How does your self-care and emotional energy fit into your workplace?

Welcome to Why Meaning Matters. A Story Studio Network podcast hosted by Erin Trafford with MotivBase cultural anthropologist, Ujwal Arkalgud and MotivBase president, Jason Partridge.

The pandemic has illuminated the notion of emotional energy and self-care, the rhythm of being human in the workforce, and its impact on marginalized populations. In episode six, we learn how the changing meanings of gender, masculinity, and femininity matter to the way you are running your business and marketing your brand.

UJWAL [00:04:23] “Even if you’ve locked yourself in a room, the ‘madness’ is unfolding around you. And, it becomes difficult and it’s certainly harder for women to have the emotional wherewithal, to be present in the moment, to give their everything, to feel good about their work.” Since work is at home and home is at work now for so many, brands, businesses, and organizations are in the early stages of looking for solutions to facilitate recovery and rejuvenation of emotional energy and self-care for the consumer.

JASON [00:06:16] “They may be doing different things, but the reason for needing to find the solution is quite ubiquitous and quite kind of similar, if you can get to a high enough level, if you look at the meanings that are really kind of shaping the need for it.” With the concepts of emotional energy and self-care being applied in the context of work, it isn’t enough for employees to see it as being important, they need to know what is acceptable. UJWAL [00:07:47] “Their bosses and, and the powers that be at these [00:07:50] organizations also need to think about what is acceptable, what is the new norm, so to speak, in terms of how we work and how we encourage people to work so that they feel good about the time spent doing the thing.” And what is acceptable could look very different from one organization and individual to the next as we become more aware of the rhythm of being a human in the workplace. JASON [00:09:11] “So, whether or not it is kind of thinking about the four-day workweek or whether or not it’s just thinking about how we shape and structure our time in order to better serve the responsibilities that we have within that household.” UJWAL [00:10:14] “An increased awareness of the rhythm of being a woman in the workplace, the rhythm of being a man, the differences that that has. And then, of course, the rhythm of being somebody who doesn’t fall into one of these binary definitions as well, because that also feeds into the broader conversation we’re having because we have to be able to make space for people to feel comfortable, to establish that rhythm that works for them. I think that’s really what we’re getting to.” Our seemingly small choices for self-care and what we deserve then impact the bigger picture.

JASON [00:12:01] “I’m going to say to my wife, let’s treat ourselves and order food in which has an impact on grocery, which has an impact on QSR, which has an impact across the food chain as people do this more and more and more, but it also has an impact on everything from, am I treating myself with personal care products? Am I finding ways to kind of shift what I’m thinking? Am I a server that’s not going to go back and work at a restaurant because I deserve better? These are impacting small moments. These are impacting big shifts and these are all things that are tied together.” Erin sets up the next episode on pop culture, what it means to be a hero, and what does it all mean for the next generations. Stay tuned for episode seven of Why Meaning Matters. A podcast produced by Story Studio Network and iContact Productions for MotivBase- Decoding implicit meaning behind what people talk about. If you want to contribute to the conversation, make sure you drop us an email at hello [at] storystudionetwork [dot] com. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to SHARE it, RATE it, and SUBSCRIBE to the show!