[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/06\/employee-wellness-programs\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/06\/employee-wellness-programs\/","headline":"Employee wellness: Always-on mentality gets cancel culture treatment","name":"Employee wellness: Always-on mentality gets cancel culture treatment","description":"Employee wellness has become one of the most critical factors in business outcomes, as the always-on culture gives way to holistic approaches to work.","datePublished":"2020-02-06","dateModified":"2023-02-03","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/#Person","name":"Tracey Wallace","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/","identifier":367,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/21377d3250d3cee37a219265f855ca86717424033839661349c4b6845d2250cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/21377d3250d3cee37a219265f855ca86717424033839661349c4b6845d2250cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/thumbnail-ce026246647ac7b8ac50fd58b66c57a1.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/thumbnail-ce026246647ac7b8ac50fd58b66c57a1.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/06\/employee-wellness-programs\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/employee-engagement\/","name":"Employee Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Employee_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q14937678"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/purpose\/","name":"Purpose","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purpose"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/purpose\/purpose-general\/","name":"Purpose","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purpose"]},"Real Talk: Mental Health, Well-Being, and Laughter"],"wordCount":913,"keywords":["Chief Wellbeing Officer","Employee Advocacy","Employee Development","Employee Engagement","Employee Experience","Workplace Culture"],"articleBody":"Over the last decade, job burnout, then consequently employee wellness, became some of the biggest issues and talking points within the working world, giving rise to meditation applications like Headspace and Calm to help folks find even just five minutes a day for themselves.Then, there was the proliferation of morning routines \u2013\u2013 various habits you build to set yourself up for a highly productive day between your full-time job and your side hustle.The ability to hack productivity became popular memes like \u201cYou have as many hours in the day as Beyonce,\u201d and spawned professional titles at tech organizations like \u201cgrowth hacker.\u201dA wellness-savvy consumer risesToday, things have changed. Former multi-tasking, always-on guru Arianna Huffington has started a new media company dedicated to wellness called Thrive Global. The publication was born after a burnout incident that nearly killed her. She recently quoted this The Atlantic piece in her newsletter that goes out to hundreds of thousands:\u201cMarina Koren writes that there is a \u2018sinister\u2019 side to all this predawn perfection. Koren rightly notes that our morning routine mania is fueled by a culture obsessed with early-rising self-optimization. In this definition of success, productivity is king. Our culture celebrates people who start their day very early \u2014\u201crising with the sun,\u201d as the Peloton ad instructor puts it. We define ourselves by how early we wake up, celebrate how little sleep we get and equate our value with how much we can accomplish.\u201dNeither Arianna nor Marina at The Atlantic are alone. Consumers themselves are equally adept at spotting false wellness claims.Peloton\u2019s holiday advertisement that showed a husband giving his physically fit wife a Peloton for Christmas had many loyal Peloton customers wondering if their favorite brand understood them at all – and savvy stars doubling down on what “wellness” actually means:https:\/\/twitter.com\/VancityReynolds\/status\/1203118775815622664Retail publications called the backlash \u201ccultural schadenfreude.\u201d\u201cAt the heart of this is a disconnect. \u2018In politics,\u2019 Rabia said, \u2018this class warfare is emerging.\u2019Meanwhile, brands like Peloton become ubiquitous on platforms like Instagram, democratizing a certain type of lifestyle \u2014 so long as people can afford it. \u2018This wellness elitism has just been brewing,\u2019 Rabia said; Peloton represents \u2018a different type of luxury brand.\u2019\u201dThe new era of employee wellnessThis cultural understanding of what wellness is and what’s advertised as wellness but actually elitism isn’t just happening with consumers upset with brands for their ads or actions.It’s also taking place in the office, where ping pong tables are being replaced with therapists you can text, chaplins to help manage grief, and much more.Brands like Honor and Eterneva, for instance, were both started by former technology employees. These days, the at-home care group (Honor) and the ashes to diamond memorialization brand (Eterneva) have a heavy focus on internal wellness and wellbeing given their difficult emotional environments.\u201cWe know that word of mouth is our best marketing channel, and that begins with us internally. We have to maintain our own mental health so we can help our customers in their times of need,\u201d said\u00a0Adelle Archer, Eterneva\u2019s CEO and co-founder.Outside of these organizations, data shows that teletherapy is on the rise as employees look for ways to manage burn out and work anxiety.\u201c\u2018The concept of separation between work and free time doesn\u2019t exist for a lot of us,\u2019 says one millennial Manhattan attorney who did not wish to be identified. He says he spends three-plus hours round-trip commuting to his job from a Connecticut suburb.\u2018Thanks to technology, we\u2019re expected to be responsive regardless of where we are or what we\u2019re doing,\u201d he says, adding that \u201cdisconnecting only leads to feelings of guilt and anxiety.\u2019\u201dHow brands begin to counter this in order to balance their internal employee wellness (and recruit top talent) –\u00a0 as well as how they market wellness and their own activities to consumers to win loyalty – remains to be seen.Some organizations, like Buffer, publish everyone\u2019s salaries to help level the playing field. Others offer 16 weeks of maternity leave. Others still offer unlimited vacation.But those steps are only the beginning. Millennials are wising up to the health penalties of an always-on culture. Generation Z won\u2019t even consider it.The case for dogs at work: Ways to improve employee wellnessThe next decade will change internal work culture as well as customer expectations around how a business treats their employees.As employers look to improve employee wellness, here are some surefire ways to get started:Openly discuss mental health awareness and make counseling easily accessibleMake recognition a stronghold of employee culture and team meetingsCreate flexible work hours, and institute work from home policiesFoster purpose in the workplace – allow employees to follow their passion wherever possibleEncourage employees to take breaks and use all of their vacation timeDiscourage late night emails or meetings that start after hoursAllow the freedom for people to get up and walk around; consider adding standing desk stationsProvide access to volunteer opportunitiesDogs – is there anything they can’t do? Studies confirm that dogs at work boost moraleIn the experience economy, it’s important to remember that employee wellness directly contributes to the experience that customers receive – not paying attention to internal factors will only cost businesses in the long run.Check in on your employeesand make sure they\u2019re okay.Free tools to do thiscan be found here."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"02","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/02\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/02\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Employee wellness: Always-on mentality gets cancel culture treatment","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/06\/employee-wellness-programs\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]