You or your boss: Who’s responsible for your wellbeing at work?

Continued talk of recession mixed with the lingering effects of The Great Resignation and the new wave of “Quiet Quitting”, is pushing the already pressing need for employee wellbeing programs up the list of importance for organizations worldwide. Currently, 63% of senior HR leaders rated employee wellbeing and mental health as top priorities.¹

To get teams back on track, companies are flocking to pre-picked “solutions” like meditation, sleep, and nutrition apps—but forcing employees to fix their own wellbeing, on their own time, through programs that don’t touch on the root cause of their problems isn't solving anything. It’s actually doing the opposite.

Instead, the focus should be on developing the right conditions at work to help your people flourish.

Why workplace wellbeing isn’t working

One reason why wellbeing programs fail to deliver results is because businesses end up investing in the wrong place. The trend we’re seeing in our research shows organizations choosing wellbeing programs that focus more on how to reverse burnout outside of work instead of solutions to beating burnout at work.

Meditation apps, sleep apps, and paid yoga classes are great perks, but their impact is marginal at best. What’s worse is they fall outside of work and those who need it most don't benefit. One study found around 80% of the employees who signed up for a Wellbeing program dropped out within 6 months. The dropout rate was significantly higher for those who worked long hours and earned less.

On the other hand, statistical analyses show at least 23% of employees who do sign up are the ones who need it least: they are already working shorter hours, exercising more frequently and earning higher salaries than their colleagues.²

In order to have a meaningful, sustainable impact on the wellbeing, companies need to focus on employees’ life at work. This is where they can truly make a difference and have the greatest impact on the wellbeing of as many employees as possible.³

The five drivers of wellbeing at work

Protecting and promoting wellbeing starts with knowing and understanding the five drivers of wellbeing at work: certainty, competence, autonomy, belonging, and purpose.

1. When we lack information or feel insecure, uncertainty leads to paralysis, emotional exhaustion and burnout. Providing employees with a baseline of certainty about their role, organizational outlook and what’s in the pipeline over the coming months is fundamental to securing their wellbeing.⁴
2. Feeling competent at work reduces the risk of burnout and drives increased effort at work. To improve employees’ sense of competence, employers can focus on positive reinforcement as well as offering multiple opportunities to gain.⁵
3. Autonomy is about having the freedom to decide how to get work done and acknowledging that this will look different for everyone. The sense of freedom that comes with having more choices is an intrinsic motivator, boosting loyalty, commitment and engagement.⁶
4. Fostering belonging at work, especially post-pandemic and if working from home, can help promote a sense of community and boosts engagement and performance.⁷
5. Purpose provides the reason. When we see why our work matters, we're more engaged. ⁸

The three principles

Wellbeing at work, or as we call it at MindGym, Wellworking involves three strategies, each targeting a different wellbeing objective: Recover, Reinforce, and Reignite.

• Recover is about getting back to baseline and to do that you have to find and treat the root cause of illbeing and burnout. This should involve rest, reevaluating workloads, and offering emotional support.
• Reinforce is about laying solid foundations to build resilience and provide a strong base for growth. This is the most essential step to creating and maintaining wellbeing at work because it positions teams in a better place to capitalize on new challenges.
• Reignite focuses on behaviors that will promote wellbeing and opens the doors to bringing out the best in yourself. Tapping into the right kinds of motivation is the key to sustainable high performance and wellbeing at work.

By learning how to embed these three strategies into the flow of work while focusing on the key drivers of wellbeing, we can work in ways that are not only sustainable, but which drive more positive outcomes for both the individual and the business over time.

Contact us today to learn more.

References

1. HR Research Institute. (2021). (rep.). The State of Employee Well-Being 2021: Boost Employee Well-Being (p. 21).
2. Jones, D., Molitor, D., & Reif, J. (2019). What do workplace wellness programs do? Evidence from the Illinois workplace wellness study. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 134(4), 1747-1791. https://www.nber.org/digest/apr18/assessing-illinois-workplace-wellness-program
3. Gregersen, S., Vincent-Höper, S., & Nienhaus, A. (2016). Job-related resources, leader–member exchange and well-being – a longitudinal study. Work & Stress, 30(4), 356–373. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2016.1249440
4. Van den Broeck, A., Ferris, D. L., Chang, C. H., & Rosen, C. C. (2016). A review of self-determination theory’s basic psychological needs at work. Journal of Management, 42(5), 1195-1229.
5. Slemp, G. R., Kern, M. L., Patrick, K. J., & Ryan, R. M. (2018). Leader autonomy support in the workplace: A meta-analytic review. Motivation and emotion, 42(5), 706-724.
6. Avey, J. B., Avolio, B. J., Crossley, C. D., & Luthans, F. (2009). Psychological ownership: Theoretical extensions, measurement and relation to work outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 30(2), 173-191.
7. Thorsteinsson, E. B., Brown, R. F., & Richards, C. (2014). The relationship between work-stress, psychological stress and staff health and work outcomes in office workers. Psychology, 5(10), 1301–1311. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2014.510141
8. Allan, B. A., Batz-Barbarich, C., Sterling, H. M., & Tay, L. (2019). Outcomes of meaningful work: A meta‐analysis. Journal of management studies, 56(3), 500-528.

If you're a leader passionate about ending the #burnout cycle, please join one of our two upcoming virtual learning sessions on wellbeing on 24 January 2023.

These sessions will expose the route to enhancing wellbeing at your organisation amid the burgeoning burnout cycle that’s ripping through workplaces worldwide.

Secure your place now on the EMEA session at 2PM GMT or the US session at 2PM ET.