Workplace wellbeing

The hot topic trending within leadership right now is employee wellbeing. And with excellent reason.

The pandemic has effectively ushered in a new era in leadership and management, with a focus squarely on people.

And as we grapple with fallout from the so-called ‘Great Resignation’, our more enlightened leaders getting on the front foot to create workplace cultures that people choose to be in.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been scouring the Internet and leadership journals in search of the latest thinking on how leaders can create the kinds of work cultures that support people to thrive. And here’s a summary of what is being discussed globally.

1. Having clear goals

In simple terms, a team is a group of people who come together for a common purpose. Does everyone in your team truly understand that purpose and their role in it? Lack of clarity around goals and position objectives is one of the major killers or morale in teams.

How you can take action:

The leader’s responsibility here is to clearly articulate each person’s roles and responsibilities and, importantly, how they contribute to the team’s overarching goals. Each individual needs to know their place and their value within the organisation.

2. Renewed focus on building teams

More than two years into the pandemic, people are seeking out connection more than ever before. Contemporary leaders are having to engage with their teams in far more creative ways.

In the end, people have three essential, basic needs within the workplace – respect, recognition and resources. When they have these things, they are far more likely to feel connected and engaged with their work.

So how can a leader ensure their teams feel respected and recognised and have the resources they need to thrive?

How you can take action:

Inclusivity
This will mean different things to different people, so the leader’s obligation here is to learn what her team needs to feel included, or a part of the whole. It could be, for example, regular in-person catch ups, daily communication, more opportunities for social connection, just to name a few.

But one obvious measure for creating a more inclusive workplace is to empower people. This may be through greater responsibility or input into important decisions. It could also be in the guise of being brought in to strategic discussions and regular communications about what management is thinking.

Fostering a sense of safety is an important way to help people feel a part of the team. This means leaders must ensure their team members feel safe speaking up, safe in the ways in which they are treated and safe to be able to make mistakes.

Trust
One of my very first bosses warned me that trust was something that had to be earned. That I should never give it away until such time as a person proved he or she was trustworthy. That always felt a bit out of kilter for me.

These days, my approach is the opposite – I will always trust a person until they give me reason not to. Interestingly, it’s pretty rare that I ever feel let down.

In my work with teams, I see that the number one cause of disconnect right now is lack of trust. So how can we build trust within teams, particularly those working remotely? It begins with getting to know one another on a much more personal level. As noted above, people are desperate for greater connection. Provide opportunities for genuine human connection without an agenda. This could be social events, ‘empty’ time during professional development days and so on.

One trait I universally observe in high performing leaders is vulnerability. Getting real about the things that keep you up at night can be one of the fastest ways to forge genuine human connections that lead to trust.

3. Less is more – avoiding digital burnout

Digital overload is a thing! In many organisations, the old, pre-Covid systems were simply overlaid into the digital landscape. As a result, we’re seeing many people suffering from digital overload through relentless programs of lengthy Zoom or Teams meetings, online presentations, training and webinars.

The cognitive overload in video communication is much higher. Put simply, our brains are having to work harder to process non-verbal cues (facial expressions, body language, voice tone, etc). The resulting over-reliance on close-up eye contact is quite literally exhausting.

There are many silver linings to come from our experiences over the past two years, remote and flexible working being one of them. But the new digital environment calls for different ways of working that don’t result in people being having to exhaust themselves in the process.

How you can take action:

• During long meetings, allow ‘audio only’ breaks.
• Consider when it might be appropriate for all attendees to turn off their video (ie when the presenter is speaking).
• Encourage team members to stand or walk around the room during meetings, as they might if they were present in the one room.
• Assess which digital meetings could be an email or a phone call.
• Explore alternative digital communications platforms such as Slack.
• Build in more regular breaks, particularly for longer meetings.

4. Recognition and reward

A recent survey showed that 66% of respondents said they’d work harder if they felt more appreciated at work.

The ways in which you recognise and reward your people will need to be appropriate to your industry and your workplace. But one key factor is crucial – it should never be a token measure. Nor should it set employees up to compete with one another.

I have seen some organisations successfully launch peer-to-peer recognition programs which seem to be an excellent vehicle for employees to champion company values and culture.

How you can take action:

• Consider instant employee recognition such as an e-card sent immediately after a meeting.
• Empower team leaders to invest in employee recognition (eg voucher for outstanding effort or for most spectacular mistake leading to innovation).
• Use your organisational values as measures of employee achievement and reward.
• Make it public with a ‘wall of fame’ or other mechanism to communicate to all staff.

5. Proactively promoting wellbeing

Setting aside time to discuss wellbeing is a powerful way to demonstrate it as an organisational priority. This could be in the form of a standing item on team meeting agendas as well as dedicated sessions to discuss and promote wellbeing.

How you can take action:

• Include wellbeing as a standing agenda item on team meeting agendas.
• Hold an off-site wellbeing day for teams to learn about wellbeing, connect with their peers and develop team culture.
• Validate issues and events that impact wellbeing in the workplace.
• Discuss resources available to team members (eg Employee Assistance Programs, mentoring, etc.)

 

 

Work with me!

I delight in building leadership development programs that change lives. My focus on self-leadership helps to nurture leaders who are not only self-aware, but who are also empathic, team-oriented and inspiring to others.

Email karen@o2media.com.au to find out more.