A new era of employee wellness transformation

Written by: Nancy Jimenez, Director of Human Resources at Citrix Latin America & Caribbean

Have you heard about the emotional salary? Today wages are no longer solely economic wages; Employee welfare is increasingly being positioned as an aspect that companies should think about and which they must ensure, which is why emotional pay is becoming increasingly important. According to a recent Citrix study in 5 countries in Latin America, 88% of those interviewed believe that it is very important for the company culture to focus on the physical and mental health of employees.

The focus on luxury is not new, but like many other aspects of the business in the past year its development has accelerated. Until a few years ago, job well-being was seen as a good work environment and opportunities for growth and leadership. Then we move on to adding other benefits like healthy snacks, gym subscriptions, lunches together, and more. And with shame, the home office appeared, summer time and flexibility began to gradually emerge as a feature of luxury and there was talk of work-life balance.

Now achieving this balance is at the heart of well-being and has a lot to do with our ability to manage our time better, with flexible days defined by goals rather than by fixed time schedules. Technology has a lot to contribute to in this regard, providing access to all the data and applications we need to work from anywhere, anytime. This goes beyond having a laptop and an internet connection, it is about getting the same work experience as it is in the office. If any place becoming “equal to the office” moves all the time to the same physical location, does that make sense? In fact, 66% of those interviewed believe that the future of offices will be mixed, that is, work in the office will be combined with working remotely. The goal of going to the office is to be creative with others and collaborate and to not spend 9 hours sitting in front of the computer.

But as more technologies are incorporated into the workspace (something that undoubtedly happened in 2020), the need to pay attention to digital wellbeing arises. And that would be the healthy relationship we should have with technology. There are techniques that, in fact, remove noise and distraction, help in organizing our day and directing people so that they can achieve their daily goals. They are even responsible for carrying out small, repetitive actions. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, they have the ability to learn how each employee works and adapt to intelligently direct them to the applications, data and tools they use frequently. In this way, technology is positioned as an enabler rather than a hindrance, and it allows employees to improve their workday by achieving the flexibility they want.

Over the years, it was the HR department that implemented health policies. But it is clear that in the future, well-being is achieved only with the synergy of the whole organization. More than ever, HR and technology departments have to work together to give people control of their time, which is ultimately the most valuable resource we all have.