What is a culture of vulnerability and how do you build one? Is it more beneficial or detrimental to progress in an organisation? After YuLife announced a new approach to building a company culture of compassion, YuLife’s head of People, Claire Cathcart, held a discussion with Lauren Gomez, Head of People Experience at Learnably, and Ewan McPherson, Chief People Officer at Havas on how to build a culture of vulnerability.What does “vulnerability in the workplace” mean?“If your culture or your environment [...] is a place where people feel they have to leave something at the door before they come in,” says Ewan. “That’s identifying a problem of some kind.”A lot of employees are often afraid of speaking up when they are struggling – and eventually face burnout because of it. Building a culture of vulnerability in the workplace aims to rectify this problem. Meaning employees don’t have to be afraid of speaking up, and are actually encouraged to do so.The “not feeling 100%” status YuLife recently implemented a status tool to help notify colleagues how they are feeling on any given day. The strategy allows employees to put a “half-battery” emoji on their Slack status as a tell-tale sign that somebody isn’t operating at full capacity that day. This way, if an employee has yet to hit this comfort level in the office, they don’t have to remain silent and work regardless. It acts as an indicator for fellow employees to approach this individual more kindly during this time. While some view this type of “flagging” system as beneficial and conducive to building a healthier workplace – others believe it could actually be more detrimental to mental health efforts.Could policies that promote vulnerability have a negative impact? If someone puts a half-battery emoji up, how can employees be sure it won’t lead to managers thinking they are unengaged, or worse – lead to redundancy? Not only this, but it could act as an encouragement for people to still work even harder to avoid this stigma of the half-battery emoji, and ultimately lead to the same end result: exhaustion.“Maybe it’s a conversation opener,” suggests Lauren. “Maybe it’s something that could be worked on with that person.” While many negative outcomes could arise with the implementation of any policy, the ultimate result is how it’s approached. Having the emoji up won’t be negatively received by others if it’s not coined as something negative from the beginning. Using a system like this to encourage vulnerability and openness in an organisational environment can do more harm than good in trying to instill this element of vulnerability. It’s a discreet way of flagging one’s feelings. If organisations make it clear that it’s not an encouragement for employees to work harder, but acts as a door for more open conversations – the benefits could be plentiful.The benefits of building a vulnerable company culture It’s been proven through studies that a positive company culture is something that 77% of candidates consider before applying to work at an organisation. In addition to this, 56% say company culture is more important when compared with salary in terms of job satisfaction. And in order to build that positive culture, offering a safe space for vulnerability and support is a key ingredient. Many think that having an open, vulnerable, and understanding workplace might reduce commitment, productivity, and encourage people to take advantage of it. But many results indicate quite the opposite! “If your culture... is a place where people feel they have to leave something at the door before they come in, that’s identifying a problem.”With the high-stress work environments causing more health issues than ever, a more understanding, positive work culture focused on wellbeing is actually proven to help increase productivity, and generate far better results in the long run.According to a YuLife x YouGov survey done in 2021, 87% of employees are more likely to stay with an employer if that employer demonstrates a commitment totheir wellbeing. What’s more, absenteeism, where employees don’t show up to work, actually improved in 82% of the organisations where better health and wellbeing programmes were added in. If you approach conflict and anyone who is struggling with compassion, a willingness to learn and help – you will most likely find the results are far better than approaching a situation negatively. Contributing to work that we are passionate about becomes much more natural and attainable when we are not coerced or shamed into doing it – especially when we are ill or in need of rest.Building a “good culture” in the workplace“I think there's a big difference between a nice culture and a nice place to be and to work and one that is also high performing,” says Lauren. And finding the balance between this is crucial when trying to rebuild elements of a culture in the workplace. “A good culture is where they feel like they can belong and where they can do their best work.”On a similar note, Ewan’s idea of culture at their organisation is: “where people feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves.”The idea of what a “good culture” is can mean different things to different people. But typically, a good culture that is both high performing, as well as one that’s mindful of wellbeing, usually tends to satisfy the following: People feel safe to speak up and share their voiceAll employees feel part of a teamPeople in the company are living their valuesCore values in the company are clear and actionableIt’s also worth mentioning that company culture isn’t a fixed concept either. According to Ewan, it’s important to view culture as “the rolling average of the last 3-6 month window” in terms of how your organisation has been performing.So many different things influence an organisational culture. That’s why having systems in place to monitor how different people are affecting the culture as they come and go is important in order to keep things moving towards the end goal.Where does company culture begin?Before building a workplace of vulnerability, you first have to identify where exactly the ultimate influence on the company culture is coming from. And quite frequently: it’s from the top. “I think, for me, it starts with your very senior leaders in the business,” says Lauren. “What are they doing to create a sense of vulnerability with people, or are there repercussions for people speaking up?”And ultimately, it’s about “making sure you have policies and support mechanisms that underpin the behaviours you want to see,” as Ewan says. Once those are in place, it’s much easier for employees to abide by and role model these behaviours – and change the company culture.Where do you start building vulnerability? When it comes to creating a culture that encompasses vulnerability in an already well-established organisation, it requires a rewiring of frameworks, systems, policies, and placing a larger emphasis on values. Every workplace has cultures and values outlined for their teams – but they will stay pinned up on a bulletin board and never spoken about beyond recruitment and annual reviews.But if employers begin activating these values and making decisions that align with them, the connection between the company's ideal culture and employees' behaviour will start to strengthen. If you don’t make your values a regular part of your company discussions, it’s a “missed opportunity,” says Lauren. At Learnably, she notes how: “All of our praise is linked to a value,” she says. Whenever feedback is given or meetings take place, the team is able to give more specific direction – and it gives employees a common language to bring the company vision to life.Actions start becoming more conducive to the company's values and goals, and connection strengthens between your employees when they can share this vision together.But where exactly do you begin when creating this type of safe company culture, while also running a high-performing business?1) Allowing anonymity Bringing about the problem is the first step. People often use anonymity because they don’t feel safe or comfortable for one reason or another. Therefore, keeping anonymous options for employees to make complaints or comments is key in helping you solve any underlying problems. Host regular Q&As or surveys with the option for employees to fill it out anonymously so you can be sure to get their honest opinions and concerns. 2) Openly discussing feelings You can use the status method of applying a symbol or emoji to your communication platform that tells people your current feelings, or, if that’s not available to you, “you can do it on a one-word check-in,” suggests Lauren. She suggests whenever you have a team meeting, you can leave space at the beginning for people to “say this is how our mind is feeling, this is how our body is feeling, this is how our heart is feeling.”Lauren’s team at Learnably uses it frequently, “and we have this massive emotion wheel,” she says. “When we started doing it, we realised how much people are bringing into the room.”3) Set the stage from wherever you areThe most effective way that you can initiate change within your culture is to start “focusing on fostering an environment where people can show up as themselves,” says Ewan. But this can begin on the lower management and even employee level as well!You don’t just have to be a CEO to reinforce a culture of vulnerability in the workplace. It doesn’t matter your role – you can start initiating a different way of treating people to help contribute to a positive space.And the more prominent it is throughout the levels of the company – the more normal and accepted it becomes.4) Be intentional and always remain compassionate Sometimes it’s difficult, especially in a remote work culture, to be vulnerable or to respect the vulnerability and feelings of others. “You need to be a lot more intentional”, says Ewan. “It's not as easy to just turn to the person next to you, you might have to make a point of calling them directly or sending them a message when you see that status.”When you see that someone has listed they aren’t feeling 100%, carry on as normal with your work, but remain extra kind, compassionate and understanding when speaking with them. “You have to be really mindful and appreciative of the impact you can have individually on the people around you… asking how their weekend fills the bucket, not asking withdraws from it,” Ewan says. “You impact everybody with every single interaction you make”.YuLife runs on the policy that every employee should “Build the world you want to live in”. If you want to see more vulnerability, don’t give up. Be consistent in your demands, take the initiative to be that trend-setter for others, and be an entrepreneur in your workplace – no matter what seat you’re in.