You believe people are the core of any company, and you care about enhancing their well-being and effectiveness.
Overview
This “Life Improvement Tool Kit” will talk about challenges affecting companies and their employees, and it will show how organizations can enhance the well-being of their people and help the business become more effective—at the same time!
This material will help your company maximize the productivity and morale of its most important asset—its people. It will only take 45 minutes of reading, thinking, and planning to see how your business can get started.
First, get a piece of paper or open a file to take notes as you go through this kit.
Next, take the short Assessment to help you identify how companies and the people who work there can enhance well-being and productivity.
Then, go through the 5 lessons which follow. Watch the initial video, and read the articles referenced in the other lessons. Some key points will be captured for you below, but think about what elements are true for the company you work at and how the business can improve the well-being of its people.
At the end, think about what changes you or your company could consider. Good luck!
Assessment
Start by taking a quick inventory of the wellness approach of your company now:
1. From 1-to-10 (10 being High), how much emphasis does you company place on employee well-being?
2. From 1-to-10, what is the level of focus your company places on helping employees prevent or deal with addiction?
3. What are the things your company does now to enhance employee well-being?
4. Do you believe it is a good business and personal decision for companies to invest in the development of their employees?
5. What are some ideas for things your company could do in the future to enhance employee well-being and prevent addiction?
Lesson 1. Thriving in a VUCA World
Action: Take the first step by watching this 5-minute video.
Action: If you like, you can also read that same article.
The word “VUCA” is an acronym that represents the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity of general conditions and situations. In this article, it is used to describe the business and personal environment of our hectic modern era.
At its extreme, VUCA for workers feels like debilitating stress, lack of engagement in their jobs, destructive habits and addictions, and decreased productivity at work.
Proactive investment in the development and well-being of employees is the best strategy for operating effectively in a VUCA environment.
There are attributes which can be learned that prepare workers for thriving in a VUCA world. Those attributes include: awareness and resilience, connection and purpose, and intentionality and self-improvement.
Lesson 2. Becoming Great at the People Business
Action: Take the next step by reading this article.
Peter Drucker originated the view of the company as a human community built on trust and respect for the worker and not just a profit-making machine. He recognized the importance of people.
There is compelling business rationale for companies to invest in their people, and development programs can produce a great ROI. But there is an even more important reason why they should care for employee well-being: it’s simply the right thing to do.
All companies are in the people business, but there is a wide range in how they handle that responsibility. Great companies clearly understand the value of investing in their people.
Lesson 3. What’s Missing from Wellness
Action: Take the next step by reading this article.
Current approaches to business and personal wellness tend to ignore the issue that is the most dangerous, the most widespread, the most ignored, and the most preventable.
About 75% of people with addiction work full-time. And addiction is not only treatable, it is preventable! Why don’t businesses do more to help their people? Good question.
There are skills and knowledge that can make employees better at work, and which can enhance their lives and prevent addiction. What’s missing from wellness can be addressed by: understanding addiction, developing resilience, learning life enhancement skills, and developing a foundation of wellness.
By filling in what’s missing from wellness, life can be much better. And people—and companies—can get there one step at a time.
Lesson 4. The Next Generation of Addiction Treatment
Action: Take the next step by reading this article.
Based on the tragic impact addiction continues to have, it has become clear that we need to do something different than what we have been doing. Prevention is the answer, and it is the next generation of addiction treatment.
Prevention programs help people live in a purposeful manner, increase their resilience, and address the factors that can lead them toward addiction before they reach the crisis stage.
We can have an impact on addiction by focusing on 5 key phases:
- Integrated Lifestyle: Prevention using a holistic approach.
- Greater Awareness: Taking preventative action earlier in the cycle.
- Positive Connection: Involving other people in prevention.
- Life Management: Teaching practical “how to” methodologies.
- Purpose and Plan: We must be proactive rather than reactive.
Lesson 5. The Next Wave of Business Wellness
Action: Take the final step in this process by reading this article.
Good companies should not only care about their people, but care for them as well. This includes providing education and support to enhance employees’ well-being. This is an act of responsibility that is good for the business and the people who work there.
A Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation survey found that two-thirds of human resource professionals believe that substance abuse is one of the most serious issues among the workforce.
The good news is that there is an approach that can help employers address this problem: use the proven principles of recovery to augment their training and coaching programs for employees.
One company at a time, executives can lead the way into the next wave of business wellness. One person at a time, they can help address the epidemic of addiction.
Create a Plan
Decide what elements are most important.
1. Which of the principles from the lessons above are most relevant to your company and your situation? (List as many as are appropriate.)
2. What are the top 2-to-3 actions or techniques you feel would make the most difference in employee well-being?
3. What are some ideas for things your company could do to help employees prevent and deal with addiction?
4. What should you do personally to enhance your own personal well-being?
5. Who do you know, including yourself, that could benefit from learning more about how to prevent or deal with addiction?
Get Started
Take the next right step!
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