It’s that time again, the time we look at another reason why every business leader SHOULD be a Feminist!

It has approached again and here at Wellbeing with Cari, we are counting down our top 10 reasons why every business leader SHOULD be a feminist!

This is the FINAL reason! Buckle up your seat belts and enjoy!

Firstly, what is Feminism?

1. You do not have to be a woman to be a Feminist
2. Feminism is not about elevating women above men
3. Feminism is a movement that is in favour of equality and inclusiveness
4. If every organisation is run by a Feminist, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to change the current leadership – maybe just their thinking

No. 1 – Feminist Leaders measure wellbeing vs profits

Excuse me? I hear you say! Don’t be RIDICULOUS and NAIVE! Of course we must focus on profits. Well, this I say to you – No ya don’t. And in fact, when you do you will achieve less in the long term. Yes, of course you need to monitor and ensure you are solvent blah blah blah, but a focus on these will not deliver these things. It is a focus on the means that will deliver them, that makes a difference.

The cultures that will thrive are those that demonstrate maximum wellbeing PLUS maximum performance. To be honest the two tend to go together, although a high wellbeing organisation with low performance is lovely, but a bit boring, ultimately. These still exist, where people are Retired In Post (RIP) and quite happy to go to work for the social side, do the bare minimum and then go home and forget all about it.

Unless a culture feels emotionally safe you will have a negative impact on performance – so wellbeing = performance; and it’s time to start thinking differently about what we are measuring for success.

What do I mean by ‘performance’? I mean, wellbeing. Performing at your best only happens when you are happy, and you are happy when you are performing at your best. Reflect on this – isn’t it great to be at work when we are flying high and totally engaged and working at the edge of our skills – feeling like the MASTER of our craft!! Or something akin to that. Without wellbeing there is no performance, so focusing on the wellbeing is the only way to achieve all you want in life and work. Full stop.

The issue of wellbeing at work in the current pandemic

We are currently experiencing a global pandemic (Covid-19), however, we are also experiencing an epidemic that has worsened due to Covid-19, that is the case for mental health plummeting across the globe.

We’re experiencing an epidemic of mental health that is unprecedented in its affect on both individuals and businesses – as individuals are suffering, perhaps due to burnout, or a whole host of other wellbeing issues. Businesses are then being negatively impacted, as the staff they have are performing less, therefore, profits are plummeting and morale is at an all time low. It may feel like an endless cycle of stress, anxiety and general hopelessness – businesses require profits to continue trading, however, how can businesses expect their profits to rise when the wellbeing of their people is plummeting beyond belief?

A recent article by Employee Benefits has revealed that stress-related absences skyrocketed in 2020, research conducted by absence management provider, e-days, has revealed a 113% rise in stress-related sickness days. The data also revealed that the average number of employees taking time off work due to stress increased by 74% in 2021 when compared with 2019 data, data such as this highlights the issue of wellbeing within organisations, leading to a spike in presenteeism.

This is purely unsustainable! Wellbeing needs to be considered above profits, as the mental health of your people will lead to a spike in their productivity, and then the profits of the business.

It seems pretty simple when I say it like this, but unsurprisingly businesses aren’t prioritising wellbeing.

Why not implement a Complete Wellbeing and Performance Solution to improve your business?

Would you like to quickly and easily increase the wellbeing, resilience and performance of your people? Is tackling presenteeism a priority for you right now? With Cari you can identify and fix presenteeism! You will know how many people are presentees and that Cari is automatically supporting them with tailored support.

Cari directly contributes to optimising performance, improving wellbeing and resilience, and reducing the risk of litigation.

Contact us today and find out how Cari can help you and your people be happier, healthier and more productive!

Thank you for reading this blog series!

That concludes our blog series on Why Every Business Leader Should Be a Feminist!

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this series, perhaps it has given you some interesting things to think about going forward.

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