The global work and wellbeing reset

Every year I attempt to predict a trend that will have a profound impact on leaders, employees and businesses. As I sit on 2/2/2022 and write this I reflect on where I was a year 2 years ago and what was important then versus now.

In February 2020 I was skiing in Austria with friends when the COVID cases hit Europe. Back then I wrote and article on 'Why Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast'. Little did we know that 2 years on we would still be wresting with this pandemic and millions of lives would have been tragically lost in such a short period of time.

What can we learn from a Crisis.

Like all crisis and disasters, eventually some positives emerge and things improve life, mankind and the world for the better:

• 9/11 spurned a war on terrorism.
• The Barings banking scandal created Risk and Governance within the sector.
• The Financial crisis forced companies and governments to provision more and take less risk with peoples money. Economies bounce back.
• Every car or plane crash provides valuable data and systems to protect us in the future.

Therefore what will take and learn from during this crisis and global pandemic:

• So far we have discovered that its is possible to produce and globally mobilize vaccines in months not years and through the work of Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and COVAX, get them in the hands (or arms) of those that cannot afford them.
• We have learnt that technology can allow companies to PIVOT to home working and in many cases productivity of employees has improved.
• We have learnt that time spent commuting could be better spent working or result in more time with our families and less pollution for the environment.

Leaders have a lot still to learn.

For all the good, we have also realized that leaders, at a country, political, organisational or team level were not prepared to lead in the hybrid, remote, world.

For me the most profound learning to date is how fragile life can be, and how much we all did not question the routine of work and lack of work/life balance.

So what will be the ultimate outcome of this in the decade to come.

The Great Reset.

People have had time to stop, reflect and rediscover what is truly important in life. Jobs are important to economies, GDP and global standards of living but risking your health is non- negotiable. We are just starting to see the impact of the Great Resignation, or Great Reset as many are calling it. One of my favourite pieces of coaching advice used to be: "its just a job, until it isn't".

We are only just starting to see the impact of long COVID and the Mental Health pandemic caused by 2 years of isolation and separation from loved ones.

This year has also reminded me of one of the first business books I was given to read in 2000, entitled, 'Keeping the People that Keep you in Business by Leigh Branham. Albeit written and published 22 years ago, the same principles apply today.

"A war rages in today's workplace, pitting company against company in the fight to find and keep good employees. The losses are high, and battle-weary managers are desperate for talented reinforcements. They've learned that bonuses, stock options, and other financial rewards aren't enough. To win this "war for talent," they need more.

The strategies in the book are grouped in four basic "keys":

1. Be a company people want to work for.
2. Select the right person in the first place.
3. Manage the joining-up process.
4. Coach to maintain commitment.

There is Hope.

What I hope for 2022 is the following:

• That leaders and organisations will finally realise that people are their greatest asset, and taking care of them is both the organisational duty of care and privilege and if they do not employees will vote with their feet.
• That employees will discover that work/life balance is not a perk or negotiable but a must for their own mental and physical health and its both individual and collect responsibility to support each other.
• That pay and benefits are only part of the equation and company culture, personal and physiological safety and wellbeing are critical to provide.
• That diversity and ESG are not 'nice to have' but must have's for companies to full realised their role, impact, potential and contribution to global issues.

2 years ago I mused that this decade maybe the decade of action on climate change, technological acceleration through the 4th industrial revolution, and that company culture was important. What I hope for now is that the rise in focus on people and our fellow man, will ensure that the Chief Wellness or Wellbeing Officer, will becomes critical to determine how to do the best for your people and their families versus aiming to get more out of them.

Matthew Lewis, is Managing Director and Area/Country Manager of Russell Reynolds Associates, Dubai. the global Leadership Advisory firm.