When wellbeing is that golden thread that weaves throughout all levels of your organisation so that it underpins the strategy, vision and values of the company, and becomes a common language from top down and bottom up, we start to see the positive impact. We see teams who have purpose, who are engaged, motivated, challenged and ultimately happier, healthier and productive. Retention is higher, absence is lower, you are more likely to attract talent and identify those who aren’t the right fit, earlier.
In this article, we consider 4 steps to get you started on creating a climate of positive wellbeing.
- Communicate your commitment to wellbeing
You may already have done this, but revisit why wellbeing is important to you personally, and to the business – remembering we are all human so the more relatable the better! A lot can change year on year, so spending some time with the senior leadership team on your WHY is highly valuable. Ensure that you are all aligned, for example if one person feels that wellbeing is important for the business as they want to build stronger and more connected teams and a more positive environment, yet another feels that this is merely about reducing turnover, then there needs to be a discussion to bring these ideas together.
Find ways to feed your WHY into your company vision and values. This doesn’t mean that your vision needs to use the term ‘wellbeing’, but consider how a focus on wellbeing will help you achieve your goals. When it comes to the strategy, this may need to look different across different teams – give that autonomy but ensure you are all working towards the same single vision.
Be honest that you don’t have all the answers, it’s not a quick fix, but that you want to go on this journey with your people to create a psychologically safe and thriving environment.
2. Create a psychologically safe environment
A psychologically safe workplace is one where people feel safe to take risks, to be vulnerable, to speak out if they need help, and to challenge something they may not agree with and come up with ideas. Research has found that without this psychological safety, even the best mental health initiatives will not achieve the desired outcome as people will not speak out, believe in them or engage with them.
When we work in an environment of high psychological safety and have a strong sense of accountability in our roles, we move into the high performance and learning ‘zone’ – and this is where we want to be the majority of the time. Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership & management, identified that we can encourage psychological safety in our teams through:
- Sharing that you need to hear other viewpoints as you don’t have all the answers yet
- Acknowledging you are fallible and may miss things without others input
- Modelling curiosity by asking lots of questions yourself – making it OK for others to do the same
You may have heard the term ‘quiet quitting’ being used which describes people taking a step back in terms of their commitment / work output as they don’t feel valued or are simply prioritising their wellbeing more. The question here is why is it ‘quiet’? This suggests the environment is not one which allows them to talk openly about why they are changing their behaviours and how they feel. If people do this quietly, you as an organisation do not have the opportunity to address the concerns to retain your valued teams.
How psychologically safe is my workplace?
How do you really know how psychologically safe your workplace is and whether this is consistent across teams, locations, departments? This is where it is so important to LISTEN to people. Ask the right questions and let them be heard.
However you gather data, whether it be surveys, focus groups, team meeting polls, observations, be sure to clearly define what you are measuring and looking for, communicate that you genuinely care about the feedback and be transparent with the results so people feel heard.
3. Ensure a 3-tier approach to support
Deloitte identified that the return on investment (ROI) for wellbeing initiatives focusing on preventative, more tailored activities was 5:1. The more reactive supports were found to have a ROI of 3:1.
If we start with the foundations and focus more energy on the proactive supports then we are less likely to need the reactive support. Also those preventive measures are things we can all do through training / upskilling and day to day positive behaviours – they don’t require professional input.
- Preventative measures include things like team building, manager training, awareness and education raising, flexible working, review of policies, fair workload management, behavioural change, culture development
- Proactive support would be more tailored support such as 1:1 coaching, amended duties, minimising stressors, mentoring, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) support.
- Reactive support could then include referrals to medical professionals such as GP, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) or Occupational Health / Vocational Rehabilitation services.
4. Review your existing policies
If wellbeing is to be the golden thread, then all of your policies and processes need to be aligned to that vision of wellbeing for all your people. As a starting point, it can be helpful to review the following to ensure they are legally up to date, fit the vision, are clear and transparent and offer people the best opportunity to be their best at work:
- Recruitment process – are your adverts inclusive and do you promote wellbeing services at interview?
- Inductions and training – do you provide details on where to go for support?
- Appraisal / performance review process – is wellbeing at the forefront or does it hinder people’s wellbeing?
- Absence management process – are managers trained effectively and is it clear? Does it help to prevent presenteeism?
- Flexible and remote working – is it consistent? Is it working? Do people feel able to utilise it?
- Development & career progression – do people have a purpose and clear pathway? Are managers trained and upskilled in mental health / wellbeing?
- Retention – is wellbeing considered in how to retain talent and reduce turnover? Are exit interviews held?
Final thoughts
- Is wellbeing part of your company vision and values and if so, do people know it is?
- Is wellbeing a standing agenda item at senior leadership / board meetings?
- Do people feel that the workplace is psychologically safe?
- Could you work towards offering more of the preventative support measures rather than a focus on reactive supports?
