Page 89 of The Life Experiment
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
‘Layla, are you in there?’ Michelle’s voice rang from the hallway.
‘She is,’ Rashida confirmed.
Stepping into the bathroom, Michelle eyed Layla’s nervous expression. ‘I thought I saw you dash in here,’ she said before turning to Rashida and Sinead. ‘Would you mind giving us a moment?’
Nodding, Rashida and Sinead headed for the door, but not without giving Layla a thumbs up first.
When the door had swung shut behind them, Michelle approached the sink and started to tidy Layla’s makeup away. ‘I’m not going to ask if you’re ready for this, but I am going to tell you you’re ready. I want you to tell yourself that too. The way we speak to ourselves has more power than we realise. So, assure yourself that in a few minutes we are going to go into that boardroom, and we are going to be heard.’
‘But what if the Senior Partners don’t listen?’ Layla asked, raking her teeth over her bottom lip.
‘It’s our job to make them listen. Now, come on. Let’s make today one that will go down in Mayweather & Halliwell history.’
With that encouragement flowing through her, Layla followed Michelle out of the bathroom and across the office. Every eye was on them, but Layla didn’t flinch from the scrutiny. Instead, she ordered herself to stride on like she was completely in control.
Together, the women headed to the top floor meeting room where the Senior Partners were waiting.
‘Michelle, Layla,’ each said as they shook their hands.
As Layla returned their greetings, she tried not to think of how much power was in the room. Or how as fast as those men could shake her hand, they could also fire her.
Then, when all the greetings were done, it was time to begin.
Michelle spoke first, as rehearsed. She ran through their presentation, giving an overview of her career and the challenges she had faced along the way. The partners appeared to be listening, but it was when Michelle ran through statistics about Mayweather & Halliwell’s employment and promotion history that they really paid attention.By the time Michelle presented the low scores generated from a well-being and satisfaction survey Layla had sent to all staff, the Senior Partners were hooked.
‘Gentlemen, none of this should come as a shock,’ Michelle said, ‘but it should be a call to action. From the evidence presented, we can see firsthand that inequality exists within this company, and that it greatly impacts the staff we claim to value. But it doesn’t have to be like this. We can change it, and improve not just our company culture, but our output too.
‘To speak more on that, I’m going to pass over to Layla. Many of you have had the privilege of working with her. You’ll know firsthand how much Layla’s passion, dedication and undeniable talent brings to Mayweather & Halliwell. Layla, over to you.’
As Michelle took a seat, Layla stepped forward. She eyed the long boardroom desk and the grey-haired, suited men who sat around it. Their expressions were stoic, their gazes sharp. Suddenly, Layla felt smaller than ever.
As her wide eyes roamed around the room, Wallace Horton nodded encouragingly at her. A Senior Partner she had worked with before, Wallace was firm but fair, tough but adaptable. And now there he was, nudging Layla to go for it.
‘Mayweather & Halliwell is one of the most prestigious law firms in the UK,’ she began. ‘It attracts elite clientele and the most promising, results-driven staff. However, as Michelle pointed out, almost two thirds of employees are considering leaving the company in the next six months. They listed a poor work–life balance, lack of communication and an unfair hierarchy as the main reasons for this. These are all things that Mayweather & Halliwell has the power to change. Choosing not to will only lead to one thing: the talent pool we train moving to our competitors. The figures Michelle presented show that this has been happening at an increasing rate. This means our competitors are profiting directly from the state of our culture.’
A few of the Senior Partners leaned closer, their interest piqued.
‘While getting ahead of our competitors is a compelling reason to implement change, there are other reasons for focusing on employee wellbeing,’ Layla said, settling into the rhythm of her speech now. ‘Would anyone like to guess what they could be?’
‘Productivity?’ someone called out.
‘Growth?’ someone else suggested.
‘Absolutely, both outcomes can be achieved by improving staff wellbeing,’ Layla replied. ‘Another reason is that it’s better for people’s health. Creating a healthy workforce is in your interest. After all, long-term sick leave directly impacts the bottom line. Does anyone know what one of the leading causes for health-related leave is?’
Layla looked around the room, taking in the number of shaking heads.
‘It’s stress,’ she said.
A low, knowing chuckle rang out, but Layla didn’t find it funny anymore. She hadn’t since the day Saira handed her that envelope.
‘Stress is killing us day by day. It shouldn’t be that way. No one goes into a career in law expecting it to be easy. None of us are ill-prepared for hard work, but over two thirds of staff report feeling stress at a level that affects their eating and sleeping habits, as well as their personal relationships. This must change.’
There was a strain to Layla’s voice as she spoke. Everything she had squashed down, all the anger and animosity she felt towards this place, bubbled to the surface, ready to burst free should her voice not be heard.
So make it heard.
