“How Companies Can End a Culture of Overwork”
I read this paper by Brigid Schulte in Harvard Business Review and found it insightful.
It especially resonated with me in the context of some recent work I have been doing as part of the Ivy House London team delivering a program on proactive well-being to the next generation of corporate leaders of a global organisation. One of the many leadership challenges they face is how to change the organisation’s culture around productivity, performance, and well-being.
The author sites five strategies that can help organisations make the change:
1) Shift the mindset of the leaders
2) Redesign Work Processes
3) Rightsize the Workforce and Workloads
4) Craft a Productivity and Well-Being Culture
5) Be willing to Experiment
In my experience as a corporate leader managing cultural change is a complex process that requires a multi-layered strategy (like the one outlined in this article), significant time, effort, and resources.
The most critical part is the mindset and behaviour of the leadership. They have to model the way for the rest of the organisation. It’s no good, talking the talk if you are not walking the walk. Leaders at all levels must take the first step to re-frame their thinking and adjust their actions so they start modeling a balanced life.
Another vital element to creating and sustaining real change in the culture is removing the obstacles. There will be many of these, the most significant ones are the performance metrics and reward systems. They must be reviewed and if necessary, redesigned so they are aligned with the target culture in which workaholism isn’t a prize but a concern.
Read the full article and let me know your thoughts. I’d welcome new thoughts and perspectives on this topic as it’s a subject high on the agenda of many of the business leaders I coach.
“How Companies Can End a Culture of Overwork”
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