Text by: Rosa Almeida (Participatory Design Manager at INTRAS Foundation); Sofía Ballesteros (Social Worker at INTRAS Foundation)
We spend an average of a third part of our lives working. Yes! A third part of our lives working!
If we sum to this some bad habits, then we are mixing important ingredients for living in tension, stress and anxiety instead of living being mindful of our bodies’ responses, and the impact of our routines and environments in our wellbeing and happiness.
Should be workers happiness an important focus of the company’s work plans? Oh, yes! It definitively should. According to the Happy-Productive Worker Model, “happy” workers perform better than “less happy” ones. Is it possibly true? Let us dive into the evidences.
A research by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, in collaboration with British multinational telecoms firm BT, has found a conclusive link between happiness and productivity. Workers are 13% more productive when happy!
It seems that there is room for improvement in the happiness of employees while they are at work. Conditions such as salary are not the only favouring satisfaction and happiness. Many factors such as working physical conditions, working engagement and quality of working relations, even completely external ones such as the local weather conditions (the better the happier) have part in our individual algorithms of happiness.
There is no doubt workers are the main asset of a company. Therefore, caring them is of higher importance. Working on risk prevention, in enhance cooperation, participatory work, belonging, unity and flexibility (e.g. strategies for reconciling work and individual life) are props adopted by many companies that look out for the well-being of the worker, both in their private life and in the workplace, so that both can be satisfactory. To mention some examples, Companies like Google provide their workers with resources such as stylists, repair of bicycles or gyms, help in family conciliation, or even encourage adoption.
Well-being at work is one of the keys to achieving a productive, motivated and committed team. For that, risk prevention strategies are also vital to everyone but can have a special impact on the oldest workers, more affected by the accumulation of physical effort, bad postures or routines, injuries and the biological changes accompanying age. It can be the different in between having positive or negative influences on your health and wellbeing.
While employability has been on the rise for people aged 45-65, these ones face the most challenges staying well and working longer. For this reason, the WORKINGAGE is working on the development of the WAOW tool, which offers a virtual assistant to support workers over 45 years of age, an e-coach aware of their emotional state and designed to promote health and well-being.
In short, WAOW Tool will help you not just in being aware of your health, lifestyle patterns and Wellbeing, conditions and Performance at Work, but also supports you in your daily life, learning from you, helping you to engage in better habits and recommending some tips, and activities you might be interested in. You will be able to follow how the small changes you do can have a great impact on your wellness.
Stay connected to see how WORKINGAGE Project progresses.
