Well-being and work, an inseparable pairing

June
2, 2021

4 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When making a decision, it is difficult to be clear about what the results will be. Forced by the environment, thousands of companies and collaborators saw in the home office The opportunity to continue operating, however, precisely because it was the only option, boundaries of space and time were erased in an environment of high uncertainty -which unlike other moments in our lives- has persisted for much longer than we expected.

Precisely this uncertainty has given rise to make visible the impact of the lack of a wellness agenda in our lives , which can be from 5 minutes of meditation , yoga sessions, classes with personal trainers, healthy recipes, or functional classes online. And therefore, this opened not only the discussion about it; also for the authorities to strengthen legislative changes so that the pairing of health and work is not a dilemma, but a comprehensive vision.

The positive impact of having a wellness-focused work environment is increasingly well documented. In strictly human resources terms, there is an increase in productivity, less turnover and a lower rate of absenteeism, and it is noticeable in very specific aspects, such as less use of health insurance, for example.

Although it seems like a simple path, we have detected some friction as companies take their first steps towards adopting the culture of well-being. The main ones are:

1. Confuse health with well-being . We tend to think of health as the result of two specific activities: good nutrition and exercise, when the focus is broader and that is why we need to think about well-being, which encompasses four dimensions: mental health, emotional health, financial health and health. physical.
2. Take general approaches: The most disruptive companies in the management of human resources have provided us with new visions about the motivation of people and make it clear that rigid schemes where the same benefit applies to all are insufficient. Our closest example is the home office: someone who already had a dedicated space at home to work is not the same as someone who had never contemplated it; who has young children to support with schoolwork or those homes where they suffered some job or personal loss.
3. “We want to change but… not so much”: Perhaps one of the main barriers that companies face is the fear of introducing changes that will make them “lose control”. The most notorious example were those companies that offered the option of home office with a lower salary or without giving employees the right to disconnect. It is necessary to rethink whether the way of operating is focused on the hours that employees spend in front of a computer or the objectives achieved, because the truth is that long working hours have not made any company more productive and it does have a negative impact, with more anxious and tired employees, with no interest in promoting new ideas or adding greater value to the company.

Change is a constant and non-linear process. It is probable that there is still hope of returning to a much more traditional work scheme when there is already a profound change where work well-being has a special recognition.

Companies that have adopted and adapted this approach know that they are consolidating in the new environment, as they will not only be the first option to attract talent, they will also be better prepared to be more resilient, efficient, agile and innovative.