Let’s Take a Dive: What stops us from becoming our own Chief Wellbeing Officers?

Dear friends, dear LinkedIn community,

It’s fair to say that 2020 rocked our boat – professionally and personally. I would like to believe that we’re slowly getting back to normal. In fact, the rate of disruption will potentially accelerate as the implications from 2020 play out across the next years.

We may have arranged ourselves with the rules we rewrote for how we do things. But people are still working under difficult and challenging conditions: Dealing with childcare, with sick family members, with their own illness, with loneliness and worry.

This is why it has never been more important to take care of our own wellbeing, both physically and mentally, and to take care of others' wellbeing, be it our teams or our loved ones. 

Let’s Start Again, Shall We?

As we turned the calendar page to 2021, we celebrated a huge wellbeing moment in a digital townhall meeting with all employees in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Our objective was to inspire each other to remain positive in these difficult times. We focused our attention on things that are either directly within our control, or those that we can positively influence. The positivism and the confidence that our people radiated during this virtual event was infectious.

The leadership team committed to make health and wellbeing our upmost priority in 2021 and we announced a set concrete actions that help us to find meaningful ways to make the year a more balanced one for us and other people in our life. 

Taking a Collective Lunch Break: DACH MACHT MITTAG

Work is no longer a one-size-fits-all model, and at Unilever we have always championed flexible working with a range of family-friendly and flexible working policies, which enable our employees to balance their day-to-day responsibilities. Since the start of the pandemic a year ago, we all work from home. The next step-up in flexibility will be to truly embrace when we work.

So, one of the initiatives we are trialing now is a collective (lunch) break on two days a week. My leadership colleagues and I won’t hold meetings or write E-mails. We invite everyone to join us. More importantly, encourage everyone to be very decisive and transparent about their needs.

Some take the time to have a proper lunch break with their families, check in with friends, or take the time to dive into some deep work. We’ll see how it goes and adapt as we go along. There is a German saying: ?Probieren geht über studieren“. And this is what we do. We experiment. Until we get it right.

Core of the event was an interactive session in digital break-out rooms, where we openly shared the challenges we face and inspire each other with our personal wellbeing hacks. 

Here are some of the challenges you may relate to, and my wellbeing hacks to tackle them: 

1. A looong Day Behind our Screens

It’s 2pm. I’ve had a team check in, four one-on-ones, a project meeting, a presentation and an interview. I check my calendar, hoping to see a lighter schedule ahead. No luck. And it’s only Monday…

Sound familiar? If you're more tired after a day of video calls than you ever were after in-person meetings, you're not alone. In fact, scientists from Microsoft's Human Factors Lab studies human brain waves during video meetings and discovered "Zoom fatigue". It is a real thing!

--> Get Active or Take a Mindful Break – Every Day

Taking a proper break or even a power nap makes all the difference. But let’ be honest. Work and family needs can see exercise taking a back seat. Adding exercise into our day makes such a difference. I have blocked two sports breaks per week into my calendar and I take those meetings with myself as serious as any other meeting! What I currently enjoy most is a good spin with upbeat music or Youtube on my ‘working horse - as a sports addict I can’t miss the various game highlights ??.

2. ‘Cabin Fever’ Feelings

Staying in is key to reducing the spread of Covid-19, but that doesn't stop it being any less stressful. I miss my walks to the coffee machine in the office - where I meet people for a quick chat: About football, the news, the TV of the day before, the new trends we saw on YouTube. 

--> Connect with People 

What helps me to cope with cabin fever is staying in touch with as many people as possible within the business. I actively plan to video chat with people or groups I’d normally see in person and peep in touch digitally.

At Unilever, we meet each other for ‘Mystery Coffee Dates’ – blind dates without an agenda. This is a great opportunity to stay in touch or meet new colleagues. I have had many interesting dates over the past year, and I will keep this up in 2021.

One of my highlights (for the whole family actually), are our Live-Cooking-Sessions with our Knorr Country Chef Adrian Springer and many other Foodies. We all have our repertoire of tried-and-true recipes that eventually find a way into our weekly menu list (again). But when cooped up at home for months and constantly cooking the same favorites, they can become a bore. That’s why I love a bit of inspiration and guidance for delicious and nutritious meals in home-office-times.

OK, not everyone has a Chef Koch in his or her team, but why not try to meet up for a virtual cooking session with friends or sign up for virtual cooking classes. The same goes for virtual escape games. They are my not so secret pleasure ??.

3. ‘Feeling Overwhelmed – New Tools, New Platforms, New Work…

Covid-19 has shone a light on the way we work, revealing what some of us may have felt for some time: We don't always need to be in the office. We quickly found that at Unilever. Being equipped with game changing technology, we actually can work productively and flexibly at home. While we can’t imagine a life without Video Calls, digital agendas, presentations and even interviews anymore, all these changes to our lives can feel somewhat overwhelming. 

--> If it’s not fun, why do it (as Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Jerry Greenfield likes to say)

It’s ok to ask for help! And there’s really no need to be serious all the time. At Unilever, we try to bring a bit of fun into every day: Digital Hugs, funny virtual backgrounds, funny pet moments in home office, Emojis, Memes & Gifs.

And even a composition and a recording of a ‘Fight-back’ Corona Song with more than 50 colleagues. Being involved in composing, texting, and singing these lyrics was such an energizer for all of us!

It is dedicated to everyone keeping us going every day for 11 months straight: supplying food, hygiene and service to those in need.

For All Fellow Globetrotters – I feel you

Trips on hold, plans canceled and no idea when we’ll be able to revisit our far away friends and favorite places… Everyone with a travel bug will know this irritable mix of emotions in response to the shutdown of travel operations all over the world.

My family and I love to travel, and we have had plenty of plans to see family and friends back home in the Netherlands, make a trip to Troms? during Easter, see old colleagues in Stockholm, go skiing and explore new places. Well, it goes without saying that We. Stay. At Home! 

--> What to do about it?

While we’re all cooped up at home or at least confined to our geographical locations, we revisit old photos (in fact my desktop picture is an image that I love), we cook ‘travel meals’, and we watch movies that transport us. One of my favorites is “The Long Way Up” with Ewan McGregor and Charles Boorman: Fantastic memories of our time in Atacama in Chile, Bolivia and Peru. 

Our coping mechanisms to the various current challenges may vary. But what we share is that it affects our mood in many, and sometimes unexpected, ways. 

So let’s not forget: It is also ok to be not ok.

It’s Ok to be Not Ok

This year, my team and I will go even further to de-stigmatize mental health by expanding mental health benefits, and building awareness about this critical issue.

For my team in Germany Austria and Switzerland reading this, please remember you are just one conversation away from help and support by us, the leadership team. And let’s support each other and create a more human workplace

Take care and stay well.

Yours, Peter