Solidarity in the workplace: a guide

Why is solidarity important?

Allowing employees to be supportive is important for several reasons. We have identified four essential ones:

• First, it strengthens bonds between employees. Solidarity helps to build stronger interpersonal relationships within teams. It establishes a climate of trust and encourages mutual assistance, creating a strong sense of belonging and unity among collaborators.
• Second, it improves the working environment. By reducing tensions and promoting collaboration, solidarity helps to create a harmonious work atmosphere. This positive environment also helps to reduce stress and conflict, making the workplace more enjoyable for everyone.
• Third, it increases productivity. When teams collaborate in a supportive manner, they easily share their skills and efforts. This synergy enhances overall efficiency, allows for quicker problem-solving, and reinforces the capacity to achieve common goals.
• Finally, it has a real impact on the company’s attractiveness. A company that emphasizes solidarity values strengthens its image with potential candidates. This attracts talent motivated by a compassionate work environment and encourages them to remain within the company, thus promoting employee retention.

In practice, how do we do it?

Solidarity in the workplace is twofold.

• Internally, it involves the idea that employees support each other in accomplishing their tasks, facing professional or personal challenges. This can include helping out during busy times, cross-team collaboration, or providing emotional support during personal difficulties. This is the principle of collegiality.
• Externally, it can extend to actions of solidarity towards social or environmental causes, such as sponsorship, fundraising, or volunteer days.

Implementing solidarity actions within a company is not always straightforward. Many questions may arise depending on the company’s size, resources, opportunities, or sector of activity. Here are six different and complementary areas to explore in order to better understand what can be done.

1. Promote a culture of solidarity

Developing a clear vision and company values that highlight mutual assistance and respect is essential. This involves concrete actions such as regular recognition of supportive gestures among colleagues. For example, employees who help each other manage significant workloads can be highlighted during meetings or symbolically rewarded. These initiatives foster a spirit of camaraderie and encourage others to adopt the same behavior.

2. Facilitate communication

Fluid and accessible communication is the foundation of a supportive company. It is relevant to create spaces or dedicated times for exchanges between colleagues. Informal meetings, discussion groups, or online collaboration platforms (like Slack, Teams, or Workplace) can facilitate interactions and quickly resolve misunderstandings. Good communication allows everyone to feel heard and supported.

3. Encourage mutual assistance

Mutual assistance can be strengthened through specific programs like mentorship, where experienced employees guide new collaborators. Similarly, group problem-solving workshops or collaborative projects offer opportunities to pool skills and knowledge. These actions not only improve performance but also enhance team cohesion.

4. Develop external solidarity initiatives

Solidarity is not limited to the walls of the company. By encouraging employees to participate in CSR projects (Corporate Social Responsibility), the company demonstrates its commitment to society. For instance, organizing collections for charities, allowing employees to volunteer during work hours, or investing in local causes reinforces team spirit.

5. Train managers

Managers play a crucial role in promoting solidarity within the company. By acting as role models, they can lead by example through their own behavior: helping a struggling employee, valuing collective successes, or ensuring that everyone finds their place. They can also encourage personal commitment to a cause, ideally being involved in the associative world themselves.

6. Implement support tools

The implementation of tangible tools to support employees reinforces the feeling of solidarity. This can include internal solidarity funds to help employees in tough times, psychological or legal assistance programs, or solidarity leave systems allowing employees to donate days off to those in need.

Some concrete examples

Here are some concrete examples of actions taken by companies to support social causes while engaging their employees.

1. Corporate volunteer days

Salesforce offers each employee 56 hours of paid volunteering per year to support social causes. Employees can use this time for activities like food drives, mentoring, or park clean-ups. At Edenred, during Ideal Day events, the company’s 12,000 employees dedicate their time to support local communities.

2. Skills sponsorship

Through the “Orange Solidarity” program, employees of Orange offer their technical skills to associations to train people excluded from digital access. Deloitte hosts “Impact Days” where its consultants provide their skills in strategy, finance, or communication to NGOs for free.

3. Solidarity collections and donations

Carrefour regularly organizes food collections in partnership with food banks. Employees participate by helping sort and distribute donations. Decathlon runs collections of used sports equipment to redistribute to local sports associations.

4. Mentoring and sponsorship programs

LinkedIn has established a mentoring program where employees help job seekers from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their LinkedIn profiles and prepare for interviews. AXA offers sponsorship programs to assist young individuals from underprivileged neighborhoods in finding internships or entering the professional world.

5. Commitment to specific social projects

Patagonia encourages its employees to take time off (without salary impact) to support environmental and social projects, such as reforestation or protecting endangered species. IKEA collaborates with NGOs to employ refugees in certain countries and helps its employees participate in these projects as mentors.

6. Support for local initiatives

Starbucks regularly organizes support actions for the homeless, where employees participate by distributing coffee or meals.

The figure: 4,000

The average amounts allocated to financial sponsorship are around €4,000 for micro-enterprises, €10,000 for SMEs, and €15,000 for large companies.

Zoom:

Since 2016, Edenred has organized Ideal Day, a global solidarity day during which the 12,000 collaborators of the Group, in the 45 countries where we are present, mobilize to support local actions or associations.