Employee wellbeing is the foundation of an engaged and productive workforce, encouraging creativity, output and sustainable high performance. Lesley Cooper shares some pointers to help staff feel safe, supported and valued
The 2022 CIPD Workplace Wellbeing report found that the top reasons for long term absence from work were mental illness (57 per cent) and stress (38 per cent), demonstrating the impact that emotional wellbeing has in the workplace and why managers need to prioritise it.
Here are some ideas to help employers go beyond the standard frameworks to prioritise emotional wellbeing in their teams.
- Psychological safety is the first step
A psychologically safe working environment is a key pillar of wellbeing in the workplace. All employees should feel confident that they can speak openly, take creative risks and make themselves vulnerable at work without any risk of embarrassment, rejection or punishment. Leaders have a responsibility to build a culture of psychological safety.
Sharing personal experiences of risk taking and stories of when this might not have gone to plan, but supported personal and professional growth, is a great way for leaders to set an example for staff. Not only will this show that it is okay to take risks, but employees will likely appreciate a display of vulnerability.
Any overly critical comments or mocking of ideas among teams must be actively discouraged. Calling this out ensures that supportive and constructive conversations will happen as standard practice. Employees will be increasingly engaged, creative and productive when they feel excited and confident enough to share ideas.
- Encourage a good work/life balance
Historically, overworking has been glorified as a symbol of commitment, but employers must ensure their organisational culture is not praising this unhealthy working behaviour. Working outside of our contracted hours, into the evening or over the weekend, can make you feel productive and committed, however it is crucial for everyone to have time disengaged from work where we can nurture other facets of our lives. Over time, overworking blurs the line between our professional and personal lives and our lack of work-life balance not only stifles creativity, but can also snowball into burnout.
To prevent anyone feeling under pressure to overwork, employers must actively support the employees work-life balance by respecting and working with boundaries. If you notice employees sending emails or editing documents in the evening when they should be disengaged from work, discuss this with them and let them know that their downtime away from work is hugely important. Time away from work is an investment into their next wave of performance.
To prevent anyone feeling under pressure to overwork, employers must actively support the employees work-life balance by respecting and working with boundaries. If you notice employees sending emails or editing documents in the evening when they should be disengaged from work, discuss this with them and let them know that their downtime away from work is hugely important. Time away from work is an investment into their next wave of performance.
- Healthy boundaries must be standard practice
Many people will find it challenging to indicate when they are overworked due to fear of seeming incapable. To some, this feels like ‘defeat’. It is important to ensure all team members feel comfortable pushing back on tasks which will take them over capacity for the week or those where they feel they are not the best placed to support.
Embedding phrases such as “Sorry, but I don’t have capacity for that today” and open conversations about what is feasible to achieve should be standard practice. Point them in the direction of someone else who might be better placed to support. Nobody should be embarrassed to set and uphold clear and healthy boundaries. Performance sustainability relies on it.
- Implement regular recovery periods
A key way to bolster emotional resilience and wellbeing is to ensure employee’s brains are not becoming exhausted with day-to-day cognitive tasks. The human brain can only hold solid concentration on a single task for 90-120 minutes, after which productivity and quality of processing will begin to decline. To ensure employees don’t burnout, and to maximise productivity and output, intentional recovery periods must be implemented into everyone’s day.
Encouraging employees to take a five-minute break after a long meeting or an intense task to hydrate, move their bodies or have a quick chat with a colleague about something other than work is an important part of maximising their wellbeing. It’s integral to encouraging sustained high performance.
- Be proactive, not reactive
It is far easier to embed a proactive wellbeing framework rather than firefighting issues as they become serious. Leaders must have regular check-ins with employees, particularly if they are remote, to catch up and discuss any issues that may be currently impacting them.
Regular office hours ensure that employees know you are available to talk and value having one-to-one conversations with them to check in on both their work and their wellbeing. This will help build a natural, open relationship rather than only having check-ins when someone is obviously struggling. If the only meaningful conversations have an agenda, there will be less trust and room for dialogue between management and employees.
Through taking steps to consciously prioritise employee emotional health and ensure they feel that their wellbeing is valued, leaders can minimise burnout, bolster resilience and maximise productivity and high performance.
Lesley Cooper is a management consultant with a background in health and wellbeing consulting in the private healthcare sector. She has over 25 years’ experience in the design and delivery of all elements of employee wellbeing management programmes and is the founder and CEO of WorkingWell, an award-winning specialist consultancy that helps organisations to manage pressure and stress in a way that facilitates a culture of sustainable high performance
