Marissa Jennings (pictured), southeast space government at Zurich North America, mentioned the topic of burnout was close to and expensive to her coronary heart.
“It’s definitely something that I have experienced as a working mom,” mentioned Jennings, who has two daughters underneath the age of three.
“This juggling act of work and home life with two small daughters. Coming through the pandemic, I’ve seen the toll on teams and the turnover from a talent perspective.”
Learning to say “no” has been key to serving to Jennings navigate the added obligations of motherhood and the difficult work dynamics of the pandemic.
“Setting boundaries is easier said than done, but I’ve had to be very thoughtful around anything extra I want to take on,” the manager mentioned.
“I want to be able to get home in the evenings at a reasonable time to be with my family, sometimes, that means looking at my calendar to see if I really need to be at a certain meeting or trip.”
How can the insurance coverage business forestall burnout amongst girls?
Jennings is among the many insurance coverage leaders set to guide panel discussions on the forthcoming Women in Insurance Atlanta summit. Set for March 2, 2023, the in-person occasion is devoted to empowering girls and allies to make new connections, uncover new concepts, and be impressed to advance their insurance coverage careers.
Apart from versatile work preparations, offering sturdy mentorship and extra assets may assist working girls stability their work life.
“When I returned from maternity leave, I specifically reached out to other women in the company asking, ‘How are you doing this?’” Jennings mentioned.
“They had been capable of give me bits of recommendation and issues to consider or do totally different. I believe offering neighborhood for individuals and protected environments to have conversations about work-life stability is essential.
“Zurich has also done a phenomenal job with creating flexibility for working parents, and support and mental health resources for teams.”
Like many organizations, Zurich has tailored to a hybrid work scheme. While Jennings acknowledges there are drawbacks to the set-up, she mentioned it’s troublesome to see the office returning to the way in which it was pre-pandemic.
“There are some people who love being in the office. I think there are benefits to being together, such as more collaboration, creativity, and the ability building teams,” she instructed Insurance Business.
“But I would be surprised to see a return to five full days back into the office. People like the flexibility, and with the talent crunch today, I would be surprised to see a lot of companies taking a hard stance on that.”
Flexitime, a four-day work week, and different methods
Could workdays be allowed to look extra totally different within the post-pandemic world? Flexitime (when an worker chooses when to cease and begin work, with some limits) and job share (when two part-time staff break up a full-time function) preparations are additionally getting into the dialog on versatile working, as individuals search extra autonomy over their work-life stability.
Jennings can be enthusiastic about seeing the place discussions on a four-day work week would progress. A current world pilot on the four-day scheme confirmed that corporations skilled increased gross sales, decrease burnout and fatigue, and better total worker happiness with only one much less day at work.
“Recently, a CEO of a smaller mutual carrier mentioned that they’re going be testing out the four-day work scheme this summer to encourage people to have longer weekends, and to see if this can help recruit talent into the organization,” Jennings mentioned.
“More flexibility and providing women with more part-time options in leadership roles are critical. I think it would be a game changer for women who want to continue their career but also be able to be with their families. I think that there’s a lot of opportunity to tap into some, some talent that way, too.”
Women in Insurance Atlanta returns with an agenda-packed convention in 2023. Join fellow insurance coverage professionals for a day of networking and incisive discussions about essentially the most urgent points within the business.