Well-Being Tips from Audible’s Chief People Officer

Since she joined Audible in 2016 as Chief People Officer, Anne Erni has been passionate about building a workplace culture around inclusivity, community care, and well-being. Under her leadership, Erni’s People & Places team has developed a modern hybrid work model called Hub+Home that gives employees flexibility to do their best work, whether they’re collaborating at the office or focusing at home. The People & Places team continues to design and implement policies and communications that integrate wellness into our everyday work.

Here Erni shares ideas from her own well-being practice, which others may want to integrate into their own working days. “By committing to small, sustainable habits,” she says, “I remain on-task and productive without sacrificing my personal interests or my life outside of work. I believe that the little things we do consistently can have significant impact on our lives.”

Start the day with clarity: I exercise each morning to establish my energy and focus; some days, that means going to the gym, other days, it means a brisk walk. I also go through my “to do” list and carefully identify priority tasks and note upcoming deadlines.

Take a break: When I need a reset during the day, I get up and walk around. Often just stepping away to get a cup of coffee or tea renews my energy and concentration.

Embrace the power of routines: I am incredibly disciplined when it comes to routines. For example, before bed, I surround myself with the scent of lavender, have a cup of tea, and settle into the same ten-minute meditation to quiet the day’s distractions for a restful sleep.

Cultivate a growth mindset: I encourage autonomy on my team and entrust them to make informed, thoughtful decisions. In addition to celebrating what went well, I also want them to acknowledge and share the challenges and setbacks they faced so we can all learn and grow from them. I truly believe this perspective can fuel motivation and resilience.

Celebrate progress, not perfection: Lasting change is a journey, and we should all expect to stumble along the way. Rather than aspiring for perfection, we should lean into our People Principle, “Imagine and Invent Before They Ask”, which says: “To dream into the future on behalf of our customers and customers to come, we don’t fear failure. In fact, we celebrate the glorious failures that have accompanied our successes because of what we can learn from them. Innovations that can change the lives of millions of people begin as planted seeds that require several years of focus—we imagine without fear and we are patient and tenacious as we work to make our ideas real.”

Listen to learn: Building supportive relationships is incredibly important to me and I rely on them to challenge me, encourage me, and show me different ways of looking at things; I also expect that they will embrace my viewpoint when I do the same. By hearing not only what we say to each other, but also what we don’t say, we can help each other grow and provide invaluable encouragement and accountability.

As Erni says, “While these tasks may seem insignificant on their own, their power lies in consistency and repetition. Just as small investments can yield substantial returns over time, these positive habits work together for big results in productivity and well-being."

Suggested listen: Tiny Habits, by BJ Fogg, Ph.D, which has informed much of Erni’s practice