuts lingering in the office kitchen? Or does it motivate you to ask your boss to get you some additional training?

You may see mindset at play in the home. How does your partner respond when a simple tiling the kitchen backsplash turns into DIY lessons on YouTube? How does your child react when the training wheels come off the bike?

Mindset matters. When you use tools like PeopleBest’s Growth and Fixed Mindset measures, you unlock the awareness you need to see your thought patterns and unlock the path to growth. Alternative views and constructive criticism can create a culture where a greater level of trust and transparency can live.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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A Roadmap to Better Team Dynamics

Three steps can help teams surpass dreaded group work and arrive at harmonious collaboration.

Students dread group projects. One or two control freaks take over all the work — sometimes because they can’t help themselves, and other times because no one else is willing to step up to the plate. Team communication is nonexistent or plain confusing. And the grade, good or bad, applies to everyone. Who knew a diorama could cause so much angst?

Students don’t get to say goodbye to the group project when graduation catapults them into the workforce. At some point in their careers, they’re likely to find themselves on another team, working on another project with people who just don’t jive.

There’s good news, though: The dread doesn’t have to be permanent. The modern workforce has the tools to understand the strengths and weaknesses each person brings to the team. Behavioral analytics equip teams and leaders to build strong effectiveness, communication and engagement. And the information spurs everyone’s journey of personal growth.

The formula sounds simple, and it is: Self awareness creates the opportunity for change. But there are three key steps teams must follow to make the journey from knowledge to action.

Step One: Get the prep work done

Teams need to do a little preparation to make sure their hard work pays off. The work begins with a team huddle, when leaders can prime their reports by discussing the goals of the analysis. What will the questionnaire accomplish? How should they respond when they’re stumped? What will their results mean, and what will the team do with them?

Most importantly, give team members a vision for the project. Talk about your personal interest in the project, and be honest. Give a couple of examples that tell them why you think it’s a good idea to dive deep into the team’s strengths and weaknesses. They may balk — who really wants to get up close and personal with their flaws in front of their coworkers — but ask them to trust the process.

Step Two: Talk through the results

Once everyone completes the questionnaire, the real work begins. 

Managers will use the analyzed results to speak with each team member, one on one. It’s important to take time to discuss the nature of the results and emphasize what it’s not: a performance review. The findings highlight strengths and areas for improvement, rather than accomplishments and failures.

Step Three: Set a challenge, then conquer it

When the team comes back together as a group, each member will understand how their own personality functions. What the team won’t understand is how their collective strengths and weaknesses interplay. Not yet. 

A team personality profile will pull team members’ individual results and build them into a group analysis. Managers can use the profile to discuss individual development and cultural identification.

Up next is the exciting part: Setting a goal. A manager may use an upcoming project to test out the team’s findings. Using the knowledge of people’s backgrounds and behaviors, the supervisor can select the right people for the job — a blend of people innovators and executors.

Or maybe a workplace leader needs to get a new initiative rolling. Managers can use the newfound information as they work to get people onboard. No more guesswork on whether or not people will be receptive or what happens after its launch.

Move forward with PeopleBest
Work doesn’t have to be a series of draining group projects. With the right tools, teams can share responsibility, work efficiently and maybe even enjoy each others’ company.

PeopleBest measures the success inside people by looking at five simple ‘styles’ to predict success inside of people, teams and companies. To find out how PeopleBest can help you and your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

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PeopleBest Launches Self-Awareness Competency to Bolster Emotional Intelligence of Leaders and Professionals

Self-awareness is the cornerstone to emotional intelligence. To be strong in self-awareness is to be able to adjust one’s thinking and strategy based on a situation. Some experts believe that being self-aware is the meta-skill of the 21st century. It allows workers to course correct, influence, befriend and lead.

The pandemic introduced employment trends that make self-awareness a premium. Considering labor shortages, remote work and automation, employers need to be able to count on employees who know their strengths — and their weaknesses.

Tech specs

Individuals take the PeopleBest assessment by responding to a series of statements. The assessment gathers natural and situational responses in 29 Behaviour Traits.

This feature provides a roadmap for advancement by highlighting gaps that can be closed through coaching and development.

The pace of change and momentum in organizations can be daunting. Keen self-awareness is an essential quality to improve your success. This assessment measures whether your ability to self assess bolsters your collaboration, relationship building, influence and productivity. Sign up today to discover your capacity for self-awareness.

To find out how PeopleBest can help you and your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to look at what makes success happen inside people, teams and companies.

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Product Features

PeopleBest Launches Growth & Fixed Mindset Competencies to Navigate Organization Disruption

Mindset influences how we think, the risks we take and how we respond to workplace situations. Adjusting our thoughts and beliefs to overcome obstacles or envision breakthrough strategies starts with belief.  

A person’s mindset is determined by a set of perceptions and beliefs that influence how they think, feel and behave in any given situation.  PeopleBest measures Fixed and Growth mindsets and how they connect to job requirements.  This insight strengthens leaders to coach and develop others and effectively address culture change.

Fixed mindset is a frame of mind that seeks validation to ensure ideas are heard and efforts are noticed. Someone with a growth mindset has more freedom, free to break down limiting beliefs and create a path forward. To assess someone’s mindset, PeopleBest measures how much individuals limit themselves and how much they rely on external approval. PeopleBest also determines how individuals view their failures and whether they prosper when facing a challenge. 

Every person experiences a mix of mindsets — each ingrained to varying degrees. Self learning will break down where improvements need to be made and reveal how  new habits can be formed.

Tech Specs
Individuals take the PeopleBest assessment by responding to a series of statements.  The assessment gathers responses to score behavioral areas related to each mindset competency.

Content Summary:
Over the last two years, organizations have been turned upside down, from where people work and how they work to how customers buy what’s available for purchase.Disruption has challenged even the most optimistic individuals and placed organizations in a position of recreating how they succeed.  

Sign up today to discover how this Mindset feature provides a roadmap for advancement by highlighting gaps that can be improved on through creating awareness, setting goals and a pivotal tool for performance coaches.  This is particularly insightful for managers and leaders who desire to deliver excellence and invest in the growth of their people.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.

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Is Your Hiring Process Stuck?

Companies are stuck in the traditional hiring process. Future-focused employers are headed another way, and you can join them.

Application, interview, decision. The hiring process may look simple, but that three-step process is a disaster at most companies.

Here’s the reality: Applicants are piled with forms; talent professionals are slammed with busy work; managers are overwhelmed with interviews; and employers are debating decisions.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Companies are stuck in the traditional hiring process, but it doesn’t serve their needs.
Future-focused employers are headed another way, and you can join them.

Resumes — Are They Really Worth It?

The vast majority of employers use resumes as a first line of defense in selecting a new worker. Applicants — sometimes thousands of them — hand in a single sheet of paper detailing the proudest moments of their professional lives, and talent teams spend hours examining each delicately crafted scroll.

Right?

Not so much. Research shows that recruiters look at a resume for an average of seven seconds. Seven seconds may be more than a glance, but it barely constitutes a quick scan. It’s certainly not enough time for talent professionals to understand whether an applicant can do the job they’re looking to fill.

Of course, resumes aren’t necessarily the most reliable sources of information. A 2020 report from ResumeLab revealed 36% of Americans admitted to lying on their resumes.It appeared the fibbing stemmed from insecurity; most of those who confessed their dishonesty said they lied because they didn’t have enough experience.

There may be a better way. Instead of relying on a resume to kick off your recruiting process, consider identifying the most important aspects of the role you’re looking to fill and screening candidates based on how their strengths match up.

Go Beyond The Interview

Recruiters need to understand the candidate on a fundamental level — not what they’ve done, but who they are. Most employers assume they accomplish this in an interview. Most employers are wrong.

As one Stanford lecturer wrote in the Harvard Business Review, many employers pass over great candidates because they’re asking the wrong questions. “If you are working on innovation, you need someone who can think with you,” Nilofer Merchant wrote in the article. “And by focusing on capability over experience, you increase the chances you find that person.”

The problem with interviews goes beyond bad questions, however. Interviews can’t produce completely unbiased assessments of a candidate’s strengths. Assessments can. With a standardized assessment, companies can measure the strengths and opportunities each candidate presents. Equipped with that information, they can select the person who best fits the needs of the job.

Getting To Yes

PeopleBest assessments find the unique ‘code of success’ inside of people, offering insights and identifying critical missing areas that may frustrate an employee — or drive them to quit. By discovering how workers score in each category, companies can better understand what workers want, how they stay motivated, and where they can grow to better contribute to their team.

To find out how PeopleBest can serve your team, book a demo and set up a time to chat with one of our specialists.

PeopleBest is a revolutionary, simple and powerful way to capture the exact ‘DNA of success’ inside people, teams and companies.