We’re in a digital revolution. The World Economic Forum (WEF) asserts that with the advance of artificial intelligence one of the critical differentiators for organisations to succeed will be investment. In people. Not necessarily in tech. We take a look at the rise of the digital revolution and wellbeing.
A Fourth Industrial Revolution
It sounds futuristic, but really, it isn’t. If you haven’t woken up to the fact that we’re in the fourth industrial revolution, a digital one at that, then now’s the time to catch up. Consider what may already be in your home. Alexa anyone? Think Siri. Or, if you’re controlling your heating and pretty much everything else in your home via your mobile phone it’s already there. What are you wearing on your wrist? A smart watch? A device with a built in ECG function? You get the idea. That’s just in the home. AI is already making huge in roads into healthcare, finance, retail, recruitment, training and employee engagement.
The Digital Revolution & Wellbeing
We work in range of sectors and it’s surprising how many people don’t see AI as a threat to their livelihoods. Whether it’s surgeons who don’t believe AI can do their role to check out assistants in retail who don’t believe they’ll ever be replaced. The reality is that AI is already transforming healthcare. Consider Pepper the robot, able to serve customers and perceive their emotions. Pepper was unveiled over nine years ago in Japan.
However you might feel about these changes, there’s no doubt AI is already disrupting the world of work. It’s estimated that 35% of core skills will change between 2015 and 2020. Is it possible to future proof your career against the rise of the robots? We think so. A recent report found that the skills businesses will need in the future are problem-solving, adaptability, collaboration, leadership, creativity and innovation.
Wellbeing. Essential to beating the Rise of the Robot
A theme throughout the future based research is the importance of emotional and social intelligence to future workers. The way we currently work isn’t conducive for the development of the core skills necessary to make it through this digital revolution. We need creativity but we work excessive hours, don’t take breaks let alone create time for lunch. We’re also in the middle of a much documented, worldwide sleep loss epidemic. We can’t rest. We don’t switch off and we wear long hours like a badge of honour and commitment. These are the core conditions for stress and workplace burnout. Guess what happens when we’re stressed? We lose our ability to self regulate – rapidly decreasing our emotional and social intelligence.
The Competitive Advantage of Wellbeing and Resilience
Organisations (from start ups to multi nationals) see an 800% increase in productivity from high performing individuals. How to get there? Whether you’re a tech start start up, entrepreneur, multi national or you’re someone who wants to remain doing what you already do, wellbeing is the answer.
For leaders it’s important to identify the key interconnection between individual and organisational wellbeing and performance. You can’t have one without the other. Control and command leadership isn’t going to work for the digital revolution. It’s crucial to foster an environment where employees are able to flourish and thrive. Those conditions begin at the top, with senior leaders. Revisiting organisational values is key.
Sacrifice Syndrome & Renewal
If you find yourself caught in the trap of sacrifice syndrome, you’ll be effectively encouraging these behaviours throughout your organisation. Think about how practices that lead to burnout will negatively contribute to your organisational culture, decreasing performance rather than optimising it. If people are working excessive hours and stress is the norm you’ll be shutting down and stunting the skills that your business needs in the future, namely problem-solving, adaptability, collaboration, leadership, creativity and innovation.
Instead of contributing to the perfect storm that decreases those essential attributes of social and emotional intelligence, it’s time to work differently. Consider how you are able to build more time into your schedule for equally important renewal to create a more effective, high performing organisational culture. Revisit your values as company, team or department. Examine your systems, practices and procedures, what can you do to foster collaboration, encourage creativity and innovation, ensuring that your company flourishes during this new digital age.
Begin by building your resilience right now. Visit our free resilience toolkit for more on how to get started. For sustainable high performance to become the norm, wellbeing behaviours need to become part of what we do on a daily basis.
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We’ve successfully worked with thousands of businesses and individuals around the world to help them achieve their goals. We’ve coached hundreds of leaders in business, elite sport and tech. We work internationally with Fortune 100 companies to optimise performance, reduce burnout, building resilience and workforce wellness. We provide consultancy, leadership coaching and training. If you’d like to know more about how we can partner with your organisation, get in touch.
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