S5E4: Fostering a Sense of Belonging at Work feat. Michelle Smith and Jennifer Robinson

As we continue our season focusing on women in the workplace,
today we want to examine some of the cultural and policy
frameworks at play that put Utah so far down the national
rankings when it comes to women’s equality and workplace
experience. In a recent study published by Wallet Hub, Utah
ranked as the worst state for women’s equality and was ranked
49th in workplace environment for women. So, what is going on,
and how can we all work to make it better? 





Here to help us understand the landscape for professional women
in Utah and beyond are Michelle Smith and Jennifer
Robinson. Michelle is the Chief People Officer for The Larry
H. Miller Company and interim president for LHM Sports +
Entertainment, and Jennifer is the Chief of Staff at the Kem C.
Gardner Policy Institute and oversees the institute’s
communications, human resources, and finances.  





Listen as these women join host Frances Johnson to talk about
their experiences as women in the Utah workforce, how company
cultures can perpetuate these challenges, fostering a sense of
belonging in your company’s culture and learning to speak up when
we need help or flexibility at work.





Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School
of Business and is produced by University FM.



Episode Quotes:




On creating workplaces that value diversity, work-life
integration, and child care





24:22: [Jennifer Robinson]: 23% of our population is a racial and
ethnic minority. And that's just projected to continue to
increase. We want to continue to create workplaces that create a
culture of belonging for the workers. And we absolutely have to
do that with the type of migration we're having and those
population changes, those demographic changes that we're
experiencing.The second thing is I want to keep the cultures
growing in our businesses, governments, and nonprofits that value
that integration of work and home life. It's very important, and
we see how that changed, that pivoted during the pandemic. And
that relates to flexibility in the workplace—flexible work hours,
flexible work locations, those kinds of things. And then the last
thing that's on my mind is really a concern for child care and
the availability, affordability, and quality of child care in our
communities. And I would love to see our business community lead
out on this issue.





The importance of creating a culture of
belonging





15:37: [Michelle Smith] If you're running out to a doctor's
appointment with your aging parent, or if you're running out to a
middle school volleyball game that starts at 3:15 in the
afternoon, which is not convenient in any way, shape, or form but
you can't have that again, right? You can't create those memories
again. Then people understand that I'm not trying to be lazy or
don't care about my job. I'm trying to integrate my life into the
priority that I have and the commitment I have to my job to the
people that I work with, and to the responsibilities that I have.
And so it's so powerful when you can just have conversations,
know who people are, and create a culture of belonging.





Coping with change: A skill that benefits all areas of
life





22:58: [Jennifer Robinson] To be able to have the muscle to
cope through change could be such a differentiator on how they
enjoy work and the things they're able to accomplish. And I would
say home or community, family, friends, or their other spaces in
their lives. That is a skill set that absolutely translates.





Fostering supportive work cultures for all





12:38: [Jennifer Robinson] I would encourage any office to try to
create a culture that does something at the individual level to
help their employees, whether it's dealing with coming back from
maternity leave or while their kids are in school, and you're
trying to make sure you're doing all those things you want to do,
like see your kids performances or get to your daughter's high
school soccer game or as we have aging parents, a lot of us are
stuck in what we call the "sandwich generation," where we have
children at home and parents who are aging that need a lot of
help. And those are not unique to women. I think they apply to
men as well. And I would just love to see our culture changed to
continue to allow more flexibility for working families
individuals, whether they have children or not. But it turns out
that the ability to be a user of language presupposes that you're
also able to reflect on language.



Show Links:

Michelle Smith - LinkedIn

Michelle Smith - Larry H. Miller Company

Jennifer Robinson, Ph.D. | Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute

Jennifer Robinson - Chief of Staff - The Kem C. Gardner
Policy Institute | LinkedIn