11 Feb 2021 10:00 am - 11:00 am As most of us believe AFRICA IS CALLING indeed – it’s bunker down time for our contact centre operations to get better getting right what we do so that it’s portable and transportable across the continent. And that absolutely starts with getting our people ‘right’ first

1. TOUCHPOINT: DEVELOPING PEOPLE WHERE IT MATTERS
VUCA 3.0 – 2021 and BEYOND
WELLNESS
AND WELLBEING
IN A VUCA WORLD-
The N*W*O*W* chill-pill for mental health in the workplace
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za
GAIL MERVIS 11 FEBRUARY 2021

2. Video Clip
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqQh9t-VLIY

3. The VUCA Context:
• Uncertainty in world politics after the ‘collapse of the Cold War’ and in business scenarios and
leadership is where VUCA 1.0 was born:
• And it was born out of an increasing inability to grasp the world and to deal with the things
happening around us.
Uncertainty Turbulence Rapid change Disruption
Complexity Hyper-competition High-velocity markets Automation
Unpredictability Globalisation Financial Turmoil Innovation
Remind you of anything????
And 30 years on? 2021 – it’s got central billing again..........
So... ... Actually..... We’ve done this B4..... Maybe.....
Ok not EXACTLY – but definitely somewhat 

4. COMMONALITIES
#
DIFFERENCES
#
SITUATIONAL
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za

5. The reality is...
Not since the Second World War
have so many people in so many
places been traumatised at
once!

6. Rapid-fire changes are putting extreme pressure on business leaders to lead
in ways not heretofore seen - and this doesn’t even start to take into
account the trauma of retrenchments, vapourised jobs, reduced workforces,
cancelled contracts, loss of revenue, massively increased operational
expenses etc etc etc...
That’s factualilty!
That was 2020 as we knew it!
And for now – it’s 2021 as well 
This is not Business as usual – it’s business unusual *

7. VUCA ...............of te not!!!!! / LABELS... LABELS... LABELS....
The world of business and the world of work inferences
uncertainty, turbulence, rapid change, dynamism, disruption,
complexity, hyper-competition, high-velocity markets and flux.
● The world is VUCA
● Life is VUCA
● Okay so maybe the universe is VUCA ?? 
Let’s not make that the inhibitor - but rather the promoter...
VOLATILE* UNCERTAIN * COMPLEX * AMBIGUOUS
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8. So - let’s start from the base where we acknowledge
that volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity
IS the world of work...
... and that the world of work is not:
 the mastery of a leadership style
 the implementation of a strategy
 short-term business challenge

9. What if we've got this????
● We’ve coped - we’ve survived - we’ve had some casualties, sure - and to a
large extent we thrived.
● That doesn't mean resting on our laurels and going forth into uncertainty
● These are business (and life) disruption contenders - For sure!
● Though it does mean shifting the lens of the N*W*O*W to a vantage point that
gives clarity and removes debilitating blindspots
● We conquered Y2K right?
● So why waste another good crisis!
● But really –is this ‘unprecedented time’ that we are living in –really that
unprecedented?

10. So let’s look at some of those pointers from the video:

11. Also.....

13. This is NOT PROMULGATING ANARCHY
But rather a call for evolved, inclusive leadership – recognised at all
levels of the organisation and ACCOMMODATING
ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANISATION.

14. There’s a kind of continuum emerging....
● RIGHT! Right?
● So we don’t know what we don’t
know....
● Heard that one before ?

15. But what if we do know???
● The N*W*O*W is real – its here – and its mutating
● Co-evolution is replacing “revolution”
# industrial; technological; digital; 4IR
● We are speeding up the need to REIMAGINE the future
■ the world of work
■ the way we do work
■ and the people that make it all happen
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za

16. The video tells us ....

17. This requires a shift .......from CONTENT to CONTEXT
What does this means for business as we RE-IMAGINE into the future...
There are many challenges:
And we have to get them RIGHT!
As organisations AND LEADERS:
• we need to be stronger and self-sustaining
• we need to be more accommodating and
collaborative
• we need to be resilient flexible and wise
• we need to understand that people are not
an HR commodity or a labour force boxed
comfortably into the Excel spreadsheet
column of human capital
• We need to get that content // context
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za

18. And now, looking forward –What lies ahead?
● The NWOW
● Mental health: Wellness and Wellbeing
● VUCA ; VUCA 2 and hulllllloww VUCA 3.0
● From surviving to thriving in a VUCA world
● The organic wholeness of the HB

19. The N*W*O*W*
Is WELLNESS the chill-pill for mental health???

20. Mental health:
Wellness and Well-being
An active process of
choice for an improved
existence focused on
holistic and optimal
health. It is based on
an individual pursuit –
and is not a static state
of being.
Is an experiential state of health,
happiness, prosperity, mental acuity,
and feeling of wellness associated
with life satisfaction, meaning,
purpose, engagements,
accomplishments, and the ability to
manage stress and adapt to
circumstantial situations.
Health is a state of body / wellness is a state of being.
And you have to PLAN for this to be present and available in Business – it is not osmotic!!!

21. Good mental health is relevant to everyone everywhere !!!!
The health and well-being of the
workforce is in direct proportion
to the health and well-being of the
organisation
“Put people first during tough times in
your contact centre - Rebecca Gibson
May 2020 - from Gibson Learning and Performance
And you have to PLAN for this to be present and available in Business – it is not osmotic!!!

22. The researchers found that 35% of
the survey respondents were
experiencing some of these
physical symptoms that included:
frequent headaches, nausea,
heartburn, eating problems, [heart]
palpitations, sleep problems and
muscle pains and aches at both a
psychological and physical level.
Professor Stoffel Grobler from
Mindful Revolution cautions
that we “should over-estimate
the mental health impact of
COVID-19 rather than under-
estimate it”

23. In South Africa the figures we have indicate:
• 56% of the workforce experienced higher levels of psychological and emotional distress
• 35% of the workforce have experienced 'layoffs‘
• 25% of the workforce have experienced reduced working hours
• 81% had adopted unhealthy eating habits
• 68% are worried about the impact of the pandemic on society and the economy
• 33% have trouble concentrating
• 20% of couples admitted experiencing relationship issues; and spousal abuse has increased by 5%
• 52% have trouble sleeping
• 49% feel anxious, 48% frustrated, 31% depressed and a significant 6% have admitted contemplating suicide
• Nearly half the respondents admitted to wanting to reach out to a therapist for help during the pandemic
Source: 14 October 2020

25. WE
ARE
A
STRESSED
WORKFORCE!
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za

26.  Stress is the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change and/or uncertainty that
threatens the psychological, physiological and social well-being of an individual.
 The body's response to stress is hormonal, respiratory and cardiovascular weakens the immune
system
 Stress generally occurs when there is an interaction between a person and their environment that
exceeds their adaptive capabilities -the world becomes a threatening place
 In September 2020 it was reported that resilience amongst the workforce is at risk!
This means that employees have reduced speed and ability to recover from
challenges – and there is functional inadequacy as a result.

27. Let's have a look at the impact of stress on:
o Wellness
o Well-being
o The brain
BECAUSE WE NEED A STRONG HEALTHY ROBUST RESILIENT WORKFORCE TO CARRY
OUR ORGANISATIONS INTO THE FUTURE AS IT EMERGES

28. Neuro-agility.... Or not?
Dr Andre Vermeulen – Nero-Link
Neurotransmitters
Neuro-agility is about
optimising all brain-based
elements that impact the ease,
speed and flexibility with which
people think, learn and process
information.

29. Drivers that optimise brain performance – Neuro Agility
The ease and speed at which you think, learn and process
information is dependent on the health of the above dashboard.
Dr Andre Vermeulen – Nero-Link
A healthy outside
starts from the
inside.
Illness and wellness
is a continuum – with
disease at one end of
the spectrum and
optimal health at the
other.
Innovation suffers
acutely when the
workforce is
disengaged for any
particular reason –
and this has long-
term consequences.

31. COVID-19 has taught us that when humanness, volatility, vulnerableness and
mental health is challenged - there is no capital to tally on the balance sheet.
The sum total of our business output is directly proportionate to the sum total
of our workforce wellness.
This is no longer a discussion for the internal ‘wellness committee’; ICAS or
Team Leaders to manage in isolation. It’s a corporate strategy line item – if not
the number one line item – and it needs to sit on the SOP documentation;
right there with values, vision, mission, projects and budget bullet points.
You need a ROLLOUT PLAN, IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY and QMS to activate a H&S FRAMEWORK.
Its an $8b dollar Industry – and COVID-19 showed how it’s failing!

32. VUCA
VUCA PRIME
VUCA 2
Proposing VUCA 3.0
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za
So this becomes about people in all the VUCA’ing!
IT’S TIME FOR
A BRAND
NEW
ITERATION

33. VUCA - First iteration in organisations: (Previously military)
+/_ 1987 based on leadership theories
V – Volatility
U – Uncertainty
C – Complexity
A - Ambiguity
referenced an increasing inability
to grasp the world and deal with
the things happening around us.

34. VUCA PRIME – A STRATEGIC AMENDMENT By ROBERT JOHANSEN - 2007
V – Vision
U – Understanding
C – Clarity
A - Agility
Johansen put this together as a response to VUCA 1.0 to support leaders in
implementing organisational change without losing strategic momentum
and direction – and the two work in dynamic equilibrium.
VUCA ‘ VUCA 1 AND A BIT 

35. VUCA – 2.0: 30 years on....
2018 – BILL GEORGE (HBS) – THE VUCA ANTIDOTE
V – Vision
U – Understanding
C – Courage
A - Adaptability
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36. VUCA 3.0 – 2021 and BEYOND
V – Vulnerability
U – Unity
C – Compassion
A – Authenticity
In 3 short years since Bill....
EVOLUTION

37. That's why VUCA 3.0 is an imperative in the N*W*O*W*
1
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Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za
1. a bit

38. From surviving
to
thriving
in a VUCA 3.0 world
• VULNERABILITY
• UNITY
• COMPASSION
• AUTHENTICITY

39. The “lens of business” needs to shift drastically to accommodate sustainability.
o There’s going to be casualties – that’s inevitable.
That’s Pandemic fallout and automation consequences!
Wellness and wellbeing, if not addressed as a priority, will
make this fallout devastating.
o As organisations we need to be stronger and self-sustaining - yet more
accommodating and collaborative. We need to be resilient, flexible and wise
- and we need to see that people are not an HR commodity or a ‘labour-
force’ boxed comfortably in the Excel spreadsheet column of Human Capital.
This new future of work is defined by Knowledge Resources as :
a world driven by ‘collective purpose and well-being’.
Therefore we need to look at a recovery, reform and regeneration strategy that
genuinely has people at its core.

40. BE THE ENABLER
OF
“STUFF HAPPENING”
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za

41. In May 2020, Rebecca Gibson from Gibson Learning and Performance - a company
that plays in the contact centre realm – reconfigured operational intent around two
key questions:
 What do I want others to remember about this tough time?
 How do I want others to feel about how they were treated by me and the company?
CAPACITATE YOUR STAFF FOR EXCELLENCE!
#

42. The
organic
wholeness
of the HB...
............

43. It’s visceral when companies invest
in the wellness of their people –
as much as when they don’t ...

44. What are some of the available options?
WELLNESS AND WELLBEING

46. FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO ELEVATED

47. Enter via email - Share your story:
tpt@absamail.co.za
CLOSING DATE 19 MARCH 2021
Open to SA DELEGATES ONLY – for now 
W h at d o e s y o ur N * W*O*W* l o ok l i k e a n d h o w
d o y o u p l an t o i n c orp orate a n d a l i gn w i t h t h e
V U CA 3 . 0 l e ader shi p m e t hodol og y ? 
Approximately 500 words

48. Tough times don’t last … but employees’ memories of how they were
treated during tough times do.
This is an opportunity to pause and consider:
“How can I best help my team right now? What can I do about this situation to soften
the edges, bring some levity, and add some humanity?”
Help employees to feel they were at the centre of decisions which affected them and
to see themselves – their perspectives, their values, their contributions - in how you
navigated this time.
“I hope each of us learns something valuable about ourselves during this crisis, and
that we end this feeling stronger, more connected, and more resilient than when we
started”. Rebecca Gibson
Our ability to face tough times becomes part of our shared story – we’ve gotten
through tough times together, and together we can handle whatever
comes next.

49. THANK YOU!
Questions?
Gail Mervis 0826001847 tpt@absamail.co.za