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It can be tempting for business leaders to overly rely on data to drive their decision-making. But so often that approach can sacrifice the human connection that’s needed between leaders and their employees and customers. At Fast Companys annual Impact Council meeting last week, Elyse Cohen, chief impact officer of the Selena Gomez-founded beauty brand Rare Beauty; and David Ko, CEO of mental health and sleep assistance platform Calm, took to the stage to discuss why leading like a human is so important, particularly at a time of striking technological advancement. Data-driven human connection Although Calm leverages AI, the company predominantly uses those capabilities to democratize access to its app, which includes guided meditations, bedtime stories and soundscapes, and video lessons for movement and stretching. According to Ko, Calm is using AI to translate these features into other languages, expand content options, and increase peoples comfort levels with the technology. Ko wants to employ what he calls human-centered AI, which puts the user at the center of data insights. We want to use the data to continue to evolve, to make the product better, so that ultimately we can make you healthier and be with you in your mental health journey every step of the way, Ko said. For Cohen, AI plays a limited role in her day-to-day operations. Rather the data she looks to comes from robust customer interactions and feedback, which, in large part, stems from the company putting mental health advocacy at the core of their business from day one. We didn’t anticipate a community like this. It really was launching this company at a time when a global pandemic was happening. Our audience was experiencing more loneliness than ever. And so by default, we created these virtual ways to connect, which then turned into this powerful community, she said. As the brand grew, it became quite clear that our community was the heart and soul of this brand. Letting Gen Z lead Many of the lessons that Cohen and Ko have learned from their customers and employees about human connection comes from younger generations, who appreciate transparency in the workplace and want to see their values reflected in the brands they work for or spend money on. The way everyone is so open about a therapy appointment, or being stressed, it’s not the same moment of hiding those feelings, Cohen said. It’s a lot more of wearing them on your sleeve and opening up the conversation for a leader to then ask how they areand they will tell you. As important as it is to allow employees to be open about their mental health in the workplace, Cohen also noted that it’s important for company leaders to engage with “kitchen conversations” across the board with their employees. “When it comes to the personal part of their life, that’s where they’re open and willing to talk and wanting to talk,” Cohen said. “I could tell you every employee that went to Coachella.”To Cohen, it’s about understanding “the whole person” and who they’re showing up to work as. Our employees come to the office ready to talk and ready to actually share, she said. Making mental health conversations company-wide Cultivating an environment where people feel like theyre actually being listened to can create space for vulnerable conversations, which build trust and are crucial to companies that create products and build communities centered around mental well-being. For Calm and Rare Beauty, that ethos originates at the internal level. Ko said that hes dealt with panic attacks since the age of 14, but he didnt start to think about how his own mental health impacted the environments he worked inincluding, initially, at Calmuntil later in life. What I started to do was to open up dialogue around [my mental health], show my own vulnerability and talk about what I have been through, he said. If we really want to have conversations around mental health and the workplace, it’s got to be supported at all levels. If the conversation is just for HR [and] the benefit managers, it’s not enough. Cohen agreed that the tone company leaders set permeates the business as a whole. I think we forget that it’s how we show up every day,” Cohen said. “We can bring in every benefit we want. We can say that we focus on mental health. But it is truly how a leader shows up that creates the culture, and it’s the full ripple effect because it’s what everyone is following.”
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E-Commerce
Common personal care and beauty products like lotions, soaps, shampoos, eyeliner, and even eyelash glue can contain formaldehyde or preservatives that release formaldehydea known carcinogen that has been linked to cancer. And Black and Latina women could be at particular risk. Formaldehyde is a preservative (its a key ingredient of embalming fluid) and so its sometimes added to beauty products as a way to extend their shelf life and inhibit the growth of bacteria or mold. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are seen as an alternative to formaldehyde, but these chemical compounds do the same thing: they extend shelf life while slowly releasing formaldehyde into the product over time (just how much depends on multiple factors, but studies suggest longer storage times and higher temperatures lead to more formaldehyde released). That formaldehyde could then be absorbed by the skin, and even though the amount may be small, experts say low levels of formaldehyde still pose health risks. Personal care products are often used frequently, so repeated exposures could add up. These chemicals have already been found in hair-straightening products, which are predominantly used by Black women. A new study, recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, found that this risk extends beyond chemical hair relaxers to all sorts of beauty products: lotions, shower gels, face creams, shampoo and conditioners, hair oils, eyeliner, eyelash glue, and so on. In that study, researchers asked a group of Black and Latina women in Los Angeles about their use of personal care products over a week. More than half reported using items that contain formaldehyde-releasing preservativesand many of those products are ones that the participants used daily, or multiple times in a week. Finding formaldehyde in beauty products For the study, 64 Black and Latina women were tasked with tracking all of their beauty product use, logging the information in an app developed by the Silent Spring Institute, a research organization focused on the environmental causes of breast cancer. (Silent Spring chemists authored the study, and it was part of a larger research effort between Silent Spring, Occidental College Black Women for Wellness, and Columbia University.) That app also asked them to take a photo of each ingredient label, which allowed the researchers to analyze the ingredient lists for formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives often go by complex chemical names like 1,3-dimethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoin, also called DMDM hydantoin or DMDMH, meaning they dont actually appear as formaldehyde on ingredient lists. Fifty-three percent of participants said they used at least one product with formaldehyde releasers on its ingredient label, and DMDMH was the most common. Of the items that contained any formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, DMDMH was in 47% of skincare and 58% of hair products. The fact that these toxic chemicals are in so many products highlights the health risks women face, particularly Black and Latina women. One woman in the study used three products with formaldehyde-releasing preservatives: a leave-in conditioner, rinse-off conditioner, and a body wash. Some women used these products multiple times a day, like hand soap or lotion. Over a five day period, 20 study participants used lotions with formaldehyde-releasing preservatives for a total of 76 times. One eyelash glue even specifically listed formaldehyde as an ingredient. The preservatives were also found in hair gels, oils, curl creams, and edge controls, predominantly used by Black women. The study didnt list specific brands or product names containing formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, though it did note that 12 such lotions were from Bath & Body Works. While this study does not specify which of body lotions its participants were using, we rigorously test formulas for all our personal care and home fragrance products, including FRPs to meet regulatory and safety standards, a Bath & Body Works spokesperson said in a statement. Protecting consumers from formaldehyde releasers Formaldehyde exposure is linked to adverse health effects, including increased risk of multiple types of cancer. Researchers say theres been a growing concern about formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, and how personal care products that contain them could pose a risk to women’s health, particularly Black and Latina women. Previous studies have connected the use of hair relaxers to an increased risk of uterine cancer in Black women. Others say these formaldehyde-releasing chemicals arent a concern. Unilever, for example, has a web page about how it doesn’t use formaldehyde as an ingredient but does use formaldehyde donors like DMDMH. It says they’re safe to use, per the U.S. Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel and Europes Scientific Community on Consumer Safety. Still, in Europe, products with formaldehyde are more regulated. The European Union has banned formaldehyde in cosmetics, and requires any cosmetics with formaldehyde releasers above a 0.001% concentration to have a warning label. The U.S. currently doesn’t ban formaldehyde in cosmetics (a federal ban on formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers in chemical hair straighteners was considered back in 2023, and is currently stalled after President Donald Trump paused all federal regulations). At least 10 states, including California and Oregon, have enacted or considered laws to regulate formaldehyde in cosmeticseither by banning it, or requiring warning labels for formaldehyde releasers. There has been a drop in products containing formaldehyde in California after the state’s Safe Cosmetics Program began in 2007, but experts say even beyond warning labels, banning formaldehyde releasers completely across the country would be the best-case scenario to reduce risks. The researchers suggest people avoid products containing DMDMH. Silent Spring has resources for how people can avoid formaldehyde releasers, including by noting the other chemical names for such preservatives that may appear on ingredient lists. Black Women for Wellness also has resources for consumers concerned about chemical exposure. Were trying to do the right thing, Janette Robinson Flint, executive director of Black Women for Wellness, says in a statement. But there needs to be more government oversight. We shouldnt have to be chemists to figure out what kinds of products will make us sick.
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E-Commerce
In large organizations, HR usually has a process for documenting concerns about employees effectiveness that can be used either to help fix those problemsor to provide a basis for later termination. One of the central records used for this purpose is the dreaded performance improvement plan, or PIP. If you get called in to see your supervisor and get hit with a PIP, youre likely to experience a range of emotions. Understanding your emotional reaction and how to cope with it is an important part of moving forward successfully. Lets consider a range of emotions you might be experiencing and what you should do: Feeling Grief One possibility is that the PIP comes out of the blue. You may be thinking that work is going fine and you suddenly find out that there are concerns. Because work is often an important part of both your identity and your ability to maintain your life and lifestyle, it represents a tear in the fabric of your life story. And that will trigger a grief process. The five stages of grief described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) dont necessarily have to happen in that order, but you should recognize that they may accompany the news that you are struggling in your job. You have to resist the urge to act on the basis of these emotions. If you get angry, you should not lash out at your bosses or the organization in email or on social media. If you feel like bargaining, take a beat, and avoid making promises that you will regret later. Instead, give yourself a few days to reflect on the situation. Were you dismissing warning signs about your performance? Are there elements of your job that you have been ignoring? Do you think the organization is looking for a way to show you the exit? After that reflection, schedule a meeting with your supervisor to talk over the situation. In preparation for that session, make a realistic plan for how you will address issues discussed in your PIP. Develop a list of questions you have about the path forward. Wait to schedule that meeting for a time when you feel that you can really hear the answers to your questions. Feeling Relief Perhaps surprisingly, you may find that the PIP brings with it a feeling of relief. You may have been struggling to complete your job responsibilities. Perhaps you feel that youre in over your head. You might even hate your job, but were soldiering on by inertia. If the PIP brings a feeling of relief, it’s probably time to look for a new job. The feelings youre having are helping you see that you can have a more fulfilling work life by changing paths. Make a list of the things you really like about your job, as well as those you dont. Think about the characteristics of a job that would be appealing. Consider talking with your supervisor or someone in HR about alternative paths. Often, your supervisor wants you to be successfuleven if that success means that you should be working elsewhere. They may have great suggestions about a role that would best suit your talents. Feeling Clarity Sometimesparticularly early in your careeryou have a nagging sense that there is something wrong at work. Youre doing your work as well as you can, but feel like youre missing something. You may have the sense that everyone else is working from a different version of the script than you are. In this case, the PIP may actually help to clarify what is going wrong. This can happen when you have a supervisor who is not good at providing regular feedback and coaching. In this situation, you can really dive into the PIP (after taking a day or two to see this as an opportunity, rather than a punishment). Sit down with your supervisor and other team members and talk about the elements of your performance that have raised concern. Ask about training and classes you can take to improve your performance. Find a peer who is good at these tasks and ask for some mentorship. The people who emerge most strongly from a PIP are those who embrace the opportunity for growth and lean into the chance to improve skills. As this process moves forward, talk with your supervisor about how to get more timely feedback on your performance. This conversation is likely to help you improve, and may also provide some feedback to your supervisor that can lead to their growth as well.
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E-Commerce
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