Recent workplace studies indicate that over 60% of American workers plan to take significant professional steps in 2017 – whether that be finding a new job, negotiating a higher salary, or mastering a new skill.

January is the ideal time of year for employees to take a step back and determine if they’re happy with their career and working arrangements.

From the employer's side, it’s equally important that organizations take notice of their team’s new year's resolutions.

Keeping your employees engaged (and happy!) is key to retaining them in the long-term.


So how can you address the resolutions of your employees? We put together an employee New Year wish list!

1) Improved work-life balance

This tends to top the list of many employees in 2017. Consider allowing your team to work from home for even part of the time, or letting meetings be attended remotely rather than in person.

It’s becoming more common for organizations to offer flexible starting and ending times. This is easy to implement and monitor, and can be a cornerstone for improved work-life balance.

As well, managers and senior managers should be modelling the work-life balance they are encouraging for their employees. When a manager is constantly responding to emails as if they are in the office, it sends a powerful message to employees that this is expected – This should not be the case!

2) Learn a new skill

For a lot of people, a job can be mundane at times. Incorporating some professional development in the work week is an obvious solution for some employees. Today, there are tons of free educational content providers (Duolingo, Code academy, Lynda)

Find out what new skills your employees might be interested in learning, and let them carve out a couple hours of their work week to mastering them. If an employee wants to take a course or workshop outside of work, and it could help their performance, consider reimbursing them for it.

3) Be healthier

Given the stressful and hectic lives many of us lead, it’s no wonder that lifestyle and wellness goals resolutions are ever-popular.

A healthy lifestyle affects almost all other areas of our lives – i.e. sleep habits, ability to concentrate, and overall happiness.


Creating a healthy work environment for your employees is mutually benefical for both you and your team. The better your employees feel, the better their performance!

Easy options include helping your employees pay for a gym membership by giving a monthly allowance, or organizing a team activity off-site.

Learn more about creating workplace wellness programs in this helpful article!

Creating goals is important, but your team will also need a way to ensure that their resolutions are realistic and measurable. Check out one of our free resources below!