Look out for your employees & they will look out for you.

In the digital era of outsourcing with an emphasis on technology, efficiency, and process, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that your company, at the end of the day, needs to be about your people. We can move too quickly and forget to stop and take the pulse of the living beings that occupy our offices.

The costs of employee turnover have been widely debated, but some studies, like SHMR, predict that every time you replace a salaried employee it costs on average, 6 to 9 months of their salary. High turnover also increases interview costs and lowers productivity of those required to train new people. Not to mention the impact on morale.

I learned this lesson the hard way. I had been working at my current company for only a few months when my world was swept out from underneath me. Out of nowhere, I was left with panic attacks, anxiety, and even ended up in the ER. I went from high functioning, ambitious, overachieving recent grad to flat on my back. Unable to function at even 25% of what I had been bringing to the table. And in the past four months, as first an intern and then new hire, I had been bringing a lot to the table.

I had no faith that it was ever going to end. And I was terrified to reach out and tell my bosses what was happening. If I felt it had been possible, I would have pretended to be fine and showed up anyways. Because in every other position I had ever occupied, I would have been told to get a doctor’s note, and find proof that I couldn’t function. I would have been required to be back within a period of twenty-four to forty-eight hours, regardless of the actual state I was in.

But this time, the reaction of our managing partners was different.

They told me to take a break. They told me to take my time. And as a result, I opened up to them about what was happening for me. Which in return allowed them to support me better. They told me that they saw this as an investment in me in the long term. That they were trusting me, and that they would until I gave them a reason to otherwise. They provided support in terms of a structured return to work, in lunches when I was back. In checking in and honestly, genuinely, caring about me as a person, instead of simply an employee. They invested in my emotional well-being.

I was out for a week. Arguably the worst week of my life.

But the loyalty my bosses earned has lasted long beyond those terrible 7 days. The memory of their support has - and will last - a lifetime. When I think back now about that really scary period of time, I don't remember being chastised or worrying about work. I remember feeling allowed to be human. It opened the door to communication directly with them, when necessary. And I'm back now to being that productive, ambitious employee - some of the reasons they hired me in the first place. In addition to those things, they no longer seem like the scary, unapproachable, big bosses, which has opened our lines of communication even further.

Remember, look out for your employees. Get to know them. Understand them. Treat them as more than cogs in the machine that is your business. It will pay off, and they will look out for you.

I’m living proof.