Raluca Dolan, HR Director, Cognizant Romania: Mental health is linked to the quality of interactions in the work environment

“It is obvious that industries are defined by extremely different characteristics related to the type of employees, the diversity within the work pool and the problems that members of the organizational community complain about. I come from an industry and a company that has more than 25 years on the IT market, more than 2200 employees in Romania and 340,000 globally. The magnitude of the differences and the specificity of an industry is hard to imagine at this scale,” said Raluca Dolan, HR Director, Cognizant Romania within the panel talks of the recently held event People Empowering Business Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

The full statements of Forum Panelists can be found at: People Empowering Business Forum & Awards 2024 – powered by The Diplomat Bucharest

But what I have noticed is that, in the IT industry, engineers want to work on projects with purpose, where they feel they are contributing. We are in an extremely flexible industry and this flexibility brings an extraordinary plus.

Mental health is linked to the quality of interactions in the work environment. The signal given by leadership, the way in which the manager leaves his mark on the culture of the organization and the way in which he communicates it further, along with the way in which he himself contributes to higher value within an organizational community, is fundamentally important. In summary, the quality of projects, the quality of interactions, sense of belonging, self-esteem, accountability and sense of ownership are part of those elements and motivational drivers that motivate and engage the members of a healthy organization. In the 35+ generations, the first signs of maturation in the industry are visible. It is an industry that for 20 or so years, has known only one word, growth, in 2 speeds: fast and very fast.

As it was during the pandemic, when we also doubled our number of employees. Now, the IT industry is going through a period of stabilization. This is not a crisis, but a stabilization, which ultimately sifts values. And those over 35 are here to guide the younger ones who have only been faced with the concept of growth so far. Regarding the remote or hybrid way of working, optionality is one of the greatest benefits in our field. The question is just how we create bounding in this context. We create it through experiences together, whether they are events or projects. All of these are opportunities to see each other again.

Thus, the feeling of obligation and coercion is eliminated and this degree of freedom was learned and practiced during the pandemic and I think it would be a shame to forget this.

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About the event:
Now in its 10th edition, People Empowering Business Forum & Awards Gala 2024 celebrated the leaders and their teams who have made exceptional contributions to empowering the work environment and made a significant mark to broader business community. For 2024’s anniversary edition, both the Forum and Awards Gala have shined a light to the best-in-class professionals from cross-sectors in the Romanian economy.

This year’s special FORUM & AWARDS GALA took place e on 26th of November at InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest, Le Diplomate Hall.

The event benefited from the support of:
PLATINUM PARTNERS: NXP Semiconductors, Wipro, RetuRO SGR
GOLD PARTNERS: Adrem, Teleperformance, ACCA, Schneider Electric, Distributie Energie Electrica Romania, Vastint Romania,
Sphera Group, tbi bank, Michelin Romania, Cognizant Romania, Philip Morris, Kinstellar
PARTNERS: Magna Exteriors Craiova, Continental Romania, ICI Bucharest, Tinmar Energy, Stefanini Romania, Distributie Oltenia
SUPPORTING PARTNERS: Concordia, BRCC, Cluj IT Cluster, ANIS, Lovering & Partners Business Consultants
MEDIA PARTNERS: Outsourcing Today, Sustainability Today, Automotive Today, Financial Intelligence, Romania Durabila, Economistul, Club Economic, Bursa