Wellbeing has taken center stage in recent years as organisations begin to understand the benefits of their employees feeling good and performing at their best in both work and life. Organisations have been realising the benefits of shifting from a traditional health and safety medical model, focused on diagnosing and treating symptoms, to a more proactive, positive approach inspired by the positive psychology movement.
Why is Wellbeing at Work So Critical?
Wellbeing is about feeling good, functioning well, and finding satisfaction and fulfillment in life. When we experience wellbeing in our life and work, it leads to better mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual health, personal happiness, and better relationships. People with high levels of wellbeing tend to handle life and work demands, face challenges with resilience, and recognize and capitalise on opportunities for growth. It's clear that improving wellbeing is essential for a fulfilling life and top performance. In fact, wellbeing and performance are interdependent - as our wellbeing improves, so does our performance, and vice versa.
That's why it's vital for businesses to understand and invest in both wellbeing and performance. By acknowledging and monitoring employee wellbeing, organisations can ensure that their employees are at their best, able to handle the complexities of work, and reach their full potential.
Measure and Monitor Wellbeing Continuously
Unfortunately, many organisations lack a systematic approach to measuring and monitoring the connection between wellbeing and performance. As a result, leaders are often in the dark about their employees' work and life experiences and how these shape or are impacted by organisational culture. To get a full understanding of employee wellbeing, it's important to not only measure it systematically but also continuously monitor it over time. This way, organizations can see how wellbeing levels change in response to life and work stressors.
Personalise Wellbeing to Meet Unique Employee Needs
While some health and safety issues are universal, improving employee wellbeing often requires a personalized approach that takes into account individual needs and what employees find meaningful, valuable, and fulfilling. A 'one-size-fits-all' approach won't cut it. Organizations need to focus on personalization to create a supportive, inclusive workplace for all employees.
Go Beyond Engagement
Engagement is a key metric for measuring how connected employees are to the organisation, but it doesn't capture all aspects of how employees feel about work and their ability to perform at their best. To truly understand employee wellbeing, it's crucial to consider the interplay between work and non-work life experiences.
Beyond Health and Safety: Psychological and Psychosocial Safety Climate
Psychological safety is one of the three key conditions for employee engagement and refers to employees feeling comfortable being themselves at work and in their workplace relationships. In a psychologically safe environment, employees can express their concerns, self-doubts, and needs for learning freely. Psychosocial safety climate is becoming an important indicator of work stress, employee health and safety, and their impact on engagement, wellbeing, and performance.
Three strategic approaches for improving wellbeing
- Leadership Commitment and Development: Wellbeing is a critical component of optimal performance outcomes, and leaders play a crucial role in creating a work environment that promotes and nurtures wellbeing. Leaders should prioritise wellbeing in their role and integrate it into key performance measures. To lead effectively, leaders need to develop their skills in 'leading wellbeing.'
- Combined Top-Down + Bottom-Up Approach: Both leaders and employees have a role to play in promoting wellbeing at work. Leaders need to show ongoing commitment to wellbeing, while employees need to make personal progress over time and support wellbeing through their actions and behaviors.
- Adopting a More Sophisticated Approach to Measurement: Most organisations don't have a systematic way of measuring and monitoring the interplay between wellbeing and performance. To get a complete picture of employee wellbeing, organisations need to adopt a more sophisticated approach to measurement, build intelligence, and measure systematically.
Wellbeing is a positive force that goes beyond not being ill or injured. It's about feeling good and performing at our best in work and life. Organisations need to focus on personalising wellbeing to meet unique employee needs and adopt a more sophisticated approach to measurement. The time for a brighter future is now.
To find out how Benny Button can help your organisation reach new levels of wellbeing and performance email hello@bennybutton.com
Event reminder
If you are a leader seeking to enhance your understanding of employee wellbeing and performance, don't miss the opportunity to learn from the globally acclaimed expert, Arnold Bakker. Hurry, tickets for his March workshops in Sydney and Melbourne are selling quickly and you won't want to miss this valuable experience. Click below to find out more.
