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What's your New Year's resolution for 2022? Clean out the closets? Take up a new sport? Save more money? For some, the first days of the year are also a time to tackle work-related goals. Read on to learn what some HR professionals hope to accomplish on the job in 2022.
Make Time to Recharge
"My New Year's resolution is to be intentional on allocating one day each month for self-development, reflection and/or spending time in nature. These are important to me in recharging but unfortunately, I often forget to carve out time." —Desiree Carpenter, manager of talent for Milwaukee-based National Business Furniture.
Use Wellness Benefits
"I'm resolving to participate in and take advantage of the benefits offered to employees. For me, this means taking time away from the office, on vacation, and truly disconnecting in order to recharge. I know that I cannot pour from an empty cup! Traliant is implementing a wellness program, and working out is important for both physical and mental well-being. "In 2022, I resolve to leverage the wellness platform to continue to exercise on a regular basis. I know this will help me manage any stress and increase my productivity!" —Maggie Smith, SHRM-CP, vice president of HR for compliance training platform Traliant, headquartered in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Make Work/Life Balance a Priority
"For my work as a head of people, 2021 was a continuation of 2020. Most people have no idea how strongly the pandemic affected human resources. [The] last one and a half years, I was keeping my nose to the grindstone. The new situation required learning a mass of new skills. I had to make many difficult decisions, including staffing and reorganization of the whole HR team. Pandemic turbulence coincided with the significant growth of our startup, so I had plenty to do. I really enjoy my work but I'm not a machine. For a long time, I felt stressed. "Therefore, my top work-related New Year's resolution for 2022 is to keep a healthy work/life balance. I learned how to work in the pandemic reality, now I want to focus on my mental well-being. A friend of mine recommended [to] me a series of trainings, so that would be my first step." —Bartek Boniecki, head of people for Passport Photo Online, headquartered in Białystok Poland. "Working from home blurs the lines between the workday and home life. It is increasingly easy to find oneself checking e-mails and working on tasks at odd hours. For 2022, I will be working on having more dedicated boundaries between home and work. My hope is that making a conscious effort to have dedicated work hours and workspaces within my home will allow me to better delineate time and attention for myself and my family." —Elizabeth Watson, HR coach for Rochester, N.Y.-based Paychex.
Focus on Worker Well-Being
"As we approach nearly two years of work during a pandemic, among other HR-related challenges such as the Great Resignation and managing a new area of hybrid work, focusing on employee well-being has never been more important. My New Year's resolution for 2022 is to continue providing easy access to mental health benefits for all of Zendesk's employees globally, incorporating comprehensive offerings that cater to a diverse set of needs. It's also critical that we continue to normalize mental wellness and remove the stigma attached to mental health." —Evangeline Mendiola, director of global benefits and well-being for San Francisco-based Zendesk.
Devote Quality Time to Employees …
"My 2022 work-based resolution is to spend as much time as possible in front of our employees around the world. As the new chief people and culture officer at Mitel, and after nearly two years of not being able to travel due to the pandemic, I am determined to spend quality in-person time with our greatest asset—our people. From the shores of the U.S. to Europe and India, 2022 is a year to truly reconnect with our people." —Paul Gregory, senior vice president, chief people and culture officer, Mitel, headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
… And Employee-Hopefuls
"In 2022, I'd like to be more responsive to applicants and job seekers when they send inquiries or seek feedback regarding how the interview went. As recruiters and hiring managers, we tend to focus exclusively on candidates who are shortlisted or make it to the next round, but I have realized it is equally important to engage applicants who don't make the cut. Over the past year, I have tried to personally respond to as many queries as possible, and I'd like to see that number go up in the coming year." —Joe Flanagan, senior employment advisor for Los Angeles-based Velvet Jobs.
Encourage Open Discussion
"My New Year's resolution is to find a way to encourage more open discussions in the workplace and encourage employees to be able to be their own true self at work. We spend the majority of our life working, and to have to hide your true self at work must be exhausting. I believe if we encourage our colleagues to be themselves, this will encourage a more open culture and we will see the benefits in increased collaboration and productivity." —Gwenan West, head of people and talent at HR software provider CIPHR, headquartered in Milton Keynes, England.
Create an Equitable Hybrid-Work Model
"One of my resolutions for 2022 is to evaluate and ensure an equitable company culture in the new hybrid-work model. The traditional model of being in office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days per week, is gone for good. At Nakisa, we envision offices that will primarily provide a place to meet—specifically for the purpose of live collaboration and brainstorming—to be used by employees as needed. Reorganizing our company for a hybrid model requires careful planning and preparation, as well as considerations of the impact on company culture.
"Maintaining a friendly and joyful culture with minimal in-person connection entails rethinking our best practices and discovering new and innovative ways of doing things. Keeping employees engaged in a hybrid environment, offering equal opportunities for professional growth regardless of work location and fostering a unified team is my top goal for the upcoming year." —Tara Varjavandi, vice president, HR at Nakisa, headquartered in Montreal.
Help Others
"Become a mentor. When starting out in the HR field, I was fortunate enough to have several mentors that guided me along the way—providing advice, direction and support when needed. Next year I hope to do the same for an up-and-coming HR professional, passing on the advice that was once bestowed upon me.
"Volunteer. Similar to becoming a mentor, I also want to volunteer in my community. There's a plethora of opportunity to give back to organizations—[the] Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity, food shelters, etc.
"I often think about how great this world would be if everyone gave a little bit of their time to help those less fortunate." —Diane Cook, SHRM-SCP, HR specialist for Baltimore-based ResumeSeed.