3 Essential Ways Of Showing Your Employees You Care

Julie Starr • March 2, 2021



It’s become increasingly clear in recent years that for many Americans – and for people across the world – the question of work-life balance has tilted a long way towards the former. Long hours, long commutes, and short weekends, along with the intrusion of technology into more corners of our lives, mean that even the most benign of jobs can become stressful when you’re “on call”, and it can affect well-being and eventually work performance.

As an employer , it is tricky to get the balance right. You yourself have duties that you need to discharge, and it is essential that you can rely on those who you manage to discharge theirs. For many people, the only reasonable approach would be to “crack the whip” a little and become a disciplinarian – but this has a tendency to achieve the opposite result from that which you’d appreciate. Below, we look at a few ways you can do the opposite – gaining the commitment of your employees while showing you care about their well-being.

Be open to different ideas about working patterns

If you had no prior knowledge on the matter, and someone suggested to you that changing a five-day working week down to four days would be a good idea, you might reasonably smirk. Losing a whole day of productivity would surely be ruinous? Well, studies suggest that in some cases it can actually boost productivity to change to a four-day week. A more rested, less drained workforce with a more focused working plan can get more done, if it’s what they want. Be prepared to listen to and, if possible, accommodate different rota plans; they can work wonders for employee motivation.

In addition, you can also be more open-minded about daily operations by encouraging the use of technology. For example, utilizing workforce automation software will not only free up more time for your employees but also eliminate many unnecessary mistakes, ensuring everyone can get along with their work and be as productive as possible. This software is only the tip of the iceberg regarding how you can make life easier for your employees with technology, and it will greatly benefit your business as well!

Go for the carrot more than the stick

There is a widespread impression that the best rulers have all ruled by fear and that if you want results, you’d do well to model yourself on them. Other minds argue that while this approach may work when you’re trying to build a military empire that stretches from Greece to Asia , it is less clear how well-suited it is to managing a team of sales professionals. If you incentivize your employees with free food and gifted holidays from the likes of MTI Events , they’ll be inclined to work harder and be grateful. That’s much better than them being terrified of making a mistake. Also, consider incentivizing with sustainable work opportunities like a “ green team.” 

Don’t try to be their friend; be their coach

While the first two ideas here have been about being generous and kind to employees, the final point is important from a point of view of hierarchy. As a boss, your job is not to be the friend of your employees. Let’s be clear, this doesn’t mean you can’t be friend ly . You can talk about sports with them, or be a listening ear if they have problems at home. But you are paid to improve their work outcomes, not their life. If you do your part, you’ll make their life better in an important area anyway. Be a coach to them, find their motivations, and work on those. Friendship may arise as a side benefit of this, but it isn’t the priority.

If you care about your employees, the best way of showing this is by making it easier for them to do their jobs well. Interpersonal relationships can grow in time, but being a caring boss is more important than being a fun friend.

Greener Clicks: How to Reduce Your Environmental Impact with Sustainable Digital Marketing

By Julie Starr • March 31, 2025
In the race to decarbonize our world, one area often overlooked is digital marketing. While it might seem inherently clean compared to print or physical campaigns, our online activities have a real and measurable environmental footprint. From servers powering your website to emails filling up inboxes, every click, stream, and scroll contributes to carbon emissions. At Taiga Company, we believe digital strategies can be powerful and low-impact. Here’s how to get started. Optimize for a Low-Carbon Web Why it matters: Websites and digital ads are hosted on servers that consume electricity, often powered by fossil fuels. Every time a user loads your site or ad, it uses energy. How to reduce your impact: Host green: Choose web hosts that use renewable energy or offset emissions. Clean up your code: Streamlined, efficient code reduces load times and energy use. Compress and reduce images: Smaller files mean faster pages and fewer emissions. Limit heavy media: Videos and animations are carbon-intensive; use them mindfully. A faster, leaner website isn’t just better for the planet—it also boosts SEO and user experience. Email Marketing with Intention Why it matters: Every email sent, received, and stored requires energy. Multiply that by millions of sends, and the impact adds up. How to reduce your impact: Clean your lists: Remove inactive subscribers to avoid waste. Segment wisely: Only send emails to those who will truly benefit. Use plain-text when possible: It’s lower in data and often more accessible. Reduce frequency: Send fewer, higher-quality emails with genuine value. Intentional emailing reduces not only emissions but also improves deliverability and engagement. Sustainable SEO and Content Strategy Why it matters: Search engines crawl, index, and serve up billions of web pages daily. Thoughtless content and bloated sites add to the load. How to reduce your impact: Create evergreen content: Focus on high-quality pages that stay relevant longer. Streamline your site structure: Fewer clicks to find content = less energy use. Use minimal plugins and scripts: Especially ones that load on every page. Green your CMS: Some content management systems are more resource-efficient than others. Sustainable SEO isn’t just eco-friendly—it’s good strategy. Fewer, better pieces often perform better than content mills. Rethink Marketing Automation Why it matters: Automated emails, ads, and data syncing can create a lot of digital clutter. That clutter eats up storage and energy. How to reduce your impact: Audit regularly: Retire old workflows and outdated automations. Optimize syncing: Reduce how often and how much data is transferred. Segment with purpose: Better targeting means fewer wasted sends. Use expiration dates: Don’t let outdated content or assets live forever. Efficient automation can reduce emissions and improve performance. Digital marketing isn’t going away—and it shouldn’t. It offers powerful tools for connection, education, and growth. But like all tools, it can be used more sustainably. At Taiga Company, we’re committed to helping organizations lower their environmental impact without sacrificing reach or results. Sustainable digital marketing is not only possible; it’s essential. Ready to make your marketing aligned with your company's corporate sustainability plan? Let’s start the conversation.

World Water Day 2025: How Beverage Brands Are Leading on Water—and Why Communicating It Matters

By Julie Starr • March 24, 2025
At Taiga Company, we work alongside brands who are not only doing the hard work of sustainability—but are learning how to talk about it in ways that connect with their stakeholders. This World Water Day , we’re reflecting on how leading beverage companies are advancing bold water stewardship goals and communicating those efforts clearly, thoughtfully, and strategically across digital platforms. Water is foundational to the beverage industry. From ingredient sourcing to packaging to community health, it’s a resource that demands attention—not just in terms of conservation, but in terms of how that commitment is shared with consumers, investors, regulators, and partners. Below, we’re highlighting three beverage companies whose recent water stewardship actions—and storytelling—stood out. PepsiCo: From Field to Community, Global Water Replenishment in Action PepsiCo launched 16 new water replenishment projects across nine countries in 2024 alone, restoring more than 1.7 billion liters of water to local ecosystems. These projects are practical and people-centered—ranging from irrigation efficiency in Texas to sustainable farming practices in the Dominican Republic. What stood out: clear project data, human-focused storytelling, and alignment with global frameworks. PepsiCo’s water webpage provides easy access to targets, progress updates, and case studies, helping stakeholders understand both the “why” and the “how.” Suntory Global Spirits: Water at the Heart of the Brand Suntory’s brands—from Maker’s Mark in Kentucky to Yamazaki in Japan—share a common origin: water. The company’s commitment to being net water positive by 2050 isn’t just a corporate goal—it’s integrated into brand storytelling, on-site conservation efforts, and supplier engagement. Their message is rooted in authenticity: water isn’t just an operational input, it’s an essential ingredient in their identity. Learn more on Suntory’s efforts via their LinkedIn post . Asahi Group Holdings: Building Local Water Resilience Together In the Netherlands, Asahi’s Koninklijke Grolsch partnered with stakeholders in the Twente region to develop a local water platform focused on reducing consumption and innovating wastewater reuse. This goes beyond operational efficiency—it’s about building water resilience within a shared ecosystem. Their community-first framing and long-term investment approach were key themes in this post . Why This Matters At Taiga Company, we believe that sustainability actions only go as far as their ability to be understood, felt, and trusted. Communicating water stewardship isn’t just about reporting metrics or sharing photos of wetlands (although both can help). It’s about giving stakeholders the context they need to see a company’s values in motion—clear commitments, thoughtful execution, and measurable impact.  If your team is evolving its water strategy—or simply looking for better ways to communicate what you're already doing—we’d love to be part of that conversation.
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