According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy, an aggregate of several wellness subsectors, including wellness real estate, wellness tourism, personal care and beauty, and more, is valued at $4.4 trillion post the pandemic and is expected to hit $7 trillion by 2025. While that number is impressive, its scope can be daunting, particularly when it comes to evaluating the wellbeing of our businesses.
It is the belief of the board of directors and contributing volunteers of the One Well World (OWW) foundation that personal and organizational wellness identically mirror one another and must align if the organization is to be viewed as authentic and credible in the eyes of the consumer. The OWW model was developed to address the disconnect between organizations “articulating and espousing” a strategic wellness focus versus those that have moved beyond talking to operationalizing a wellness culture that supports true employee wellbeing. These are the same employees who go home to families and friends each night, who are part of local communities and religious organizations, and whose wellness behaviors or lack thereof impact societal wellbeing and environmental stewardship in profound and meaningful ways.
One Well World believes the only hope for positive large-scale, global change is by incrementally helping employee partners live healthier, happier, and more fulfilled lives, and by supporting wellness interventions at a local versus global level. Businesses and organizations have the right size and complexity to positively impact the lives of employees, their families, and the communities in which they live. That task is not as daunting as it may first appear yet requires a shift in mindset that starts from the top and permeates every nook and cranny of the physical and virtual organizational space.
Getting started is as easy as asking four vital questions at your company’s very next executive meeting. From there, it is a scientific exercise of intentionally executing tangible wellness strategies, tactics, policies, and practices that support the evolution of an authentic wellness culture that powerfully enables the delivery of superior products and services to the customers and guests the organization serves.
- STRATEGY: What is the wellness strategy of the business or organization? Does the word “wellness” or “wellbeing” appear in any corporate documents, on websites, in marketing materials, or the vision, mission, strategic plan, policies, procedures, and practices that govern work?
- STRUCTURE: How is the organization structured to support the individual wellness of those who do the work? What does the social fabric look like? How autonomous do employees feel under the current hierarchy and span of supervision? What about work schedules, breaks, and interpersonal and intergroup communications? The answers to these questions tell a story about the degree to which the organization is actually practicing what it preaches.
- PEOPLE: What people practices and well employee development opportunities exist to encourage engagement and love of the work that needs to be done? Are employees comfortable showing up and bringing their whole selves to the work they do without fear or intimidation? What compensation and benefits policies and packages are in place to help employees thrive and come to work excited, versus feeling exhausted from having just worked a shift in any one of the three jobs required to make ends meet? Shifting my focus to willingly caring for or loving the customers and guests I serve is a byproduct of whether I sit at the very lowest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs or whether I turn my attention to more fully actualized interests and support the work of the company. What philosophy is in place for more equitably distributing wealth and intellectual capital so that everyone has access to vital information and sees their part in the broader organizational plan? This is perhaps one of the most important areas of focus for ensuring individual and organizational wellness models mirror one another and align. Recruitment and retention are dependent upon it. If those two KPIs are not top of mind or challenging you today, read no further.
- PROCESS: What daily operational workflows and innovative work designs inspire ownership and ease and simplicity of service delivery to ensure customers and guests are beyond satisfied? Do the same customer complaints continue to go unresolved, the same concerns unaddressed? Those who interact with customers every day have every answer to solve the most challenging organizational concerns and improve financial performance.
If transparency and creating a well organization that supports the company’s business of wellness is important, we invite you to follow us and watch for tools and practical support to help you get there. The next wellness hurdle for the industry is to evolve a common wellness definition, vision of the well organization and pathway for getting there. One Well World provides practical, real-world information; resources; and support for helping businesses and organizations become, in the words of Jean Houston, “incubators of human consciousness,” and whose enlightened leaders are positively impacting societal good.
This article is an excerpt from Enlightened Leadership & Well Organizational Design.
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