Wellness and happiness

Perhaps, we hear today more about organizations talking about caring for the wellness and happiness of employees being part of their strategic content. Indeed, it will be unfair to say that the concept of maintaining the wellness of employees is a new phenomenon. No, it is not. It has always been a priority of all well managed and enlightened institutions. The only difference today is that the concept has been recognized as a critical element in maintaining and enhancing productivity of employees. In the present age, it is not uncommon to have within institutions a person designated as ‘chief wellness officer’ (CWO). HR is stated by all institutions as part of the preamble to their vision and mission, as being the most important asset. How much an organization consciously devotes time towards the development of their human resources depends on the policies it pursues in the maintenance of the wellness of their most critical asset. The strategic intent of doing so and the cost of capital and investment in achieving this objective has to be seen and viewed, within the ambit of long term perspective.

Regrettably, in our cultural setting, when we refer to the mental well-being of our colleagues/employees, the immediate reaction is to feel that the issue is about lunacy. Nay, mental well-being is a consequence of stable psychological behaviour that ensures balance and maturity in handling stressful challenges of the workplace. It is certainly not about insanity or madness.

People/workers are filled with anxieties relating to the demands of performance or for the achievement of budgets. In this quest, if the working environment is not congenial and facilitative, then it only creates further tensions that can lead up to creating the uncalled for and unnecessary fissures between the management members.

Wellness programs are specific and are designed specifically to cater for human capital wellness, covering structured initiatives that are put into place within the organization, for betterment of employees, and for encouraging pleasant and healthy behaviour between staff members.

The common dictionary defines wellness programs as those initiatives, that include interiliac physical exercise competitions, like cycling race, volleyball matches or any other sports; physical fitness completions like weight loss, maintaining body mass index (BMI); stress management - resiliency education, like holding seminars and workshops on anger management, stress relieving activities ; smoking or alcohol cessation programmes and assessment programmes that helps employees to be healthy in all respects.

The domain of wellness can include physical, emotional, financial, nutritional, professional and social well-being. In the context of physical wellness it must relate to maintaining a healthy body, that is fit, alert and agile; emotional well-being must include understanding of self and others for it enhances the ability to manage stress and relationships; financial well-being if not present can cause depression, it can also relate to living beyond means (only politicians are exempt from living beyond means), stable financial condition helps encourage productivity; nutritional will include management of weight, selection of food which goes towards enhancing agility and productivity, that would help in maintaining a good balance between the mass, height and body; professional well-being will include having fulfilling work assignments, enjoying what you do and looking at assignments as a potential for growth in the future; social well-being will include relationships with others, both within the organisation as-well as with family and also co-extend itself with relationships that cut across organisations.

The recognition that imbalances in work life can stir negative traits is a major achievement in the arena of human resource management. The chief wellness officer can be part of the human resources team or can operate independently reporting to the CEO.

In present day environment, when attention spans are on a dangerously declining trend, anything that goes against the grain of an individual provokes unmanageable toxicity in behavioural responses towards colleagues and clients.

In this milieu of seeking high performance grades, matters can get worse, if the supervisor can suffer from high anxiety levels. The ineffective management of anxiety can lead to bad and uncouth behaviour. If it spreads, with no corrective actions then it will beyond an iota of doubt, usher in the most toxic work environment. In the context of handling Wellness in times of bereavement suffered by a staff member will assume criticality if it’s not properly handled. Some people like to talk about their pain, while others wish to remain silent about it; the situation must be handled and addressed accordingly. In offering condolences a clear distinction must be made between sympathy and empathy - we don’t have to say, I know what it means I have been through this and then go on a story telling spree. Never do this to those who just wish to receive a sympathetic word. Do not combine sympathy with empathy ever while handling bereavement. Offering condolences must not be delayed. It must be then and immediate.

Wellness programmes must have measurable metrics established for strict monitoring and compliance. My daughter, who is an HR professional working in the Middle East conveyed to me in a conversation recently that by Royal Decree, Sheikh Hamadan bin Mohammed, has invoked a programme, now in its sixth year, called, ‘Dubai Fitness Challenge’, that is directed towards seeking the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the employees. That’s the level of attention wellness is receiving today from governments, as well as the private sector. This year, it has a catchy slogan, ‘Show Us Your, Dubai 30 X 30’, implying, and a simple goal: complete 30 minutes of activity each day for 30 days. The program will run from October 29th to November 29th.

Many organisations indulge in CSR activities, for the benefit of the society, again within the ambit of ‘wellness’. In these initiatives, if the staff is encouraged to participate only then will the CSR activity simultaneously become inclusive of the internal customers. The participation of staff must be made compulsory and must be an item of the metrics to evaluate overall performance.

Sponsoring a cycle race, a walk or a marathon may be seen as a marketing venture, but if organisations make it compulsory for their staff to be seen and be participative in such events it will add to the wellness of employees too. A visit to an old age home, to merely entertain the inmates was part of my schooling. Our teachers rightfully believed that by interacting with the old and aged members of society, we would imbibe within us the need to understand their (older members of the society) mental state and hence will also get to appreciate the contributions made to our lives by our own ageing parents.

There are now global indexes to measure employee well-being. Many cabinets globally have ministers designated as, ‘Minister for Tolerance’, ‘Minister of Happiness’, etc. This in my view, is an acceptance that fast paced life of growth and material comforts brings along many ill effects upon the personality of individuals. Growth, regrettably, is seen and measured mostly in material terms; while growth is not necessarily success. It is success that induces happiness and a stress free environment. To achieve success, growth has to be backed up by profits for noble purposes; once this is done, spirituality within the organisation begins to sprout. Hence the formula for achieving success is, growth plus nobility of purpose that has in its attendance, spirituality. This relationship establishment with the Greater scheme of Nature, induces humility and modesty, which in turn, account for introducing sporting camaraderie.

Haemin Sunim, the Zen Buddhist teacher, quotes in his book, a saying from an early Buddhist scripture: “Paper wrapped in an incense smells of incense and a string binding fish smells of fish”. The environment influences us, whether we like it or not, the impact is upon us; a toxic environment will create toxic personalities.

For overall wellness, it is important to cultivate all the following aspects of well-being, inclusive of physical, emotional, financial, social, and spiritual well-being - if any of them is ignored it will impair the remaining with negativity - wellness must embrace without exclusion.

The writer is a senior banker and a freelance columnist