Universities are trying hard to improve their global ranking, which necessitates motivating more and more academics to do quality research. Just better libraries and grants may not be enough. Leading companies, e. g. Google, Microsoft, etc. are heavily investing in workplace wellness programs. In Google, among others, associates can even bring their pets to work, can sleep at work, have washing machines, well-managed creches for children, 18 restaurants providing free food to associates. Today, the market cap of this 15 years old company is 350 billion dollars.
Not many universities even think about workplace wellness of academics and employees. Often they do not succeed in promoting excellence, and stay mediocre or far behind; of course for other reasons as well. Can we make the life of a researcher more fascinating by adding realistic workplace wellness programs (that are possible in universities) that lead to better physical and psychological health of academics, and results in joyfulness in research and academic work. Are there any experiences and/or suggestions?
A great question ....
I believe that if the concern is the increase in quality, then it is necessary to invest in ways that problems are found to be solved.
The work environment should provide support for what is really important. Having problems to solve, the researchers will make the machine run. Having problems to solve, researchers strive to gain the necessary skills.
Then you need to invest primarily in channels of communication between the researchers and the problems that need solving.
Dear Debi
A well developed wellness centre within the premises of the institution where the faculty have free access all times would greatly help. It is necessary to get out from the workplace. Here is the link for such a facility in our university. It has most of the desired facilities including an enclosed jogging/walking track (our temperatures are sub zero for good part of 4 months in a year).
https://www.uni.edu/wellrec/
We can make the life of a researchers more fascinating and add workplace wellness programs that lead to better physical and psychological health of academics and administrative staff.
Dear Debi,
Workplace wellness is any workplace health promotion activity or organizational policy designed to support healthy behavior in the workplace and to improve health outcomes.
Workplace wellness includes organizational policies designed to facilitate employee health including allowing flex time for exercise, providing on-site kitchen and eating areas, offering healthy food options in vending machines, holding “walk and talk” meetings, and offering financial and other incentives for participation.
An example of such a program is university of Manitoba
http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/kinrec/recreationservices/employee.html
At our university we have a GYM and faculty can use for a nominal fee. Only about 10% of the faculty members use it. I beleive that we need to design activities to encourage more faculty to participate in wellness programs.
I think that universities should think about workplace wellness of academics and employees and the universities who do not take care of that do not succeed and will go out of business, see the following report:
AN ANALYSIS OF THE UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM
http://www.usu.edu/wellness/files/uploads/Final_ReportSurvey10.pdf
Thank you all. I am happy that most of you including dear Alexandre, Nageswar, Mahfuz, Behrouz, et al. put high primacy on this issue. As dear Abedallah has said, organizations that do not take care of these things will go out of business. I fully agree with this; eventually they will. Organizations that treat their critical assets (researchers in our case), and also otherwise nurture high employer brand, will go way ahead of others.
Dear Nasser says that existing facilities are used by 10 per cent people in his university. . I think, we need to promote transparency and ask the associates, what all they would like to be there so as to make work-life more exciting. I am so sure, there are always cost-effective measures also, that can be implemented without hassles. We need responsible leadership in universities that can explore and think out-of-box.
I fully agree with the observation that there is crisis of leadership in universities. That is discernible from dear Ahed's thread. We really need thoughtful leaders with team leadership qualities to head universities and colleges who can convince politicians about the future vision and the desired organizational culture, and its alignment through appropriate welfare and wellness facilities for faculty if a university really tries to attain excellence. I think, there could be a number of areas where interventions can be thought of.
Most U.S. universities have fully equipped gymnasia for students and professors with exercise facilities like stationary bicycles and weights and with swimming pool (either indoors or outdoors or both, depending on climate),with golf course and ski courses in many. In many universities there are also trainers. There are team sports with other universities and within each university. The only disadvantage is that excessive concentration on physical activities can and often do detract from studies.
I am in full agreement with you Kamal. We want people to go home and practice a real family life.
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