NO WELL-WASHERS WELCOME

A wellbeing culture must be authentic and relevant to your team, says Wildflower’s Danielle Garner. Otherwise, you’ll see no positive impact

FROM OUR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Heard of well-washing? The sister of greenwashing, it’s the intentional or unintentional practice of promoting a wellbeing culture that has little or no positive impact on wellbeing outcomes. And it’s happening in our industry…

I have strong ethical values and fight for what I believe in, I’ve previously turned down substantial financial contracts from large manufacturers due to their green-washing behaviour. Today, similar brands, along with salons and individuals, can be seen well-washing team members, clients and our industry. Whether it’s to entice new staff, a PR stunt, to provide evidence for award entries or to make themselves feel better, well-washing is happening.

I know from personal experience that creating a culture of wellness cannot be dictated; it has to come from the team. When I first opened Wildflower,

“Wellness isn’t just about morning rituals and eating well… My job as a business owner is to figure out what best suits the needs of my team”

I organically curated a wellness culture that grew with the business. However, that was five years ago and as the business develops and attracts new personalities to the team, I’ve learnt that one style does not fit all. I was guilty of over-providing wellness practices to people who either took them for granted or weren’t in a place to appreciate them. Practices that worked for me didn’t always resonate with others. I decided that we needed to address the offerings to create a wellness culture that supported staff and the business. As a team, we developed the compassionate leave policy, where team members could take two weeks of paid leave to deal with personal loss or grief.

Because this was built as a team and we all feel empowered by the decision, everyone understands that there is a cost to the business, so no-one has abused the system. This has provided more wellness benefits to the team’s mental pressures than some holistic practices.

However, wellness is a personal journey, so each person involved in the brand or salon must have the flexibility to work on their own wellness. You can’t enforce yoga or meditation classes if the individual isn’t in the right head space. As a business, our HR offering includes six therapy sessions that can be taken at any time. But it’s not my place to comment when a team member needs to make that first appointment. All I can do is make sure they are aware of the opportunity and be there when they need it. Quite often, those who need it the most are the last to realise it, but supporting them on the journey to discovery is part of a wellness programme that truly respects the individual’s mental health.

Wellness isn’t just about morning rituals and eating well. It can mean nights out and playing bingo! My job as a business owner is to figure out what best suits the needs of my team. Yes, cacao ceremonies and morning yoga might look better on paper, but forcing them on a team is not helpful in the long term. Wellness is not riding on the coat tails of what society expects or social media deems cool. Wellness is about genuinely caring about your team – for their sake, not yours. @wildflower.dublin