Público

What does happiness have to do with creativity, less stress and more productivity? Some entrepreneurs respond in the 4th edition of the Norte Yoga, which takes place at the Porto Business School.

On the fourth floor of the Porto Business School (PBS) in Matosinhos, employees enter a room overlooking a garden and sit on the red rugs arranged in checked pattern. Yoga teacher Catarina Santos Ferreira guides us: "Let’s sit cross-legged, with our backs upright. Shut our eyes gently, focus on our breathing, and gradually feel lighter".

This is one of the classes that the Portuguese Yoga Confederation gives on Fridays, at lunch time, to about 15 employees of the business school and two dozen other workers from Sonae in Matosinhos. "To help overcome stress, to work on ergonomics, on concentration, effective time management, to recharge batteries," explains the teacher who is also responsible for the organization of the 4th edition of Norte Yoga, whose theme is "Productivity, Excellence and Happiness", that takes place on Friday and Saturday at PBS.

This is a forum for sharing best practices for companies and public and private organizations, where speakers from not only Sonae (to which PÚBLICO belongs), Amorim Cork Composites, Altronix, Casa de Mateus Foundation will be present, but also from health organizations such as IPO-Porto, the Portuguese League Against Cancer, the S. João Hospital, amongst others.

For two days they will talk about stress management, environmental sustainability, ergonomics, knowledge sharing and social responsibility. Yoga can be a connecting link, and PBS employees who have been doing these classes since 2017 know it well. "It contributes to happiness in the work environment," says Márcia Coelho, responsible for personnel management at ​​PBS, who joined the initiative from the beginning.

"PBS believes that the practice of yoga contributes to physical, awareness and emotional levels", continues Márcia Coelho, just a few minutes before starting the class. And considers that employees can only gain from the practice, because "it’s a cut off from a week of work, of stress." For example, in her case, she feels more relaxed, focused, and more productive. "When I do not practice, I actually feel that something is amiss", she confides.

Martim Leal, a marketing analyst, and Mafalda Ferreira, PBS's communications officer, share the same view. "I was already into meditation. But it is in yoga that I find genuine meditation", says Martim Leal as he prepares to enter the room. The benefits do not stop here. "I improved my posture, I have less back pain, and I have more flexibility", he says with satisfaction. Mafalda Ferreira feels different when she does attend the class: "When I go, I have greater concentration, because I am more relaxed and I can then place matters into better perspective. It contributes to my productivity", she clarifies.

Ana Martins, a teacher and director of the communication department of the Portuguese Yoga Confederation, refers to the benefits felt by those who practice yoga according to a questionnaire that the organization handed out, in November 2018, to enthusiasts from some of the organizations where the institution teaches, such as Sonae, Intermarché, IPO-Porto and the University of Porto. In it, 96% of the 78 respondents said they had more energy and vitality, and feel more relaxed after yoga class. 94% feel healthier and 87% happier. Another 77% said they manage stress better. As for the impact of yoga on daily work, 83% feel that, in general, the work day is better on the days when they practice it.

Happy company

Also, entrepreneurs believe that well-being and happiness are pillars of a successful business. For example, Altronix has been distinguished several times as a "Happy Company" and is considered one of the 10 happiest in Portugal - according to Exame magazine and the Expresso newspaper - for the initiatives it introduces amongst employees such as celebrating the summer in slippers and shorts. "I realized that someone who is motivated and happy, creates more value and produces more. And it is not only direct productivity, rather, he will be more proactive and not reactive, and will suggest new work methods", justifies Rui Fonseca, founder of the labelling company.

The businessman is well aware of the importance of happiness and motivation in the workplace because he remembers that when he was 13 years old he worked in a car workshop where "the environment was very bad and an order was accompanied by a smack", he recalls.

José Teixeira, chairman of DST Group, an engineering and construction company from Braga, also believes that by providing beauty and dental appointments and having a health centre on the premises, he contributes to the happiness of the approximately 1600 employees. And, as a consequence, he contributes to their heightened creativity, competitiveness and productivity, he says.

In this case, the workers go to the theatre or see an exhibition at the company's gallery, the Zet Gallery. The businessman believes that "it is the level of culture of the group, the capacity for creativity, reading, going to the theatre, listening to music" that makes the company what it is today. To the point of opening its scope to other areas besides civil construction, such as renewable energies, telecommunications, etc.

Rui Fonseca, from Altronix, says that it is happiness and well-being that are part of the company's productivity and growth. "We have huge success because we have a motivated team that flies the Altronix flag", he says with satisfaction, for receiving, for the second consecutive year, the award "happiness in the feminine", for ensuring gender equality at the company.

"All this requires great effort on the part of the company to provide activities and methods so that people come to work with a smile on their faces", he clarifies. "And some measure of madness and delirium", adds José Teixeira, who afforded a post graduate course in behavioural economics to 25 company engineers and economists. "When they complete the course, they will have more pleasure and moments of happiness", he believes.

For Carla Naia, a lawyer in labour law, there is a need to regulate and legislate on the right to disconnect, that is, the worker’s right to rest and leisure, at a time when people are, through new technologies, linked to work, even after hours. With regard to activities offered by the companies, she also notes that "it is not appropriate to impose a duty of obedience on the part of the employee to participate in such actions or, at the very least, the option, duly justified, to not participate in them, must be given". This is because, she says, these "exceed the contractual object, that is, the activity that was contracted".