Recently, I came across a very curious article that Daily tasks translated in the time needed to perform them taking the reference of a lifetime. We spent 531 days dressing, 140 shopping, six years cooking. I spent 23 years sleeping, it’s nothing. On average, nine work. Nine years of our lives with its days and nights or, what is the same, 3,285 whole days and therefore 78,840 hours.
The sight of numbers is impressive and can even make you rethink your habits or vital goals. In my case, in addition to the fact that I doubt doing without an hour of sleep so as not to have the feeling that I will spend about a third of my life sleeping (well, very necessary, on the other hand) reading helped me reinforce the importance of the only and most valuable thing: being happy. When? always where? anywhere.
As responsible for the experience of employees, I can not deny the evidence: 78,840 is a lot, an outrage. Therefore, the physical and mental well-being of people in their work environment is as important as in the private sphere. Unfortunately, the last year has extended a lot of desolation, but also countless manifestations of humanity and the absolute change of our order of priorities. Health and time are added to family and friends.
How to plan our lives and integrate time dedicated to work so that there is a real and healthy balance it is a primary problem in the new reality.
People management leaders (and with them, situations, needs, dreams, goals, concerns) must promote and ensure that the 78,840 hours dedicated to work are in exchange for offering a comprehensive value proposition that takes into account all items needed to obtain a balance between physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Our employees are the ones who drive our organizations and, in time, their dedication, knowledge, attitudes and skills; deserves a total reward plan made up not only of employee factors, but of something more intangible, but just as important, such as learning, development, flexibility and conciliation that make up everything we receive from you every day. This, in addition, will make us better, more attractive and able to attract and retain talents looking for other models of collaboration and competitive advantages. Instead, we will make a greater commitment and an invaluable pride of belonging that will promote collaboration in an environment where, in addition, it is essential to feel recognized and appreciated.
A great way to recognize and capitalize is to promote a system that offers the opportunity to model time in a way that best suits your needs. Ever since the alarm clock rang, We are fully entering a routine that many do not feel identified with, but which, on the other hand, is necessary in a world full of programs and obligations.. Do you want to have a quiet breakfast to start the day with energy, do you need a shower to lie down, do you have to take the children to school or do you want to avoid rush hour to avoid traffic jams or congestion on public transport.
For me, it is right to be able to have the freedom to choose the way we want our day to be and to have the confidence to plan our work regardless of time or place. I am one of those convinced who believes that one of must have in well-being and health at work is to have more flexibility and freedom so that people have the option to access a series of measures that make their work more efficient. In this regard,
the debate is often lost in the same directions: what measures are best, how to implement them, ensuring the smooth running of the work. 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 just about flexible work, but about a cultural change at corporate / business level.
And I go further in terms of flexibility, this time from the perspective of the company itself. I am convinced that the aspects that will prevail in the selection or management of talents will be the skills, experience and flexibility of people. The pandemic has thrown it on the table, but it is an upward trend that is here to stay. Workloads can vary between areas, increasing in some and decreasing in others, and companies need to promote a flexible culture based on skills and a change of mindset by asserting the versatility of people and teams without being tied to a role or position. date.
In short, let’s try to be happy and do everything in our power so that those around us are happy. Being a happy person and an employee brings happiness to the whole and, of course, to the company, making it visible.. Bad vibrations are very contagious, but the good ones are even more so and, in addition, they help a better quality of life. A life to spend dressing, eating, cooking, queuing waiting to be served (500 days, the article said), but above all, doing everything possible to achieve physical, mental and emotional.
*** Marije Scholma is Deputy General Manager and Responsible for Employee Experience (CHRO) for Nationale-Nederlanden. Member of the Spanish Association of Human Resources Directors