Once upon a time there was a merchandise catalogue: TV devices, hi-tech objects, products for home showed up therein. They were split up by commodity. Then it got to be travel’s turn – a way to discover the world. There were no low cost airlines, it was not easy to move around. So the incentive trip turned to be the object of desire. Many were waiting for this annual appointment to find new places and countries, always in exclusive venues. The trips lasted even ten days. This was what happened in the incentives world till the late Nineties.
And this is the photography of the corporate incentive prizes of once.
Then the crisis came, alongside the rapid changes involved by the Internet, modifying and sometimes overturning the scenarios.
But this does not mean that companies don’t care about the wellbeing of their employees. A research by Top Employers Institute reveals that 76% of companies are concerned about the psychophysical balance of their human resources. The most popular benefits today are gyms and counsellors-coaches – in short, physical and mental wellbeing.
It is not secondary news. It means really taking care for the employees’ wellbeing, intending them as “human beings”. Is this the birth of a new humanism? We hope and we want to believe it. The Top Employers search captures a true culture of psycho-physical health. 71% talk about benefits including fitness programs, yoga classes, nutritionist meetings.
Needless to say, the most attentive to these aspects are the Americans. According to a 2016 survey, one quarter of US companies have implanted fitness centres. And to the fact that attention is being paid to wellbeing linked to good nutrition as well was given evidence by Obama recently attending Milan’s Food Week. In short, the trend is now underway. And as we know what is happening in the US turns to be a template for new scenarios.
However, “illuminated” examples already exist in Italy. Companies with affiliated gyms are beginning to no longer be an exception. Apart from Technogym, where it just couldn’t be otherwise, where there is a 3,500-square-metre sports centre providing personal trainers and Tai Chi instructors, there are other virtuous examples: American Express, the US multinational SAS, the pharmaceutical company Elli Lilly and Unicredit have all their own super-equipped gyms. Not to mention the brand new Microsoft HQ, where you even find a gym open until 10.00 pm, a soccer field and a running path. We also mentioned another brilliant case in a previous article – Cnp Italia’s one.
But in addition to body, even “mind” and spirit must be cultivated. The new frontier is and will increasingly be counselling and coaching for employees. At last people are getting aware that a relaxed environment, where each person is valued, is beneficial to everyone.
Working on relationships between colleagues as well as on behavioural styles is paramount. Enhancing individual talents can really lead to surprising results.
New perspectives are opening up, especially for all those activities aimed at the care of the person. Because happiness is an opportunity. Even for companies.