Among the changes we’ve seen in our client work over the last year is a…
Meet Emma...
If you ever needed a reason to focus on the experience of employees, whether as someone responsible for communications, engagement or HR, or simply as a busy office worker never far away from phone, tablet or computer, Emma is it.
A life-sized model, unveiled this week by The Work Colleague of The Future report, has been causing a stir in offices around the country, demonstrating what the office worker of the future could look like. According to the report, over 90% of UK office workers will suffer from work-related health issues.
Image source: https://news.sky.com/story/life-sized-model-shows-what-office-workers-might-look-like-in-20-years-11843868
Evolution is supposed to sharpen our senses, hone our physique. But Emma’s evolution couldn’t be further from this.
She’s physically less able than her mother would have been twenty years prior. She’s got a permanently hunched back, a protruding stomach, sore eyes, bulging varicose veins. And that’s just her physique. What about her mental wellbeing? Her productivity? Her sense of self? Her levels of anxiety?
We can talk statistics with you all day long about the benefits of employee engagement. We’ve even got a measurement framework dedicated to proving the financial return on it. But does anything focus the mind quite as much as Emma?
This is why employee engagement matters.
This is why wellbeing is more than fresh fruit in the kitchen on a Monday.
This is why flexible working is more than finishing early on a Friday.
This is why Health and Safety is more than slips, trips and falls.
This is the future of work. It’s not millennials demanding a connection to the wider purpose, it’s not robots automating our home lives. It’s hardworking Emmas, who dedicate their life to their work, and get paid in health concerns and wellbeing worries.
What can you do?
In your business – truly focus on employee experience and wellbeing. Is it enough? Are you proud of it? Build a culture that promotes a healthy work-life balance and implement a wellbeing strategy that is meaningful and not just a token gesture.
At home – work less, move more. If you’re sitting at a desk all day, get active in your evenings. Focus on things that will benefit you physically and mentally and remember that you’re more than just an office worker. You’re a whole person who deserves more than sore eyes, swollen limbs and a hunchback.
If you’d like to chat about how to create a wellbeing programme that will help your employees to avoid a fate like Emma’s, get in touch. We’ve helped lots of clients with their wellbeing strategies and have even introduced one of our own too.
