What’s the difference between zebras and human beings? How many breaks should we really take throughout the day? Are you a segregator or an integrator type? And is recovery more than only resting?
In today’s hyperconnected world, the lines between work and personal life can often become blurry. How can you yourself, and we as an organization, prioritize well-being, while the constant buzz of notifications and the pressure to always be available lingers in the corner of our eyes?
Let’s have a chat with Sara Wouters (Care Lead at TriHD) and Marjan Schollaert (Expert Manager XSU Care at TriHD) and explore ways to help our Me inc.®’ers disconnect and how we can support their well-being within our organization.
Why
The prevalence of smartphones and digital devices has increasingly changed the way we work and communicate. While it comes with many benefits, such as increased efficiency and connectivity, it can also take a toll on our mental health and well-being. So, the question of why we have to disconnect might be a rhetorical one, but as an organization you play a vital role in helping your employees in doing so.
As an organization, our role is to act as the wind in our employee’s sails, providing support, resources and a conducive environment for their journey towards feeling professionally fulfilled. But it’s always a two-way street, as there has to be initiative on both sides.
At TriHD, furthering people for better performance in do-how is deeply embedded in our DNA. We truly want to bring out the best in all of our employees, so they can grow at their own pace and in a direction that they choose themselves. “However, you cannot forget that it’s always a two-way street. And that’s why it’s very important to have a clear idea of what kind of well-being initiatives you want to undertake. As an organization, our role is to act as the wind in our employee’s sails, providing support, resources and a conducive environment for their journey towards feeling truly professionally fulfilled”, explains Marjan. “That sense of fulfillment in our careers also provides us with a profound sense of purpose, accomplishment, and contribution. And it adds up to the whole idea of well-being”, adds Sara.
How
Can you hear it? It’s the buzzing sound of I want to break free blasting through your radio. Or was it another notification? Anyhow: Yes, it would be ideal to break free from the cycle of constant connectivity. But the question is: how?
As an organization, it is important to understand that there are different types of people. Some might like clear boundaries, others may prefer a more flexible approach. “It is important to get to know your own personal style as an employee, but it is also essential for an organization to understand their preferences and needs. That’s one of the reasons why we regularly check in with every employee. They all get the opportunity to talk with a personal Career Coach who can challenge them, help them keep focus or encourage them when needed. They dare to ask questions such as: How can we define the next steps in your career? Is the path that you have once chosen still the right path? And how can we support you?”, says Marjan.
Every employee has the opportunity to step into a mentoring trajectory or have a conversation with a Career Coach. Mentoring will lead to better performance which automatically leads to feeling more fulfilled in your job. A Career Coach can hold up a mirror and dares to ask questions about your career.
To put the furthering people for better performance in do-how into practice, we also offer our employees the opportunity to step into a mentoring trajectory. “Mentoring is often project-related in order to increase one's competences. It can focus on both hard and soft skills. By increasing those competences, mentoring will lead to better performance which automatically leads to feeling more fulfilled in your job. A plus at TriHD? Mentoring is often done by our own Me inc®’ers, which gives a more accessible feeling as it takes place in an informal setting between peers”, adds Marjan.
“Both the mentoring trajectory and a Career Coach can also be seen as a way to disconnect: mentoring gives an employee a chance to step aside from their project to get a helicopter view and start a dialogue with their mentor to come up with a solution for a specific problem. And a Career Coach can get you back on track should your career path get a little bit blurry. Either way, both options can help an employee to disconnect and then reconnect again and ultimately support their well-being as well”, explains Marjan.
On top of Mentoring and a Career Coach, we also stimulate our colleagues to foresee focus time in their agendas, to tick those last boxes of their to-do list. “We provide them with tips and tricks on how they can disconnect or how to avoid having back-to-back meetings all day long. And we recommend that no communications or emails be sent after working hours”, explains Sara. “In addition to those tips and tricks, our employees can also take some Parktime. And that’s quite literally. They can park time to reconnect with themselves or others, to focus on getting things done without interruption or to work on their furthering by starting a dialogue about their ambitions with someone from our Care Team.”
What
Sports, books, healthy food: we all know that well-being can take on many shapes. And this also means that it’s important to provide well-being initiatives that fit those shapes. It’s all about finding meaning in work, creating opportunities for employees to grow and having a sense of purpose. But it’s also about fun and feeling connected.
Don’t underestimate the power of connectivity through small actions. As a true network organization, we strongly believe in this.
About that fun and feeling connected part… “Our colleagues get the opportunity to collect Fitcoins by walking or just being active. With those Fitcoins they can choose to swap these points for a refillable water bottle for example, take a fitness class or even plant a tree to expand our TriForest. It may sound like it’s not much, but never underestimate the power of connectivity. And as a true network organization, we strongly believe in this idea”, clarifies Sara.
Next to the ‘active’ part of well-being, we also offer an extensive range of trainings and courses. “These courses can be given by a TriHD employee with expertise in a certain domain or we collaborate with someone outside of our organization. We organized a training together with Katelijne Nijsmans from How’s Work for example, in which she elaborated on the importance of disconnection. Something we definitely believe in ourselves as well. Think about the focus time, no communication after working hours and remote working that we already mentioned”, narrates Marjan.
Are you a zebra?
Oh and about those zebras… We hate to break it to you, but you’re not a zebra, nor any other animal. You are a human being, as all of us are. Take that break, establish boundaries, prioritize self-care and relaxation, choose a style that really suits your life and push pause when you feel that mental fatigue. We’re problem solvers, and that’s our true strength. Unplugging to reconnect is essential for maintaining our mental health and well-being in today’s digital age.
Header image by Pexels
