How do we build more resilient companies that rebound better and even thrive amid chronic stressors? And how do we optimize our work and workplaces to create cultures of wellbeing that positively impact our individual lives? These are the very types of questions that inspired the creation of Kiwe Collective. And these are the challenges we know we can collectively solve alongside you.
Our work, and by extension our workplaces, is a key driver of our overall wellbeing. We spend an average of 85,000 hours of our life working (second only to sleep) and more than ever we seek meaning from our careers. Research shows that career wellbeing is a critical component of our overall wellbeing, impacting our ability to lead thriving lives. Companies have an opportunity and responsibility to positively impact the health and happiness of the individuals they employ through intentional wellbeing strategies, with an added benefit of building a more engaged and resilient workforce.
And while companies have been making big investments, spending $70.1 billion globally on corporate wellness in 2022 alone, employee engagement is only averaging 32%. Some companies have successfully increased engagement and are addressing employee wellbeing, but most are understandably still grasping this new imperative while also addressing the aftermath of a global pandemic and the subsequent hybrid work experiment.
Until December 2022, I was one of many leaders in the tech industry hoping to pioneer the future of work including the optimization of hybrid work, leading research on team health & effectiveness, building new ways of assessing and driving performance, and shifting how we up-skill leaders to meet new demands. I was indeed part of the 32% engaged workforce. But while I was passionately building solutions and leading global talent teams, I completely dismissed the signs of my own burnout until I was forced to decide: my career or my health?
On my journey back to health, I rustled with this and ultimately created Kiwe Collective to challenge the status quo about work and life being diametrically opposing forces and to inspire organizations to embrace workplace wellbeing as a strategic imperative. But our growing library of curated wellbeing experiences and services will only get us part way there - we can’t do this without your commitment and willingness to change.
We will be sharing more about Kiwe soon, including our frameworks for individual and team wellbeing. Until then, reach out with any questions and BE WELL.
Jamie McCollough
Founder, Kiwe Collective
Incredible insight into the real world of corporate health. Eventually the health of the organization is only as "healthy" as the individuals who make up its population. Too many companies look at health as a weakness of character hence the 32% engagement number. Billions are wasted because the corporate world in America is so much less sensitive to the needs of its employees than are European entities. Let's chat as you move this along. Joe M