MBA Alumni Relations and the MBA Programmes team were delighted to welcome 125 alumni and students to Alliance MBS recently (Thursday, 7 December) for our annual MBA Fireside Chat and Christmas Networking Event.
During the Fireside chat, Sir Professor Cary Cooper CBE and Nia Watkin Jones delved into the critical role of wellbeing as a strategic imperative for organisations, highlighting its increased significance due to prevalent stress and mental health issues.
Professor Cooper emphasised the transformative impact of the COVID era, fostering more open dialogues about workplace flexibility and normalising hybrid work arrangements, ultimately contributing positively to employee wellbeing.
The conversation extended to the pivotal role of line managers and its direct correlation with staff members' satisfaction. Professor Cooper stressed the importance of line managers possessing excellent emotional intelligence, people skills, and technical expertise. He advocated for organisations to invest more in training line managers in emotional intelligence.
Closing the discussion, the dialogue shifted towards exploring workplace values across different generations. Younger generations felt empowered to advocate for flexibility, work-life balance, and professional development. The call to action was clear - organisations were urged to support these aspirations to effectively retain and nurture talent actively.