The Brain-Friendly Workplace

A rare opportunity exists to make workplaces more brain-friendly.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed work, and it also changed workers’ attitudes toward work. Massive resignations and movement between employers revealed workers’ deep dissatisfaction with traditional employee–employer relationships. But even before the pandemic hit, workers were becoming less tolerant of toxic employers and work cultures.

These trends were pronounced among women. Almost 90% of millennial women said they’d quit comfortable corporate positions due to dissatisfaction or not feeling heard. Other data bear out the difficulties women face in the workplace. For example, the attrition rate for female executives stands at 31%, and it only increases as women ascend the executive ranks. By the time a woman reaches the top, she’s three times more likely than a man to leave her job.

To make the workplace more welcoming to women – and everyone else, too – some employers have begun implementing a “brain-friendly” approach. This evidence-based approach aligns work with human needs rather than pushing against them. It recognizes that people have different ways of thinking and responding due to their...