Four Freedoms

Last fall, the Harvard Business Review ran an interesting article by Laura Morgan Roberts, an organizational psychologist and professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

In the article, she shared her thoughts on how organizations can “create the conditions to allow employees to flourish.” Based on her research in the areas of positive psychology, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion, she says that people need these four freedoms to feel rewarded and validated.

Further, when employees are given these freedoms, they are better able to bring their whole selves and their full humanity to work. I was struck by how simple yet incredibly profound they are at the same time.

The Four Freedoms are:

• Freedom to be—the freedom to bring our authentic selves to the workplace.

• Freedom to become—the ability to improve our best selves and our work situations.

• Freedom to fade—the ability to periodically, when needed, take a step back or take time away to recharge.

• Freedom to fail—the opportunity for a “second chance” after having made a mistake.

Morgan Roberts adds in her article that these freedoms play a special role in the lives of marginalized staff members. People of color, women, people with physical disabilities, and those with mental health challenges may struggle to be seen. Focusing on these freedoms can have a positive impact on their lives and their careers.

In the real world, not every workplace has the opportunity to offer all of these freedoms to its staff members, but what if we could? What difference would it make in the lives of your employees if you just focused on one or two of these freedoms?

I thought about the freedom to become. How powerful it could be to say to a new hire, or even a prospective hire, that we want to provide you with the freedom to learn and grow, and we will provide you with as many resources as possible so that you can refine your skills and/or learn new ones.

And, how about a manager telling a staff member that we value your wellbeing, so we want you to block time on your calendar for quiet reflection, and we will do our best to protect that time so you can get the peace you need during the day. Take that one step further. What if a new hire heard, right from the beginning of their relationship with your organization, that their wellbeing was a priority for the organization, and that you are expected and encouraged to use your PTO to recharge?

While these freedoms may not be something you post on your walls, how about using them as a framework to examine how you treat your staff members? We can all up our game by thinking about the four freedoms.