Live Up is one of the most critical pillars of our Further Up services, observing and responding to the call for action across all organizations. There have been a clear and significant increase of investment demand in the field in recent years, which has been accelerated during the pandemic. Wellness programs are becoming increasingly more popular and with an extended variety of programs comprised of biometric screening, mental health, telemedicine, mindfulness, childcare services, financial wellness, weight management, fitness, free healthy food, and the list goes on.
What could be more fascinating? Nine out of ten companies are investing more and more on mental health and employers are significantly influenced by the desire to create competitive benefit plans. Given this move, along with the remote work model where the hybrid work option becomes permanent, employers are creating a culture that helps employees stay connected, healthy, and productive.
In other words, “wellbeing” is becoming the driving force that keeps the work environment safe and workers healthy. Many companies have prioritized this evolution in order to survive. The answer to the question of work-life and safety balance is a uniform and holistic approach to wellbeing.
Redesigning work strategies to support the “remote work” function is the new mission of HR and leadership teams. In what areas? With what actions?
The 2021 Global Human Capital Trends report by Deloitte, higlights five trends, that require a variety of initiatives to integrate wellbeing practices into the workplace:
Cultural: building new social behaviours, Relational: wellness relationships among colleagues, Operational: incorporating well-being into all workforce policies from leadership, and performance management to Reward and Recognition, designing the physical workplace to promote collaboration, and creating virtual design with new technology that supports teams in navigating the new reality.
The above lead to a strategic direction that strengthens human potential and talent.
We are introducing this permanent column in our “Further Update” magazine to remain close with you, enlighten HR with great practices, trends, and concepts. We believe that small things can make a difference when they have a clear purpose and are designed with compassion and care.
The 20′ chairman or chairwoman
If you would have told a friend two decades ago, that companies would have a chair that is more relaxing than their CEO’s, they would have told you that the World must first turn upside down…
In the meantime, the World has, indeed, turned upside down, and such a thing became not only true but also a trend… Today, “Everybody can be a Chairman or Chairwoman!” could easily be the title of an internal campaign inviting employees to enjoy 20 minutes of real relaxation during office hours. What can be seen by many as a fad is taken seriously by others, and companies like AbbVie (well-known pharmaceutical research company) who has introduced various wellness-promoting campaigns during the last years, in its Athens offices and globally.
Employee teams, the HR Department, and Managers work together to generate such ideas and decide whether there is a “ROI” for them. The idea of the massage chair and a 20′ massage by a specialist (on the basis of pre-booked appointments), has been implemented successfully, before the COVID-19 period, – inciting people to have a break, relax and continue. Such “quick win” measures have no cost but can engage people and create a better work environment. And when the world returns back to normal, a good massage would bring the blood back to the body so that we can continue to work as if nothing happened…
Special thanks to Mr Thomas Kougkoulos, Human Resources Director of AbbVie, for giving us information about some wellbeing practices at his company – to be continued…