There’s more to life than work. And there’s more to people than their careers.
Strip away someone’s job title, core responsibilities and hierarchical position, and their authentic identity — made up of hobbies, interests and unique backgrounds — comes into sharper focus.
Bridging the gap between the professional and personal self can yield great benefits for employers, not only for their individual team members but also for the broader company culture and business objectives.
According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, creative activities done outside of work had a positive effect on job performance and their ability to recover from demanding work environments.
Additionally, a Drexel University study saw that just 45 minutes of creating art reduced stress, increased self-efficacy and improved mood.
While not everyone is artistically inclined, everyone has things outside of work that they’re passionate about — things that bring joy, build strong connections and make them who they truly are.
When companies provide the spaces and avenues for team members to bring these personal passions into a professional environment, a culture of openness and community takes shape.
At Convoso and Inspire, team members are empowered to engage with their passions at work, and the positive impact speaks for itself.
Convoso uses cloud-based omnichannel software and AI to help call centers convert more leads, more efficiently.
How does your company encourage team members to bring, or engage with, their passions at work?
At Convoso, there’s a sincere interest in getting to know every individual beyond their professional roles, and that starts from day one. During the onboarding process, we encourage new hires to introduce themselves, talk about their special interests and share fun facts. We have found this to be a great icebreaker that generates engagement from others who share the same special interests.
An initiative that Convoso is excited to foster is our employee resource groups. This platform aims to bring together individuals with shared interests, backgrounds or identities within Convoso. These groups provide a supportive space for employees to connect, collaborate and explore their passions in a professional context. It also encourages engagement, transparency and shared knowledge across teams, which allows for better collaboration. These groups can focus on a wide range of interests such as cultural heritage, environmental sustainability and hobbies like photography or sports.
By establishing ERGs, companies encourage employees to embrace their passions, building a sense of belonging and amplifying diverse voices.
Tell us about a time when you’ve engaged with or shared a passion of yours in the workplace.
I am a huge gamer. When I first joined the company, I shared that as a fun fact about myself. I wasn’t surprised that there were so many people who shared the same interest, but I was very surprised about how quickly I got pulled into a chat group with people who enjoy gaming. We got to discuss our favorite games, upcoming releases, strategies and even had group playing sessions. This felt special, as I have previously never really disclosed this information with past employers. However, I felt it was OK to share that with my team at Convoso, and in doing so, I have a community at work that I can geek out with.
How does creating space for team members to share and engage with their passions help build culture and team camaraderie?
Fostering a positive work culture nurtures employees’ passions. Here at Convoso, a positive mindset is part of our core values. This means that we really understand the importance of cultivating a positive work environment. In doing so, we organize culture-building activities that allow individuals to share their interests and talents with their colleagues. These activities can include wellness challenges, hobby clubs, community volunteering and themed events, such as planting herbs for Earth Day.
We really understand the importance of cultivating a positive work environment. We organize culture-building activities that allow individuals to share their interests and talents.”
Our team understands the importance of cultivating an experience that everyone can participate in. We encourage and support employees by providing resources to get together and explore different bonding activities. For example, teams will go to company-sponsored events like bowling nights, Dodgers games and happy hours — you name it! In doing so, we promote employee camaraderie and team building, not only within one’s immediate team but across the company.
This has been conducive, not only to building trust across a wide range of teams from different backgrounds but also increasing the sense of community within the company. Convoso is truly a unique and wonderful company to work for.
Inspire’s subscription model provides customers with clean energy for a flat monthly price and backed by a seamless billing experience.
How does your company encourage team members to bring, or engage with, their passions at work?
Even though we are a remote workforce, Inspire encourages team members to bring their passions to work through various forms of employee engagement opportunities and communication. We have three strong employee resource groups that give voice to our LGBTQ+, BIPOC and women communities and are the heartbeat and foundation for our culture. All employees are invited to participate in ERG-hosted events that span from book clubs and drag brunches to even group fitness classes.
Additionally, Slack is the main way we stay in touch with each other as a remote workforce. Employees are free to start or join various slack channels specific to their interests. We have Slack channels for hiking, specific employee hubs — like Santa Monica and Philadelphia — or even a wellness corner. These channels act as mini communities, which are free to expand into other programs that employees choose. A great example of this is how our wellness corner now hosts a weekly meditation for anyone to join!
Tell us about a time when you’ve engaged with or shared a passion of yours in the workplace.
During the holidays, we hosted a “holiday makers mart” community fundraiser where employees auctioned off a holiday gift made, or provided by, the employee. I offered up a digital Zoom vinyasa yoga class.
Outside of my time at Inspire, I spend my time practicing or teaching yoga, so it was fun to bring my whole self to work — the head of impact, the yoga teacher and the human being. It’s in these moments, I find a deep appreciation for not only the mission here at Inspire that we work on, but also the open and inclusive community that is Inspire’s people.
Outside of Inspire, I spend my time practicing or teaching yoga, so it was fun to bring my whole self to work — the head of impact, the yoga teacher and the human being.”
How does creating space for team members to share and engage with their passions help build culture and team camaraderie?
Creating space for team members to share and engage their passions helps build culture and team camaraderie because it allows us to get to know each other as human beings — outside of work transactions and corporate identity. When we understand our colleagues as people, we can show up with more empathy, compassion and support for each other in our day-to-day work and also amplify what makes culture so special — the people.
