What is wellbeing and why it must be an integral part of New Business Consciousness
Why do you want more money for your work? I guess it’s meant to increase your quality of life in some way, right? But how can you improve the quality of your life when you don’t have a life… because you’re working 20 hours a day? Makes no sense to me and it doesn’t to many other people… unless you love your work so much that you just don’t want to do anything else, in which case you’re fine.
So what you REALLY want is more wellbeing, don’t you? And while I have written about and coached in and even created an entire online course around how to effectively negotiate your dream salary (still an important skill to develop), wellbeing is becoming a more and more valuable currency as more people are waking up from the work-work-work slumber. Fewer people want to put up with this working anesthesia and become more present in their lives again, have time not only for their families but also to catch up with what’s going on in the world beyond the four lines of their office. (See, tyrannies are more easily implemented when you don’t pay attention because you’re too busy for it…)
With this in mind, almost three years ago, I wrote an article titled Moving into a New Business Consciousness of Love, Compassion and Co-Creation.
Today, I want to add some essential ideas to this article, as I believe that wellbeing is an integral part of this New Business Consciousness, and it wasn’t expressly mentioned in that first article, and it’s key to deeply understand its significance so together, we can make that shift toward making wellbeing one of the main focus areas of any business.
Whether you create wellbeing through your offering (products and services), by creating appealing jobs, setting up a welcoming work environment, upholding high ethical standards, implementing greater workplace flexibility or gifting wellness perks to your employees (or all of the above), these are all steps toward greater wellbeing. They are actions that are aligned with the spirit of this New Business Consciousness.
In a previous article for this newsletter, I said energy is your most precious currency. I still believe that. At the same time, I agree with Karen Curry Parker that wellbeing is the most precious currency of the future new consciousness for humanity, and thus also for the New Business Consciousness.
What do I mean by this? – Yes, fair compensation is essential and also creates wellbeing as long as it’s not tied to inhumane work conditions, and… people want more than just money. This idea reminds me of a Brazilian song, “Comida” (Food), and I picked a few lines for us to reflect on. (I think the author of the lyrics is Arnaldo Antunes.)
A gente não quer só comida / We don’t just want food
A gente quer a vida / We want life
Como a vida quer... / Like life wants us to…
A gente não quer só comida / We don’t just want food
A gente quer comida, diversão e arte / We want food, fun and art
A gente não quer só comida / We don’t just want food
A gente quer saída pra qualquer parte / We want to go out wherever we want
A gente não quer só dinheiro / We don’t just want money
A gente quer dinheiro e felicidade / We want money and happiness
A gente não quer só dinheiro / We don’t just want money
A gente quer inteiro, não pela metade... / We want it all, not just half of it
This song expresses a lot of the wellbeing we all crave though there’s of course more to it: We want peace, time with family and friends, and to explore the world, and so much more. We came to this Earth as beings with desires… because desires lead to expansion, and that’s a big part of everyone’s purpose.
And we all want high quality of life, even though this may look different for different people. Quality of life includes quality at work, where we spend a substantial part of our lives, even if we don’t work more than 8 hours/day.
Here’s a list of workplace examples of wellbeing from my perspective:
· Flexibility
· Recognition of aspirations, needs and desires
· Recognition of individual talents, potential, and achievements
· Right to be creative
· Dignity
· Freedom of speech
· Freedom of personal (inc. health) decisions
· Self-expression and individuation
· Support when needed
· Pleasant workplace and space
· Amenities at the workplace
· Being able to be human
· Acknowledgement of us being emotional beings
· Trust and giving reason to trust
· Respect for all / true inclusiveness (rather than group think manipulation
I know there’s so much more. In your opinion, what else should be included in this list?