Citation
Bajer, J. (2018), "Editorial", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 61-61. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-02-2018-0013
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited
Is well-being a waste of money?
Several organisations are beating around the bush when it comes to well-being, just implementing box-ticking interventions that only look good on paper and make no difference to the top or bottom lines. Other organisations, more serious about well-being, are beginning to show tangible business results as well as contributing to the engagement agenda.
I was recently invited to give a talk at a large food & beverage company event, naturally followed by lunch with the senior team. The whole conversation circled around two main themes: how proud they were of their recent investment on well-being and how worried they are about employee engagement and performance. I had to be true to myself and tell them that both were strongly connected.
At Strategic HR Review, we are convinced that people who are truly well (and not just those who have access to bowls of fruits and a gym) show stronger levels of collaboration, innovation and focus on customer value. However, getting well-being right needs both a good grasp of business and a holistic understanding of how humans really work.
In this issue of SHR, we have managed to bring you a range of perspectives and experiences, with the intention of inspiring action in your organisations:
In The Modern Employee: Exercise and The Brain, Dr Pamela Guggina examines the science behind exercise and mental health and their link to enhanced employee performance in the workplace.
In From Well-being to Outperforming: How to Up Your Game, Silvina Brangold argues that creating a sustainable, impactful culture of well-being can drive both employee engagement and performance, benefitting employees and organizations alike.
In The Impact of Employees’ Well-being on Performance in the Workplace, Janice Haddon looks at the different types of well-being – physical, nutritional and mental – and their effects on workplace productivity.
And in Mindfulness in the Workplace, David Karlin offers case studies of two companies that implemented mindfulness initiatives that resulted in improved productivity and morale, created empathy and bolstered teamwork among employees.
Well-being is definitively not a waste of money (or time) when done in a way where people can be at their best, using the right type of energy to add value in the right type of way.
Enjoy the ride,
Dr Javier Bajer
Editor-in-Chief
Strategic HR Review