Governments and international organisations across the world, such as The United Nations, OECD, World Economic Forum and more, are wrestling with major social, cultural, environmental and economic challenges. In our modern world they are increasingly recognising wellbeing as the best ‘organising principle’ capable of both tackling these complex problems but also realising opportunities to deliver a better future for all.
Businesses too are facing these same challenges and this workshop has been designed to enable organisations to challenge their thinking through a wellbeing lens. At its heart the workshop asks whether our organisations should prioritise the greatest financial value or the greatest wellbeing for people and planet?
Of course these aren’t mutually exclusive, but if you’re prioritising financial value over wellbeing perhaps it’s time to think again.
Who can use it?
The Wellbeing Design For Business workshop is available for free to be used by any facilitator, consultant or other agent whether in-house or external to your business. Of course, if you would like assistance in delivering the workshop please contact us or call David on +44 (0)7753 430 557.
Who is it for?
Business and wellbeing leaders who understand that to navigate the major challenges and opportunities we face as a human race organisations will need to transform. Ideally the workshop will include attendees from each of the separate organisational functions.
How long does it take?
This is a one day workshop but it can be tailored to suit your requirements. It can be held in person or online using online video conferencing and Google Jamboard.
Workshop benefits
Systemic – Consider environmental, social & governance issues together with cultural and economic ones, across stakeholder groups.
Inclusive and engaging – Bring together and involve the different functions within your business around a common understanding of wellbeing.
Aspirational – Build on the UN SDGS to move past sustainable development towards a world where people and planet can thrive.
Powerful – Provides a framework that works for personal, organisational, community and even national wellbeing. With greater alignment there will be greater understanding and engagement.
Flexible – If you have already developed a wellbeing strategy in your organisation the outputs will still fit with your approach and may encourage you to expand it.
Businesses of the future
The future of good business is to build greater wellbeing. Good businesses play an important role in building the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and nations. This means rather than focusing on profit-maximising and creating wealth, businesses will increasingly focus on profit-making or cash flow and creating wellbeing.
To do this, organisations will need to transform. We will move from incremental improvement to a totally new way of working. This will involve businesses reaching out more to engage with educational institutions and the community to research and co-create better solutions that deliver benefits across the eight domains of wellbeing.
In fact, if businesses do not deliver a net positive benefit to wellbeing, we will question whether they should operate at all or ensure they put in place measures to quickly turn things around. Linked to changes in education, we will shift the mindsets of future workers from solving problems to become both problem and opportunity focused, using greater imagination and creativity.
Organisations of the future will be more trusting of employees and other categories of workers. Current habitual processes such as inflexible working, the 40 hour working week, and office-based work will be challenged and transformed. Rather than feeling drained and controlled, workers will feel energised and trusted.
This will be enhanced by the accelerated introduction and embracement of AI and automation to reduce the requirement for people to perform mundane and repetitive tasks. AI and automation will move from a focus on cost reduction to value creation in line with the mindset changes from problem to opportunity focus. Managed wisely, this technological transformation will lead to a new age of good work and improved quality of life. However, if managed poorly, there will be a greater risk of widening divisions in skills, wealth, and wellbeing.
There will be fewer employees and a greater mix of freelance, temporary, and contract staff bringing unique skill sets as and when required. This will, in turn, enhance the flexible sharing of work across a broader spectrum of people. In essence, work will begin to fit with the worker. Organisations will become flatter, more agile, and will empower workers.
Work will become more ‘spiritual’ in several ways. Firstly, there will be clearer links between the purpose of an organisation and its contribution to wellbeing. This increased visibility and understanding will provide workers with greater belief, pride, motivation,and engagement. Secondly, workers, through improved wellbeing focused education, will be more self-aware of their personality, character, strengths, and weaknesses. As a result we will have more workers doing jobs that they are actually suited to and passionate about. Third, employers will be more focused on the growth of workers as people, not just for technical skills.
The workplace of the future will also be more egalitarian. People will better understand that large discrepancies in relative pay lead to resentment and under performance. Work will become more ‘we’ rather than ‘me’ with a much greater emphasis on teamwork and collaboration rather than star performers and competition.
This greater understanding of our interdependence will lead to ‘fairer’ levels of pay for all with more worker ownership. Wealth will begin to be re-distributed with the workplace playing a key role. The contribution of people to wellbeing, outside of the usual workplace, will receive increasing recognition both from an understanding and financial perspective. Parenting will be elevated in importance with greater time off, plus financial and educational support to ensure that efforts leverage the changes to education.
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out more about Wellbeing Design For Business why not get in touch or call David on +44 (0)7753 430 557.