What’s with all the Wellbeing? How Jerry Seinfeld had the right idea when it comes to workplace wellbeing
Jerry Seinfeld and workplace wellbeing.
Two things you wouldn’t naturally put together. However, when I think about workplace wellbeing, I can’t help but think of Jerry doing his ‘Parking Space’ bit.
Fans of the show will know what I’m talking about, but for those of you who missed it, Seinfeld is resplendent in a purple blazer and blue shirt with wide paisley print tie. He’s closing out his show with his trade-mark stand-up. The bouncy synth backing track mixes with the crowd laughing as Jerry does this thing.
The set-up is simple. The people of New York are at breaking point. There are too many cars and not enough spaces. Parking is like musical chairs, except everybody parked their cars in 1964. Jerry wraps up the bit with ‘car manufacturers are building hundreds of thousands of new cars every year. They are not making any new spaces. That’s what they should be working on. Wouldn’t that be great? You go to the auto show, and they’ve got that big revolving turntable, and there’s nothing on it. New from Chrysler, a space’.
The pandemic
In 2020 when the pandemic hit and seemingly changed everything, the line ‘always building more cars, but not making any new spaces’ took on a whole new meaning for me.
Living and working in Melbourne during the pandemic was a challenge. A city that prides itself on coming in first – at coffee, liveability, sporting events – found itself with an unwanted title: Most locked-down city in the world.
As you’d expect 263 days over six separate lockdowns re-defined my relationship with work. The lines that had allowed separation or space between work and life were erased. It became particularly difficult to know where work stopped and the rest of life started – especially when both occupied the same physical space.
This lack of space started to override everything. It was intense and unrelenting.
The intensification of work
However, the intensification of work goes much deeper than the pandemic. Since the 1990s, around the same time that Seinfeld was the biggest show on TV, the UK government were regularly checking in with people to understand the changing nature of work. What did they find?
·The proportion of employees who “strongly agree” their job requires that they work “very hard” increased from 30 per cent in 1992 to 46 per cent in 2017.
The share who say they work to “tight deadlines” for at least three quarters of the time has increased from 53 per cent to 60 per cent.
And the share who say they work at “very high speed” for at least three quarters of the time has swelled from 23 per cent to 45 per cent.
A striking trend is that work is intensifying regardless of the work. Both workers in the top quarter of the pay ladder and bottom quarter said they worked ‘under a great deal of tension’ in 2017.
The bit about workplace wellbeing
Wellbeing isn’t new. It’s been around since the 1950s, where onsite doctors and nurses tended to workers if they were unwell or injured. Wellbeing has evolved over the decades with different elements coming in and out of focus, but broadly speaking wellbeing addresses the physical, financial, emotional and social needs of people.
Wellbeing recognises that people need support, particularly when times get tough.
During the pandemic, organisations packaged and/or repackaged their wellbeing offers and LinkedIn feeds started to fill with stories and images – from hampers, to swag bags, to memberships and fitness equipment, to improved access to mental, financial and social support. #blessed.
Good intention and for many these offers of support were crucial. Still, something was missing ‘…always building more cars, but not making any new spaces’.
The role of leaders and creating a culture of workplace wellbeing
As leaders, we have the task of creating space for our teams.
This can take different forms, but it starts by appreciating that life happens at work. And, if we are comfortable and supportive of work happening when life should be happening, we’ve got to be equally comfortable with our people needing time and space at work to deal with life as it happens.
Leaders are producing the conditions for genuine wellbeing when they actively create balance for people. This means regularly re-prioritising work, revisiting deadlines, focusing on outcomes as opposed to output and recognising when our team-mates are struggling.
This is made easier when there is a culture that allows people to take care of themselves. Something all leaders can help build by leading by example. So, walk the talk. If your company offers extra leave, take it. If they subsidise running gear, buy some and go for a run during work hours and promote the fact that you did.
The simple act of being human normalises this balance and let’s your people know that all these things are ok. It also builds a culture of belonging and allows people to take advantage of what’s on offer, without guilt or fear of reprisal.
Take Goldman Sachs who recently introduced unlimited time-off for their Partners and Managing Directors. However, at the same, it is highly uncommon for people working in this sector to take extended leave. So much so, that employees report not putting out-of-office messages on for fear of being branded/labelled lazy or weak. Considering this culture, would you feel supported to access this wellbeing initiative?
So, if you’re serious about the wellbeing of your people and genuinely care about their mental, physical, financial and emotional health, don’t jump straight for perks.
Take a minute. Put on an episode of Seinfeld and remember the best thing you can probably do is create some space.
This article was written by Michael Camilleri, Levant Director, and massive workplace wellbeing advocate.
MICHAEL CAMILLERI, DIRECTOR