Have you heard about the emotional salary? Today, the salary is no longer just an economic reward; employee well-being is increasingly positioned as an aspect that companies should consider and take care of, therefore emotional pay is increasingly important. According to a recent survey conducted by Citrix in 5 Latin American countries, 88% of those interviewed think it is very important that the corporate culture focuses on the physical and mental well-being of employees.
The focus on wellbeing is not new, but as with many other aspects of work, evolution accelerated last year. Until a few years ago, job well-being was seen only as a good work environment, growth opportunities and good leadership. Then we’ll add other benefits such as healthy snacks, gym subscriptions, lunches all together and much more. The home office has appeared timid, daylight saving time and flexibility gradually began to take place as a benefit to well-being, and a work-life balance has emerged.
Achieving that balance is central to our well-being and has a lot to do with being able to manage our time better, with flexible days defined by goals and not fixed schedules. Technology has a lot to contribute to this, providing the ability to access all the data and applications we need to work anywhere, anytime. And this goes beyond having a laptop and an internet connection, it is about having the same work experience as in the office. If a place becomes “equal to the office” and goes to the same physical place all the time, does that make sense? In fact, 66% of those interviewed believe that the future of the offices will be hybrid, that is, work in the office will be combined with remote work. And the goal of going to the office is to co-create, collaborate and not spend 9 hours at the computer.
But as more technologies are integrated into the workspace (something that will undoubtedly happen in 2020), the need arises to ensure digital wellbeing; what would be the healthy relationship we should have with technology. In fact, there are technologies that remove noise and distraction, help organize our day and guide people so that they can achieve their daily goals. They are even responsible for performing small repetitive actions. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, they can learn how each employee works and adapt to intelligently guide them to the applications, data and tools they often use. In this way, technology is positioned as an enabler and not an obstacle, and allows employees to optimize their working day by achieving the desired flexibility.
Over the years, the Human Resources department was the one that implemented the welfare policy. But it is clear that in the future wellbeing will only be achieved with the synergy of the entire organization. And more than ever, HR and technology departments must work together to give people back control of their time, which is ultimately the most valuable resource we all have.
