Mark McCrindle - WORK WELLBEING: Leading thriving teams in rapidly changing times

To Ruth, with whom this adventure of life is a great joy and who, along with our children Acacia, Jasper, Zari, Brighton and Corban, brings immeasurable flourishing.

MARK McCRINDLE

To my husband Michael and my mum Marja, my greatest examples of hard work and authentic leadership, and who encourage me to achieve more than I ever thought possible.

ASHLEY FELL

A Rockpool book

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NSW 2130

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ISBN: 9781925924190

Published in 2020 by Rockpool Publishing

Copyright text McCrindle Research 2020

Copyright images McCrindle Research 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Authors: Mark McCrindle and Ashley Fell

Data visualisation and illustrations: Ben Duffin

Cover device designer: Hendrik Zuidersma-Ros

Design by Sara Lindberg, Rockpool Publishing

Editing and index by Lisa Macken

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

MARK MCCRINDLE

Award-winning social researcher Mark McCrindle (BSc Psychology, MA) has an international following and is recognised as a leader in tracking emerging issues and researching social trends. An engaging public speaker attributed with naming the next generation Generation Alpha, Mark regularly appears across many television networks and other media and is an influential thought leader, TEDx speaker and principal of McCrindle Research. This advisory, communications and research company counts among its clients more than 100 of Australias largest companies and leading international brands.

Along with co-authoring Work Wellbeing, Mark is the author of three books on emerging trends and social change: The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations, Word Up: A Lexicon and Guide to Communication in the 21st Century and The Power of Good. He and his wife Ruth have five children spanning the Generation Z and Generation Alpha age groups.

ASHLEY FELL

Ashley Fell is a social researcher, TEDx speaker and director of communications at internationally recognised company McCrindle Research. As a trends analyst and media commentator, she understands how to effectively communicate and inspire across diverse audiences. In addition to delivering keynote presentations at conferences, Ashley conducts training days for corporate and not-for-profit clients, facilitates panels across an array of industries and supervises workshops for diverse generations, covering generational change to technological disruption and key demographic transformations to social shifts.

Ashley and her husband Michael are based in Sydney, Australia and enjoy reading, travelling and spending time with Ashleys Gen Alpha nieces and nephews.

INTRODUCTION

W hen you picked up this book, was it the word wellbeing that sparked your interest? The use of the word in 21st-century vocabulary and discussion about the subject itself have increased in prevalence, but is it an applicable, useful term or just another buzzword? A Google search on the term tells us that wellbeing is the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. Today people place real focus on wellbeing, and its not hard to figure out why.

The current century has ushered in some amazing advances in technology, and its almost impossible to believe weve had smart phones for just a little over a decade. Prior to that mobile phones were indeed just that: phones whereas today they are so much more: cameras, encyclopaedias, maps, games devices, music players, calculators, alarm clocks, wallets and so many other services we access daily.

The internet is another service that has transformed our work and personal lives. In our presentations we often say that some of the scariest things in the world are not physical threats but, rather, symbols. Instead of fearing snakes, spiders and heights, the bigger fears we hold are of symbols. We dread seeing the low WiFi symbol, indicating we cant connect to the world around us, and watching the buffering circle while waiting for something to load. But the scariest of them all would have to be the low battery symbol, when all forms of connectivity cease to exist.

These symbols we identify to our audience as being alarming are meant to be humorous and almost always yield a laugh. However, as with many jokes there is an element of truth behind it, and the fear of not being globally connected is a very real one. Technologies have also bought positive changes to our lives. The invention of the internet brought with it an incredible ability to connect globally with family and friends and engage with any piece of information at the click of a button (or, rather, the touch of a screen). Social media allows us to share every aspect of our lives with those we love, who may live thousands of kilometres away.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the spheres of business and education embraced Zoom and other digital meeting technologies to great effect. Most of us were grateful to have such connectivity in a period of isolation, yet it also became evident that virtual meetings had their limitations. Along with its inordinate benefits, technology has also brought with it some unique challenges, particularly to our wellbeing. It has blurred the lines of private and public; of school and home; of work and rest. It has made it harder for us to switch off, to connect with the physical world around us and to be present.

Even beyond the internet, online communities facilitated through social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat provide us with so much information about the lives of others that we now spend an inordinate amount of time comparing ourselves to everyone elses highlight reels. This is indicated in the popular acronym FOMO, or fear of missing out. While the internet and social media can facilitate increasingly connected communities, paradoxically they can also make us feel more isolated and fuel comparisons to others, negatively impacting our health and wellbeing. Interestingly, many a Baby Boomer and Gen Xer have confessed to us that when looking at the frantic activity on social media it is not FOMO (fear of missing out) they feel, but rather JOMO (joy of missing out)!

Currently, around one in four young people aged 15 to 19 meet the criteria for having a probable serious mental illness. Of concern, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of young people meeting this criteria; data shows that it increased by more than 20% in the most recent five-year period.

Clearly the increased use of technology in our lives and the impact it has on our mental health and wellbeing, particularly that of younger people, is a significant challenge for our schools, families and communities.

The trend of wellbeing in schools has been steadily increasing over time. According to our future of education report, in the last five years almost half of parents (48%) have increased their expectations of their childs school to support wellbeing. More than one in four (27%) have significantly or somewhat increased their expectations.