“Around the world, we are now two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and in Europe in recent weeks, life for many people has been turned upside down by war in Ukraine. Long before these catastrophic global events, there were signs that all may not be well in terms of our relationship with our work”, that’s how Dr. Amy Bradley introduces the reason why we should have been talking about relations in the workplace for a long time.

As a senior faculty member at Hult Ashridge International Business School, Amy has worked with leaders and managers across the world describing feeling a roller coaster of emotions within a context of destabilizing change, job insecurity and deep uncertainty about their futures. 

According to Gallup’s 2021 State of the Global Workplace, 80% of the working population across 155 countries are disengaged with their work. This lack of engagement costs the global economy US$8.1 trillion, which is nearly 10% of GDP of lost productivity each year. 

“If 80% of an organization’s employees are not engaged, its resilience during a crisis will be at high risk”, Dr. Amy says. She highlights that Gallup has also discovered that negative emotions among working professionals have been rising over the past decade. Worry, stress, anger and sadness are now at record levels, and a recent YMCA Workwell study reported workers feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and underappreciated. 

For the professor, against this backdrop, businesses now face a critical decision: “Continue to see people leave their organization in their droves. Face increasing levels of stress-related absence as the mental health crisis grows. Or, make compassion central to the lifeblood of the organization and examine the profound shifts this makes to engagement and well-being. We know that consciously compassionate companies report higher levels of financial performance; improved innovation; higher engagement; increased retention and strong customer loyalty. Furthermore, if we as individuals feel cared for and valued at work; we can bring our full selves and if we have strong relationships with our colleagues, we are more likely to engage. Compassion may not be the answer to all of our current challenges, but it is most certainly a good place to start.”

Next March 29, Dr. Amy Bradley will carefully develop the power of compassion in the workplace, on the state of Teatro Tivoli, in Lisbon, as one of Happy Conference 2022 speakers. In-person or remotely, the participants will join her on an interactive session, full of experience exchanges and learnings for life.

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For more information, visit:

https://www.happycorporationssociety.com/