“Excessive micro-management and strict hierarchies stifled individual initiative and creativity at my workplace. This was particularly counter-productive for a predominantly junior workforce.
Youth provides a dynamic and creative atmosphere, which facilitates innovation and refreshing approaches to problem-solving. Whilst experienced colleagues provide valuable insights and guidance, drawing on their extensive tenures. This was an asset, especially for newcomers like me.
However, the workplace focused too much on finance, and in a year when the income statement was favourable, any lack of professionalism or management issues were overshadowed by the overall positive atmosphere. Whilst during challenging years, the workplace culture would lean towards a more authoritarian and demanding approach.
There’s a delicate balance between youthfulness, and experience, and focusing on financial performance, as this all shapes a workplace culture.
I would advocate for an approach that puts the human being at the center, and values the strengths of a youthful workforce while ensuring effective decision-making processes and leadership, regardless of the income statement.”
This is one of the stories that we received when we reached out to our networks to share their experiences of their workplace environments. This is not an uncommon story, I’m sure, somewhere in this story you’ll see yourself or a past version of you. The ‘why’ behind what we’re doing with this space, is motivated by your stories. Stories that highlight the need for a culture shift in how we approach the way we work. Our intention is that you feel the importance of the need for change through the words of the people that are asking for it.
But first, I’d thought I’d tell you a little about my story and how that became our story (it’s Emma typing/speaking to you today). For as long as I can remember I’ve felt different, I’ve felt like I couldn’t live by the way the world told me I should be. Because of that feeling, you could say, I’ve lived many different lives in my 28 years. I’ve travelled the world, lived in multiple countries, worked in multiple industries from finance, to education, hospitality to working in construction in the Australian outback, driving concrete rollers and shovelling mud in trenches, whilst trying to be the next Steve Irwin apparently.
I’ve also created and ran my own volunteer organisation supporting young women, studied at University, published a book, hosted a podcast with 100+ episodes and journeyed into entrepreneurship. You could say I’m a jack of all trades, but what I see, is that I’ve had a unique, variety of experience, that has allowed me to see into an interesting spectrum of different working and living environments.
My working life and experience has never been about the years dedicated to a particular company or role (hence why I’ve given up trying to shove it all into my LinkedIn profile), but instead my experience has been about understanding what it means to be a human being. I’ve discovered that underneath everything, we all want to be seen, heard and understood for who we are, for what makes us unique. Yet, I’ve become very much aware of the fact that this something that’s still massively neglected in the world of work. All of my experience has amounted into a huge drive to do something, to not only change the way I work, but also to be of service to others who want to see change for themselves, but don’t know where to start.
After 3 professional years as a space holder (although something I’ve done naturally my whole life), listening to the challenges of others, inviting them to go deeper through inquiry, unconditional compassion and witnessing. I knew that this work wanted to evolve. After seeing countless people who I’d held this space for, begin to answer their own questions, discover their own solutions, feel more comfortable in their own skin, I knew that this work was needed on a larger scale than only the 1-to-1 spaces I was opening. It wasn’t until I took some space for myself (through a lot of fear and discomfort) that a new path would present itself.
After binge watching the series Ted Lasso (if you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend), I felt inspired by how his character was able to create an environment within his football team that was anchored in far more than simply succeeding and getting results, but about thriving as unique individuals and how this paved the way for the by-product of a thriving and healthy team. This series sparked something in me. I realised how what I’d been doing was needed. I saw the gifts of what simply space to be seen, heard and listened to could create on a larger scale. How the way we’ve been working, the way we’ve been building businesses, systems and ecosystems in all industries, has taken us away from our human-ness.
So, I did what I know how to do best, I gave myself space to create and write. I journaled until all my words turned into an idea that I shared to the world through a simple post on my Substack, not realising what I was about to set in motion.
Not long after I published, I received an email from Serena Reynell, my now friend and business partner…
I can’t describe how much this email lit me up. How much Serena inspired and opened me up from this moment. Without this email, without Serena’s support, guidance and knowledge, this space wouldn’t even exist.
After a few connection calls on Zoom, it was evident that we were instantly inspired by one another, both sharing a passion for holistic health, transformational business and getting people back to their human-ness.
We both knew that in order to create something that could have an impact on how we do and be in our working lives, we’d need to do something different. We’d need to collaborate, bring together our own unique skillsets and strengths, and follow our own intuition to stay true to the values that brought us together. So that’s literally what we started doing until the first birth of Workplace Wellbeing Partnerships and it’s mission…
We believe that it is through this space and intentional action, that we can pave the way for a world with healthy, sustainable, and thriving workplaces. This is where the seed that is Workplace Wellbeing was planted, and now continues to grow through our valued partnerships and community.
Workplace Wellbeing grew out of an intention to create something different. From our own experiences, we’ve witnessed a world where success is built on the depletion of the energy and wellbeing of others. But it’s time to build a world where people can truly flourish. We need to better connect, collaborate and co-create as a whole unit, anchored in sustainable and healthy foundations. Foundations that encourage deeper levels of understanding and compassion for one another. We believe it’s about igniting a culture shift, where we take steps towards an environment that’s success is determined by the wellbeing of the people that contribute.
How do we begin to take steps towards this intention? By creating both internal and external space. Creating internal space is about having someone to share your ideas with, having a partner that you can create plans of action with and receive direct guidance from, and having someone that you can share your emotional challenges with. External space is having the environment, the place, the right people to do that with.
Workplace Wellbeing has only begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible, this is a new concept that we’re still exploring the potential of. But we have a big vision that we know will have a huge impact on not only workplaces, but people’s lives.
This is a mission we’re now continuing with our Substack, our community and our new podcast, The System Reset, where we chat about the reset and revival that is needed in our internal and external systems. Our guests will share their knowledge of the changes that are being called for to create greater harmony and well-being in our workplaces, education, health-care, rehabilitation and recreational systems.
Through our Well-being Wednesday episodes, we’ll also support you in bringing those external changes, inside, with guests that that are specialised in guiding you through practices to help you balance and relax your nervous system.
Our intention for this podcast is also to give you a voice to share your stories, like the few featured on our website: https://www.workplacewellbeingpartnerships.com/yourstories, so that you can receive practical and emotional guidance and support for the challenges you may be experiencing in your workplace. We want to remind you, that you’re not alone in your challenges and that there’s always a way forward, especially when you lean into community and connection.
If you’ve read this full article, and you’re wondering how you can get involved, collaborate and connect, we’ve listed the ways you can join in below:
If you’re a business development manager, CEO, or industry leader that feels like your workplace needs the space that we’re creating, you can explore our partnerships opportunities here for more information: https://www.workplacewellbeingpartnerships.com/explore-partnerships or alternatively, book a free connection call with us here: https://calendly.com/emmaevelyncampbell/connectioncall?month=2023-11
If you’re a healer, practitioner, therapist working with clients in the corporate world and are looking for support, you can explore our community here: https://www.workplacewellbeingpartnerships.com/community
If you’d like to be featured on the podcast and share your workplace stories with us to receive support for what you’re currently experiencing (please note all stories are shared anonymously) then send an email to workplacewellbeingpartnerships@gmail.com with the header ‘Your Stories Feature’
If you’d like to join us as a guest on the podcast, you can apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeefgf_yKU6cAc77utIvHyMoo-XOYg2ML0i9Uub6BusPOSDEw/viewform
For all other enquiries or collaboration ideas, simply email us at workplacewellbeingpartnerships@gmail.com
We want to thank you for taking the time to read this article and connect with our story. We know that what we’re doing is different and may, to some of you, feel out of reach, but when there’s a call for change, we only need answer it with small steps each day.
with love,
Serena & Emma
