March 20 is World Happiness Day and surely the date forces, rather than celebrate, to reflect on the conditions of well-being and satisfaction in which employees perform their tasks in companies in the midst of the pandemic. .
(Read: Teleworkers, the new actors in the world of work)
Experts point out that the conditions of virtuality and isolation have passed a billing account to people, so that by now they are showing exhaustion and dissatisfaction.
(Read: Companies will continue to work flexibly or remotely after covid-19)
A study in four cities shows that 4 out of 10 Colombians say they feel quite exhausted and 7 out of 10 would consider changing activity if they could.
It also shows that women feel more exhausted than men. Those who most express this state are between 25 and 35 years old. The main causes of fatigue are related to not being able to disconnect from technology, have more intense tasks and not being able to take vacations.
Exhaustion, according to FTI Consulting that conducted the study, shows that half say that the time is not enough to take a break and stop for the day, as it would be “a waste of time.”
A person spends approximately 90,000 hours of their life at work, which would represent as much as a third of their life. Hence the importance of well-being and happiness, warns LIVE 13.5 °, organizer of the First Week of Happiness from 18 to 23 March, commissioned by the World Happiness Foundation.
He asserts that “workers who are overworked, stressed, underpaid, frustrated or ill cannot improve in their work, causing a significant drop in performance.”
And he adds that this is one of the reasons why companies like IBM, Google, Deloitte and others, have appointed happiness directors and Mindfulness directors in their organizations.
WHAT TO DO
Deloitte published a series of tips for companies aimed at improving the quality of life of employees with respect to telecommuting. Among them, they mention ensuring the physical and mental well-being of employees.
An organization that cares and has at the heart of its business the happiness of its employees must act to maintain and enhance this state. The key to attracting and retaining happy collaborators is the development of wellness programs and work incentives, which impact motivation, commitment, and productivity.
For Camilo Mejía Landucci, CEO of Buk Colombia, by betting on job well-being, beyond the health benefits, the concern of companies for the needs of their employees is evident, in an environment that gives confidence.
As happiness increases, conflicts are reduced, there are fewer accidents at work and it is easier to face both personal and professional challenges. “Positive emotions make collaborators develop creative, flexible and optimistic thinking that helps in situations of crisis and work contingency,” says Mejía.
Rafael González, partner of 3weeks Consulting Latam says in strategies to ensure the well-being of collaborators it is necessary to give input to neuroscientific advances that are helping to understand the treatment of negative thoughts and unpleasant emotions of the context we live in world, such as anxiety, frustration, fear, uncertainty.
“The value of digital culture and therefore of telecommuting is unquestionable (productivity, costs, mobility, environmental pollution …). Studies say that there is a positive correlation between teleworking and well-being, but I fear that the reality of “There is a big gap in identifying, caring for and supporting employees emotionally, nutritionally / nutritionally and mentally. This is where the big challenge of this wellness practice lies,” he concludes.
Ways to improve
An application seeks to train people, personally, or as employees of a company, to make them happy. It’s called Munay and has 1,200 downloads since it was released in January. It covers 7 areas of human relationships: partner, family, friends, community, resources and work.
“A happy person always wants to give the best of himself in the environment he is in. People should not be happier to be more productive, that is to use happiness as a means to an end, and happiness it is an end in itself, “says Munay CEO Camilo Mejia Zacipa.