The Bolognese Philosophy

10 Aug

We're big fans of Bolognese. For some of the Envelope crew it’s the saucy meat and pasta dish, but in this instance we're talking about The Bolognese Philosophy.

Launched by NZ-born Karen Maurice-O’Leary (Kaz), Bolognese was inspired by Karen almost missing what turned out to be the last meal with her husband, who she lost the following day in an accident.

A self-confessed workaholic, Kaz had been settling in for another big work night when a phone call from her husband asking her to come home and share a meal, made her head for the door. The home-made Bolognese they shared is what the philosophy was named for.

She has transformed her biggest life lesson into The Bolognese Philosophy, an anti-burnout platform striving to create a new standard of workplace care in the creative industries.

'The pandemic has been a brutal reminder of how precious our lives are and we’re looking for businesses and individuals to lead us into a new working era, where rest isn’t seen as a treat and productivity is championed during work hours.'

In 2021, Envelope signed up to the philosophy which underlines the need to reset our working world and focus on what is really important. We committed to championing productivity during work hours to protect each other's time for rest and to be with loved ones.

August is also Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand Mindfulness Month, and we're all about it. So, we had a bolognese lunch at our offices across the country and recommitted to this way of thinking. It's so very key to Envelope and to our values, including We're a Tight Team, which cares for each and every team member.

This is why we want to work to try and get our people home for whatever their version of 'Bolognese' looks like on time each night. As Kaz says, 'like it’s our last'.