Discover the Next Wave of Employee Value Proposition: Fostering Hope

by Chris Altizer, MA, MBA - Adjunct Lecturer, Chapman Graduate School, Florida International University; Partner, Altizer Performance Partners (chris@apppwi.com) and Dave Ulrich - Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Partner, The RBL Group (dou@umich.edu)

Data and our experience suggest that many people face increasing mental health challenges: depressed about the past, anxious about the uncertain future, and lonely in the present often due to technological isolation. These general mental health challenges show up at work, causing business and HR leaders to rethink how to build an employee value proposition that improves employee attitude at work. When employees have a positive value proposition as indicated by their sentiment, they are more productive, able to reimagine strategies, increase customer commitments, and ensure that shareholders have more confidence in the future.

Creating positive employee attitude and embedding it in a value proposition has a compelling history, as summarized in figure 1. Each wave of defining sentiment builds on the previous wave, as illustrated with an example of the relationship between an employee and boss. “Boss” could be replaced by a host of factors that drive sentiment (culture, team, work conditions, rewards/recognition, policies).

We believe that the general mental health challenges and changing work settings encourage HR professionals and leaders to add the approach of hope to an employee value proposition. Let us suggest why hope evolves the employee value proposition and offer a blueprint of five principles that can increase employee hope.

 1.0 Why hope and what it means.

Rather than repackage a definition of hope, let us suggest timeless definitions that capture the essence of hope.

• Hope is a waking dream. —Aristotle
• I hope that I may always desire more than I can accomplish. —Michelangelo
• And patience [worketh] experience; and experience, hope. —Apostle Paul
• Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. —Desmond Tutu
• Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. —Albert Einstein
• Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it. Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us, but by us. —Barack Obama

 To respond to the emotional challenges of our day, Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, has articulated how to replace learned helplessness with intentional hopefulness by highlighting efficacy, optimism, and inventiveness. Research suggests that individuals with hope have higher individual performance and produce better organizational outcomes—so hope is an essential element of an employee value proposition. Even more, hopefulness can be learned and grown.

2.0 A blueprint of hope with five principles.

If hope matters in overcoming emotional funk and producing positive outcomes, we must recognize principles for creating hope. We propose a blueprint for hope with five principles to make it part of an evolving employee value proposition (see figure 2).

2.1 Aspiration

Engendering hope begins with focusing forward and aspiring for a better future. Aspiration requires ambition to make a difference, a vision that inspires, and actions to bring it about. Aspiration is a personal mindset that an envisioned future can be created and shaped in ways that are meaningful for the employee. Aspiration means that employees willingly invest in and pay the price for a better future when they recognize that personal goals meld with organization goals.

The aspiration of hope gives employees confidence in a meaningful future.

2.2 Efficacy/Optimism

Efficacy means that effort will lead to desired outcomes. Efficacy requires interactional awareness to increase the link between aspiration and action. Efficacy leads to pragmatic optimism when employees recognize requirements to reach aspirations and believe that they are able to meet these requirements. When leaders are optimistic, they inspire and engage others, build trust, engender collaboration, and ensure progress. Efficacy and optimism lead to resilience and the ability to keep going even when things are hard and might go wrong. 

The efficacy/optimism of hope gives employees conviction that they know how to and can achieve their aspirations.

2.3 Inventiveness

Inventiveness instills hope by discovering new ways to accomplish tasks. Old patterns or habits may be replaced with new actions. Being curious, imagining what’s possible, inventing new ways to do things, and experimenting all build a hope mindset with expanded options and opportunities. An inventiveness mindset strengthens decision-making, problem identification, and risk-taking skills.

The inventiveness of hope encourages employees to create, innovate, imagine, and experiment to keep moving forward.

2.4 Learn

Learning instills hope when failure is seen as an opportunity to improve. Hope comes from learning by focusing on what is right more than what is wrong, being resilient when things don’t go well, and continuously improving.

The learning of hope comes from constantly observing, challenging, and learning from all experiences.

2.5 Role Model

At the center of our hope blueprint are leaders who model hope and take care of themselves—so they can take care of others. We have all experienced aspirational, optimistic, inventive, and learning-oriented leaders who lead by example and who inspire followers. Employees leave interactions with these leaders feeling better about themselves and empowered with more hope to be able to take on new challenges.

Leaders who model hope in their attitudes, words, and actions engender employees that instill hope throughout their organization.

Implications

In a world of mental health challenges, organizations can be settings for positive sentiment that becomes an employee value proposition. We suggest that hope builds on legacy employee satisfaction, commitment, engagement, and experience ideas. When hope becomes part of the employee value proposition, positive outcomes follow. The five principles in our hope blueprint offer some specific ways to engender hope, and we know that much more work will be done in this area.

How do you increase hope at work?

In our RBL Institute think tank on November 12, we will explore how hope evolves the employee value proposition and suggest specific skills and tools for making this blueprint actionable. The RBL Institute is our forum for exploring innovative ideas with sustainable impact. For more information about a corporate membership in The RBL Institute, contact Joe Grochowski at institute@rbl.net.

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Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a partner at The RBL Group, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations and leaders deliver value.