The market for just about every industry today is more competitive than ever. Businesses are operating under razor thin margins, and employees are noticing. Wages are down, benefits are missing, and expectations are high. This has led to an undeniable unrest in workers today. People are less satisfied with their work, turnovers are high, and loyalty is down.
In response, businesses haven’t been able to do much. Many of these issues are foundational, and not able to be resolved quickly. However it’s this last element, employee loyalty, that deserves a little more critical analysis. There are some businesses that, even with the same issues as comparable businesses, are doing better on this front. How is this possible?
It’s possible, at least some of the time, because these businesses genuinely promote their employees’ wellness and health. A good example of this comes in the Tavern community coworking model. This model recognizes that businesses which attempt to build community at work aren’t always received well. The era of “work families” isn’t looked back on fondly today, and for good reason. Employees, after a long day, really don’t want to engage in team-building activities and icebreaker activities.
So what the tavern model does instead is promote genuinely interesting social events outside of the work environment. The business will rent out a hotel or restaurant and host a happy hour, lunch, or other fun, but still professional, event. This model makes sure that these events are happening consistently and genuinely. There isn’t pressure to attend, but it gives employees the freedom to form genuine social circles with their work community.
Eventually, changes like this lead to strong communities and employee loyalty. When employees are respected as people, they’re far more likely to respect their place of employment. It’s ultimately a small change, but a feasible one for businesses to make when compared to the broader scale problems. Community is essential to foster for any business looking to thrive long term, without it, businesses begin to collapse.
Source: Tavern Community
