Brain Farms!

This morning, walking (as usual) to office, a thought hit me while feeling a certain discomfort on my spine. I do have a lumbar hernia as a result of more than 5 years of commuting by car – more than 2 hrs/day driving (+ the hours spent at the office). The though is linked to the employee wellbeing emails and /or pseudo-actions (mostly, let’s face it, to tick some boxes) that many employers / companies are taking.

Yes, there are manufacturers where the “brain factor” is a smaller component (%) in the overall activity / production line. There, the wellbeing of the employees should be targeted mainly to the physical aspect of their activity.

My subject is referring to the design offices for which, the tools are represented by the employees creativity (brain), computers and internet connection. I am sure that all the major players in this type of industries are take steps in considering their employee wellbeing. My observation is in the similarity between the cattle farming industry where (in the Western World, at least) more and more the accent is putt on improving the living conditions of the livestock (so, by nature, wellbeing oriented).

These being said, my understanding is that the wellbeing is good (or working) as long the enclosure in which is applied is not too tight or, why not, visible. Once the subject (employee) see the fence and contest it’s reason/viability, then the real challenge begin.

I am referring to the fact that, although, rules are needed, some of the companies policies are not intended to ease the delivery process. Quality check and delivery process control is needed but nevertheless, rules should be adjusted to accommodate the overall changing surroundings (like the environment, socio-economic factors and the technology).

Disclaimer: please excuse the inherent mistakes in the text (grammar and/or typing error), as my focus is on expressing the ideas.