Success is a side effect of health and wellbeing.
When individuals feel better and are healthy, they perform better, and hence the entire organization will benefit and reach a new level of success. Staying at the top in today's fast-moving world is incredibly challenging. Keeping the balance between different roles and responsibilities while making important decisions and working under constant pressure can be exhausting. In today's connected world, commitment, motivation, mental and physical health and fitness will determine your company's success.
And yet many assume that wellbeing is a "soft" issue and not a management problem to solve; however, that is a mistake. Studies show a comprehensive wellbeing strategy and culture positively impact firm performance.
Recently employers have been marketing a “culture of wellbeing” to attract and retain top talent, bring out the best in their employees, as well as manage healthcare costs. Unfortunately, a culture of wellbeing has mostly been a “slogan” or just a generic health program and delegated to the human resources department to tactically manage healthcare costs. Wellbeing is not a "program," but rather a mindset, and a cultural orientation within the workplace.
Wellbeing cannot be just words on the wall, a standalone online program or part of the culture description on the website. Leadership and management must make wellbeing part of the strategy; and include employees in the development. Organizations need to focus on creating a humanistic culture where people feel like they have meaningful work and purpose, opportunities to engage with their manager, productive and well environments, as well as growth opportunities and trust in leadership.
Wellbeing and performance are closely related. Employee wellbeing and good mental health are complex issues. There are many contributing factors including heavy workloads, management style and relationships between employees. Wellbeing is a commitment to creating a healthier, happier, and more productive workforce, community, and world. It is up to the leaders within organizations to focus on empowering and creating the conditions for employees to thrive and be well personally, professionally, physically and financially. Unfortunately, we still have the debate regarding does wellbeing really make a difference. The answer is yes.
Communication at eye level, a voice, creative freedom, showing appreciation and a culture of respect and trust contribute to a significantly better performance of each individual and thus of the entire company. Modern organizations got rid of old-fashioned command-and-control structures, allow people to work autonomously and trust that they will act in the company’s best interest. Moving from directive leadership to supportive leadership will reinforce the wisdom of the ones that are closest to the customer. This freedom, however, is not a one way street. A high degree of freedom should come hand in hand with a high degree of responsibility. The most inspiring leaders craft a mission, walk the talk and inspire to act. Authority is no longer linked to hierarchical positions, but by the ability to lead by example and by building and guiding teams that flourish.
Top performances are only possible if a healthy balance between stress and relaxation is maintained. Mental as well as physical health is the prerequisite for being able to achieve your best performance every day.
That’s why it is crucial to set clear boundaries and be disciplined about respecting them. Employees should be able to focus on their work with no interruption. E-mail and other communication tools like Slack are checked 2-3 times a day. If something is really urgent (but only then), employees pick up the phone. That way no one has to worry about hovering online all the time just so they don’t miss something and are reachable 24/7.
The team leads are responsible for making sure that no one in their team is constantly working overtime and that people take regular time off, to recharge their batteries.
Fortunately, the focus on the importance of employee mental wellbeing has increased in recent years. Attitudes are shifting as the stigma that used to be associated with it is slowly but surely being removed, and more opportunities are being taken to bring the issue out into the open.
Interested in our wellbeing and performance coaching? Drop us a line, we are happy to support you in your challenges!