THE DEEP DIVE: A Culture of Care: Prioritizing Mental & Physical Well-Being with Aga and Shani

Welcome to our new format called “The Deep Dive.”

Once per month, I sit down with a fellow culture geek and the co-founder of Wonder, Shani Persson, and we explore a topic critical to building a thriving culture at scale.

We’ll be examining everything from the latest trends to timeless philosophies to help you make better decisions and be successful in your culture work.

Today’s episode is all about A Culture of Care – Proritising Mental and Physical Well-Being at Work.

What do we really mean by “Culture of Care”?

A culture of care is one where the primary focus is on creating a work environment where people can thrive.

This means ensuring that employees have the resources and support they need to do the best work of their careers. It’s a work environment where people are valued and encouraged to prioritize their mental health and well-being. It’s a culture where we not only talk about the importance of physical and mental health but take action to implement strategies that support employee well-being.

Nevertheless, the statistics reveal a contrasting reality: 1 in 6 people experience mental health problems in the workplace at any given point and 75% of people with mental health issues do not get any professional support.

In May, Mental Health Awareness Month, we wanted to do a deep dive into our mental and physical well-being at work.

So join us to hear us talk about how we can reclaim agency over the well-being of our employees and yourself at work but also, cultivate an environment where people can truly thrive and protect them from anxiety and burnout.

Episode highlights

• What is the true sense of care at work? How is it linked to finding our purpose at work?
• Tailoring our solutions (as not all strategies around well-being are universally effective across different settings).
• Engaging employees in a discussion about their own well-being.
• Should we include well-being in our performance metrics for our people?
• The difference between talking about care and genuinely caring: why managers need to be intentional about how they want to show up for their people.
• The early signs of burnout.
• The relationship of belonging and well-being.
• Being versus doing: why what we do shouldn’t translate into our self-worth as human beings.
• The stigma of mental health at work and how to address it.

“We need to dismantle the old model that harnesses anxiety disorders to drive productivity and performance.”

Listen to the interview in the player below or on iTunes. If you like what you hear, please leave a review, and it may be featured on a future episode.

More about Shani Persson

Shani is one of the founders of an experience design lab, Wonder. It’s a company aimed to inspire and support companies, institutions, groups or individuals to help themselves and others thrive through more human experiences. She spent more than 10 years in corporate people functions – driving change, and building culture and experiences for co-workers.

A nerd for anything human development, learning, leadership, culture and experiences that enhance our wellbeing and contribution. Loves exploring – cold plunges, meditation and biohacking included – to learn how we can lead fulfilled lives with healthy minds and bodies, and of course – designing impactful human experiences.

More about Aga Bajer

Aga is the founder and CEO of CultureBrained® – a boutique consultancy on a mission to empower purpose-driven leaders to make work synonymous with fun, meaning and belonging. Aga is passionate about cultivating thriving cultures where people do their best work and solve wicked problems. Before establishing CultureBrained®, Aga led consulting teams in companies like Hay Group, Korn Ferry, and PwC.

In the past 20+ years, Aga helped hundreds of clients to attract, hire, develop and retain A+ talent, accelerate personal and business growth, drive impact and create legendary cultures that scale.

Aga is the founder and host of a one-of-a-kind, global community for Culture Leaders, the CultureBrained Community, where members connect with outstanding peers to discover new ways of cultivating thriving cultures at scale in the brave new world of remote and hybrid work. She is the author of Building and Sustaining a Coaching Culture and the creator and host of one of the most popular podcasts on culture, the CultureLab.

Aga has worked with senior leadership teams of many major organizations, startups, and scaleups. Her client portfolio includes Microsoft, AWS, Nordea, ANZ, Ideo, Toyota, Porsche, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Citibank, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Leo Pharma, Hellenic Bank, Eurolife, Bank of Cyprus, Eurobank, Wargaming, Sanofi, Amdocs, SAP, and many others.

Additional resources

Accreditation Program – Codifying Company Culture

CultureBrained® Community – a one-of-a-kind virtual community for Heads of Culture, founders, and leaders who want to up their culture game.

The Culture Playbook Guide.

Discover Your Personal Values.

Wonder

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

EXOS

Jeanette Bronée’s interview on the CultureLab podcast