Return to Human.

NOTE: This piece is part of an ongoing newsletter series about a bold new position I'm piloting at Eleven, an advertising agency headquartered in San Francisco. The "Creative Entrepreneur in Residence" is a role that focuses on inclusion, belonging and corporate social responsibility. You can read the job description itself and subscribe to the newsletter here.

Of all the things we’re returning to – offices, travel, gyms – only one of them makes me truly hopeful. The return to human.

I see it around me in ways large and small. People are listening to their bodies and minds and nervous systems instead of shushing them. They’re discovering The Body Keeps the Score seven years after its publication, shooting it back up to the top of the bestseller list. They’re saying yes to therapy and no to hustle culture and being unapologetic about all of it.

Even corporations – normally molasses slow to respond to injustice -- are speaking out about abortion rights and racism and gun control without worrying about rocking the boat. The boat is already capsizing.

It’s like we have felt the full impact of sacrificing ourselves on the altar of capitalism, only to realize the system is rigged. And not in our favor.

This is a very good thing. Because going “back” to old systems that didn’t serve us would be a waste of a perfectly good pandemic.

Here are just a few things I’m seeing – clues that we’re living in different times:

Un-productivity hacks.

Perhaps there’s no better indication you’re paying attention to your humanity than going off the grid. Whether it’s taking a few hours to process horrifying news headlines or rethinking pithy salutations, I suspect we’ve all hit pause recently.

Language often fails when you’re sending a business update in the wake of world tragedies. How to acknowledge the horror of dead schoolchildren while also asking for a copy of the third quarter projections? 

I love an email that somehow manages to find words that fit the bizarre times. One message I received recently signed off with this line:

“I hope you are well and navigating all of the spasms and rhapsodies of these extraordinary times.”

Over lunch recently, one of my colleagues at Eleven went to find an email on her phone. She looked up and said “oh, I forgot, I took work email off my phone.” Her self-honoring choice gives others permission to rethink and redraw their own boundaries.

Courtney Buechert, Eleven’s CEO, returned yesterday from a family holiday in France. During our catch-up call, I noticed two things:

1. He looked visibly relaxed and was overflowing with vacation highlight stories
2. He commented that this was the first trip, maybe ever, when people didn’t interrupt his time off with “just thought you should know” calls, texts and emails

Oh, and one more thing while we’re on the topic of vacations: Goldman Sachs just made them mandatory.

GOLDMAN frigging SACHS.

Sabbaticals are up. Menstrual leave is a thing. Last week I attended a “Menopause in the Workplace” webinar and learned that menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace, making support for this transition an economic imperative. “The change” is ready for change.

The Company Line

What’s really got me convinced that “this time it’s different” is that changed behavior isn’t reserved for individuals. Companies are taking stands, making statements, changing policies and otherwise finally acting like somewhat-responsible world citizens.

The Cannes Advertising Festival is resuming next month and I decided to sit this one out. I asked a friend who’s a Managing Director if her agency was going. “Nope. We decided to save all the money we would have spent on award submissions and travel and send it to Ukraine.” 

Companies are supporting abortion rights and posting in solidarity with their employees’ civil rights. Three weeks ago, I posted this on LinkedIn:

Agencies + brands: if you profit off of women as consumers or employees, your silence this week will be noticed. Speak out on behalf of reproductive rights, donate to an abortion fund in one of the 29 states categorized as "not protected" or "hostile," and pledge to cover travel costs for employees seeking abortions.

Think twice about what you plan to post in support of Mother's Day this Sunday. Involve your employees in the discussion. Train your managers to recognize trauma response in their teams. Keep talking, even if it feels awkward.

#abortionrights

One commenter replied:

Seriously? I thought LinkedIn was for business purposes only. I can go on any other social media outlet to hear about this…why here?

To which I replied:

Employee safety and personal sovereignty do not abide by 9-5 hours.

There is no neat line dividing work and home.

Or work and politics.

Or work and climate.

Or work and health.

The common denominator in it all is our shared humanity.

Until next time, remember that culture is the new creativity.