What Losing a Reading Contest Taught Me About Employee Experience

For the past two years, I’ve come in second place in our local library’s summer reading competition. My family jokes about my competitive streak, but I say that reading an average of four and a half hours a day for nearly two months is no joke, even if it is only good enough for second place.

Competitiveness and intensity have a role in the workplace, too. But so do the boundaries that people set around work, and what they choose to do when they’re not in the office. Here are a few of the signals HR needs to identify and understand to help your organization get the most out of your people.

Competition and Intensity Signals: How Employees Express Themselves

For me, reading is exciting. When I’ve had an afternoon to crush a book, I can feel that energy come into my life and I’m better for it.

HR professionals and other shared services employees are typically expected to smooth things over and build consensus at work — yet often have spikes of competition in their personal lives. When I worked at Apple, one of the most dynamic senior leaders was exceptionally kind and thoughtful, but when you asked her about her weekend triathlons, her face would instantly change as she talked about how her body was beaten to shreds from her latest race.

People need healthy outlets for competition and intensity, whether that’s sprinting to the end of a marathon or finishing reading your 10th murder mystery that month. HR doesn’t need to be out cheering at local races, but I do think we should be asking people about their passions, which can help us build stronger relationships and uncover valuable talents and skills that might otherwise remain hidden.

Boundary Signals: Are Employees Comfortable Bringing Their Whole Selves to Work?

In the work-life balance equation, where do people draw the line? While some of this depends on individual personalities and priorities, generational influence plays a role, too.

My daughters’ generation, who are just entering the workforce, is very comfortable only giving a portion of themselves to their job. I’ve seen this in the workplace and heard it from others, too — including a vendor whose 22-year-old son often schedules his time in the office around his weekly pickleball games.

The question isn’t necessarily, “Should these new employees be partitioning their lives?” Instead, consider how comfortable you are with employees who set these boundaries, and how you can work with them given their expectations. Employees still need to fulfill their work obligations, however you define those. But you can’t force people to care more about work than everything else, and trying to do so typically doesn’t end up well for anyone.

Analog Signals: How Employees Spend Their Time and Attention

While many people still spend time outside of work gaming, watching videos or doomscrolling, I’m also seeing more people actively seek distance from their screens. A lot of my daughter’s friends are having an “analog year,” spending countless hours on what we call “grandma activities” — crocheting a bag for a friend’s graduation present or learning how to fold a bouquet of perfect origami flowers. In fact, a March 2026 report from Michaels craft store found that searches for analog hobbies jumped 136% in the previous six months.

When you spend 50 hours looping yarn to make a single tote bag, that’s a very different experience than spending 50 hours swiping through an endless array of selfies and reels. It’s tactile. It requires your attention. And it often results in more meaningful experiences that make people feel better about how they’re spending their time.

Turn Signals Into Strategy

When you pay attention to what your employees are telling you (either directly or indirectly), you can develop strategies to deliver what they’re looking for. Here’s what I recommend.

Know Your People and Acknowledge What They Want

People perform better when you know them as people and understand what motivates them. If someone unplugs at five o’clock and spends the evening coaching their kids’ softball team, that very likely will drive interesting energy and attention in elements of their work life.

I’m not saying that managing employees is like coaching a team of 10-year-olds (although they both love free ice cream, in my experience). But one thing I love about these next generations is that they’re demanding some of this individual attention. As I wrote previously, “It’s your responsibility to understand not just what people do at work, but who they are in — and out — of the office.” They may have accepted the job, but now it’s your job to keep them here — not just by dangling carrots, but by making the workplace worthy of their attention, and recognizing that there’s a life outside of the cubicle.

Be Intentional with Language

If you’re talking to potential hires and employees about “bringing your whole self to work,” that might not resonate as well with people today. Newer generations especially may not have the same affinity for work that their parents and grandparents did, so we have to do some things differently.

Think about those boundary signals and how you might want to rework job descriptions, performance reviews and other language associated with the job. Instead of using language that asks people to give all of themselves, talk with them about being engaged and interested in their career development. Instead of using job descriptions to define people’s actions, focus on employees’ expected behavior and the impacts of their work. If this feels overwhelming, consider grouping employees through persona planning; it’s a good practice to ensure people have the digital tools they need based on their role — this works for communications strategies, too.

Foster Healthy Competition

Even if your employees aren’t running laps around the conference room, many of them are already competitive. I think it’s great to showcase healthy competition inside an organization, especially when everyone knows, at the end of the day, that we’re all working toward a similar goal.

Think about how you can use competition to help people find common ground and grow their skills. For example, Microsoft is gamifying Copilot use internally with games, reward-based challenges and a leaderboard. (Speaking of AI, be aware of some new competitive trends showing up with the rise of AI — including employees “competing” with AI for tasks and jobs.)

Finally, recognize there may be some differences for “boomerang” employees (who left for another job then came back to your company). Those who worked for a rival may bring a more competitive spirit when they return, which can be useful as long as it’s applied appropriately and isn’t the primary driving factor.

Create More Tactile Goals

The workplace is largely digital — but consider what analog (or analog-esque) opportunities you can offer. Doing something that feels tactile and delivers concrete results can help reset attention and serve as a mental palate cleanser.

For example, as my team is working on an internal newsletter right now, I’m overemphasizing the finish line. I want people to feel it and have that sense of accomplishment when we hit “publish,” largely because you don’t always get that these days given that so many endings in business are ambiguous.

While I’m still a bit salty about my second-place finish in my library’s reading competition, I’m definitely paying more attention now to how my colleagues compete, set boundaries and spend their out-of-work hours — and what it means for the workplace. Recognizing these signals can make you a better leader and highlight new opportunities to make your team even stronger.

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