Expanded vacation. More companies will gravitate to the European model of allowing employees to have four, six and eight weeks of vacation annually.
The pandemic pause brought us to a moment of collective reckoning about what it means to live well and to work well. As a result, employees are sending employers an urgent signal that they are no longer willing to choose one — life or work — at the cost of the other. Working from home brought life literally into our work. And as the world now goes hybrid, employees are drawing firmer boundaries about how much of their work comes into their life. Where does this leave employers? And which perspectives and programs contribute most to progress? In our newest interview series, Working Well: How Companies Are Creating Cultures That Support & Sustain Mental, Emotional, Social, Physical & Financial Wellness, we are talking to successful executives, entrepreneurs, managers, leaders, and thought leaders across all industries to share ideas about how to shift company cultures in light of this new expectation. We’re discovering strategies and steps employers and employees can take together to live well and to work well.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Renwick Brutus.
Renwick Brutus has worked as a research economist, holds an MBA from Fordham University, and has been recognized for outstanding achievement in the financial services and performance improvement industries.
His uncanny ability to identify solutions to challenges, project the positive, and prioritize the path to success informs his every moment.
Today, Renwick applies his unique blend of business strategy and interpersonal skills to help individuals flourish and companies grow.
Thank you for making time to visit with us about the topic of our time. Our readers would like to get to know you better. Tell us about a formative experience that prompted you to change your relationship with work and how work shows up in your life.
I started my career as a research economist. At the end of the first sixteen months, as I was having a casual conversation with the Governor of the Bank, I asked him when he anticipated I would be allowed to pursue my advanced degree. To my surprise, he proceeded to share with me where he was in his career when he was my age as a basis of comparison and therefore, to suggest I had lots of time ahead and should be patient.
It was a moment of decision. I determined in that instant that I would not allow anyone to define my timelines for accomplishing the goals I set for myself. That conversation served as a catalyst for me to find a way to build a career that would provide me with the flexibility to set my own goals and timelines, approaches to achieving them, work schedule and the financial success I wanted.
The result was my discovery of ways to “play for pay.” I designed and executed a work model that afforded my employees and me flexible work hours, unlimited time-off to attend to personal matters, and opportunities to generate income based on their contribution to the revenues and profitability of the enterprise.
Harvard Business Review predicts that wellness will become the newest metric employers will use to analyze and to assess their employees’ mental, physical and financial health. How does your organization define wellness, and how does your organization measure wellness?
Wellness is defined in my organization as “total health” of the whole person. By that we mean, every member of our organization achieves wellness based on their attentiveness and outcomes in six areas of their life. It’s an approach that begins with self-assessment of how they’re doing relative to where they want to be (using a 10-point scale) in distinct areas; Spiritual & Ethical, Family & Home, Financial & Career, Mental & Educational, Physical & Health, and Social & Cultural.
Wellness is measured by compiling the scores from employees’ self-rating. The scores they assign are informed by self-evaluation questionnaires for each of the six areas mentioned earlier. The questionnaires invite respondents to explore a wide range of matters that bring attention to attitudes, behaviors, and results related to achieving “wellness” in the particular distinct area. The total scores for each of the areas are taken and compiled to provide a Wellness Category Rating, (e.g., Organizational Physical & Health Rating, Organizational Financial & Career Rating, etc.) and blended together to provide a Composite Organizational Wellness Rating.
Based on your experience or research, how do you correlate and quantify the impact of a well workforce on your organization’s productivity and profitability?
Employees who are mentally, physically, emotionally and financially healthy tend to be happier than their unhealthy peers. And happier people who have a mission to achieve their personal goals in every area of their lives are highly motivated performers. When leaders in organizations prioritize employee well-being and happiness, and take time to align employees’ personal goals with the organization’s goals, both productivity and profitably improve. The Corporate Wellness Rating is compared against performance indicators such as employee turnover, absenteeism, client acquisition, client retention, sales revenue, and profitability.
Even though most leaders have good intentions when it comes to employee wellness, programs that require funding are beholden to business cases like any other initiative. The World Health Organization estimates for every $1 invested into treatment for common mental health disorders, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity. That sounds like a great ROI. And, yet many employers struggle to fund wellness programs that seem to come “at the cost of the business.” What advice do you have to offer to other organizations and leaders who feel stuck between intention and impact?
People are your most valuable asset. As an employer, you cannot afford to neglect the wellness of employees. You must pursue partnerships with employees and invest in their total development. Training for technical skills, “soft skills” and wellness are absolutely essential for attracting and retaining the most productive talent, especially in the increasingly competitive global marketplace for talent. Investments in these competencies must be given high priority. And employers must ask and listen for what employees want, be transparent and honest in communicating what they’re able to deliver, and keep their commitments.
Speaking of money matters, a recent Gallup study reveals employees of all generations rank wellbeing as one of their top three employer search criteria. How are you incorporating wellness programs into your talent recruitment and hiring processes?
The messaging that is done throughout the organization and in the recruitment and hiring process emphasizes wellness.
It’s woven into the culture. Because we’re committed to helping everyone with whom we’re associated experience and achieve ever increasing levels of success. And the only way for that to happen is for everyone to set goals in each of the six areas of life and take action that best supports their attainment.
The organization as a whole does the same. By establishing goals, implementing policies and installing programs that are consistent with fostering the collective wellness of the organization. And we share them with prospective hires and recruits.
We’ve all heard of the four-day work week, unlimited PTO, mental health days, and on demand mental health services. What innovative new programs and pilots are you launching to address employee wellness? And, what are you discovering? We would benefit from an example in each of these areas.
● Mental Wellness: Employee Assistance Programs that make available an extensive roster of mental health professionals who are available to provide confidential mental health counseling services through in-person and virtual consultations.
● Emotional Wellness: A buddy system whereby we educate and remind associates of the critical importance of emotional health for living happily and successfully, and encourage them to engage with and support each other in achieving and maintaining their emotional health. We have assembled resources of books, videos and educational resources that support this initiative.
● Social Wellness: A calendar of company social events and promotions of cultural events that are available in the community, for example, sporting events, theater performances, opera, ballet, symphony, and art museums.
● Physical Wellness: Discount memberships to health and fitness centers, appreciation and recognition using physical and fitness related tokens, and annual company walks and hikes are a few of the programs being piloted.
● Financial Wellness: Access to company-sponsored retirement plans and financial advisors for help with financial and retirement planning is foundational to our financial wellness program. Additionally, we have a program entitled “Building Financial Success” that equips associates with attitudes toward money, disciplines for saving, understanding budgeting and multiple essential competencies for achieving financial wellness.
Can you please tell us more about a couple of specific ways workplaces would benefit from investing in your ideas above to improve employee wellness?
- Workplaces would benefit from an enhanced perception in the marketplace. They would be seen as innovative and as being led by visionary leaders who care about their employees and are responsive to the needs of the workforce of today. It would position them to be a more attractive place to work than their competition.
- Workplaces that choose to invest in these ideas that improve the overall wellness of their employees will attract and retain superior talent. And that mix of highly talented associates will be healthier, happier and highly motivated to perform at their best for the benefit of the organization and themselves. That translates to greater profitability, growth and impact for the organization.
How are you reskilling leaders in your organization to support a “Work Well” culture?
I’m pleased to say we’re continuing on a path we’ve been on for years. This idea of wellness is one that’s been intertwined with our mission, culture and core values for many years.
Our work of developing people and growing companies has been predicated on the foundational principle of personal leadership, first. And then, motivational leadership of teams and strategic leadership of the organization. That model has allowed us to give full attention to people development, utilizing a holistic approach that produces success organically.
Everyone goes through a refresher “Personal Leadership” program annually. It rekindles the acuity with which they give attention to their personal goals and it raises their sensitivity to the need to help others do the same. And it infuses their work and interactions with ideas for integrating matters of wellness into policies, resources, programs and routine conversations.
Ideas take time to implement. What is one small step every individual, team or organization can take to get started on these ideas — to get well?
- Set 3–5 wellness goals and develop a plan of action for achieving those goals, starting with the most important one.
What are your “Top 5 Trends To Track In the Future of Workplace Wellness?”
- Remote and flexible work locations. Companies will allow workers to work from home and travel destinations that are equipped with the amenities necessary for permitting work to be unhindered.
- Mental health sessions at work, paid. Workers will be allowed to take time out to engage with other co-workers, mental health professionals, or on their own to attend to their mental health through counseling, group therapy or similar programs.
- Physical fitness facilities, trainers, and instructors (for yoga, tai-chi, etc.) will be made available on-site or by way of employer sponsorship to help employees access opportunities for fitness. These will be supported with various incentives, rewards and recognition initiatives.
- Expanded vacation. More companies will gravitate to the European model of allowing employees to have four, six and eight weeks of vacation annually.
- Financial education and coaching will become more entrenched in organizations. These programs will be less a part of the “benefit” package and more actively delivered on an ongoing, routine and formal basis to improve the financial security of employees.
What is your greatest source of optimism about the future of workplace wellness?
- It is being embraced by society at every level. Thanks to the pandemic and the adverse effects on life and health, considerable attention has been given to the importance of well-being. And the proliferation of information in all media has accelerated interest and demand for programs that make higher levels of wellness mainstream.
Our readers often like to continue the conversation with our featured interviewees. How can they best connect with you and stay current on what you’re discovering?
- I write and post ideas on various platforms. I may be reached with questions at [email protected] and I may be followed at https://twitter.com/renwickbrutus and https://www.renwick.rocks/reflections
Thank you for sharing your insights and predictions. We appreciate the gift of your time and wish you continued success and wellness.