Recently I came across a very curious article about that translated daily tasks into the time it takes us to perform them with the reference of your lifeWe spent 531 days getting dressed, 140 shopping, and six years of cooking. We have slept for 23 years, there is nothing. An average of nine works. Nine years of our life with its days and nights or, which is the same thing, 3,285 full days and thus 78,840 hours.
Seeing the numbers is impressive and can even prompt you to rethink habits or vital goals. In my case, besides asking myself to miss an hour of sleep so as not to feel like I will spend about a third of my life asleep (very necessary, on the other hand) reading helped me to underscore the importance of the one and most precious thing: being happy. When? always true? everywhere.
As the person responsible for the employee experience, I can’t deny the evidence: 78,840 is a lot, a shame. And thus, the physical and mental well-being of people in their work environment is just as important as in their private sphereSadly, the past year has caused much abandonment, but also countless displays of humanity and the absolute change in our order of priorities. Health and time are added to family and friends
How we plan our lives and integrate the time we spend on work so that there is a real and healthy balance it is a primary problem in the new reality.
Leaders of people management (and thus, situations, needs, dreams, goals, concerns) should promote and ensure that those 78,840 hours dedicated to work are in return for offering a complete value proposition that takes into account all the elements necessary to a balance between physical, mental and emotional well-being.
It is our employees who move the wheel of our organizations and in return for their time, dedication, knowledge, attitudes and skills; earn a total compensation plan that consists not only of salary factors, but of something intangible, but just as important, such as learning, development, flexibility and reconciliation that make up for everything we receive from you every day. It also makes us better, more attractive and able to attract and retain talent that seeks different collaboration models and competitive advantages. In return, we will achieve greater dedication and invaluable pride of belonging that fosters collaboration in an environment where it is also essential to feel recognized and valued.
A very good way to recognize and value is to promote a system that provides the opportunity to shape the time to best suit your needs. Because the alarm rings We get completely into a routine with which many feel unidentified, but which on the other hand is necessary in a world full of schedules and obligationsYou want a quiet breakfast to start the day with energy, you need a shower to stretch out, you have to take the kids to school or you want to avoid rush hour to avoid traffic jams or crowds on public transport.
To me it is only fair that we have the freedom to choose how we want our day to be and have the confidence to plan our work no matter time or place. I am one of those who are convinced that one of the gadget Well-being and health in the workplace involves having more flexibility and freedom so that people have the opportunity to access a range of measures that make their work more effective. In this sense,
the debate often goes in the same direction: which measures are best, how to implement them to ensure the proper functioning of the company. But, excuse me, I think we are missing an essential point if we do not want to start the house with the roof: it is not only about flexible working, but also a culture change at corporate / business level.
And this time I will go further in the field of flexibility from the perspective of the company itself. I am convinced that the aspects that will prevail in the selection or management of talents are the skills, experience and flexibility of the people. The pandemic has thrown it on the table, but it is an upward trend that will not go away. Workloads can vary by area, increase in some areas and decrease in others, and companies should promote a flexible culture based on skills and change of mindset by affirming the versatility of people and teams without being tied to a role or position.
In short, let’s try to be happy and do everything in our power so that the people around us are happy too. Being a happy person and employee brings happiness to the whole and, of course, also to the company, making it noticeableThe bad vibes are very contagious, but the good ones are even more so and on top of that, they contribute to a better quality of life. A life to spend getting dressed, eating, cooking, waiting in line to be served (500 days, according to the article) but above all by doing everything possible to achieve physical, mental and emotional balance.
Marije Scholma is Deputy General Manager and Chief Employee Experience Officer (CHRO) at Nationale-Nederlanden. Member of the Spanish Association of HR Directors