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the future of workplace wellbeing
82 Plays4 years ago
GUESTS
- Tilly Berry of The Yoga Agency: https://theyogaagency.co.uk/
- Leigh Chapman of Yinshi Meditation: https://www.yinshi.co.uk/
- Renee Elliott of Beluga Bean: https://belugabean.com/
- https://www.planetorganic.com/
- Tania Jumnoodoo of Thanks Ben: https://www.thanksben.com/
HOST
- www.mattmorley.net
- mail @ mattmorley . net
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Episode 23
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome to episode 23 of the Green and Healthy Places podcast, in which we explore the worlds of sustainability and wellbeing in real estate and hospitality today. I'm your host, Matt Aspiotis-Mauley, and this episode is a little different as I'm giving you the audio recording of a webinar I took part in recently.
00:00:29
Speaker
around the future of workplace wellbeing.
Meet the Panelists
00:00:32
Speaker
Joining me on the panel were Tilly Berry from the Yoga Agency, Renee Elliott, ex-Planet Organic, now of BelugaBean, Lee Chapman of Yinshi Meditation, and Tanya Jimnudu of ThanksBen Employee Benefits.
00:00:48
Speaker
Webinars can be hit and miss but this particular group made a collective effort to do the legwork up front so the debate has a certain structure to it. I generally find what one loses in a modicum of spontaneity one gains in insight and practical takeaways so it's compromised but I think it's worth 45 minutes or so of your time.
Workplace Wellbeing Topics
00:01:06
Speaker
I pitch in on the role of planned physical activity, as well as what's known as incidental movement and active design around the workplace. Of course, my hot topic of biophilic design makes an appearance, as does my new bugbear of indoor air quality. I also squeeze in a piece on health and wellbeing certification systems. For those of you out there who may need a little help in convincing a skeptical CFO to do some of this stuff.
00:01:31
Speaker
Leigh covers mental health at work during the pandemic Renee offers the kind of out-of-the-box view from 10,000 feet that really only comes from having built and sold a giant company like Planet Organic before then moving into the world well-being space as she did. She's an inspiring voice of calm and reason so there's lots of great content
Visualization Exercises
00:01:50
Speaker
here. We start with a visualization exercise led by Renee herself so if you'd rather get straight into the juicy stuff skip ahead to around five minutes 20.
00:01:59
Speaker
Now Damas, you can find me as always at matmorley.net. Links to the other panellists are in the show note. Hit subscribe if you enjoy my content. And now let's talk workplace wellbeing.
00:02:12
Speaker
Hello everyone. Welcome to today's webinar on the future of workplace well being hosted by the yoga agency and co hosted by in chief, I'm Tilly founder of the yoga agency. We are suppliers of well being experts and holistic well being programs to businesses and individuals.
00:02:32
Speaker
The purpose of this webinar is after speaking to many of our clients in HR and office management roles, I realised that managing their own wellbeing on top of everyone else's in the workplace can be extremely challenging, especially throughout a pandemic. And as the old saying goes, you can't pour from an empty cup.
00:02:52
Speaker
So today is about offering guidance, support and actionable advice on changing the well-being culture of your business. So with that very intention in mind, we are going to kick off today's session with a guided visualization from holistic health coach and founder of Planet Organic, Renee Elliott, to bring us into a calm, focused and relaxed state of mind. Over to you, Renee. Thank you. Hi, everyone. So happy to be here today. So as Tilly said, this is about
00:03:21
Speaker
It's very simple, just a couple of minutes, relaxing, letting go and coming present. And it's also about awareness. So I'm going to ask you to get comfortable in your chair. If you can, feet on the floor, go ahead and close your eyes. And we'll start with an exhale. Then take a deep breath in and let it go. Do that again. Deep breath in and let it go.
00:03:53
Speaker
And then continue to breathe in a way that is very easy and natural for you. As you do that, you can imagine that as you are breathing in, you're receiving into you that which would restore you. And as you exhale, you can imagine that you're letting go of whatever is no longer needed. And that can include letting go of the morning, any busyness in getting ready to be here.
00:04:23
Speaker
letting go of your to-do list for the day, or whatever might be a distraction, knowing that anything important you can pick up later if you need to. And that includes coming into the cooperation with your environment just now. So you don't need to be overly concerned or distracted by any noises or interruptions as you come into an easier, more relaxed state by simply breathing in and letting go.
00:04:53
Speaker
giving yourself this time to be relaxing and becoming more fully present with you. And so notice how you are doing. Are you feeling relaxed, tired, excited, distracted, peaceful? It's okay, whatever you are experiencing, just notice it as your awareness and keep breathing.
00:05:22
Speaker
receiving into you that which restores you, sustains you, and letting go of whatever is no longer needed. So go ahead and take another deep breath in, let it go, feeling the energy from the oxygen, and when you're ready, gently open your eyes, fully awake, present, and ready for the panel discussion.
00:05:49
Speaker
Thank you so much, Renee. That was amazing. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. So now on to introductions and icebreakers.
Workplace Personalization
00:05:58
Speaker
First up, I'd like to introduce and thank Tanya from Thanks Ben, our sponsors of this event. Tanya is very kindly helping us today behind the scenes. We might be having a few issues with polls, but we'll just slide past that one. Tanya, over to you.
00:06:13
Speaker
Hi, everyone. My name is Tanya. I work at Ben in Business Operations and we're essentially an all in one platform and personalising benefits and rewards and letting employees choose the best wellbeing journey for them. Amazing. Thank you, Tanya. And a quick icebreaker to help our audience get to know you better. What is your favourite book?
00:06:37
Speaker
Yes, I prepared today for this question. I have my book here. It's called A Mindful Year and it is two psychologist friends who every day of the year they've written each other snippets, mindfulness snippets and exercises and practices. So each day there's a different quote, snippet and action to do that day. I really love it. It's a great way to wind down at the end of the day, you know, break from the screen.
00:07:04
Speaker
And actually for our, you know, people in people, people roles, people, HR roles, they have really good insights to share, which will be really helpful for employees and teams. So I think, yeah, that's my favourite. Amazing. Thank you so much. And on to Lee Chapman, mental health advocate, founder of Yin-Chi Meditation Pods, and co-host of today's webinar. Lee, over to you.
00:07:32
Speaker
Thank you, Tilly. I think you've done a good job in intro me, so I won't delve into that anymore. But just to say, it's really great to be here. Thank you, everyone, for joining and supporting mental health and wellbeing in your organisations. I'm really excited to hear what's going to come out of the discussion, especially super excited here from Matt and Renee. I think we can have some fantastic actionable ideas to help future-proof your workplace wellbeing. So yeah, thank you, everyone.
00:07:58
Speaker
Thank you, Lee. And for your icebreaker, the classic post-COVID chat, do you prefer working from home or would you rather be in the office? Yes. Well, for me, working from home has been a real revelation, actually. There's been so many classes. I think everyone's found a similar joy to take out of it, being more productive, better work-life balance in general. I can put the washing on while I'm on a Zoom call.
00:08:26
Speaker
I'm still wearing pajamas under the bottom half, not really. But I'm really missing the office for a lot of stuff, you know, like the energy from being around other people. I really miss that. Sometimes you feel a little bit tired, I think, because you don't have that. The visual cues you get from feedback and body language of being, you know, with people. I think we're just social creatures, you know, so just that aspect is missing for sure. So in reality, I think it's going to be a mix
00:08:53
Speaker
Hopefully a couple of days at home, maybe three weeks in the office. Three weeks, not three weeks, three days. But I'm looking forward to the new balance of that. Thank you so much, Lee. Next up, we have Matt Morley, a wellbeing and green space specialist and the founder of Fire Philico. Matt, over to you.
00:09:14
Speaker
Thanks. Yes, my name is Matt. I specialize in combining well-being and sustainability in buildings and interiors. I have a particular focus on workplaces and gyms and everything in between those two increasingly connected spheres where
00:09:32
Speaker
ultimately performance and happiness are the name of the game. I'm a certified green and healthy building professional and a natural health and fitness expert and I run my own podcast called the green and healthy places podcast so that gives you an idea of what I'm about. Thanks Matt and obviously your icebreaker has to be and please can you show us your enviable office space
00:09:56
Speaker
Yeah, I'm going to describe my enviable office space because it's only so far my iMac will go. But first of all, I have a biophilic artwork, so a nature-inspired artwork.
00:10:07
Speaker
that represents for me kind of a connection to nature. I am standing, I'm using a standing desk, I have a high stool behind me that I rest on when I need to so I don't actually ever sit down at a sort of 90 degree angle with my legs. I also have a standing mat that replicates the feeling, so the marketing spiel says, of walking in a forest because there's all kinds of sort of
00:10:30
Speaker
different levels and feelings to it. So I'm actively engaged with creating a healthy home office environment for the days that I spend working out of her home. Oh I love that. Last but not least welcoming the founder of Planet Organic and holistic well-being consultant Renee Elliott. Renee over to you.
00:10:52
Speaker
I so my brief little history I founded planet in 1995 which seems a long time ago, it was the first organic supermarket in the UK. I stepped out of that business, a year ago, because in 2017 i'd set up with my business partner Sam a second well being business called blue the bean blue the bean is a well being agency.
00:11:13
Speaker
pioneering new strategies for success in business and life. And we work in two main areas. One, I mentor startups primarily on business and strategic planning plus resilience. And secondly, we work with individuals and teams to help them understand their wellbeing and empower them to make it better.
00:11:35
Speaker
Thank you, Renee. And what's the best piece of advice that you've ever been given? So I've been practicing transcendental meditation for 30 years. And Maharishi, who is the founder of TM, used to, I never met him, but I had the joy of watching him on these really
00:11:53
Speaker
badly filmed videos of him in India, talking about all kinds of things in different subjects. And he was this little old Indian man with this lovely melodic voice. And he used to talk about, he'd say, so when you are tired or when you are stressed and you stay up and you want that extra glass of wine or you're going to watch another movie.
00:12:14
Speaker
He said, don't do that. I can't do an Indian accent, but he was so adorable. And he would say, go to bed. Just go to bed. He said, when you are tired, go to bed. And I thought, God, that's so obvious. And so we all know that, but who does that? So I certainly do that now. I wish I'd done that more when my kids were babies because I was so exhausted and I didn't hear that loudly enough. So I will pass that forward and say, go to bed.
00:12:43
Speaker
That's amazing. Best advice ever. Thank you, everyone. On to our first topic, the impact of COVID-19 on workplace wellbeing. We would have a poll here, but we're still having a few struggles with the poll. So don't worry about that too much. We're going to move on to the questions and if we can sort out the polls, we will come back to them.
00:13:02
Speaker
So, Matt, let's start with you.
Impact of COVID-19 on Workspaces
00:13:05
Speaker
For those of us working in the wellbeing space, we've seen that COVID-19 has brought wellbeing into the spotlight for many businesses. It would be great to hear your thoughts on why this has been the case and if you think it's justified. Yeah, so from my perspective at least, and this is very much the world I inhabit and have inhabited for a number of years now, COVID has really accelerated
00:13:29
Speaker
processes that were already underway. So it was admittedly a rather patchy but undeniable quiet revolution going on towards generally creating healthier and greener workspaces that respect what's known as the triple bottom line. So people, planet and profit.
00:13:47
Speaker
In the broadest of terms, you have the US, Australia, Canada, and Singapore, and to some extent, the UK, who are leading the fields in that. It started as a niche and was slowly becoming more and more mainstream. Really, what's happened is we just leapt forward by several years. In a way, it was leapfrogging a process that might have taken a decade. We've just moved forward to the point now that we're able to have conversations around
00:14:11
Speaker
Indoor environmental quality iq as a really fundamental part of creating a healthy workplace where is before i was really thinking about that we've been engaged in this field subject that we've been studying we've had to brush up on all the data behind it i didn't examine it last night in fact.
00:14:30
Speaker
And it's really, you know, it's a hot topic and has been for a while. So now the idea of monitoring your air, checking the ventilation rates in your air, all of this is now really becoming much more mainstream. And I think people have generally come to appreciate it in a way that perhaps we couldn't have hoped for before. So just to sort of close on that one, three things to think about when I go in, I'm thinking I'm working on a project for
00:14:54
Speaker
to improve the air, I'm looking at the ventilation rates. So what's happening in your aircon system or are you able to open windows to create natural ventilation?
00:15:02
Speaker
what materials have been used in the construction and what materials are used in the in the interior. So from the paints to the fabrics and even how many plants you have in the space. And then the third piece is the facilities management. So how is the space managed and maintained? Are there eco-friendly cleaning practices? For example, there are lots of things happening in facilities management as well. So those would be the three takeaways on IEQ.
00:15:26
Speaker
Thank you so much, Matt. And Lee, you probably have a slightly different perspective with your sort of mental health background. Could you sort of answer the question, same question? Yeah, I think, I mean, we've all seen the effects of the pandemic, right, from a mental health point of view firsthand. A couple of tragic stories, you know, personally that I could tell
00:15:52
Speaker
Unfortunately, you know, we've all been under immense pressure and mental health has suffered unilaterally, right? But even before that, I think, you know, it was heading in the sort of wrong direction, generally, it's something I've been talking about for a long time. It's something that a lot of people have been talking about for a long time. There was a famous study in 2018 by YouGov, which said that 74% of people were overwhelmed or unable to cope. And that was before all this happened.
00:16:17
Speaker
So I think there's been a general upward trajectory in terms of the awareness and tasks that we have to do to deal with poor mental health. And that's also coincided with increases in stress and burnout since the age of austerity started back in 2010. So I won't read a lot more statistics, but there's plenty that don't make for good reading.
00:16:43
Speaker
And the pandemics accelerated this really, and there's reasons that we all know, I think. The new ways of working for a lot of people in particular have led to extra screen time. So we're spending a lot more time on our laptops. We're checking our emails a little bit more because we don't have that validation and feedback mechanism that we normally have when we're with our colleagues, having people feel a little bit more anxious about that stuff.
00:17:07
Speaker
You know, for others, for key workers, it's a highly stressful situation for all together different reasons and we're seeing burnout rates go up as a result, you know, and I think plus just a general anxiety about the unknown, you know, something that we're going through for the first time, all of us, so there's a lot of uncertainty which which causes anxiety in its own right, I think.
00:17:30
Speaker
And yeah, I think it's brought it into the spotlight for those reasons. It's meant that caring for mental wellbeing at work has become even more key now, of course. You know, stats are showing it, mental health has suffered. You know, actually, as I've said, stress was already rising pre-pandemic, but I think now it's becoming an epidemic and it's in its own right, really. So it needs to carry on in the spotlight and we need to keep carry on looking at solutions for how to improve it.
00:17:57
Speaker
Thank you, Lee. And Renee, what do you think are some of the longer lasting impacts of COVID-19 in terms of the way we work? Well, following on what Lee said, you know, I did a panel recently with the Net West on wellbeing, and I was really shocked to hear that one in five Brits describe themselves as highly stressed, highly anxious, not a little anxious or worried sometimes,
00:18:23
Speaker
but highly anxious, which was really shocking. And that really brings it home. And I'm sure y'all have all heard on the news this week, they're saying one in three say that lockdown has negatively affected their wellbeing. And so the good news for me in that is that wellbeing, people have an awareness about it now, whereas for so long, you know, you kind of left your best self at home and walked into the office door for many of us, not all of us. So in terms of the longer lasting impacts, I think wellbeing has come into focus
00:18:51
Speaker
And it needs attention at work. And even businesses that have thrived economically through lockdown are struggling with teams that are fatigued by the unique pressures from the last year. But as I said, the good news is that people have become more aware. I'm hearing many people have realized they'd like a better balance. They see they could have a better balance between their professional and personal lives.
00:19:16
Speaker
and that this might be possible even as they head back into the office. And I think it's interesting how our personal and professional lives have collided with COVID. How many cats have I seen walking across people's screens when they're on Zoom calls, walking across the desk, or kids popping into mom's new office asking for a snack?
00:19:35
Speaker
So with that understanding, we have an opportunity, I think, to be more flexible going forward, to create a little more time. And with that, to work on our wellbeing by having awareness and intention. When I opened Planet Organic, my focus was on physical wellbeing because I see that as foundational to all other wellbeing. But now I, for years, you know, for the decades at Planet,
00:20:02
Speaker
And more recently, very, very recently, very, very strongly focused on well-being across all of the spheres. And well-being is so critically important because your well-being affects everyone you know and everything that you do. Amazing. Thank you, Renee.
00:20:21
Speaker
And great to hear all of your thoughts on that. And we did have another poll question coming up now. So what I'm going to ask you to do, because we do really want to hear from you in the audience, is pop in the comments and in the chat box what you would like in an ideal world in terms of how often you would like to work from home.
00:20:41
Speaker
So maybe never, maybe it's one day a week, maybe it's two days a week, three days a week, four days a week, all the time. Let us know. We'd love to hear from you if that's okay. Just pop them in the chat box and keep the questions coming in. Pop them in the Q&A feature and we'll get to them at the Q&A at the end. So on to topic two.
00:21:04
Speaker
Thank you everybody for your comments. And we're going to look at what the current trends in workplace wellbeing are. So Tanya, I'd love to hear from you about what insights you have gained from your clients in HR roles. Thanks Ben.
00:21:20
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good question today. So we at Thanksgiving work with a lot of audiences, obviously people people. And what I would say is that, you know, as Renee mentioned, well-being is becoming a priority and I think it will stay a priority post pandemic as well.
00:21:38
Speaker
Employees are also leaning on the workplace more and more, the lines between personal life and their work life are blurring, so the workplace is a safe space and they're going to line managers and their people teams for support and advice, which I think can be quite daunting, especially with all the upheaval over the past 12 months.
00:22:02
Speaker
And I just wanted to say that, you know, that that's perfectly understandable and you're not alone in that and feeling overwhelmed. And the wellbeing space is obviously very diverse and there's a lot out there and a lot of resources.
00:22:21
Speaker
For you, so there is support out there for people people as well when starting out on as always call it a journey it's very much. You know, starting at the beginning and building building the foundations and building the blocks on top to get a well being structure that's going to work for your company and there is something out there for all all sizes stages and budgets.
00:22:44
Speaker
So, for example, we work with a lot of remote companies and as startups, a lot of it's about linking your company culture and values, checking in with your people. There's a lot of things you can do to establish.
00:23:02
Speaker
a good, a good culture for health and well being. You know, people started really getting creative with it as well, thinking outside the box with kindle clubs and lunch lotteries, doing things that people love as well, giving back. That's a really good one as well. Looking at the fundamentals of people's social well being, mental, financial,
00:23:25
Speaker
and physical wellbeing being addressed. And then other things like rewards and recognition. I mean, there's so many cases I can think of where small tokens that are thoughtful and personalised have made such a difference. A friend of mine recently received a snack box through the post and that was just really lovely as a token from the employers, thinking of them. And at the upper end of the scale, looking at sort of the bigger companies when they have
00:23:54
Speaker
more resources and time to invest, really capitalising on technology, data driven decision making and those flexible and personalised strategies because not everyone's the same, life happens, things change.
00:24:12
Speaker
And it's taking those things into consideration. And then finally, looking at the communication and engagement piece as well. So once you've established all of these various different well-being initiatives, making sure that people have the opportunity to actually use them. And they are delivering the value that people want. So yeah, there's a lot out there. I could talk for a long time about it, but yeah.
00:24:41
Speaker
a really interesting space and there's lots of resources out there. Thank you so much Tanya and Lee after a year or so of working from home and with the dust settling have you identified any common responses amongst workers in respect of going back to the office? Yeah definitely it was interesting to see some of the answers in the chat come up there I think one of the key and the big themes is
00:25:11
Speaker
flexible working, work-life balance. I think that term flexible is key, isn't it? It's kind of what works for the individual really. I think there's obviously a big difference between someone who's working for the NHS and someone that works in a knowledge-intensive company. I think we're quite lucky to have the privilege of being able to work from home in the first instance, but I think that's generally the sort of category we're sort of talking about now, but just to make that distinction I think is important.
00:25:40
Speaker
You know, clearly there's different viewpoints on this, right? It suits some people, it doesn't suit others, and some people can't wait to get back to the office. I've heard from lots of people like that. They can often be the most vocal people, which is interesting, or the extroverts, and it's worthwhile just bearing that in mind sometimes, I think, if you're making decisions on this, because that can sometimes lead to a bit of a false consensus, because they're the voices that tend to be heard, and the introverted voices need to be listened to as well, I think.
00:26:07
Speaker
But the stats do show, the stats that I've seen anyway, a very big swing towards remote working and new flexible work-life balance. I think there was a reason to quote another YouGov survey that said fewer than 4 in 10 people want to leave their house to go to work now. And the Future Forum survey, which is a huge one of 9,000 workers, showed that 72% preferred a hybrid home office approach, 15% of those home only and only 8% of its only.
00:26:36
Speaker
So overall, I think people are seeing that remote work is a net positive, especially if I'm knowledge intensive companies, of course, I think higher levels of satisfaction generally, compared with just solely office based work, better work life balance, slightly better stress and variety levels in some cases, and better productivity and satisfaction. I even heard 75% of people
00:26:57
Speaker
are willing to take a 14% cut in salary to stay working remotely which is quite astonishing really, really overwhelmingly in favour. So I think it's really forced a fresh look for all of us, you know there's some there's clearly some big wins you know more time with the family I think that's been mentioned.
00:27:12
Speaker
reduced commute, which no one really is missing at the moment, I think. So lots and lots in favour of that, I think. But there is another side to the story, I think, which needs to be remembered, which is something I mentioned at the start, which, yeah, office dynamics are generally positive, you know, they're good spaces for creativity.
00:27:33
Speaker
They've got the energy levels that I spoke about before, you know, I really miss that, those endorphins that you get from being around your colleagues most of the time, the opportunities for collaboration. I think, especially for the younger generation, you know, I think they're really missing out on that, seeing their colleagues behave and how to sort of learn to do their jobs and just wanting to sort of commune with people, you know, spend the lunches of each other, be in urban centres with people their own age.
00:28:00
Speaker
So I think, you know, the office is not going to die for sure. We just really need to make sure their spaces are designed for all the things I just mentioned, so for creativity, for well-being, for mental well-being. There was a really good article I saw last week by Thomas Heppewick, he's a very famous architect in this country,
00:28:20
Speaker
And he talks about seducing people back to the office, which I really liked, you know, so making them spaces that people want to seek out where you can do deep work, undisturbed, quiet spaces, you can collaborate the spaces for that, the spaces for rest and mental health, quiet areas.
00:28:38
Speaker
I think these are going to be the standard in the office of the future, and that's what we need to all be trying to aim towards really. I think the genie is out of the bottle now. We know we can go and work on the beach in the Bahamas if we wanted to, so we're going to have to make the office a great place. Matt will probably speak to that, and he already has a little bit around biophilia, but there's lots and lots that we can be looking at to make the office a bit of a destination.
00:29:03
Speaker
Thanks, Lee. That was super interesting. And I think the sort of research that you've done aligns very much with the comments in the chat box. Actually, everyone seems to want this kind of hybrid approach of one or two days a week. So moving on now to Renee, it would be really interesting to hear about what kind of services you're seeing your corporate clients requesting at the moment at Lugabeen in terms of well-being.
00:29:28
Speaker
It is interesting because we're talking with HRs who just don't know what to do, which is completely understandable. This is such new territory. And also well-being isn't just physical and mental. I know Tanya's mentioned a few areas, but most people think of it as physical and mental. It's anything that's impacting your happiness and success, and it includes everything in your world. So there's real complexity there.
00:29:53
Speaker
So the good thing is corporates are realizing that it isn't one size fits all. And it's funny because a couple of months ago I spoke to a law firm who were in chats with and I said, I was describing what we do. And I said, look, it's not about doing yoga on Friday for everyone.
00:30:11
Speaker
because not everyone wants that. And she just, she went like this and she went, Oh God, she said, I've just started yoga on Fridays. And she said, and I don't go because I hate yoga. And I said, well, that's it exactly. It's about different things for different people. And what works well for one team may not work well or be relevant to another. I may need support for managing conflicting demands of work and kids.
00:30:36
Speaker
while someone else may be experiencing challenge with physical health or caring for elderly parents. So we say that wellbeing is a whole person process because there is complexity and because everything is completely interconnected. What's happening in your home affects what's happening at work. What's going on with your finances affects your psychological state. How you are physically has an impact on your relationships and vice versa in every case.
00:31:07
Speaker
Also, everyone's world of wellbeing is individual, complex, and always in flux. So what causes pressure today may be supplanted by something new tomorrow and so on. So we believe that to leverage the massive latent human capital that exists within our businesses and our business community, a new method of support is required. So in the first lockdown, we created a wellbeing workshop series that
00:31:36
Speaker
we believe solves addresses and solves this problem. Thank you, Renee. And that really aligns with the sort of experience that we've had speaking with our clients as well. And so, Matt, given your background as a green space consultant, how do you notice any trends in terms of what different industries are doing to prepare for the kind of return of people to the workspace?
Improving Office Spaces
00:32:03
Speaker
So I think the innovative knowledge worker-based tech companies, they were already way out there in front. They're often more cash rich and they place huge priority on the mental well-being of their workers or more so than other industries. So they've had a head start on this.
00:32:22
Speaker
Where they led, I've seen others follow. So more generally, there's now a second generation of slightly smaller, but still high growth businesses that also understand to attract and retain top talent, you now need to play that game in a competitive market where it's all about how good your employees are, what you're able to recruit and hold on to. Having an uplifting and really positive space is now getting your seat at the table.
00:32:51
Speaker
There are then companies that have, and they're often the type that I end up working with, that have some connection via the value system, their mission statement, or their corporate social responsibility plans with nature. So one company, Hero Organic Foods in Switzerland, they're kind of a natural version of Danone.
00:33:09
Speaker
they do these biophilic nature inspired offices, one of them that i was involved in that really reflect their company values on one level and are also designed to help raise productivity. I see there's questions in the chat about how you you can justify this and what the cfo's one is is
00:33:26
Speaker
data and ideas about how you can measure the ROI. So the key things that I'm looking at are productivity, concentration and happiness and staff surveys before and after are an initial first step in terms of measuring that.
00:33:41
Speaker
once you've agreed that there's a plan in place to put some capex against making some improvements. The current phase from that, so then these various generations, if you like, we're in generation two or three, and now suddenly it's becoming much more widespread. It's not about whether you're in tech or whether you're in natural foods or anything else. It's really just, well, what's your value system and who's leading your organization and have they got the well-being message? But again, there is just this tidal wave
00:34:10
Speaker
It's creating some confusion at the same time, because I think there's a lot of information out there and perhaps not necessarily the understanding because of what's happened. We've just moved so fast over the course of 18 months, so it's completely understandable, as Renee said. But at the same time, there's many more opportunities out there to resolve and improve the situation. So overall, very optimistic and positive, I think, about the state of the trends in the industry.
00:34:41
Speaker
Thank you so much, Matt, and so interesting and we're sort of now moving into the really meaty part of the discussion as we go on to how businesses can stay ahead of the game. And we are ready to hear from you again in the audience so if
00:34:56
Speaker
you would like to please let us know in the chat box where you think your business or the company you work for might be falling short in terms of wellbeing so it's a really great question to ask yourself because once you have awareness of where you're falling short you can kind of work backwards and create your wellbeing programs from there so maybe it's lacking in mental health support
00:35:19
Speaker
Maybe the physical environment lets you down, social health support, physical health support, coaching and diversity and inclusion, all of the above, or maybe it doesn't fall short at all. But let us know anyways, put your comments in the chat box and we'll sort of move on to our next topic of how businesses can stay ahead of the game.
00:35:41
Speaker
So, Matt, let's start with you again, please. So what can businesses do to improve their physical environment or offer space and why is it important? So I mentioned the idea of indoor air quality. Please, please, please think about that first and foremost. It's a big, urgent lesson from the last year or so.
00:36:06
Speaker
You might need some help to implement a solid plan, especially for larger organizations. But in the end, I think the staff will thank you for it if you're HR or Chief People Officer. And there's never been a better time to get ahead on this. Lee mentioned the idea of biophilic design. That's a big one for me. It's been trending for five or six years now, bubbling under. It feels like it's finally having a moment. More and more workplaces are catching on to the health benefits
00:36:34
Speaker
of bringing the outside world in which is effectively what we're trying to do. So bringing nature back into our urban built environments where it was previously just sort of left to die on the peripheries of the city. But it has time and time again studies are coming out just how positive it is on on your mental and physical well-being. So a plant wall can do amazing things in terms of air purification for example this is a fake one
00:36:59
Speaker
so it's not going to do anything for me but a real plant or lots of plants around about seven or eight of certain species per person in an office it sounds like a lot but you can cluster them together you know that will improve your air quality it will it's taking toxins out and putting healthy lovely oxygen back into the space
00:37:17
Speaker
So no matter how modest the space you might have, for example, a recharge room could be an interesting conversion. You're seeing a lot of those out there at the moment. Some people call them quiet rooms. I like the recharge. It's kind of like recharging your batteries. The idea of converting an unused space, it could be a lower ground space with no windows. With a little bit of creativity, you can still use that biophilic design, bring it inside, and create a space that is really geared or even hacked
00:37:45
Speaker
I can use that term for mental recovery. It can be a space for deep thought, it can be a space for a short nap, or simply just having a bit of a stretch from spending too much time sitting down. So the biophilic design thing can be applied in a number of ways where it's multi-sensory, so you can think about materials and colors, sounds, textures, and even scent and aromatherapy.
00:38:08
Speaker
It's not just putting plants in your office, the deeper you go into this and the principles behind it, the more it gives you back and the more impact it can have.
00:38:17
Speaker
So again productivity, concentration, but also reducing anxiety and stress amongst employees. If you imagine that feeling you get of being in a forest, being in a park, being on a beach, we're trying to create little moments of that and bring it into the work environment. Perhaps giving it a specific space where you go to interact with that or subtly infusing it throughout the space so that you're just able to
00:38:41
Speaker
Yeah, take it on almost without recognising it or consciously doing so during your day and cumulatively it can make a really big difference on the workspace experience. Cool, thank you so much Matt and Lee, what can businesses do to provide adequate mental health support and why is it important?
00:39:03
Speaker
Well, I think taking the why is it important to start with, maybe, you know, the term healthy, happy workforce is not, it's been around for quite a while, right. And I think it's, it's not just a moralistic thing. I mean, the careers are moral element to it, I think, but it's about performance, you know, it's an intuitive truth. I think we all just kind of, yeah, accept that that must be right. But if you want to look at studies,
00:39:28
Speaker
To quote one again, there was a huge one between Oxford University and BT that showed that happier workers are 13% more productive. And I've seen other studies as well, you know, that show around similar, like 12%, 14%. So I think they're kind of onto something, they all seem to be sort of converging at a similar number.
00:39:47
Speaker
So in terms of what businesses can do, I think there's a couple of areas that I would look at initially. I think one, it's kind of similar to what Matt was just saying in terms of providing space for people to look after themselves and not just a space for specific kind of wellbeing practice. It's in whatever way they see fit, as Renee was saying, there's many spheres to our wellness, financial, social, physical, emotional, et cetera.
00:40:16
Speaker
So it's based where people can can practice whatever well-being mode of choice it is that's going to you know benefit them. You know for me as you mentioned at the start Tilly you know meditation is my
00:40:28
Speaker
passion and I do see that as a foundational tool you know a lot of people kind of see that similar to how sort of classes, fitness classes, yoga etc sometimes seen as a bit of a short-term self-soothing tool but like those you know it's a real long-term benefit to that because
00:40:48
Speaker
IT as a foundation is evidence to support this as well that it improves all the other areas of our well-being and therefore in my view it is the most important. You know I talk about when I go into clients sometimes to help try and embed meditation as a practice. I talk about six wise of meditation and just go through those very quickly. The first one is reduces stress, it improves your amygdala response and lowers your cortisol
00:41:15
Speaker
It can improve attention and creativity, focus, divergent thinking has been shown to improve with just a short amount of meditation, actually, and that's really good for problem solving, which is essential in our day and age. The fact that it's a foundational wellbeing practice, as I just mentioned, the fact that CEOs and successful people are doing it so much now is a real indicator. I think there was a book that Tim Ferriss wrote called Tools of Titans.
00:41:44
Speaker
And that was the most common habit that he identified between people at the top of their game in various different fields. And it's good for relationships, which is key to a happy, productive workforce as well. And the last one is a little bit tongue in cheek, but it makes you look younger. It does actually produce an enzyme called telomerase, which is proven to reduce aging. But, you know, that's obviously just a bit tongue in cheek.
00:42:11
Speaker
So I think a tool that can improve our wellbeing, psychological safety, collective intelligence, really help us realise our potential and improve business outcomes as well. It shouldn't be overlooked in my view, but as Matt was kind of inferring, we need to create space for this kind of stuff. Headspace subscriptions are awesome.
00:42:31
Speaker
meditation quiet rooms that are great but also you know what do we do for people who want a bit of private quiet space you know people still do feel a little bit self-conscious in public kind of quiet areas so whether it's whether they want to do meditation or or prep work or hypnosis or just have a quick nap you know some quiet time alone I think you know we all need to need a bit of that sometimes
00:42:56
Speaker
So I think that's the first area, providing space. And also I think important to note that it needs to be permissible as well. It needs to be led from the top down. It needs to be actively encouraged, not just, here's a meditation room, here's a meditation lesson, here's a yoga class. You need to actually give people permission to take an hour out of their schedule because what's happening, I'm hearing from various companies, is that people just don't take up these brilliant offers because
00:43:25
Speaker
They just can't find the time in the diary. So permissibility is a really key thing for me. And the second was, I kind of touched on this briefly before, but this idea about making the office a destination, I really do feel like that's going to be the future and going to be vital to stop people fleeing to remote working, really, that talent flight. We're already seeing that. I'm already hearing about applicants demanding remote working at the moment. So we're going to have to up our game in terms of the office.
00:43:54
Speaker
Interesting to sort of think about it from an employer brand sort of point of view, you know, we all know how important branding is, especially for attracting the best talent. Increasingly, companies are looking to do this. So, you know, if we're going to do that, if we're going to bring our values to life, then wellbeing should really be embedded in that and a crucial part of it. And that needs to come through, you know, Facebook and Google have been doing this for years in terms of company culture as a perk.
00:44:20
Speaker
you know, they don't just do a meditation class, they do a summer camp, you know, they get really big on that, or that's maybe not realistic for some people, it gives you, you know, an idea of where we sort of should be heading. Because there's a huge opportunity now, you know, like, I think it's been estimated around 20 to 30% reduction in real estate for offices is what we're going to see after the pandemic. So we've got, you know, potentially an opportunity to half-cost basis and re-divert that into pre-remising our office spaces.
00:44:48
Speaker
making it smaller, making it nice and sociable, collaborative kind of destinations that are really good for our wellness, that are more than just a meditation room, more than just a headspace application and subscription. They give private spaces to look after our mental health in our own way. And I think just having things like that throughout the office like the biophilic design,
00:45:12
Speaker
Those little nudges, design interventions really help kind of remind us or bring us back to ourselves and reconnect and really help improve our overall wellbeing. Thank you so much, Lee, so much goodness in there. And if anyone wasn't sold on meditation, they are now. Renee, what are some of the long-term solutions to creating a wellbeing culture?
Holistic Wellbeing Culture
00:45:37
Speaker
First, I just have to say, Lee, I completely agree with you. I've been meditating, as I said, for 30 years when it wasn't cool and we didn't ever talk about it. And now it's a badge I wear with, you know, it's a badge of honor. Hey, I've been meditating for 30 years. And for those of you who are wondering about this, I have three kids, 19, 16, and 13. They all meditate and we meditate together. And I always say the family that meditates together stays together.
00:46:00
Speaker
So that's my two cents on that. So back to office and wellbeing culture. Well, our point of difference at Blue Green is that everything we do is a whole person process. And we deliver that through programs of experiential learning. The solution that I referenced early that we created in our first lockdown is a wellbeing workshop series called Be Yourself. It's a new practical framework for self-awareness
00:46:28
Speaker
that promotes wellbeing in individuals and increases connectivity and trust within teams. We use learning from 30 years in business and transformational development and we've curated a unique, powerful and affirming program that enables team members to better understand their own world of wellbeing and then empowers them to stay on purpose amid shifting demands from work, home and life in general.
00:46:58
Speaker
We engage people in what we call the six spheres of wellbeing, which are physical, occupational, psychological, economic, social, and spiritual. Be yourself equips people to understand what's important to them and gives them the tools to maintain new ways of being and doing that promote success. It's about the individual being able to take responsibility for themselves.
00:47:25
Speaker
And we do that by first building a framework so they can understand their own wellbeing, because a lot of people just don't even know what that is or what we're talking about. Then we establish core principles for self-awareness and faster, easier progression so they can make steps to improve their wellbeing. We surface key areas of focus, identifying priority and defining intention. We delve into meaning and purpose for the individual, and we lay the foundations for connectivity and trust within teams.
00:47:55
Speaker
Then we do a deep dive into each of the six spheres that I've just mentioned. And the results that we're finding improved individual well-being, including new ways of being and doing that support long-term success. And we talk about being and doing a lot, because we're human beings, but we do a lot. And we love the doing. But we say when you're aware of your being, which is why the course is called Be Yourself, and you take that into your doing,
00:48:22
Speaker
It's much more fulfilling. It's much more fun. And that's really what it's all about. We always say if it's not fun doing it, then why do it? So it's also another result is a practical methodology for maintaining self-awareness that you can use daily or weekly and responding dynamically to shifting internal and external pressures. There are increased feelings of self-confidence and agency.
00:48:48
Speaker
and ability to more easily identify priority and take action amid that multiplicity of demands on attention, time and resources. We avoid well-being crises. Teams within the businesses are stronger and more resilient. There is greater ease, energy and momentum.
00:49:08
Speaker
Communication improves, which means relationships improve, inclusivity increases, and people feel supported. As within the company, you build that culture of wellbeing and success individually and collectively. People experience more meaning and purpose in what they do. And this means, of course, better talent retention and also leadership development. So in reality, the business is better empowered to grow and succeed.
00:49:37
Speaker
That was wonderful. And we've had so many good questions come in. So I'm going to address a few of the questions. And if we have time at the end, I have a few more questions myself. But to Stefania's question, it'd be great to have some ideas for low cost, low effort initiatives relating to wellbeing. Long term strategies are important, but also some quick wins. So anyone, Phil, inspired to take this one is a great question.
00:50:12
Speaker
Anyone? I have a quick go. I think we've spoken about meditation, so I won't go there again. But, you know, Tilly, I know your agency are doing lots of great courses to help with well-being at the moment. So definitely advise people to check those out. I think one big thing for me is training in psychological and soft skills for now and the future, I think.
00:50:39
Speaker
Clearly, there's a lot of anxiety at the moment about people going back to work. We've kind of touched on that a little bit. So designing offices for and training for resilience is something that I think is super helpful and important, not just now, but for the future, I think.
00:50:58
Speaker
the likelihood is that there's going to be more turbulent times ahead of us. So preparing us for those as best as possible I think is going to be really, really valuable. And I think that's just a skill that's good to have all around anyway. And skills such as problem solving and creativity I don't think I talked about a lot as well.
00:51:19
Speaker
I think they can really help enhance our work life and how could we are at our jobs and I think they're going to be vital for future economies as well. So yeah, that's a couple of suggestions I would throw in.
00:51:35
Speaker
Can I go as well on that one? So just two things. Firstly, I think we often assume things. And I always say, first of all, don't assume what your people want, what your teams want. Because when we assume, we're usually wrong. So go into inquiry and discover what people actually want and need. And the second thing is, I completely understand about quick wins. And I'm not going to answer that. But I'm going to say that we say that meaningful change takes time.
00:52:03
Speaker
You know, I can come in and do a half day workshop and it's all great and everyone's really excited and I walk out the door and nothing changes. So we are taking a stand that meaningful change takes time because people can embed new habits over time. So I understand your point about that. And I know people want things to move quickly, but we really think, you know, we, the course we deliver is over a year and it really enables people to change and grow over that time. Thanks.
00:52:33
Speaker
There's another amazing question from Hannah. How do you get senior leadership teams to support mental health and wellbeing and therefore see the value in investing it? That's a brilliant question. Does anyone feel like they're well placed to answer this? Yeah I can have a go at that one. So I guess in a sense it depends on the size of the organisation and what they're looking for but
00:52:57
Speaker
One thing that has really come to the fore over the last year or so are the workplace well-being certification systems that are out there that give an amazing amount of structure and substance and science-backed thinking to what can be, as we mentioned, quite a sort of fuzzy subject. How do we do this? What's the first thing we do? Where should the priorities be?
00:53:23
Speaker
So there are those out there that focus specifically on virus responses. There are those that focus specifically on air quality. There are others that take a far wider approach that go into everything from the type of food and drink on offer in the office to whether there's promotion of the stairs and sort of generally promoting daily regular activity.
00:53:43
Speaker
to the type of water and the purity of the water that's on offer or not on offer, the quality of the light within the offices, the thermal comfort and physical comfort, you know there's a lot to it and for someone for an organization that was looking to really do it properly, I'd say going down one of those routes and if you like signing up with it with a proven path that has a beginning middle and end
00:54:06
Speaker
a structured process and at the end a third-party verified qualification or certification that you can then show to your shareholders and your future and present staff gives you I think a real sense of confidence that you're doing everything you possibly can for your employees and that you've approached it in a certain way. Not every business is going to want to take that route but it is there and for those that take up the challenge it's like yeah you can just go to the next level with
00:54:34
Speaker
by following a path that's well-trodden and well-documented now. Amazing. Thank you so much, Matt. There's another brilliant question here. How can we encourage employees to participate in a company employee wellness program while struggling the demands of work and make them feel they are part of the culture?
00:54:56
Speaker
of physical and mental wellbeing. Tanya, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that because you come from a very dynamic start-up background and you also offer these wellbeing services and you track engagement. So it'd be great to hear your thoughts.
00:55:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's a really great question and it is tricky. We do find, you know, people stuck in their ways and when things are new, it takes time to adjust and get used to them. I think one thing that I really champion is sort of the peer to peer.
00:55:34
Speaker
And so if a few people are getting together and participating in an activity, then you're more likely to get increased engagement over time. That's a really good thing. And then also, yeah, I guess like from tracking from our perspective on data insights and maintaining metrics and things like that really capitalise on
00:56:00
Speaker
what you're seeing people pick up on and do more of it as the natural thing to do. Does that kind of answer the question? I feel like I missed something. Yeah, that was amazing. Thank you. I can't believe how fast this session has gone. We've literally come to the end.
00:56:16
Speaker
So there will be lots of post-coms following this webinar and would just like to say thank you so so much to our panelists, you've been unbelievable. All of them can be found on social and we'll also be sending an email so you can contact them via email if you want to find out more.