In our last blog, part A of the ‘Workplace Wellbeing’ theme in our A – Z of Workplace Culture series, we looked at stats and figures that clearly demonstrate the value in prioritising workplace wellbeing.
As well as showing the flip side of the coin – the risks you face (think problems with staff retention and attraction, not to mention burnout) if you decide employee wellbeing is not on your priorities list.
If you missed it, don’t stress – stressing whilst reading a blog about wellbeing is definitely not a cool thing! Here is the link to the blog: Y is for Y you really, really need to care about workplace wellbeing.
This time, we look at what leaders can do to promote the wellbeing of their teams – and themselves.
Before we get into the details, let’s clarify exactly what we mean by ‘workplace wellbeing’.
Mckinsey define employee wellbeing as:
Employee wellbeing encompasses the physical, mental/emotional and financial health of your staff.
Simples!
And btw yes, you do need to be concerned about all of the above, including employee’s financial wellbeing.
Now back to talking about how leaders can care for the wellbeing of their teams.
There are two different answers to this question.
In the red corner, we have a scenario where one of your team comes to you and tells you how stressed/anxious/depressed they are, and asks your help in managing their workloads or other issues they believe are contributing to their declining mental health.
Or perhaps, being the people-centric and emotionally intelligent leader that you are (which in turn means you know the signs of mental health problems), you have identified some of those signs in one or more of your team.
If you are in this scenario, then I invite you to read something I prepared earlier: Help! I think my team member is depressed. What the heck do I do?
The second part of the answer to the question is: what you can do in general terms to promote the wellbeing of your team.
Before I share my top 10 tips, a note of caution: wellbeing should not be tackled in an ad hoc manner, or as a knee jerk response to the latest quarterly reports that show an increase in absenteeism and decrease in productivity.
Workplace wellbeing should be a C-Suite priority, included in the annual strategic plan. In other words, it should be deliberately designed, with time and dollars allocated to it, and frequently evaluated.
But now over to those tips…
10 tips for improving employee wellbeing
- Provide an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) service.
- This usually translates into around 5 free counseling sessions, provided by external psychologists, that is both completely confidential (the EAP providers only report back the number of sessions they provide, not the who) and is also available for employee’s family members. The issues the individuals wish to speak to the counselors about, do not have to be work related.
- Offer wellbeing benefits as part of all employee’s remuneration package such as:
- Doona days (or wellness days): additional paid days of leave are offered to staff who can use the day to either do something specific for their wellness (hello, spa day) or can simply hide under the doona and rest and recharge
- Gym memberships – discounted or fully paid memberships
- Discounted health insurance
- Yoga – provide free classes on a regular basis onsite or online
- Massages – provide on site or provide tokens for employees to have the massage at providers close to their homes
- Free financial counseling or advice from qualified financial advisors
- Salary sacrifice ie 48/52 leave: A 48/52 week employment cycle enables staff to take an additional four weeks’ leave per year, while receiving 48 weeks’ salary payable over 52 weeks of the year.
- Appoint ‘Wellbeing Champions’
- Chosen from across the business, and from all different levels of responsibility, a committee of wellbeing champions is established, who regularly meet to check on your organisation’s progress towards wellbeing goals.
- This includes spruiking wellbeing to people within their teams/departments and generally across the organisation; and conducting internal formal and informal surveying of their colleagues to learn what other employees believe is working or not working, as well as what employees would like to see more of when it comes to the wellbeing initiatives you offer.
- Bonus points available here if you combine values champions with wellbeing champions. In other words, your wellbeing champions can be responsible for this:
- Reward and recognise employees who are living your values, tell stories about them via your intranet / internal newsletter, spruik their achievements, and/or consider providing small rewards. [From ‘V is for Values’, link here].
- Encourage regular breaks
- Aussie workers work on average 6 hours unpaid overtime per week – which adds up to 2 months per year!
- Therefore we need to make sure people are actually taking lunch breaks, as opposed to eating at their desks; finishing work at appropriate times and turning off email and other notifications when they leave work.
- Encourage physical as well as mental breaks, by promoting the benefits of standing / stretching at appropriate intervals.
- Leaders need to lead by example
- Which means, leaders need to be seen actively prioritising their own personal wellbeing as well as encouraging that of their teams.
- Walk out that office door, loudly and proudly letting it be known that you are leaving early today so you can take your kids to their basketball game / go to boxing class / head into rehearsal for the community musical you’ve gotten a part in. When your team sees you prioritising your wellbeing, they know it is truly ok for them to do so as well.
- Flexible work policies
- Introduce flexible work policies that encourage all employees to do what works best for their individual productivity, as much as possible depending on your industry and particular roles.
- Which in practice means having a general work rule along the lines of ‘work how and where suits you best’, with the proviso that everyone will still be expected to come to office for connection, collaboration and celebration.
- Fitness Challenges
- Provide opportunities to staff to engage in Fitness challenges, like those provided via gamification offerings such as Health Chase.
- The games mean your employees can challenge each other (and themselves) whilst also improving their overall health and fitness – and having fun. Plus, let’s face it, us Aussies do tend to have a pretty healthy competitive spirit…
- Gamification is also an excellent way to build inclusivity into your wellbeing strategy – after all, not everyone is an ultra-marathon runner who likes to run in the dark, on their own, through the alpine regions of Victoria. Some of us have gammy knees and can’t run! Not that I am thinking of any two particular people in this scenario. #cough #helloJaq Gamification provides opportunities for everyone to be involved and have fun, whatever their physical or other limitations.
- Engage external providers to help drive your workplace wellbeing.
- Sign up to programs either for your team, or the whole organisations, like those offered by Kevin McAlister’s Lift Your Wellbeing.
- Whilst I’ve not personally benefited from engaging Kev or his team, Kev is a great bloke whose values and passion about workplace wellbeing align with mine, and his team offer various solutions including daily classes , self-care courses and support, and virtual workshops for leaders. And no, I don’t get a cut from mentioning Kev or his biz! #shame #foodforthought
- Provide healthier snack options at the worksite
- Don’t just provide vending machines that sell chips and coke. What we eat when we are at work fuels our day – and if we want our teams to be energised, focused, and productive, then we need to encourage healthy food choices.
- Partly this can be done by encouraging staff to take part in fitness challenges like those mentioned in the previous point; and partly it can be done by ensuring the food options you offer staff include healthy choices like daily fruit.
- Consider introducing a Four Day working week or unlimited paid leave.
- Yes, I know. Both of these options are SCARY. However recent reports tell us these options increase productivity, engagement and retention.
- A new global study found a four-day work week was a “resounding success” in a pilot program. It found revenue increased over 8% over the six-month trial period for 33 participating companies.
- On the employee side, respondents reported less burnout, less fatigue, and an increase in physical health.
- Here in Australia, a number of leading companies are trialling the four day week, taking a leaf out of the success of Unilever
- Unilever’s trial of 4 days per week in NZ reported absenteeism went down 34% whilst stress amongst staff went down by 33%
- Feelings of ‘strength and vigour at work’ (!!) increased by 15 per cent.
- Grant Thornton is one such Australian company trialling the 4 day week, commencing its six month trial on the 1st March 2023. I for one will be watching this space closely…
And are you looking after your own mental wellness?
Being a leader can be a thankless job.
There are budgets to think about, deliverables and timelines to meet, plus the people-side of things. Remember that old saying about management would be a great job if it wasn’t for the people you have to manage?
And that’s during a normal year, without a pandemic or recession to deal with.
The importance of self-care and looking after our own mental wellness when we are a busy leader, is often overlooked for more important things.
But think of it like this: As the leader of a team, you are the engine room of your team. And if the engine is not functioning properly, how can the rest of the machine?
Want some tips for improving your personal mental wellness? Then check out this blog we prepared earlier…Hey there Leader, are you managing your own mental well-being
What’s next?
So there you have it. Part A (why you need to priorities workplace wellbeing) and Part B (the how).
Now it’s over to you to get the ball rolling.
A bonus tip for you: start by surveying your employees to find out about their general state of wellbeing, work-life balance, stress levels, and how their workload and your workplace is contributing (positively or negatively) to their current wellbeing.
The Googles (as my mate Julie Doyle refers to it as) is a wealth of information when it comes to wellbeing surveys. Here is one article that offers 60 questions to get you started on that survey. But there is a caveat to this suggestion (you can take the gal out of the law, but it seems you can’t always take the law-isms out of the gal): while there’s a ton of surveys on the googles, be judicious, and if you want it done properly, call me. Not ghostbusters.
If you need help crafting a wellbeing survey, or generally need helping improving the wellbeing of your employees, then book a time here and let’s chat. Workplace wellbeing should never be left to chance – that is, if you are aiming for a high performance or successful culture.