Seven success criteria for a culture of wellness at work

Leaders have a responsibility to their teams to create and uphold a positive work culture where employees feel safe, secure and supported. If the culture at your workplace is taking a turn for the worst, or is already negative or toxic, it is the duty of the leaders to turn it around and make positive change.

Here are my seven top success criteria for a culture of wellness in the workplace:

1. Approachable and emotionally intelligent leaders who take feedback

Leaders make the decisions, they create the tone, they lead from the top and it is their job, as leaders, to get everyone else on board. They are leading people by proxy, so being a manager and having strategy is not enough to create a culture of wellness. Alongside the role of leading, they must be approachable and personable if they wish to inspire or develop others. Communication skills, self-regulation, self-reflection, empathy and self-awareness are essential. An inability to see how others perceive them, understand the impact of their decisions or being open to feedback (negative and positive), makes it is very hard for employees to get on board with the vision; and let’s face it, if they are not on board, they are not heading in the same direction, as they have either stopped or are going the other way!

2. An open forum for giving honest opinions

Having a voice, freedom of speech and a professional forum for voicing opinions and asking to be heard is essential for team members and staff to feel valued. If employees are not considered, not asked for their opinion, or are not allowed to give constructive criticism about workload, the culture or the performance of the team, employees will naturally feel under-valued. When this happens, productivity and morale disintegrate. Having a platform to express concerns (or positive feedback) is important to help employees feel that they have a part to play in the organization. It may not always be the feedback leaders want to hear, but without the freedom to contribute, it is impossible to get people on side. Unless leaders desire a dictatorship, employees must be allowed a voice.

3. Genuine care and respect for all employees

Empathy goes a long way and people remember when they have a boss who cares about them. This comes down to knowing how to lead from the heart and not from policy. There will not be a policy for when someone is grieving a friend and cannot get home for the funeral. There is no policy for pets dying and being distraught. And there is no policy for stress levels being through the roof and needing a few days off to get energy levels back again. Good leaders will know when their teams are genuinely needing time off or some support, because they will trust them and know they are professionals. Empathetic leaders who have taken time to get to know each member of their team, should be able to recognize if a team member is stressed, not performing as usual or upset, and a kind, caring conversation or check-in should follow. Lack of empathy can be the one thing that breaks the trust or loyalty to a company because when we are denied time to attend a funeral, go to a wedding, take a mental health day or grieve at home, we grow resentment and that never dissipates. The worst thing leaders can ever do is force employees to choose their job over the ones they love, or their own health for fear of losing their job or being disciplined. When this trust is gone, employees will never give the company their full effort or loyalty.

4. A supportive culture seeking out the positives

When a manager, boss or leader comes to see what employees are doing, asks questions or checks in, the only thing employees should feel is supported. If there is a fear culture where employees worry about doing things wrong, worry about them looking for the negatives and worry about losing their jobs, this culture is NOT conducive to productivity. Being on edge all the time, being micro-managed or being scrutinized does nothing but build fear and anxiety among teams and communication will break down. Leaders need to create a supportive environment where they take responsibility for things not being done a certain way, because they are the leaders and, ultimately, it falls on them. They need the ability to self-reflect and ask themselves why something is not being done as they deem fit, and what they can do to support, without being patronizing, passive-aggressive or disingenuous. Celebrating wins, giving praise and saying a simple, genuine ‘Thank you’, all go a long way in building morale, are free and take limited time.

5. Clear boundaries and positive expectations

Employees should not be expected to work outside of working hours or be burdened with so many things they feel stressed and overwhelmed. This comes down again to a lack of self-awareness and a lack of empathy to continue giving employees more and more, on top of their usual workload, and expect them to put 100% into their work. It could also be that the leaders need to implement more support, time management strategies or delegation so that their teams are not drowning and feel helpless. It is understood that everyone has targets, but giving a workload that is detrimental to the employees’ mental or physical health is a sign that leaders need to reflect on their expectations and put some boundaries or support in place.

6. An understanding that employees have lives outside of work

We are all human and we will all have times when we are preoccupied, stressed, tired, grieving and down. Of course, we should all be professionals and not let life events affect work as much as possible, but life is hard and our relationships, family and health should ALWAYS take priority over work. Anyone who expects differently of you is deluded. We may need to work (and we may enjoy work) but not many people would choose work over better health or time with their family. So, good leaders need to understand work is not most people’s number 1 priority in life and that professionalism can still exist without signing our soul over to our workplace.

7. Promotion of good physical and mental health

If leaders want employees to feel good physically, mentally and socially, they should be providing opportunities to do these things through work or at work. There should be events organized to promote fitness or healthy lifestyle. There should be support systems in place to help employees with their emotional and mental health, which is anonymous and confidential. There should be opportunities to come together as a team whether for work purposes or out of work. Failure to provide opportunities to engage in these activities is a failure to fully promote holistic wellness, which can be damaging to team or individual morale.

How effective is your wellness strategy at work?

So, if you are in leadership and can reflect on the wellness strategy within your company, take note that you are the ones who are in the position to lead this in the right direction. You can create a new culture through new wellness initiatives, getting honest feedback from the teams, doing an internal audit and gap analysis of where you are now, and instigating positive organizational change.

Set aside a budget for wellness, or you will be forced to pay for sickness. What would you prefer to spend the money on, because it will come out of the company profits one way or another? Employee absenteeism in the UAE costs 5560 AED annually per employee (higher than the world average of 3596 AED). Each employee in the UAE averages missing 11.5 days per year from sickness (Linkedin, 2023). By spending money on wellness, however, you will gain ‘buy in’ from employees, more motivated and productive staff, a happier workforce, less absence due to sickness (mental and physical), better retention, a more positive company reputation and ultimately, more profit.

So, what is stopping you from digging into that wellbeing budget to promote a healthier, happier and more productive way of working?

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cost-absenteeism-uae-strategies-effective-absence-guidoum