Whilst both employers and the academic juries debate the question, I am starting to become an advocate of the nine-day fortnight. The idea here is that on the traditional 'tenth day', people have the opportunity to work on themselves. They might work on a technical skill, but equally they could be focusing on a hobby, relationships, community or simply sorting stuff out at home.

The point is this protected time offers the opportunity to develop rather than simply deliver. For some it will be a chance to regain energy, for others it may be knowledge and I am sure several will spend time trying to create some balance.

Is this about 'switching off' from work? I suggest it is reframed positively, and considered as a time to 'switch on' to life.

Whilst there is often debate around days worked, I suspect there is unity in the desire to create a culture that promotes ‘Working Smart’ and ‘Living Well’.

Personal responsibility is essential, but leaders have a significant role to play in creating a culture that balances both challenge and support in a way which facilitates progress. Too much challenge and too little support can lead to resentment; too little challenge and excessive support is not ideal, and no support and no challenge… well, let’s not even go there.

Enabling leaders to get the recipe right has been a dominant feature of our work at Optima-life in 2023. If you feel your managers and leaders would benefit from exploring the habits that create ‘facilitated progress’, please do take a look at Multiplier – a course featured in this e-booklet.

Our digital resource, The Festival of Us, continues to go from strength to strength, with three more organisations using the content to provide ongoing support for their people. If you would like to find out more and see how ‘The Festival’ can be run over either a 12 month period or designed to deliver a week-long event, feel free to get in touch and we’ll arrange a demo. The video below may whet your appetite!

“When I first saw it, I was convinced it would change the way I could work with people; I would be able to gain objective data which was relevant to an individual as opposed to jumping to biased assumptions,” said Simon.

With advances in the technology, Optima-life now coaches individuals and teams from around the world. If you want to optimise the understanding of personal energy and performance, either for yourself or your team, do get in touch and we can arrange a call to show you how to get a deeper understanding.

Simon will be taking part in a webinar with Firstbeat next month – see below for details.

Taking place at 1pm on 11th July, Firstbeat is hosting a free session for health and wellbeing coaches. The webinar will see Simon talking about the successes and revelations that have been uncovered for Optima-life clients by utilising physiological data. It will also highlight the value this technology can bring to building resilience and emotional and mental wellbeing. Simon will be joined by Tiina Hoffman, specialist and master trainer at Firstbeat.

For more details and to register, see Unlocking The Mind - How Data Can Be The Catalyst For Change.

If your team needs some support through the rest of this year or looking ahead to 2024, please do get in touch.
 
To learn more about Optima-life and how we support organisations to achieve the win-win, please visit our website or take a look at our new animation which shows how we might be able to help them to deliver the goods with purpose and energy.