Ep 205 – How to Support Employees Through Change

Nov 13, 2019 | By Jessica Miller-Merrell | Podcast

As HR leaders, we want to understand how we can best support and engage our employees. One tricky area is in health improvement. It’s hard to walk the fine line between encouragement and demotivation with company policy, and we’re always looking for advice on ways to be supportive of employees as they work to become healthier.

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Table of Contents

Ep 205: How to Support Employees Through Personal Transformational Change (@becomingjai)

Today I’m joined by Jai Murphy, Motivational Educator. Jai lost over 200 pounds and started an amazing community where she inspires others to take control of their health. Jai talks us through her personal experiences and transformation as well as how her personal change inspires others. I know she inspires me.

What Drives Your Own Transformational Change?

I mention Jai’s story and her journey to loosing more than 200 pounds. She felt compelled to do something for herself after experiencing a lack of job offers during her job search. She says that phone interviews always went great, but it was the in person interview that she felt like something shifted with the hiring manager leading to no job offers. Jai says she started talking to friends who worked in HR and they confirmed her suspicions which was that her weight although not always intentional by the employer was limiting her employability.

As a parent who needed to provide for her family, Jai was motivated and worked to make a change, but it hasn’t been easy. She talks about where she’s gotten her own inspiration working with trainers and then turning to social media, in particular Instagram to share and connect with others as a form of digital accountability partners.

How Employers Can Support Employees Through Personal Change

I think sometimes we forget we’re all in this together. Our journeys as humans are very different but they are all happening together within this time and space. I mentioned that Jai suffered some challenges trying to gain employment. She even talks about the struggles she had in working with her bosses and HR to get a chair to fit her body so she could be her best self at work. I asked Jai if she could provide us with some advise on how to support someone like her who is going through massive personal change while holding down a job. Jai shares that we need to put our concerns about increased health insurance and other employers cost aside and look at the human. She she’s this is the way to help support your employees and team members so they can make those all important changes for themselves. Personal friendships and supportive coworkers are important in creating an environment for change. That’s what she wants of.

Transformation That Inspires A Business

Jai’s personal transformation inspired others. She has over 200,000 followers on Instagram and from it a community developed along with a business that supports others in their own personal health transformations. She launched her Get Fit with Jai Community. The community and membership provides support as well as healthy recipes, workouts, and a private community and supportive network.

Conclusion

Healthy workplaces benefit both companies and employees. It’s important to keep an employee-first focus on workplace initiatives. Rather than focusing on how a healthier workforce improves our benefit cost, consider it a nice side effect and put the healthy workforce first by offering different types of support. Healthy employees tend to be happier and more productive, but not everyone responds to workplace “fitness challenges” in the same way. I appreciate getting Jai’s perspective on some unique ways we can support personal change.

Connect with Jai Murphy.

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Jessica Miller-Merrell

Learn more about Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, the founder of Workology, a workplace HR resource, and the host of the Workology Podcast. More of her blogs can be found here.