Future of Work Speaker Eric Termuende on Belonging & Building Engaged Teams
HR Speaker Eric Termuende is a thought-leader on optimizing workplace culture and increasing engagement in the workplace. He provides actionable takeaways to audiences on how organizations can drive engagement through connection and trust. Eric argues against generational groupings and for re-humanizing the workplace based on values, and helps audiences gain more out of the workforce.
We can all agree that the world of work is moving much faster now. The technological advancements we’ve experienced over the past decades have made us more efficient and productive, but they have also blurred the line between work and life.
Recent studies suggest that we are more alone now than ever before. This begs the question; in a world that is more connected than ever before, why are we this out of touch with our peers?
After travelling the world and speaking on nearly 200 stages, I’ve noticed some issues that keep resurfacing in discussions with audiences: the need for a sense of belonging, trust, and a feeling of loneliness. When I look at my own technology habits and the statistics on our usage of it, I can see why.
We’re applying to jobs based on the perks advertised in the job description. Come to think of it, they aren’t job descriptions at all. They are better described as a skills and requirements checklist. The pains of this technological overexposure doesn’t stop at the job application either.
While some companies may have work-life balance figured out, most do not, and it is having a negative effect on our wellbeing. This conversation about belonging isn’t soft or fluffy.
On average now, we’re working 47 hours a week. We’re spending about 11 hours a day in front of a screen. We’re checking our phones 85 times a day. We’re so connected and disconnected at the same time. Studies now show the feeling of loneliness has the negative health implications equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. But let’s forget about the numbers and statistics for a minute. Let’s envision an ideal future of work. If we could live a life where we not only enjoyed what we did, but who we did it with, imagine the possibilities.
What if that thing we did more than anything else in a day (work) didn’t come with a dark cloud of apprehension or feel like a weight on our shoulders. Are you able to?
The future of work is full of promise and high expectation: we could work less, outsource or delegate more, and spend more time doing the things we loved with the people we really cared about. And while we aren’t there yet, we can be; it starts with us and the teams that we work with.
If we don’t start the process of creating workplaces that put meaning behind the actions we do, while intentionally fostering a sense people can show up and unapologetically be their best self, it is going to start costing us much more than our wellbeing at work; this is our entire lives that I’m talking about.
DOWNLOAD ERIC’S FREE WHITEPAPER TO BUILD A MORE ENGAGED TEAM
Organizations of all sizes need to understand how to build better teams, engage employees, and create a sense of community and belonging, while still driving engagement. Founder of both DRYVER, a tech-based people consultancy focused on helping organizations become “future-ready” and NoW Innovations, a movement to democratize access to the most innovative people & culture (HR) and operational practices of leading organizations around the world. Eric provides audiences with new tools, frameworks, and processes.
