What it means to me...

Reflexion on what the wholebeing mixes mean to us...

In spring 2018 we were using our wholebeing mix for the 4th time and, just as it happened the other years, we were faced with some tensions linked to some people's requests, personal defensives came up, the atmosphere got heated and some people even questioned the process as a whole. Red zone, here we are! And, just as the other years, in the end we came back to a collaborative atmosphere and found solutions to all the tensions.

The situation made Yoko want to share what the wholebeing mixes meant to her, personally and as the person responsible for coordination / human ressources / talent development / salaries over the last + 10 years (until January 2019) - see below.

This year, in 2019, another colleague, Magdalena, decided to share her view on our wholebeing mixes. Check out her blog post!

Yoko's testimony on wholebeing mixes

The first thing is that the wholebeing mixes were a huge relief to me as responsible for HR/talent development, as I no longer had to answer questions/invent rules when faced with questions such as "how many vacation can i take", " can i go to mexico for 3 months", etc. I think it's a beautiful example of how self-management works well and makes things simpler (no rules necessary).

The second thing is that it brings to light the theme of wellbeing/wholebeing through the aspects of what we value at work. As i write this i am realizing that actually some questions got lost along the way i think, like: level of responsibilities. i find this very powerful. perhaps we should again have a conversation on what brings value to us at euforia, to see if we need to adapt our criteria.

The third thing is that it makes each person responsible for his/her wellbeing/wholebeing, by making us think about what we need and dream of in our work sphere. i love this so much more than having one/several people responsible for wellbeing at euforia.

The fourth thing is that it opens up a space for us collectively to enquire, question and support each other's wellbeing/badbeing, through the feedback we give eachother. it creates openness and connexion between us.

The fifth element is that it opens up (very) deep questions regarding our link to money, our way of thinking of salaries and our own behavior/feelings/fears around these questions. the conversations are not always easy, but they are groundbreaking and transformational.

If i were to think of principles to guide how we do these wholebeing mixes, here is what I would propose:

• when the time comes to fill in my own individual wholebeing mix, I slow down, take a breath and create some headspace to truly connect to what I want/need/dream of to support my own wellbeing in the next year.

• the limits of what i may ask for my own wellbeing are determined in relation to others in the team: my wellbeing measures should not affect other's wellbeing.

• when I give feedback to others, I do my best to speak from the green zone with an open will, mind and heart. I am ready to listen carefully to what others say and especially their feedback to me.

• we want the wholebeing mixes to collectively have a feeling fairness and we openly raise and address issues as they arise. Together, we find solutions so that each of us agrees their is a collective feeling of fairness. 2 examples from the past:

  • new process: international contractors' salaries seemed "unfair" so we brought clarity to costs they incur and independents and the privileges they receive.

  • individual level : I requested a higher salary and was ready "in exchange" to take a bit less vacation and to be very flexible and present in switzerland for euforia activities, and found external sources of revenue to complement my salary when i was below 80%.