As Americans deal with COVID-19 and unrelenting calls for social and racial equality, in addition to everyday stress, company leaders are turning to third-party mediators to help ensure the well-being of their staff and businesses.
Nikki Silvestri, senior advisor at JumpScale, told Cheddar that good workplace morale and health are essential to a flourishing business.
"Well-being is no small thing. The U.S economy loses about $300 billion a year due to a lack of well-being," she said.
JumpScale works with investors and philanthropists to develop strategies and tools that help find balance for employees and successful business operations.
"We try to bridge that gap and make sure investors get that two times higher return if they look at the well-being of their businesses and their nonprofits," Silvestri explained.
While prosperity in the workplace has always been the focus for Silvestri and JumpScale, the coronavirus pandemic has allowed the company to expand its toolbox as the need for companies to assess their overall workplace health goes up, she told Cheddar.
"JumpScale has a Good Clean Well scorecard where we assess 50-plus points of what well-being looks like in a business, and if businesses can do that, then they can make sure that they can reach their customers, that they can pivot, and that they can adapt," Silvestri explained.
A number of factors, according to Silvestri, can affect workplace well-being which includes encouraging employees to take vacation time and providing a diverse work environment; and for investors and philanthropists unsure of why their businesses may be lacking, assessing those points is key.
"You have to cycle your people through. They have to have rest," she said. "It's just very nuanced around having a just, subtle approach to operations and relational approach to operations."
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
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