Transformation ecology
“ For each of us, there exist multiple paths, multiple possibilities—those of birth, of transformation, of return. ”
Hermann Hesse / Berthold
Ecology is in the air today; it has become a trendy term ever since the damage caused by human activity became too obvious to ignore. It was the German biologist Ernst Haeckel who first used the term in 1866 to define “the science of the relations of organisms with the surrounding world”—in other words, the science that studies the relationships of living beings within their environment.
Well-being to work better together
According to a 2016 Ipsos study on workplace well-being, this is an increasingly critical issue for companies confronted with uncertain economic environments and the uberization of talent. Among the evolutions most valued by employees are better skills management, career development, remote working, and initiatives aimed at broadening support in general.
We can highlight three particularly important axes of workplace well-being:
The work environment (equipment, work-life balance, comfort, cleanliness…),
Attention (consideration from management, skills management, feedback, politeness, respect for individuality and diversity…),
Emotion (the pleasure of coming to work, interest in one’s work, respect for one’s emotions…).
This underscores the importance for leaders to implement change processes as a preventive approach. The goal is to anticipate, rather than endure, the effects of poor communication or work overload, the ultimate consequence of which may be burnout.
Changing habits will be all the easier when everyone finds in it some form of self-fulfillment. The current crisis may be an opportunity to select, among many values, those that resonate most with oneself and one’s team, thereby uniting employees around a common goal.
Integrating the ecology of self
In our lives as managers or leaders, carrying responsibilities and meeting deadlines, overloaded schedules leave space for many ailments. Today, meditation has become a global success, and more and more leaders ask me for practical tools to boost their energy.
My response: all the principles of environmental ecology apply perfectly to the management of individual energy—namely: renewal, avoiding waste, transformation, sorting out “waste” (discerning what is good for oneself from what is not).
How can we create our own ecology in order to be in harmony with our work environment? What role can each of us play for our own well-being, with positive repercussions on our work?
Grant yourself the time to meet your basic needs, and you will observe that your well-being goals are within reach. All it takes is sufficient, good-quality sleep; moments of relaxation and physical activity; meaningful exchanges with others; and respect for breaks that allow one to recharge—this is how one practices the ecology of self. Principles as simple as they are effective!
A sign of the times, and of companies taking greater responsibility in this area, is Vitaelia, the workplace well-being trade show, which offers a space for dialogue and exchange around quality of life in the workplace.
Uniting employees around a common project by facilitating transformations
Ninety-three percent of French households feel concerned about ecology—it is, therefore, a unifying value.
The principles of ecology (the famous “leave no trace” of the Anglo-Saxons) take on full meaning in Nevada’s desert during the Burning Man festival, where 60,000 people gather for a week of artistic encounters. These principles are freely accepted constraints: reducing waste, electricity, and consumables. The parallel with the business world is obvious: companies strive for better cost management and encourage employees to gain autonomy.
Equally innovative in terms of applied workplace ecology is the systemic vision of permaculture (recently recognized by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, INRA), which has proven highly profitable for many economic actors. For example, Zhagzidad Fishery Group implemented it in the field of poultry farming, achieving 40% growth and a 31% margin (HBR, July 2016).
Associated with ecology, disruption, a term coined by Jean-Marie Dru, Chairman of TBWA, in 1992—is the principle that we evolve within an ecosystem benefiting from disruptive innovation, as opposed to incremental innovation, which merely optimizes what already exists. Permaculture illustrates our ability to transform the archaic system inherited from Ford’s T-model into an innovative one, like those developed by Apple, Uber, or Airbnb.
Listening to the information we are given and observing how we react to the rise of the notion of ecology, we can conclude that it is more a change in belief than a reality. Perhaps it would be enough to reflect on our own relationship with ourselves and with others to initiate a transformation that would then impact our ecosystem. A systemic reflection for the well-being of all!