Recently it has been encouraging to note a significant spike in the levels of interest in workplace wellbeing at both an organisational and individual level. As with so many things these days, we tend to make observations pre and post pandemic. Prior to COVID, wellbeing was in the most part seen as a box-ticking exercise, something companies felt they should be seen to be engaging with, but in reality, not something that had a place in the boardroom, except perhaps for the occasional mention at meetings under AOB. It was seen as a softer skill, a little bit flaky, with no measurable impact on the bottom line.

I, on the other hand, have quite the opposite belief when it comes to our wellbeing. I believe wellbeing is by far and above the most important aspect of your entire life with far-reaching impacts in every domain of your life. I realise this is a sweeping statement, but I am also aware of two decades of research and science that point to this being the case.

Happiness

In my work with individuals, organisations and companies in this area, the more I talk to people, the more obvious it becomes to me that even though we are all unique individuals, we share so much as human beings. We all have the same psychology, the same physiology, the same wants, dreams, hopes, desires, and fears even though we express those things completely differently throughout our lives. One thing that each and every one of us share is a deep, innate human desire to be happy. I often discuss goals with clients, whether they be finance, business, health, or family-related goals. When I ask why they want to achieve their goals I get various responses, but on further questioning, the final answer to the final question on why their goals are important to them is always the same ‘‘because then I’ll be happy’’.

Now happiness is of course a loaded term. When we think of or Google happiness, we get images of smiling emojis, happy faces, people jumping for joy, and unicorns and rainbows. When scientists talk about happiness however, they include another dimension, that of a sense of meaning, contentment, and satisfaction with life. In essence, deeper happiness has two elements: a feeling of being happy in your life, and also being happy with your life. This equates nicely to what we commonly call our wellbeing. When we stop to think about it, which we so rarely do, this is what we are all searching for in our lives.

How we measure success

Even though this is the case, I often think it incredible how we either know so little or do so little to actually prioritise our wellbeing. This, I believe, is because we suffer from what I like to call ‘social hypnosis’ where we, by default, hop up on to the treadmill of life frantically trying to be someone, have something, or get something in the belief that when we do, we will be successful, and that our success will result in happiness, aka wellbeing. However, that all depends on how we measure success, on what metrics we use.

Let’s imagine you are an accountant and you have just completed year end accounts for a pharmacy client. The pharmacy has had a stellar year, with turnover up 20%, gross margin improved, and with a significant increase in net profit. So, hands up who would like to own that business?

A couple of weeks later, you have arranged to meet the client. As you enter the foyer of the hotel, you look over to the corner and spot your client. The minute you do, you remark to yourself how they seem to have aged significantly since your last meeting 12 months ago. While in conversation with them, it becomes obvious to you that they are stressed, anxious, and worried. They discuss how they are bogged down by administrative tasks, never seem to have enough time and about the huge turnover in staff they have experienced recently. They haven’t had a family holiday in the last three years, and their family relationships are strained as they are too preoccupied and distracted to engage fully with their kids. They discuss their poor health with high blood pressure, migraine and digestive issues being regular features. The concepts of excitement, enthusiasm, joy, and laughter seem like a distant memory. Now hands up who would like to own that business?

By all financial metrics the pharmacy is a runaway success, but from a wellbeing point of view, it is an unmitigated disaster. Sometimes we think a successful business is all about finances — bigger turnover, better sales, greater margin. However, for a business to be sustainably successful we need to take other metrics into consideration. We need to consider if we can make decisions based not just on financials but on whether they are good both for the business, and also for us.

Your greatest assets

Remember when we say yes to something, we are automatically saying no to something else. No matter what your end of year accounts say, the two greatest assets you have in your life are in limited supply, and are dwindling every single day. They are your time and your energy. They don’t appear on your balance sheet, yet it is critical that we take them into account when making business decisions. The greatest asset any business has is its team, the people providing the service day-in-day-out, those people at the counter who, for your customers, are the face of your business. Perversely, they appear in your accounts as an expense.

What gets measured gets done, and businesses stay on track by measuring Key Performance Indicators. In my opinion, we regularly omit one KPI, which in reality is the only one that matters: our wellbeing and that of our team. Now I am in no way suggesting that there is anything wrong with a healthy turnover, margin or profit. In fact, quite the opposite, but for these to be sustainably achieved, we need a shift in mindset. Yes, we are in the business of pharmacy, but we are also in the business of minding our own wellbeing and that of our teams.

People often talk to me about work-life balance, which is a term I dislike. Work-life balance sounds really stressful to me. I imagine myself on top of a seesaw with one foot on the work side and the other on the life side. Any slight move I make has detrimental effects on one side or the other. I prefer to think of work life alignment. Making decisions that are good for me and good for my business, where both aspects are complementary to each other, rather than in opposition. It all comes down to the question; ‘Do we own our business or does our business own us?’

Conclusion

The traditional assumption has been that when we achieve success, then happiness and wellbeing will follow. Over the last couple of years, we have seen that this is certainly not the case. Success, when measured in euros only, can often have the exact opposite effect. Most pharmacists, whether employees or owners, who have left community pharmacy over the last number of years, have done so not because of financial reasons but because of lifestyle issues. When they do so, they are confirming what the science tells us. Success, as traditionally defined, does not automatically lead to happiness and wellbeing. In fact, the exact opposite is often true. When we shift our focus to prioritising our wellbeing, we achieve greater success in all areas of our lives.

Séamus Ruane is a community pharmacist and Positive Psychology Practitioner. Visit www. iThrive.ie for more information. Séamus delivers the IPU training course ‘IPU Wellbeing in the Pharmacy’, which started at the end of April.