Catégorie
2. Team
Sous-catégorie
2.3. Well-being & work environment
Stade
Pre-Seed
What is at stake?
How to enhance the physical and mental well-being of team members at work to ensure their good health and reinforce their engagement?
Why is it important?
In a startup, the well-being of the future team is largely determined from the arrival of the first members. Therefore, founders need to be particularly aware of this at the Pre-seed stage, which often corresponds to the initial hires.
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Three key steps to take
1️⃣ Consider well-being from the outset, with the first hires
- As founders, what kind of work environment do you want for to ensure that the initial team thrives ?
- What can be implemented before their arrival to anticipate their needs and maximize their job satisfaction?
- How can you ensure regular feedback about their needs and satisfaction?
2️⃣ Identify and assess risks related to the business activity and company structure
In particular, identify the psychosocial risks (PSRs) in certain work situations involving stress, external violence, and internal violence.
- The Gollac report (2011) identifies six main risk factors.
- Intensity and working hours (workload, task complexity)
- Emotional demands (contact with the public, dealing with people in distress)
- Autonomy or room for maneuver (ability to develop skills, monotony of tasks)
- Social relationships and recognition at work (quality of relationships with colleagues and hierarchy, recognition)
- Value conflicts (ethical conflicts, work perceived as meaningless)
- Job insecurity (work environment, experience of changes)
🛠️ The National Research and Safety Institute (INRS) has developed the tool "Faire le point RPS" to facilitate the assessment of these risks.
3️⃣ Formalize these best practices in a charter
For example:
- Draft a disconnection charter to respect team members’ right to disconnect.
- Define fixed and flexible schedules, as well as telecommuting policies, in dialogue with the first hires.
→ As an example, see here the disconnection charter developed by the Moka.care startup team.
📚 Resources and further reading
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⚖️ Health and Safety at Work: Employer Obligations (Public Service)
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📖 Gollac Report (2011): The Six Main Risks Factors
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🛠️ "Faire le point RPS" Tool (INRS)
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