A recent employment survey from Canada paints a bleak picture for today’s employers. The report by Hays, a recruitment firm, indicates that 71% of workers surveyed said they would leave their jobs for better opportunities once prospects and the economy improves. On a more micro scale, 7 out of the 10 employees that managers work with will be disgruntled, dissatisfied and have their sights set outside the business. A scary situation for even the most seasoned and experienced leaders. While based in Canada, these sentiments are felt globally as businesses worldwide try to squeeze the most productivity out of their people while cutting costs wherever possible. This wave of negativity could be driven by the individual’s overall sense of well being as external and internal stresses take its toll on the staff businesses depend on.
Addressing What’s Inside the Business
Promoting a culture of well-being starts with the work environment itself. Managers and supervisors should ask themselves is:
- Is this workspace conducive to being productive?
- Do I feel safe working in this environment?
The actual space that people work in can greatly affect their health. There are obvious hazards like dangerous equipment, chemicals and other elements that could pose risk to employees. Are these being managed properly if present in the work space? Structure when it comes to the possibility of risk can build confidence and trust with employees who work in these types of environments. Even minute details such as lighting and seating can have positive and negative impacts on an individual’s physical and mental well-being while at work. Addressing the importance of workplace health and safety will help drive a positive work environment which translates to a better run business and higher performance from staff.
The Importance of Disconnecting
Managers who set standards will always demand the very best from their people but sometimes, individuals may not bring their ‘A’ game for a variety of reasons. A recent Workhuman survey indicated that 40% of US employees surveyed think that their job is negatively affecting their mental health. Jobs and working have always been stressful endeavors but this statistic illustrates the importance of ‘tuning out’ or disconnecting after the job is done. External distractions such as news and social media, which are typically engaged after work hours, are proven to increase stress in individuals, irrespective of the content being negative or positive. Employees who take time to disengage fully from work life and information portals will enjoy a fuller mental recharge. The brunt of business stresses and tensions usually falls on frontline teams and promoting an environment where work / life balance is important will help managers improve and maintain staff well-being.
Leadership Can Impact Individual Well-Being
That Workhuman survey provides a daunting statistic considering physical and mental well-being can directly impact the individual’s productivity. One of management’s key roles is to motivate their teams to produce at a high level and should consider employee well-being a major component of the motivation agenda. Building a culture of concern for staff will translate into reduced labor costs and improved productivity as staff quickly embrace this type of recognition. Managers can create wellness strategies that are low or no cost and require very little resources that will educate individuals to take better care of themselves inside and outside the business. Acute managers could potentially identify wellness challenges in team members through changes in performance or demeanour. Taking time to address the individual and provide solutions could stave off bigger, more expensive problems in the future. Even small businesses can greatly benefit with leadership that recognizes and has a basic understanding of employee well-being.
The Bottom Line
All customer driven businesses rely on their frontline teams and their productivity and performance can greatly impact profitability and the bottom line. Wellness in the workplace has become a key issue in the last few years and employers can immediately feel the effects of in operations when individuals and teams are not at 100%. Managers and leadership can play a major role in improving employee well-being by embracing processes and cultures that positively impact the individual’s physical and mental state of health. Looking inside and outside the work environment, challenges and opportunities can be identified that can improve workplace well-being. Highlighting the importance of physical and mental health to employees will help promote a culture of well-being and could result in a trickle down effect of positive habits outside the workspace. Healthy and motivated employees will always result in lower labor costs and higher productivity.