The questioner asked: "How can one find alignment between personal values, the work of the organization, and employee wellbeing?"

GC: I wonder if you can.

A lot of organizations spend a significant amount of money and time investing in training employees to find a balance between these three areas, but is it really aligned?

1/ Company/organizational values. Most companies work a "values check" into their hiring process when they are trying to determine whether you are a good fit for their culture or not. They'll have a mission, vision, and values. If you hire someone who is not going to really fit these to some degree, you set them up for failure. Worst still, if your process is good but your leaders are not exemplifying the behaviors the values represent, then you've got an integrity problem.

2/ Personal Values. Personal values are a very important part of engagement and workplace fulfilment for both the employee and company. Many of them change over time based on experiences, changes of perception, beliefs, etc. So trying to align a moving target takes a long of energy and focus.

3/ Individual Employee Wellbeing. Many companies are encouraging their leaders to proactively talk to their staff about how to foster their inner wellbeing.

But, I'd like to question whether inner and outer are truly separate? Your personal wellbeing - is your stress caused as a result of the environment you work in, with leadership behaviors, or stressful management, or lack of clear direction? Or, is it reflective of your own mindset?

Is it me, and you, and everyone else in the room looking after their own wellbeing in order to handle the stressful environment, or do I change the stressful environment through leadership behavior change, training, policies, etc?

Or is it that the environment is a reflection of my own mindset, in which case, I am the environment? In other words, my consciousness reflects back what I am within myself, it is not separate. Which is why I get very confused when people focus only on managing their own inner wellbeing. Then it becomes a very self-centered activity because I'm only concerned with my own wellbeing, managing stress, meditating, breath focus, eating well - that's all got to do with me. And the next person does the same - working on their own wellbeing. But the environment is still very stressful, but I manage that through various techniques.

As long as you consider the environment separate from you, you will always have tension, stress, conflict, putting-out fires, etc.

Does it make sense?

Questioner: But isn't it wonderful if everyone's personal wellbeing needs are being met, then the environment is going to be less stressful, people are happier, engagement is higher, etc?

GC: Can you, with 2500 employees as company HR ensure the personal wellbeing of every single employee?

Questioner: We can try!

GC: Which means you are willing to guarantee no-one leaves your company, or takes stress, or sick leave?

Questioner: Well maybe not everyone but a majority.

GC: Which means what? Means that you never really reach the root of the problem. You might invent systems and bring-in tools to help employees manage their wellbeing, but you haven't solved the problem - you are just covering-up the problem which is why are employees getting stressed?

Questioner: But that’s why we are offering support!

GC: It’s not working (audience laughs). What is wellbeing?

Questioner: Well it is related to better and healthier relationships with your self and your social environment and your purpose. It’s about interconnectedness and the experience of wholeness.

GC: Okay. You see, you have divided… How can I have wholeness if I divide the inner and the outer - my own wellbeing and then the company environment? You see, in dividing my self from the environment, I am really pushing myself through a day, a week, a month of work with then dealing with things as they come-up? What does your consciousness reflect to you - what does it mirror for you?

Questioner: What do you mean?

GC: Does it mirror stress, sometimes? Anxiety, sometimes? Conflict with colleagues, sometimes? Evaluation pressure?

Questioner: Yes it still may do that but because I understand myself better, I am better equipped to deal with those situations.

GC: Which means what? The environment still has stress, and therefore, you have stress, and therefore, you have not understood the root issue because your environment still reflects it back.

Questioner: I see. Then what do we do?

GC: What will you do? I am not the authority here! What will you do when you admit that you still have an issue? Go and train leadership to change? That’s once again separating action on the outer and inner. First understand what you are not and then you will have an insight to what you are. You will need to look at it - in yourself, what is the root of stress; conflict; anxiety; etc. Having an understanding of that - an insight, will transform everything.

By Gab Ciminelli

Keywords: Culture, Social