Jen Longtin, Marketing Manager:
Arianna Huffington was one of four keynote speakers at the SHRM conference in Las Vegas, which a few of us at Alere Wellbeing attended at the end of June. I was fortunate enough to attend her talk; she was inspiring, funny and used her charm to bring us all back to basics. As a visionary and successful entrepreneur, she shared some of her insights on staying ahead in an ever changing world.
What did she urge businesses to consider?
People. Arianna reminded the thousands of HR professionals in the room that first and foremost, the most important asset to every company is the people.
Naps. She believes that sleep is one of the best ways to stay competitive, creative, and healthy. So as a result, she has added 2 nap rooms in their offices.
One of my favorite stories she told was when she spoke to the children of her employees at the “Take your child to work” day. She told them, if their parents were too tired to read to them at night, tell them they are supposed to take a nap at work!
Unplug and Recharge. She challenged everyone to disconnect from the daily stressors we face and redefine what success means. She suggested that men especially struggle with this. They attribute lack of sleep, high stress, and 80 hour work weeks, as a job well done. She posed that this is killing our men too early in life and we need to change this so that our men can start enjoying their lives, and live longer!
Overall, what struck me by her presentation and my experience working at Alere Wellbeing with leaders creating healthier work environments is this: our leaders have a greater influence than in just our day-to-day work lives. Because of Arianna, people at AOL Huffington Post Media Group are taking naps, are encouraged to unplug, and are supported to redefine success so they can not only be more creative and competitive in their jobs but ultimately healthier and happier with all of life. Just think, if all our leaders did this, we may actually become competitive powerhouses and healthy at the same time.
Read more about this inspirational woman here.