At the end of November, the Trends Impact Awards will reward SMEs and large companies that have a lasting impact on their environment. Prizes will be awarded in six categories, while a Global Impact Award will be given to the most comprehensive project. This week, we present to you the Trends Impact Award for Wellbeing.
Mens sana in corpore sano – a healthy mind in a healthy body – is a well-known and often used slogan in the sports world. In recent years, many top athletes have said they no longer can or want to cope with the mental pressure that has increased over the past decade, in part due to social media. That athletes like tennis star Naomi Osaka, heptathlete Nafi Thiam or cyclist Tom Dumoulin talk so openly about the demons in their heads was once unthinkable. The fact that this taboo is being broken is a sign of the times. Also in the business world, entrepreneurs and employees dare to be more vulnerable. In this field, Joost Callens, CEO of the construction company Durabrik, was a pioneer. Unfortunately, the problem of well-being in our society – and therefore also in our companies – is getting worse. A study conducted recently by the HR service provider Securex and the …
Mens sana in corpore sano – a healthy mind in a healthy body – is a well-known and often used slogan in the sports world. In recent years, many top athletes have said they no longer can or want to cope with the mental pressure that has increased over the past decade, in part due to social media. That athletes like tennis star Naomi Osaka, heptathlete Nafi Thiam or cyclist Tom Dumoulin talk so openly about the demons in their heads was once unthinkable. The fact that this taboo is being broken is a sign of the times. Also in the business world, entrepreneurs and employees dare to be more vulnerable. In this field, Joost Callens, CEO of the construction company Durabrik, was a pioneer. Unfortunately, the problem of well-being in our society – and therefore also in our companies – is getting worse. A study conducted very recently by the HR service provider Securex and KU Leuven showed that no less than 28.5% of Belgian employees are at risk of burnout, compared to 23.8% in 2019. The covid pandemic has therefore exacerbated the “burnout epidemic”. Forty-one percent of burnout complaints exhibit five specific characteristics, four of which are work-related: emotional load, work intensity, private load, job insecurity and job role conflict. work. People who feel good about themselves and lead healthy lives perform better. A win-win situation for both employee and employer. According to Jochen Vincke, partner at the consulting firm PwC, one of the ways to achieve well-being is to reconcile work and private life as well as possible. “For example, organizing work so that young parents can combine their job well with their career development. Working part-time in a company should not mean that you have to give up promotions. Especially in these times of hybrid working. This also means facilitating remote working. Our tax system, for example, is an obstacle: it is difficult to get someone from the neighboring Netherlands to work for a company in Belgium from home.” This “economy of well-being” goes beyond the adoption of measures aimed at better reconciling work and private life or preventing burnout, it also affects the foundations of our economy. There is increasing criticism of analytical grids such as GDP growth, which constitute a one-sided measure of the state of a society. Trade in arms or oil also increases GDP, but not collective well-being within the planet’s borders. Wayne Visser, professor of sustainable transition at the Antwerp Management School (which, like PwC, is involved in the Trends Impact Awards) expects to receive a lot of projects aimed at improving health and well-being in the workplace. . “How, for example, can we help employees to be in better physical shape by giving them the opportunity to work there. I am also thinking of projects related to our diet; we are seeing a tendency to abandon red meat and prepared meals for a diet healthier. We’ll probably also have projects related to mental health. We have a very difficult time dealing with burnout. Some companies work with coaches in the workplace and offer mindfulness programs.” Wayne Visser also sees another type of demand coming in, one that is more technology-driven. “Think of how 3D printing can be used to make prostheses for example, a technology that reduces their price by 10, or other technological innovations in the field of health care.”
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