Wellbeing As A New Opportunity And Positive Change In 2022

Written by: Nikolett Huszák, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

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Well-being is the essence of human life. It means when people are feeling good and functioning well.

It’s not just a trendy word in 2022 but the word which will shape the future of the organizations. Well-being is about how people think, live, and work. It’s a lifestyle including the way of thinking, inner motivation, inspiration, transformation, and capability to connect to others.

In November one of my articles was about the importance of people within organizations. In that article one of the five strategic priorities was emphasized that will shape the future of HR, is employee well-being.

Actually, the situation has not been changed a lot compared to 2021 as the pandemic is not yet ended but we learned how to live and work despite being constantly changing and challenging.

However global vaccination rates show increasing numbers, we still need to face social, emotional, economical challenges to manage in 2022.

In Gallup's article, it’s mentioned that „the economy saw record-high quit rates as employees left their jobs, especially in the retail, foodservice and hospitality industries. This "Great Resignation" led many to reconsider the nature of modern work and the changing expectations of today's employees.”

One of the key areas where transformation would be needed is the Future Workplace as „employees have found their collective voice and they are asking for more from those who lead them.”

What are the 5 fundamental elements of creating a wellbeing-focused organization?

1. Psychological safety

2. Adaptive company culture

3. Open-minded top leaders

4. Wellbeing as a strategical pillar

5. Readiness for change & transform

Once you have the above-mentioned elements, the Wellbeing project team needs to collect information from the employees and ask questions about their well-being state. Will they give true and honest answers? In case the company has a healthy company culture where psychological safety is also a priority, they will give those answers which can support wellbeing strategy, company culture, effectiveness, productivity, and also the community to be built further. Creating balanced company culture would need a balanced worker-employer relationship. ’If we’re not a family, what are we?’ – this question was asked in this Deloitte article.

OECD also says that together we create better policies for better lives. Creating and establishing your and your organization’s well-being means that you can live a better life. Actually, it’s not a new approach, they already defined its importance in 1948. Since 2020 we can feel ever better how essential and actual this perspective taking into account that the pandemic situation impacted all areas of the economy and also the daily life of human beings who runs the economy.

After doing my research I discovered that some of the international companies have a wellbeing strategy and there’s no doubt that their commitment towards their employees is strong enough.

’Take care of your employees. They’ll take care of your business.’ – Richard Branson says. One of the good examples is Virgin Pulse which was established in 2004 within the Virgin Group. They realized that their people are their top priority and they need to invest their wellbeing to build a strong, supportive company culture and help them create a happier and healthier life.

Another great example is IBM which has also established its Wellbeing team under the HR department.

They defined 5 Dimensions of Health that affect the key areas of life including the following.

1. Physical – physical workout and conscious eating habits

2. Mind – different tools for reducing stress and anxiety

3. Social – life-work balance, friendships, and making connections

4. Financial – planning future

5. Purpose – align the values with life and work

Based on the research of John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health other examples are shown how creating a Culture of Wellbeing can contribute to the business results.

Stories by executives, program managers, line workers are shared which are not just stories but demonstrated by results and hard data as proof that health promotion programs are not just good for workers but good for the business.

Nextjump is a successful e-commerce company with its philosophy ’Better me+Better you=Better us’. By changing the company culture amazing business results can be achieved. They provide health & nutrition programs, a health & wellness team that support employees to manage their energy. Encourage break during the working hours as the gym is in the workplace, with the available healthy fruits and snacks. Due to this program, their sales growth increased 30% each year and in the previous years, it jumped to 120%. ’It works.’ – says Mr. Charlie Kim, Founder, and CEO of NextJump.

8 Benefits of having a Wellbeing focused organization?

1. Less fluctuation

2. Decreasing number in the company’s health cost

3. Fewer employees with the symptoms of burn-out, stress, and frustration

4. An increasing number in the employee engagement

5. Boost innovation & creativity

6. Support the company’s sustainability strategy

7. Increasing sales results

8. Building a better community

Through the power of coaching, you can start to create or further develop your Wellbeing strategy.

As well-being needs to have a holistic view also people-wise and at the organizational level, involving further experts (from different areas) will be essential. It’s not a ’one-man show’ but also teamwork.

Let’s connect and have a discussion on how we can create a tailor-made wellbeing solution for you.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nikolett!

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Nikolett Huszák, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Nikolett HUSZÁK ACC is an ICF Accredited Business Coach and Human Marketing Developer. She has 16+ years of professional experience in Airline, Retail, and Property marketing. This knowledge gives her a Helicopter view of how the business runs. She is currently in a change as she just left the multinational company she worked for 16 years and give herself a break to have deeper knowledge and a clear view on her future. She holds a Bachelors's degree in Economics, a Masters's degree in Marketing, an ACC credential, Business coach certification.

Nikolett is passionate about coaching, and it is one of her great passions besides traveling and sports. She loves to support people when they have dilemmas or challenges in their business. Through coaching, she is in charge of inspiring people. Nikolett used to be a professional handball player, and she accomplished several half-marathons.

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Resources:

• Employee Is A Tool Or Key Value For The Organization? (brainzmagazine.com)

• https://www.gallup.com/workplace/358346/gallup-workplace-insights-learned-2021.aspx

• The worker-employer relationship | Deloitte Insights

• https://www.virgin.com/about-virgin/latest/five-wellbeing-trends-for-2022

• https://www.oecd.org/wise/measuring-business-impacts-on-peoples-well-being.htm

• Extraordinary Workplace Wellness Programs