Dr. Conrad tackles vexing challenges and uncovers unique opportunities
for leaders to maximize their impact.
Our current approach to health and wellness is not working. Despite the investment in wellness programs, employees are struggling in every dimension of wellbeing, which leads to costly workplace issues–declining productivity, soaring healthcare expenditures, increasing levels of chronic absenteeism and presenteeism, mounting worker’s compensation claims, and rising numbers of quiet quitters. From a risk-management standpoint, employee health and wellness should be taken as seriously as the threat of cyber attacks and data breaches. Advancement in this area can yield significant positive results for individuals, workplaces, and society.
We are all familiar with the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus’ quote, “The only constant is change.” Yet, change remains one of the most disruptive challenges for individuals and organizations. Humans are equipped to adapt over time due to neuroplasticity, our ability to learn, develop, and form new memories by creating new nerve cells and building new networks. Likewise, businesses must develop Organizational Plasticity, the ability to be nimble and capable of making mid-course corrections as change dictates.
Both neuroplasticity in humans and Organizational Plasticity in companies require an acceptance that what is working today won’t work tomorrow, insight into where to go next, and discipline to translate that insight into action.
Humans can be incredibly kind, but our evolutionary wiring can also lead to astonishing cruelty, especially towards others we perceive as different from us. The result has been catastrophic for certain groups of people in America. While progress has been slow and steady, we are in the midst of a significant divide regarding what’s next for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B). American companies, many of them complicit in maintaining inequality as the status quo, hold the key to bridging America’s ominous ideological divides.
For individuals looking for strategies and tactics to to take better care of themselves, so they can have a more positive impact on others.
Despite spending more than any other advanced country, the U.S. performs worse on various measures of health and health care, including the lowest life expectancy and highest rate of avoidable deaths. Spikes in obesity and multiple chronic health conditions are severely impacting the quality of life for many Americans. According to an annual Gallup poll, less than half of Americans say they are “very satisfied” with the way things are going in their personal lives. To stem the tide, individuals need to learn how the toxic brew of culture, cost, and convenience is sabotaging them, but educating people about a healthy lifestyle is only half the battle. The real opportunity lies in helping people translate education into action.