Simplified Wellness – Workshop 2 (Strategic Wellbeing Plan)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Simplified Wellness is provided by Mrs. Sciortino Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 12 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
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Learning Provider Profile
Mrs Sciortino is a Certified Learning Provider (CLP) with Appleton Greene. An internationally renowned author, Simplicity Expert and Professional Speaker, she spent almost two decades as a high-functioning, award-winning executive before she experienced a life-changing event that forced her to stop and ask the question: ‘What if there’s a better way to live?’.
Embarking on a journey to answer this question, Mrs Sciortino uncovered a simple system to challenge the status quo and use the power of questions to purposefully direct life.
A highly accomplished businesswoman, Mrs Sciortino is an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council, has received nominations for the Top Female Author awards, was awarded a prestigious silver Stevie International Business Women Award, named as the recipient of a 2022 CREA Global Award and has also been awarded over 20 international awards for the uniqueness of the tools and resources she offers.
Sought globally for expert comment by media, she’s been featured in podcasts, Facebook Live, YouTube, blog articles, print media and in live TV and Radio.
Mrs Sciortino works globally with corporate programs, conference platforms, retreats, professional mentoring and in the online environment to teach people how easy it is to live life in a very different way.
When not working, she can be found in nature, on the yoga mat, lost in a great book, meditating, hanging out with her husband and her house panthers or creating magic in her kitchen.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
Strategic Wellbeing Plan: most of us are used to creating strategic business or marketing plans. But when it comes to health and wellness, we don’t even think about applying our strategic thinking to assist us in creating a bespoke plan.
This module looks at the difference between corporate and individual wellness plans and why they’ve been treated differently for so long. This module will then show you how you can integrate the two to create a strong wellness platform for your organization.
Objectives
01. Why You Want a Well Workplace – understand the components of wellness and why it’s critical to get them right in your workplace.
02. Corporate Wellness Programs – deep dive into the importance of developing and implementing a comprehensive and individualized health and wellbeing strategy to support employees.
03. Personal Wellness Programs – explore the role that personal wellness plans play, and how an organization can assist employees to develop a plan that works within the corporate wellness plan.
04. Strategic Wellness – understand the role that wellness plays within the strategic business plan and explore what can be achieved when a bespoke plan is championed from the top of the organization.
05. Personalization – explore what can be achieved when corporate wellness plans, personal plans and strategic plans come together and work towards the same goal.
06. Psychosocial Hazards – understand the changing landscape of workplace versus personal responsibility and look at the psychosocial hazards that are now identified within every workplace.
07. Wellness Leadership – understand the role that leadership plays in the wellbeing of an organization.
08. Meaningfulness of Work – deep dive into the wellness issues surrounding the meaningfulness of work and look at ways to increase meaning in every employee’s life.
09. Employee Morale – learn about the role that morale plays in a positive organizational environment and look at the ways that high morale can significantly impact the wellness of a workplace.
10. Employee Motivation – learn the impact that motivation has on the performance of a team and understand the role that motivation has on the day-to-day wellness of your workplace.
11. Employee Engagement – explore the critical role that engaged employees plays in the wellbeing of your workplace and learn about different ways you can engage your workforce in the wellness journey.
12. Investing in Health and Wellness – understand what it really takes to create and implement a bespoke wellness program for your organization.
Strategies
01. Engage and elicit expectations for the program.
02. Understand the importance of strategic wellness planning and complete exercises that assist in embedding this knowledge.
03. Set aside time to study the information, tools and resources in the workshop.
04. Set aside time to meet with their team to discuss the elements of the workshop.
05. Identify, and make a list of, the key personnel needed to participate in health and wellness discussions.
06. Participants to complete the exercises as directed in each course manual.
07. Allocate time to consider the current effectiveness of any health and wellness program in place.
08. Without conducting any in-depth research, identify where strategy can play a role in adding depth and breadth to the existing health and wellness programs.
09. Identify elements where strategy can boost areas that are working well from existing health and wellness programs.
10. Identify the convincing rationale for creating a bespoke health and wellness program.
11. Create a clear narrative regarding the need to incorporate strategic elements in creating the framework for a health and wellness program.
12. Set aside time to identify, and write down, any additional commitment required to create a strategic plan for the health and wellness journey.
Tasks
01. Set aside time to read through course manuals and make notes.
02. Allocate time to read the workshop’s preliminary analysis.
03. Identify the key personnel needed to create an effective health and wellness program.
04. Ensure relationships are built with key personnel through regular meetings, discussion and gathering ideas.
05. Schedule a meeting within the next 30 days for participants to meet and discuss workshop.
06. Participate in small groups during the workshop to share observations and reflections.
07. Determine and schedule the time needed to dedicate each workshop.
08. Demonstrate preparedness, commitment and personal presence at each workshop.
09. Prepare questions, seek feedback and create a plan for personal growth.
10. Each exercise in the workshop must be fully completed by the participants, and they must share the process and outcomes with the group.
11. Participants should identify and put into practice the adjustments presented throughout the workshop in order to finish their project.
12. Participants are asked to go over resources for ideas and choose at least one new tool from the list to use.
Introduction
The second workshop in the Simplified Wellness Program – Strategic Wellbeing Plan – focuses on understanding what a well workplace is and why it needs to underpin the strategic goals and direction of the organization.
During this workshop, you’ll learn why you want a well workplace, how corporate and wellness plans differ, and where they need to come together. You’ll also learn about the importance of understanding the link between a well workplace and morale levels, motivation, psychosocial hazards and the engagement of your employees.
History
The beginning of workplace wellness can be traced to the Italian physician Bernardini Ramazzini (1633–1714), who is credited with being among the first to write about the effects of work exposure on employees (occupational diseases) and to have been intrigued by the prospect of taking preventative measures to enhance employee wellbeing (Gainer, 2008). Due to the way work was reorganized and systematized during the Industrial Revolution, which began fifty years after Ramazzini’s passing, numerous new health issues and injuries emerged.
Welsh social reformer Robert Marcus Owen suggested a 10-hour workday in 1810 to better safeguard the welfare of laborers. The 8-hour workday was his goal by 1817, and he also came up with the term “eight hours labor, eight hours pleasure, eight hours repose” (Donnachie, 2000). The Ford Motor Company was one of the first businesses in the United States to broadly adopt Owen’s concept.
Charles Turner Thackrah is credited with penning the first recorded report of industrial workers’ health issues in 1832 (Gainer, 2008). As a result, Thackrah’s book is regarded as trailblazing in its effort to enhance employee wellbeing. The evil of employment is the accidental one of intemperance, according to Thackrah’s book (Thackrah, 1832, p. 18). This comment from Thackrah may have been suggesting that in these times, employers frequently ran their businesses without consideration for moderating or restricting the working circumstances for their employees.
Despite these significant accomplishments, workplace wellness was typically a secondary concern for businesses until the introduction of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) in the 1950s, when businesses started to provide wellness interventions primarily centered on alcoholism and mental health problems (Owens, 2006). True workplace wellness initiatives didn’t truly start to exist until the middle of the 1970s, claims Reardon (1998).
Aat this time, a perceived shift in financial responsibility for health care was from the government to the employer. Cost-cutting was the main driving force for the establishment of worksite wellness (Reardon, 1998). It was also connected to the initiatives of the worksite health promotion movement (WHP), which emerged in the late 1970s, and the occupational safety and health movement (OSH). The following factors have been attributed to the development of worksite health during this time:
• a broad cultural change that prioritized fitness
• insights from recent studies demonstrating the expense of employees’ bad behaviors
• newly established organizations that promote workplace health, like the Wellness Councils of America and the Washington Business Group on Health.
A further indication of the growing concern for employee health was the establishment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in 1974. To protect the people who are part of these plans, it created the minimal requirements for the majority of freely organized pension and health care plans in the private sector.
In 1979, Johnson & Johnson launched the Live for Life initiative, which went on to serve as the model for major corporate worksite wellness initiatives. The program included a questionnaire and a physical examination to gather data on each participant’s levels of exercise and body fat measures. Using this data, the business could then offer assistance with managing risk behaviors, such as stress management, diet and weight control.
When a new political government took office in the United States in 1980, the federal level’s focus on health promotion changed. However, occupational wellness initiatives started to appear in scholarly publications in the early 1980s. The majority of the publications at this period focused on how workers’ health and performance were affected by their efforts to be physically active. The Journal of Occupational Health began publishing articles in 1982 that examined how wellness programs for the workplace can lower absenteeism and other costs associated with illness, as well as a couple that talked about how fitness centers might perhaps draw in top talent.
Outside of EAPs, workplace wellness initiatives in the United States in the 1980s appear to have prioritized physical wellbeing over other facets of health. Companies began addressing psychological wellbeing issues as part of a more comprehensive workplace wellness strategy in the late 1980s. The OSH launched a program that focused on the mental health of employees in 1986. Its objective was to address the problem of diseases of mental health at work (mainly focused on stress-related illness). The National Institute of Mental Health then introduced another program in 1991 called Managing Depression in the Workplace.
The federal government proposed that 75% of firms with 50 or more employees give health promotion services as a benefit in the 1990s as part of the Healthy People 2000 initiative. Although there was little data to support the benefits of workplace wellness, managers who began promoting such programs more broadly began to hold the view that workplace health promotion benefited a firm by having a beneficial impact on employees. Wellness and health promotion initiatives during this time were typically split into three levels:
• Level 1 – focused on awareness (e.g. classes, posters, health fairs)
• Level 2 – focused on behavioral and lifestyle changes (programs that typically lasted up to 12 weeks and provided instruction to promote habit change).
• Level 3 – focused on the environment (these programs had no time limit and encouraged the work environment to support the changes through organizational structure and increased knowledge)
CAN’T READ CHART 2.14
According to the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities from 1994, 44% of businesses had facilities for exercise and encouraged participation in activities, and 30% of them conducted employee health risk assessments. The Pender Health Promotion Model started offering guidelines for creating occupational wellness programs in 1996. This model expanded on the physical aspect of health by adopting a holistic perspective on an individual. It provided businesses with a framework to work within and focused on changeable habits. A new edition of the initiative Healthy People 2000 – called Healthy People 2010 – was released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2000. Similar to its predecessor, the new program aimed to have a comprehensive health promotion plan in place at 75% of workplaces with 50 or more employees. This plan had five key components: health education, a supportive social and physical work environment, program integration into the administrative structure, related programs (such as assistance for workers), and screening programs.
Current Position
Workplace wellness initiatives have exploded in popularity during the past fifteen years, and in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic years.
Some of these initiatives now use financial incentives to encourage workers to maintain good health instead of only offering health information, counselling, and exercise services.
Globally, governments have made exceptional progress towards ensuring the welfare of workers. Due to increased publicity, large corporations are paying more attention to the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of wellness programs, but there is little data available for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs).
Unfortunately, due to the smaller finances, different company goals, and distinct employee considerations, a major portion of the data from big-sized firms regarding workplace health cannot be extrapolated to SMBs. SMBs still face obstacles that prevent them from providing these programs on a large basis.
Offering wellness initiatives seems to be particularly difficult for small businesses. Less than 7% of small businesses, according to research, offer wellness initiatives (Carter, Gaskins, & Shaw, 2005).
Hughes, Patrick, Hannon, Harris, and Ghosh (2011) list a number of obstacles that small and midsize businesses face when implementing health promotion initiatives. The first is the extra expense these programs place on a business that may already be struggling financially. The usual rule is that mandatory health and safety standards take precedence over voluntary health promotion programs, and as a result, any suggestions for participative workplace wellness programs are abandoned.
Small businesses frequently lack a health and safety division, which in many bigger businesses typically serves as the catalyst for workplace wellness initiatives. Another issue is that small businesses may not provide the employee perks and health insurance that are frequently the driving forces behind preventative initiatives, and they can often lack awareness and comprehension of workplace wellness.
However, there are also other factors that can make it simpler to implement wellness programs in small businesses than it would be in large ones. These include fewer administrative requirements, which facilitate vendors promoting health; stronger ties between management and employees; simpler communication; and perhaps more empathy for employees who are viewed as “part of the family”.
Future Outlook
The global workplace wellness market is estimated to produce revenue of $1,154,90 million by 2030, growing with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 6.62% between 2022 and 2030, according to Inkwood Research. Workplace wellness includes any activity or organizational policy that promotes healthy behavior among employees and improves health outcomes.
This can involve a range of initiatives, such as company wellness competitions, on-site health fairs and education, free medical screenings, health coaching, weight loss, stress management, smoking cessation programs, wellness communique, on-site fitness facilities, health club memberships, on-site kitchens and healthy food options, and financial and other incentives that can be related back to health in some way. Over the past ten years, workplace wellness has developed to include the creation of a “culture of health” at work.
CAN’T READ CHART 2.15
The following are some major drivers of the worldwide market for workplace wellness:
• A benefit of cost
• Knowledge of chronic diseases
• Employees’ level of stress at work
• Employee stress at work has become a significant problem in the majority of firms worldwide.
• Anxiety, burnout, depression, and substance misuse are the results, which have a negative effect on mental health.
Principal restrainers of growth
Low involvement
Employee involvement in scheduled wellness activities has decreased in the majority of firms.
Their desire in participating is limited by factors such not fulfilling the necessary needs, concerns about privacy, and a lack of understanding regarding programs.
Additional funding is required for the company’s budget
The segmentation analysis based on end-user and service is included in the report’s coverage on the global workplace wellness market. To give a thorough overview of the market under study, these sectors are further divided into categories.
1. By end-user market:
• Large companies
– The largest end-user segment in the global workplace wellness market is large companies.
– Large firms frequently choose services like health risk assessment, diet and weight management, smoking cessation, and fitness programs for the wellbeing of their personnel.
• Mid-Size Businesses
• Small-Sized Businesses
• Public Sector NGO
2. The global workplace wellness market has been divided geographically into four key regions, including:
• North America consists of the USA and Canada.
• Europe is made up of the following countries: Germany, the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, the Nordic Countries
• Asia-Pacific includes Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand.
– Over the projected years, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate. The region is seeing an increase in the adoption of workplace wellbeing services due to factors like rising employee awareness of their mental and physical health as well as cost benefits.
• Middle East, Africa, and the rest of the world.
Executive Summary
The second workshop in the Simplified Wellness Program – Strategic Wellbeing Plan, focuses on understanding what a well workplace is and why it needs to underpin the strategic goals and direction of the organization.
The baseline stress that each individual is exposed to in their everyday life is now significantly higher than ever before. Gone are the days when the major cause of stress in life is your workload; today individuals grapple with food, cleaning products, makeup and personal products, electronic devices, traffic, commute and travel to and from work, population explosion, air pollutants, insufficient sleep and secondary stress – before they even arrive at the office.
This plays a significant role in the health and wellbeing of every organization because your people are your greatest assets, and they’re often seriously unwell before they start to think about adding their job to their stress load.
Planning and creating bespoke solutions is the only way to navigate your organization through the wellbeing quagmire.
This workshop has 12 focus areas. Here’s what they cover:
Chapter 1: Why You Want a Well Workplace
Healthy workplaces promote both emotional and physical wellbeing. They inspire everyone at work to do their best work since they are positive and productive. Companies that care about the mental health and wellness of their employees attract and retain top talent because they are great places to work. There is no denying the advantages of a mentally healthy workplace for both your staff and your bottom line.
One in five adults who are working age experience mental conditions like anxiety and sadness.
If your organization has more than ten employees, there is a significant chance that at least one or two team members, if not more, suffer from a mental health issue. In addition, one in six of us will experience mental illness symptoms including worry, trouble sleeping, and fatigue, which can limit our ability to function well at work.
This implies that nearly one in three workers in an organization is presently coping with a mental health issue.
Due to employee absences (sick days), decreased productivity and performance (presenteeism, or being at work but not working well), higher staff turnover rates, and related costs for recruitment and training, businesses globally lose more than US$2.5 trillion a year to mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Understanding why it’s important to create a wellness first outlook will help you in every aspect of your life.
In this focus area you will learn what workplace wellness is, and why it’s so important to have a strategy in place that assists you in creating and maintaining a well workplace.
Chapter 2: Corporate Wellness Programs
Just about every organization is struggling with stress and burnout.
In various regions of the world, ongoing research in this field is being conducted, some with an international focus and others with a focus on difficulties unique to particular nations. No matter the range of the focus, the results are frequently the same.
More than 40% of workers say they will start looking for a new job at the beginning of each year because they find that bad leadership at work is the most stressful component of their career. Furthermore, more than 40% of workers claim that they encounter a lot of “bad energy” at work and that they plan to look for a new job at the start of the year. More than half of all employees believe that job satisfaction is correlated with the rate of change and complexity at work.
These statistics reflect the epidemic we are currently facing on a worldwide scale, and unless businesses actively engage in creating a thorough and individualized health and wellness strategy to help their staff, these statistics will only get worse.
In this focus area you will learn what a corporate wellness program is, why you need one and what to consider when creating the corporate wellness solution that is perfect for your organization.
Chapter 3: Personal Wellness Programs
A personal wellness plan aims to improve the general health of an individual in all spheres of their life.
It takes a multi-faceted approach to health.
Merriam-Webster defines wellness as the characteristic or state of being in excellent health, particularly as an actively pursued objective (lifestyles that promote wellness).
Mental, physical, spiritual, financial, professional, intellectual, and environmental health are all taken into account by a wellness plan. It requires an individual to evaluate every aspect of their life to establish goals and then proceed to developing a health plan.
In this focus area you’ll learn what a personal wellness plan is, why it’s important to have one and how to set action in motion to help you achieve the goals of the plan.
Chapter 4: Strategic Wellness
In every employer/employee relationship, a set of expectations is formed. Over time, as the relationship grows and develops, expectations also grow but often lines of communication become blurred.
There’s always a weight that comes with carrying any expectation and the weight of expectations around health and wellness can be a significant burden to carry over time.
In 2019, the WHO redefined burnout in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and stated that it is an ‘Occupational Phenomenon’ (World Health Organization ICD-11, 2019), linked to stress at work, that can be defined as including depleted energy, exhaustion, negativity, cynicism and reduced productivity.
This seemed to point the finger squarely at organizations to ‘fix’ the growing stress and burnout issues being experienced around the globe. However, it also led to the conundrum of organizations needing to provide health and wellness solutions that were effective for each and every individual in their employ.
In this focus area you’ll learn what a strategic response to wellness is, why it’s important to have, what your strategy should cover, things to consider when creating your wellness strategy and how to ensure your employees are engaged with the wellness strategy.
Chapter 5: Personalization
The thing to understand is that it doesn’t matter where you are starting from. Rather, what’s most important is to understand where you’re going, so you can create a simple and effective plan to get your there.
Around the globe, organizations and individuals are turning their focus to make health and wellness a priority.
The critical thing to get right at the start is the creation of a bespoke program that is as unique as the individuals in your organization, and that starts with providing tools and resources that every individual can tailor to their unique circumstances.
In this focus area you’ll learn how to turn your attention to the things you can do, rather than be constrained by the things that can’t be done. You’ll discover how to create simple and effective steps to build sustainable wellbeing, the importance of creating healthier people and workplaces and deep dive into the importance of personalizing your wellness plans at the employee level.
Chapter 6: Psychosocial Hazards
To date there’s been much debate about whether there are any benefits to employers for providing wellness programs, or to employees for participating in them.
Workplace wellness programs have a longer history than most people know, with the first programs originating in the early 1900s when labor unions campaigned for worker’s rights and as business owners saw the value of having a healthy, rested workforce.
Since then, the workforce has shifted with the changing tides of society, and there has been a rapid and significant change in the way we work. Despite this, the focus on health and wellness hasn’t really changed in response.
In this focus area you’ll learn what psychosocial hazards are, what causes psychosocial hazards, how you can identify psychosocial hazards and ways you can manage them.
Chapter 7: Wellness Leadership
There are many and varied styles and types of leadership, just as there are many different general conceptualizations of it.
It takes tenacity and perseverance to steer your organization through periods of constant change and adjustments. It takes effort and time to implement a wellbeing culture within your company, and it can be intimidating when you add it on top of the existing workload.
Conversely, delaying the creation and implementation of an organizational wellbeing program will be harmful in the long run, so it becomes important to work out how to take tiny, meaningful actions to improve wellbeing now so that they can add up to big, lasting change over the long-term.
In this focus area you’ll learn about intentional integration, the intersection of wellness and leadership, the importance of self-care, fostering a wellbeing culture and the effect of leadership behaviors on employee wellbeing in the workplace.
Chapter 8: Meaningfulness of Work
The definition of ‘work’ has changed rapidly over the years and with that change has come a precarity of employment that didn’t need to be taken into consideration.
The advances in technology have expanded the boundaries of when and where work can be done and growing technological surveillance and human-machine interactions, along with globalization, new technologies and new organizing paradigms all play a role in creating dynamically complex, interconnected systems that employees often find it hard to feel their place within.
New forms of interorganizational collaboration and representative bodies are required as a result of growing demand for businesses to pay attention to their expanded social and environmental responsibilities. Included within this is the question about the way in which individuals within these shifting situations can satisfy their intrinsic desire for meaning in life and the ways in which the businesses can foster that meaningfulness so that employees can step beyond the monotony of a ‘Monday through Friday’ culture.
In this focus area you’ll look into the meaning of meaningfulness at work, what it is, why it’s important and how to determine what it is for your organization and your people.
Chapter 9: Employee Morale
It’s widely acknowledged that workers with high morale view their jobs more favorably. They are motivated to work hard and achieve more as a team because they feel more confident in their roles.
In organizations where morale is high, employees tend to share a common goal and understand that teamwork is the greatest way to guarantee the long-term success of their business. After all, content employees want your business to succeed.
In this focus area you’ll learn what workplace morale is, why it’s important, morale factors to consider and tips for increasing morale in your workplace.
Chapter 10: Employee Motivation
To feel good about their work and perform at their best, the majority of employees need some form of motivation. While some workers are driven by money, others are personally motivated by praise and awards. Irrespective of the motivator, the level of motivation an employee has at work will directly affect how productive they are.
Employees who are enthusiastic and motivated about their work will perform their duties to the best of their abilities and productivity levels will rise as a result. Employees that lack motivation are more likely to put little to no effort into their work, stay away from the office as much as possible, leave the company if given the chance, and produce subpar work.
In this focus area you’ll learn what employee motivation is, why it is important to have motivated employees, the benefits of having motivated employees, ways you can improve motivation and how you can measure employee motivation.
Chapter 11: Employee Engagement
As industries try to find a foothold in turning the tide against significant health and wellness issues, researchers in the fields of organizational behavior, psychology, and industrial psychology have all stepped in to extensively examining the area of employee engagement as a possible way to assist in improving the mental health of employees.
As a result of this research, employee engagement is now widely acknowledged as a corporate activity that not only helps with improved health and wellbeing of employees, but one that also significantly contributes to organizational success and profitability.
Given the results of this extensive research, more companies have now started to understand the importance of engaged employees and, as a result, have begun implementing a number of measures to engage their staff members and motivate them to stick with the organization.
In this focus area you’ll learn what employee engagement is, the three types of commitment an employee makes to an organization, why employee engagement is important, the difference between engagement and satisfaction, and the benefits to the organization of having engaged employees.
Chapter 12: Investing in Health and Wellness
Workplace wellness has evolved into a crucial component of business strategies for organizations wanting to gain an advantage.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that placing a strong emphasis on mental health and wellbeing helps businesses attract and retain top talent while enhancing their bottom line.
In particular, as the workforce employees more “Gen Z” and “millennials” and they move to making a more significant impact on the employment market, an effective health and wellness strategy is critical to attracting and retaining top talent.
Corporate health and wellness initiatives support employee wellbeing and aid in the prevention of chronic illnesses. Improved productivity levels have a significant positive impact on the bottom line; healthy personnel report being twice as productive as their less healthy competitors.
In this focus area you’ll learn why it’s worth your business investing in health and wellness strategies, the way that health risks impact employee performance, how workplace wellness incentives can help, and how to shift your workforce into gear and get them participating in the health and wellness program activities.
Curriculum
Simplified Wellness – Workshop 2 – Strategic Wellbeing Plan
- Why You Want a Well Workplace
- Corporate Wellness Programs
- Personal Wellness Programs
- Strategic Wellness
- Personalization
- Psychosocial Hazards
- Wellness Leadership
- Meaningfulness of Work
- Employee Morale
- Employee Motivation
- Employee Engagement
- Investing in Health and Wellness
Distance Learning
Introduction
Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling in the Simplified Wellness corporate training program.
You will be learning using our special distance learning facilitation approach, which will allow you to put everything you learn in school into practice. The techniques and resources used in your program have been created and developed to guarantee that you get the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible.
We hope you enjoy the curriculum and find it both thought provoking and enjoyable. But if you’ve never studied remotely before, you could be feeling apprehensive about the task at hand. In order to get you started, we will provide you with some fundamental knowledge and instructions on how to use the modules effectively, how to handle the materials, and what to do as you go through them. This manual is intended to put you in the correct path and assist you in developing your skills as a successful distance learner. Before you begin studying seriously, spend a few hours reading this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students and taking notes.
Study Environment
To study, it’s often best to choose a space that is both private and peaceful. Preferably, this should be a room where you have easy access to isolation from outside distractions. Make sure the space is well-lit and has a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Doing this will give you the opportunity to create the right frame of mind when you do spend time to studying.
A lovely fire, the option to play calming background music, mild but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if it’s possible, and a good-sized desk with a comfy chair are a few examples of ways to make your study space more inviting.
Make sure your family is aware of your study schedule and is familiar with your study guidelines. Your learning environment is crucial. If at all feasible, having a separate study area that you can dedicate to yourself is great. If this is not possible, you will need to devote much more time to creating and maintaining your study plan because it will have an impact on both you and other people. The more attuned to learning you space is, the more easily you will be able to study.
Study Tools and Rules
Make an effort to ensure that your study materials are adequate and in good operating condition. You will require access to a computer, scanner, and printer as well as internet connectivity. You will require a good filing system in addition to a comfortable chair that supports your lower back.
Spending valuable study time trying to remedy unreliable or improperly designed study tools can be highly irritating. Make sure your study aids are current. You should also take a few study guidelines into account. You will be subject to some of these guidelines, which are meant to help you be more organised about when and how you study.
After reading this guide to distance learning, spend some time creating your study rules. You will also need to come to an agreement with your family, friends, or anyone living with you over some study guidelines. To be able to help you as you study, they too will need to practice discipline. It’s crucial to include your family and friends as active participants in your study group. Their encouragement and support may prove to be a vital factor in your ability to successfully complete the program.
Successful Distance Learning
Since individuals can learn in their own way, at their own pace, and for their own purposes, distance learners are not required to attend regular classes or seminars.
But with a distant learning program, unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s job to make sure they manage their own study contribution.
Strong self-discipline, self-motivation, and a strong will to achieve are required for this. Students who prefer working alone, are adept at managing others, and are accustomed to controlling themselves are more likely to succeed as distance learners.
It’s crucial to understand your primary motivations for studying as well as the primary outcomes you hope to obtain as a result. When you need to encourage yourself, you will need to keep these goals in mind.
Keep both your short-term and long-term objectives in mind at all times.
You will need to find ways to motivate and appreciate yourself while you are studying because no one is here to spoil, take care of, or spoon-feed you information. Make sure to keep track of your academic progress so that you can be confident in your accomplishments and periodically review your goals and objectives.
Self-Assessment
All of the Appleton Greene training programs are post-graduate degrees. Consequently, you ought to be a seasoned learner with a degree in a business-related field.
As a result, you ought to be aware of your academic talents and shortcomings. What time of day, for instance, are you most productive? Are you an owl or a lark? Which research techniques do you find most effective? Are you a diligent student? How do you maintain self-control? How can you make sure you have fun while studying?
If you want to apply yourself effectively, it’s crucial to understand who you are as a student. To do this, you’ll need to do some self-evaluation early on.
Make a SWOT analysis of your academic career. Describe your internal and external opportunities and threats, as well as your strengths and shortcomings as a student.
Later on, when you are making a study plan, this will be useful. Then, you can include elements in your study schedule to make sure you are playing to your strengths and making up for your inadequacies. Additionally, you can make sure that you take full use of your possibilities while avoiding any dangers to your success.
Accepting Responsibility as a Student
Training programs almost always entail a sizable investment, both in terms of money and the amount of time you must devote to studying, and the student bears the entire burden of responsibility for their effective completion.
This is never more obvious than when a student is taking a course remotely.
A crucial step in ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program is accepting responsibility as a student. When anything goes wrong, it is simple to point the finger at other people or situations. However, the reality is that if a failure is your fault, you have the power to correct it; the decision rests totally with you.
You are helpless to change the situation if it is always someone else’s fault. Due to the fact that each student is an individual and that what works for one student may not necessarily work for another, every student studies in a completely different manner.
You must take personal responsibility for figuring out how to create, carry out, and maintain a personalised study plan if you want to succeed. You are the only one to blame if you don’t succeed.
Planning
The sense of not being in control is by far the most important factor contributing to stress. Without planning, we have a tendency to be reactive and can stumble from one obstacle to another, hoping that all will work out in the end. Almost always, they don’t!
We must be certain of the steps we want to take and when we want to take them in order to be in charge. Additionally, we must take into account as many potential outcomes as we can so that we are ready for them when they occur.
Compared to emergent change, prescriptive change is much simpler to govern and control.
This also applies to distance learning. If you believe that you are in charge and that everything is going according to plan, it is much simpler and more fun.
Even if something does go wrong, you are ready for it and can respond to it without being overly stressed. It is crucial that you do take the time to carefully plan your academic schedule.
Management
It is equally crucial to make sure you oversee its implementation once you have created a clear study plan.
The majority of us often enjoy planning, but implementation is usually when things go wrong. We don’t know why goals aren’t being met.
At times, we are unsure even if our goals have been reached. We cannot simply draw the conclusion that the study strategy was unsuccessful. If it isn’t working, you’ll need to know what to do to fix it.
Similarly, even if your study strategy is working, you still need to know why so that you can keep getting results.
Therefore, you need to have self-assessment criteria so that you can consistently increase performance throughout the program. Your performance should continue to advance throughout the program if you handle things properly.
Study Objectives and Tasks
Creating your program objectives is where you should start first. These should feature your priorities and reasons for enrolling in the training program.
To avoid confusion, keep them brief and to the point. Don’t just jot down the first ideas that occur to mind because they probably overlap too much.
List potential department names like “customer service,” “e-business,” “finance,” “globalisation,” “human resources,” “technology,” “legal,” “management,” “marketing,” and “production.” List as many goals under each heading as possible to generate ideas, and then rearrange these goals according to importance.
Finally, identify the most important item under each department heading to serve as your program’s goals.
Try to limit yourself to five, as doing so will help you concentrate. If the main goals are all accomplished, it is likely that the other items you stated will be as well. Simply go through the procedure once more if this is not the case.
Study Forecast
Depending on your availability and ongoing obligations, the Appleton Greene Simplified Wellness corporate training program should be finished in 12 to 18 months.
Whilst the program is designed to be completed in a 12 month period, every student is an individual with varying commitments and production levels, which accounts for the wide variation in time estimations.
The fact that this is a distance learning program that integrates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program then magnifies these distinctions. Because every project study is based on actual data, crucial choices and trade-offs must be made. To guarantee that everything goes according to plan, you’ll need to be patient with your expectations. We would always advise you to use caution when making your own task and time estimates, but you must still create them and have a good understanding of what are reasonable expectations in your particular situation.
Regarding your time planning, think about how much time you can realistically devote to studying with the program each week. Then, using the guidelines provided here, estimate how long it should take you to complete the program. Finally, divide the program into logical modules and allot an appropriate amount of time to each one; these will be your milestones. You can make a time plan using a computer spreadsheet or a personal organiser like Mimio.
Refer to your list of tasks that must be completed in order to meet your program’s objectives when planning your tasks; Calculate each task’s implementation date in relation to your time plan, keeping in mind that you are not estimating when your objectives will be met but rather when you will need to concentrate on implementing the corresponding tasks.
You also need to make sure that each task is carried out in conjunction with the relevant training modules that are associated with it. the next step is to divide each activity into a list of particular to-dos, say 10 for each task, and add these to your study plan; Once more, you might create your study plan using MS Outlook to include your time and task management.
You could also use a project management tool like MS Project. Now that you know when you can anticipate being able to take action to complete the tasks necessary to fulfil your program objectives, you should have a clear and realistic prediction.
Performance Management
Creating a study forecast is one thing, but tracking your progress is quite another.
In the end, it matters less if you meet your initial research forecast than how frequently you revise it to keep it reasonable and in line with your performance.
You will have a better understanding of your own performance and productivity levels as a distance learner as you progress through the program. You should reevaluate your study forecast after finishing your first study module so that it accurately reflects the amount of achievement you really accomplished.
You must first time yourself while practicing by utilising an alarm clock in order to achieve this. Set the alarm for hourly intervals, and then record your progress throughout the course of each hour. After that, you can record your actual performance on your study plan and compare it to your forecast.
Then, whether they were good or bad, think about the factors that led to your performance level and thoughtfully change your future forecasts as a result. With time, you ought to begin routinely hitting your forecasts.
Time yourself while you are studying and record the actual time taken in your study plan. Think about your time-efficiency successes and the reasons for each success when reviewing future time planning. Think about your time-efficiency failures and the reasons for each failure when reviewing future time planning. Re-evaluate your study strategy.
You must consistently manage your time otherwise you will never finish your academics. This will either happen because you are not dedicating enough time to your studies or because you are using your study time less effectively. Keep in mind that if you let your studies go out of control, they can end up adding to your stress.
Consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning. Consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning. Time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan. If you don’t manage your tasks consistently, you won’t be able to tell if your program objectives are being met or not.
Keeping in Touch
You will have access to qualified professors and tutors who are competent and experienced and who are in charge of giving tutorial help for your specific training program. Therefore, don’t be afraid to let them know how you’re doing. We save electronic copies of all emails sent in support of tutorials so that instructors and tutors can examine earlier exchanges before deciding how to react to a specific request.
Additionally, it means that all correspondence between you and your instructors and tutors is documented, preventing any needless repetition, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. Send them an email if you are experiencing any issues with the program.
Since they are more than likely to have dealt with a situation similar to yours before, they can frequently offer valuable advice and point you in the correct way. Please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide for more information on when and how to use tutorial support. This will enable you to make the most of the tutorial support that is offered to you and will eventually help you succeed in and enjoy your training program.
Work Colleagues and Family
It is important to share your program study progress with your family, friends, and coworkers.
The training courses offered by Appleton Greene are highly useful. It’s part of the program to seek out information from others, collaborate with others to plan, develop, and implement processes, and get feedback from them on the processes’ feasibility and productivity. As a result, you’ll have lots of chances to put your theories to the test and get feedback from others.
Don’t keep your feelings within; people are often understanding of distance learners. Get outside and spread the word! Your family, coworkers, and friends are probably going to gain from your efforts with the program, therefore they are probably more interested in getting engaged than you might imagine. Don’t be afraid to assign tasks to others who could gain from them. This is a fantastic method to get buy-in and understanding from those that you may later depend on for process implementation. Talk about your experiences with your loved ones.
Making It Relevant
Making information relevant to your own unique situation is the key to learning effectively. You should constantly be attempting to draw connections between the program’s content and your personal situation. Remember that this is the most crucial and satisfying step in turning your studies into genuine self-improvement, whether you accomplish it alone or in conversation with your family, clients, or colleagues.
Be specific about how you hope to benefit from the program. This entails establishing precise study goals related to the course’s material in terms of comprehension, concepts, completing research or review exercises, and connecting the material to your own situation. As you progress through the program, it is understandable for your goals to change. In this situation, you should update your study plan with the new goals, so you always know what you are aiming for, when, and why.
Distance Learning Checklist
• Prepare your workspace, materials, and norms for studying.
• Detailed self-evaluation of your capacity for learning should be done.
• Make a structure for your study schedule.
• Take into account your study goals and assignments.
• Make a forecast for the study.
• Analyze your academic performance.
• Review the prediction from your study.
• When organising your study schedule, be consistent.
• For tutorial assistance, contact an Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP).
• Be sure to stay in touch with those in your vicinity.
Tutorial Support
Programs
Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.
Support available
You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.
Support Process
Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.
Time Management
It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Simplified Wellness corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Simplified Wellness program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.
Distance Learning Guide
The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
How To Study
The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).
Tutorial Support
Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Simplified Wellness corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.
Tutorial Support Tips
Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.
Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails
Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.
Think about the impression that you want to create
Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.
Remember that quality is preferred to quantity
Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.
Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers
Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.
Keep a record of your tutorial support emails
It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Individual training workshops or telephone support
Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Tutorial Support Email Format
You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.
Subject line of your email
Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.
Main body of your email
Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)
Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.
Question 1
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 3
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 4
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 5
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.
Procedure
* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.
How To Study
Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.
Planning your study environment
Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.
Planning your program objectives
It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.
Planning how and when to study
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.
Planning your study tasks
You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.
Planning your time
You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.
Keeping in touch
Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.
Charting your progress
Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.
Making it work
To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.
Reading methods
Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.
Speed reading
When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.
Content reading
Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.
Making structured notes on the course manuals
When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.
Organizing structured notes separately
You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.
Question your understanding
Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.
Clarifying your understanding
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.
Question your interpretation
Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.
Clarifying your interpretation
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.
Qualification Requirements
The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Simplified Wellness corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Simplified Wellness Specialist (ASWS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.
Simplified Wellness – Grading Contribution
Project Study – Grading Contribution
Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%
Qualification grades
A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.
When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:
Pass with merit
A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory
Pass with distinction
An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory
Preliminary Analysis
We’re so used to applying our brain power to create strategic business or marketing plans, but when it comes to health and wellness we don’t even think about applying our strategic thinking to assist us in creating a bespoke plan.
The world is stressed and exhausted and it’s wreaking havoc on the health and wellbeing of employees in every organization and across every industry. Generic solutions no longer provide a pathway back to wellness, so organizations have to start looking away from off the shelf products and services and instead step into creating bespoke solutions that are created to specifically meet the needs of their workforce.
Here’s some further reading and useful links to better understand how you can create your own solutions in house:
• Ten Things You Can Do To Make Your Workplace Mentally Healthy brochure (The Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance).
• You can find out more information and research about mentally healthy workplaces in Creating Mentally Healthy Workplaces, a joint-report from Black Dog Institute and UNSW.
• Create a customized action plan for your business – www.headsup.org.au.
• Five tips to create a healthy workspace at home.
• How your office space impacts employee wellbeing.
Course Manuals 1-12
Course Manual 1: Why You Want a Well Workplace
Introduction
Wellbeing is fast becoming the number one metric that organizations need to worry about.
With the rapid increase in the number of employees openly experiencing stress, burnout and exhaustion, every company, in every industry across the globe, is now facing excessive impact to their workforce, and this has a flow-on effect to the morale, culture and bottom line.
Although it’s easy to think of wellbeing as only having to do with physical health, any comprehensive definition of wellbeing must include much more.
The main elements of a great life – an individual’s experiences and perceptions of what’s significant – come under the heading of wellbeing. In the end, it depicts how someone’s life is progressing. However, despite wellness being a part of employee welfare, wellbeing is not the same as wellness.
Global analytics and advice firm, Gallup, have identified five essential components of wellbeing: Career, Social, Financial, Physical and Community.
Leaders of all levels now find themselves frequently pondering the question: “Why does employee wellbeing matter, and what is it?” in response to the now significant toll that managing stressed-out and exhausted workers brings.
Fortunately, employee wellbeing can be measured, understood and changed inside a business – because it is quantifiable.
Organizations like Gallup use tools such as the Life Evaluations Index to assist in measuring individual wellbeing that then allows them to gauge the population being surveyed as a whole.
The components of wellness
While each person is an individual, there are some aspects of wellbeing that cut beyond geography, socioeconomic status, culture, and religion.
The five essential components of wellbeing are distinct characteristics that set a thriving person apart from one who is struggling or in pain.
Each component stands for a feature of life over which humans have control.
• Career: your daily activities are enjoyable.
• Social: you’ve cultivated solid relationships in your life.
• Financial: you’re a good money manager.
• Physical: you have the drive to complete tasks.
• Community: you enjoy your home and the people in the community where you live.
Mental health is fast becoming the priority focus for so many organizations. So, how does mental health fit into the key components of wellbeing?
We don’t want to ignore the topic of employee mental wellness. Every organization should be paying attention to mental health, especially at this time when there is a crisis.
There is a strong correlation between the workplace and the essential components of wellbeing. For example, a low-engagement culture that is high in stress and worry is indicative of a higher likelihood of new cases of anxiety and depression.
This highlights the importance of making sure your workplace culture matches the uniqueness of your organization and the people within it.
A few ways that leaders can start thinking about promoting wellbeing in the workplace include:
• Encourage employees to identify their strengths.
• By employing a strengths-based approach to design your employee experience – from recruitment to performance – you can establish a culture of high development.
• Refuse to put up with aggressive management.
• Encourage managers to become coaches.
• Change the manager’s perspective from that of a boss to that of a coach, who improves employee performance and holds frequent coaching discussions to give insightful feedback.
• Talk about your welfare when discussing professional advancement.
• Teams and managers with a strong sense of trust can start having meaningful conversations on employee welfare.
Why a well workplace matters
Workplaces that are healthy encourage physical and mental health. They are upbeat and effective, and they bring the best out of everyone at work. Because they are terrific places to work, companies that care about employees’ mental health and wellness attract and retain outstanding talent. It is undeniable that having a mentally healthy workplace benefits both your workers and your bottom line.
A productive workplace yields a profit
According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers research, there is an average 2.3:1 return on investment (ROI) for every dollar spent on fostering a mentally healthy workplace.
These advantages result from lower presenteeism, absenteeism and compensation claims, all of which lower productivity at work.
Workers will be more motivated
All employees gain from spending money to make their workplaces more mentally healthy. Employee engagement and motivation will increase as a result, and staff members will be more inclined to ‘go above and beyond the call of duty’.
All of this will increase your return on investment even further and create a happier, healthier environment where good employees will be more likely to stay.
It’s been widely touted for years that the most valuable asset an organization has is its workforce – and we all know that taking good care of your assets is simply good business practice.
Employees care about workplaces that promote mental wellness
Being regarded as an employer of choice might come from having a working culture that supports good mental health and wellbeing.
This can then help with:
• Attracting and keeping the most talented individuals.
• Raising engagement and morale among employees.
Almost three-quarters of workers who have been surveyed in various global research studies agree that having a mentally healthy workplace is crucial while seeking for a job.
Globally now, work safety laws are being updated to state that employers have to adhere to certain legal standards when it comes to workplace mental health.
According to laws pertaining to anti-discrimination, privacy and work health and safety, both employers and employees have formal rights and obligations.
Employers have a responsibility to treat their employees fairly and not treat them less favorably because of a mental health condition in the domain of mental health.
An employee’s responsibility is to let the employer provide a secure workplace for them and their co workers. Employees are not required to disclose the existence of a mental health issue unless it interferes with their ability to fulfil the duties of their position, or endangers their safety or the safety of others at work.
Most privacy acts guarantee an employee the right to have information about their mental health status kept private from their co-workers. As a result, when an employee discloses a mental health illness to their employer, they should be careful to specify how they want the information to be handled.
Insofar as they must ensure their co-workers’ safety, employees with mental health conditions have a duty to their peers. So, if a person’s illness could endanger the safety of their co-workers, they have a duty to tell someone about it.
All employees must work in a safe environment, which is the responsibility of the employer. Therefore, they have a right to know about a mental health problem only if it might compromise their safety or the safety of other employees. Although only obligated to offer reasonable accommodations with consideration for the interests of the business, an employer is required to adapt the working environment for an employee with a mental health issue. Therefore, it wouldn’t be necessary to make very expensive or bespoke alterations.
Employees’ mental health is treated similarly to physical safety in terms of workplace health and safety standards, and workplaces should take both into consideration.
When dealing with a mental health condition at work, it can be crucial that the individual and the company work together for their mutual benefit, so that the individual can provide their valuable service but also so that the business can benefit from that person. This is true regardless of the legal obligations of an employee and an employer.
The benefit to society
By fostering a mentally healthy workplace, employers can enhance the standard of living for both employees and their families.
People with mental health conditions are more likely to participate in the workforce when their workplace is welcoming of them, and this then has a secondary impact of encouraging a favorable impact on how the general public views mental health.
We work the majority of our waking hours on weekdays. Compared to our own families and friends, we can end up spending more time with co-workers and clients. We need to feel emotionally healthy, protected and valued at work in order to work at our best and succeed in other areas of our lives.
In most first world countries, mental illness is increasingly the main reason for long-term work impairment and sick leave.
In companies with strong cultures, people are more likely to ask each other if they are okay and watch out for one another in mentally healthy workplaces with high levels of wellbeing. Managers and teams also understand mental health and talk about it openly. People are aware of ways to build resilience for difficult times at work and at home. Staff with mental health concerns seek help early, are supported in their recovery and generally require significantly less time to recover and fully return to work than those who work in companies with poor organizational culture.
Good workplace health benefits both individuals and companies
Significant advantages for both individual workers and the company itself can be observed when workplaces are mentally healthy, including:
• Enhanced work performance and productivity: When we experience high levels of psychological wellbeing and work satisfaction, we operate at our best.
• Gains for the financial performance of your business: Greater productivity and creativity, fewer sick days and presenteeism (being at work but unable to perform at capacity), lower staff turnover, recruiting and training costs, and fewer sick days all benefit your company by boosting sales and lowering expenses.
• Enhancements to your health: Work gives us a feeling of purpose, social networks and support, opportunities for growth and development, and the ability to excel in our areas of strength – all of which are significant contributors to our wellbeing.
• Aiding in healing: Work can be a crucial part of our recovery from mental illness for those of us who are dealing with it. Numerous mental diseases that we encounter at work can be managed and, in some circumstances, prevented.
• Bringing in (and retaining) top talent: Businesses with a focus on mental health are more likely to recruit and keep top talent. There are numerous spill-over impacts of the workplace wellness culture on people, businesses and the neighborhood.
Factors affecting workplace happiness
The level of mental health and wellness at work may be influenced by both risk factors and protective factors. These consist of:
• Job design: requirements for the position, environmental control, resources offered, level of work involvement, and possibility for trauma exposure (such as emergency workers).
• Team aspects: availability of staff training, quality of interpersonal connections, management effectiveness, and support from co-workers and managers.
• Organizational elements: organizational changes, support from the company as a whole, recognizing and rewarding labor, how justice is viewed at work, and a culture of support and safety.
• Home/work conflict: expectations from home that conflict with our obligations at work, such as significant life events and their effects.
• Individual aspects: Personality, early life experiences, cognitive and behavioral patterns, mental health history, lifestyle circumstances and coping mechanisms.
These elements interact in intricate ways. There are various ways companies can improve the mental health of their workforce, and many of these work-related aspects can be changed.
Generally, there are six places to start when you want to improve workplace wellbeing.
There are many easy steps you can take to create a mentally healthy workplace, and they don’t have to take a lot of time or money. In fact, the advantages actually outweigh the drawbacks. According to research, every $1 invested on workplace mental health initiatives can result in savings from workers’ compensation claims and productivity gains of up to $4.
Ingenious design
• Create flexible work schedules.
• Talk about the culture of the area, time and manner in which you work.
• Allow employees to have a say in how tasks are carried out. Pay attention to suggestions from others on how to complete their work.
• Keep track of staff workloads.
• Make sure the physical setting where you work is safe and supportive.
Increasing one’s own resiliency
• Train those who work in high-risk occupations – such as emergency service personnel who are exposed to high levels of trauma or stress – on stress management and resilience.
• Apply research-proven strategies, such as cognitive behavior therapy.
• Offer and promote regular chances for exercise, such as yoga, jogging or meditation during lunch breaks.
• Promote coaching and mentorship.
Fostering better work environments
• Develop conversational skills with those you are concerned about. Promote employee camaraderie.
• Educate the entire staff on mental health.
• Lessen stigma. Be honest when discussing mental health issues.
• Ensure top staff members are actively involved in promoting mental health and fostering a pleasant work environment.
• Establish a mental health policy that forbids bullying and prejudice.
Raising consciousness about mental health
• Make mental health information available. Post mental health leaflets on the team’s bulletin boards.
• Discuss mental health freely with co-workers.
• Attend occasions like RU OK Day and World Mental Health Day.
• Hold required training sessions and awareness campaigns for mental health.
• Incorporate staff development programs for mental health.
Aiding staff members’ mental health recovery
• Educate managers on how to help staff members recover from mental illness and difficult life situations.
• Encourage flexible sick leave policies.
• When necessary, adjust responsibilities and work schedules.
• Create a welcoming environment and make sure there is no bullying or prejudice.
Early assistance
• Encourage personnel to seek assistance right away.
• After the necessary supports are in place, take into account wellbeing checks.
• Offer mental health education so that employees can help one another.
• Offer a peer support system for employees.
Important information about occupational wellbeing and mental health
One in five people of working age suffer from mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
There is a good possibility that at least one or two team members, if not more, suffer from a mental illness if your workplace has more than ten employees.
In addition, one in six of us will experience symptoms of mental illness, such as worry, sleep issues and weariness, which can impair our capacity to work effectively.
That means that roughly every third employee in a business is currently dealing with a mental health issue.
Globally, businesses lose over US$2.5 trillion a year to mental health issues like depression and anxiety as a result of staff absences (sick days), decreased productivity and performance (presenteeism, or being at work but not working well), and higher staff turnover rates with associated costs for recruitment and training.
Demands for compensation
As many as 50% of workers have been the victim of bullying (including sexual harassment) at some point in their career. Bullying at work is thought to cost the global economy almost US$1 trillion a year.
Numerous research studies show that those who are bullied in the workplace are almost twice as likely to experience some form of mental health issues as a direct result of the bullying.
Globally, mental illness is increasingly the main reason for long-term work impairment and sick leave.
Given these numbers, it is obvious that every organization should address mental health and wellbeing.
Seeking assistance and understanding the value of work-life balance
Sometimes concerns about jobs can start to dominate an individual’s thoughts. Although they may be physically present with their friends and family, in reality individuals become aloof and preoccupied by the demands of their job.
Being able to speak with a manager or a co-worker early to resolve issues as they develop – for example, if the workload is too high, or there are problems managing a part of the work process – is essential for minimizing the impact of stress and overwhelm.
Providing an environment where employees can always get assistance as soon as they have concerns about their mental health, and openly encouraging and rewarding people for using that assistance is another vital component of a well workplace.
Ways to help employees improve work-life balance:
• Help individuals to match their job with their personality, coping mechanisms and stress management skills.
• Provide online resources for mental health resiliency that match the needs of the organization and its individuals.
• Provide opportunities for employees to participate in something greater than themselves, such as helping people or volunteering for a local organization.
• Find ways to help your employees engage in their passion.
• Help your employees to engage in extra-curricular activities that promote “flow” (being so immersed in something they lose all concept of time and effort). People experience flow when they are engaged in demanding or enjoyable activities such as painting, surfing, chess or bridge play, gardening, bushwalking, building, sport, playing music or even cooking.
• Encourage and even offer opportunities for regular exercise to help your employees relieve stress and enjoy life.
• Teach the true art of mindfulness (being present) techniques to improve focus, reduce anxiety, and promote sleep. Online resources abound for getting started.
• Provide avenues for your employees to try something new that makes use of skills they may have. For example: a new lesson in art, sculpture, writing or building.
Case Study: Zappos Workplace Wellness
For some time now Zappos, a Las Vegas-based e-commerce company with 1,500 employees, has continuously surfaced in blogs, articles and new reports for being both a remarkable example of customer service, but also as an excellent place to work.
They have created a position in their organization that is entitled the Chief Happiness Officer, whose efforts have created a workplace culture that genuinely promotes happiness at work. They offer to pay people to quit at the end of their probation period, which means that only the people who are truly committed to the company and the ethos choose to stay. They not only behave like great human beings; they genuinely are great human beings.
Zappos puts their people first. They concentrate on increasing happiness, creativity, productivity and then profits. They openly embrace fun and even encourage a little weirdness! They want their employees to be adventurous, creative and open-minded, and they help them to pursue growth and learning.
The overarching theme of Zappos is the culture of empowerment. Sure, they offer the stock standard wellness offerings of gym memberships, nap rooms and health assessments. But they also take their employees to trampolining sessions and golf lessons where they can try new things that they might not naturally do on their own.
Perhaps the most fun wellness activity that they’re known for is their “‘recess Tuesday’s”, where the employees can go outside and use whatever recess equipment they want. Think basketball, four square, volleyball and loads of other options that the employees dream up.
And it doesn’t stop at physical activity; the wellness program extends beyond the bounds of getting the body moving and also includes things like music lessons, team building to foster passion and determination, and creating a positive team in a family friendly environment.
Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, has previously said: ‘Never forget that the most important thing in life is the quality of life we lead.’
With the structure that he has put in place, and the importance the organization places on wellness, it’s clear that these are words he intends to encourage every employee to live by.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the wellness program is that it is unashamedly Zappos. They haven’t copied anyone else or bought an off-the-shelf solution. They’ve created a program that 100% matches the uniqueness of the individuals within the organization.
Exercise 2.1 – Wellbeing Survey
– 1 = strongly disagree
– 2 = disagree
– 3 = neutral
– 4 = agree
– 5 = strongly agree
1. What is one simple thing you can do to create a different experience for yourself?
2. What simple steps can you take to make this happen?
3. What is the first step you will take?
4. When, and how, will you take the step?
5. How will you hold yourself accountable for taking the step?
Course Manual 2: Corporate Wellness Programs
Introduction
The health and wellness sectors have seen annual growth that is exponential for generations. These industries continue to grow quickly as a result of the development of technology and easy access to information worldwide.
Despite this, individuals are unhealthier than ever and are dealing with more severe illnesses and health crises than ever before.
Almost everyone now uses the expression “I’m so stressed”, often several times each day.
Exhaustion is rising along with stress, which is a clear association. Due to the interaction of these two elements, “burnout” was formally classified as an occupational phenomenon by the World Health Organization and included in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).
The World Health Organization’s action appears to put the burden of lowering stress, weariness, and burnout on the organization as a whole.
While it may be a wise decision for someone who develops burnout, it leaves organizations in the dark. In the end, it does NOTHING to address the significant rise in stress and burnout incidence, nor does it do anything to lessen the US$1 trillion yearly cost that these conditions are inflicting globally.
The most concerning aspect of these numbers is that approximately 50% of stress and burnout incidents are thought to go unreported; as a result, the full cost is actually unknown.
Stress and burnout are a hardship that almost every organization is dealing with. Continuous research in this area is being done in many parts of the world, some with an international focus and others with a focus on country-specific challenges. The outcomes are typically the same regardless of the scope of the focus:
More than 40% of employees believe that poor leadership at work is the most stressful aspect of their job and will look for a new job at the beginning of each year. Additionally, more than 40% of employees say that they experience a lot of “negative energy” at work and will look for a new job at the beginning of each year. Over half of all employees think that the rate of change and complexity at work is related to job satisfaction.
These figures reflect the global epidemic we are currently dealing with, and unless organizations actively participate in developing a comprehensive and individualized health and wellbeing strategy to support their employees, these figures will only become worse.
What is a corporate wellness program?
There is no business owner in the world who doesn’t want their business to grow and succeed. Therefore, one of the most important decisions to make is to spend money on your most precious asset: your staff. There is no question that a healthy workforce equates to a healthy business.
It’s possible that the use of technology at work simplified certain aspects of the job. However, this results in less physical exercise, which is an essential element for every human to enjoy a healthy life.
Long-term health objectives are frequently difficult for employees as they spend more time at their desks. For too long, time has gone by with these health issues being ignored.
Traditional health plans only provided for insurance and time off for illness. However, contemporary employee wellness programs are more varied and inclusive. Because of this, the majority of businesses have established corporate wellness initiatives in their workplaces.
One strategy an employer can use to create a healthy work environment is to implement a corporate wellness program. The wellness program incorporates health-related activities that encourage the organization’s workers to keep up a healthy lifestyle.
Corporate wellness initiatives take many different forms across various organizations. While some merely offer insurance coverage, others are making strides in holistic wellbeing.
A corporate wellness program is a collection of wellness strategies that are formally put in place by an organization with the intention of improving staff members’ mental, physical, and professional wellbeing while minimizing adverse effects like high stress levels and increased risk of illness or injury as a result of work-related issues. They are also usually designed to minimize employee absenteeism, presenteeism, wide margin for error, and low productivity that can be caused by poor health and welfare at work.
To date, wellness initiatives have often included:
• Newsletters on wellness
• Surveys on employee wellbeing and video content
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Meditation and mindfulness programs
• Free or discounted gym memberships
• An on-site workout facility,
• On-site massage services
• Educational opportunities
• Workplaces with healthy food options
• Vaccination clinics
• Nap or rest areas
• Wellness outings
• Ergonomic workspaces
• Movement classes
• Workshops for wellbeing
By fostering an organizational culture of health, corporate wellness initiatives are intended to support and encourage a holistic approach to employee welfare. Offering a corporate wellness program that goes beyond standard wellness initiatives encourages healthy behavior among employee groups and improves health outcomes, all while boosting productivity, making the most of human resource investments, and enhancing employee engagement.
Why do you want one?
Your staff are one of your most precious assets. The first approach to ensuring good employee wellness is to keep them healthy and happy.
Businesses are under constant stress and have longer work-weeks. To hold employees accountable and encourage them to perform at their highest level, it only makes sense for a firm to offer wellness solutions. In the modern world, individuals have moved on from the number one focus being income. Today, the highest ranked organizations for ‘best places to work’ are held by those who offer exceptional work-life balance policies, job satisfaction and appreciation.
Progressive businesses therefore implement proactive measures that help individuals look after themselves – for instance: lifestyle counselling, exercise classes, health evaluations and similar things.
Until recently, the status quo work atmosphere has contributed to the mental and physical health of employees. Things such as (but not limited to) prolonged periods of sitting, hasty takeout meals, and eye strain from computer screens have all played a part in the worsening health of individuals all over the world.
Because they’re constantly under time pressure, it has been common to see people typically choose unhealthy options over healthier ones. When you’re overwhelmed, over-stimulated and over-busy, making a salad is more difficult than purchasing a takeaway for lunch. Or, grabbing a doughnut for breakfast is quicker than making a nourishing meal to start the day. A few glasses of coffee can make up for a restless night. Spending a few extra minutes in bed is more desirable than getting up and exercising in the morning.
So many of today’s diseases are preventable, and a holistic approach to corporate wellness programs is an effective strategy to persuade staff members of the value of forming healthy habits and the advantages of adhering to wellness objectives.
Many chronic diseases are avoidable. In today’s environment, organizations are moving to change their corporate health programs from a one-size-fits-all model to one that can be personalized for each employee.
Employers are on the lookout for goods and services that operate from this shared viewpoint to assist staff members in their journeys towards wellbeing. One example is corporate wellbeing solutions. Building a business case for your corporate wellness product is proving to be tricky.
Because employees spend so much time at work, it is crucial to link wellness objectives to work-life balance in order to achieve corporate objectives. Establishing a corporate wellness program is crucial to the success of your company. It takes time to develop an effective corporate wellness program, which includes a wellness program that is integrated into the organizational culture.
The objectives of the business should be supported by employee wellbeing programs that are always evolving to meet the needs of staff members working to attain their health goals. Having healthier workers can help reduce the cost of health care, which can significantly improve your bottom line. Giving your company a strong corporate wellness program gives it the competitive advantage it needs to draw in and keep top people.
Designing, creating, implementing, and administering many components of a wellbeing program are made simpler by corporate wellness solutions. Their job is to compile a lot of the benefits that employers already provide into one simple-to-use tool that employees can use to help themselves become healthier.
Because employees are overloaded with information and desire a more individualized benefit experience that displays the options accessible to them based on their needs, interests, and eligibility, businesses too frequently give valuable benefits that go underutilized.
What do you need to consider when creating a corporate wellness program?
Impact of the Program and Proven Effectiveness
If the corporate wellness solution provides what it promises, that should be the main factor. Your priorities can include lowering health care costs, boosting employee morale, luring and maintaining top talent, or improving corporate culture. Identify your main aims when purchasing a wellness remedy. After that, ask each vendor about the platform’s outcomes and how they were arrived at.
Programming Features
How does the wellness solution fit in with your goals and what it supports? Consider the platform’s support for all facets of wellbeing to assess how effectively it functions. Then, take into account your long-term goals and assess each vendor according to its capacity for growth and advice.
Adaptability and Personalization
Examine the extent to which each prospective vendor can alter every aspect of its wellness offering, including the services offered and the resources used. You want to know whether customization entails developing new material and challenges as well as turning other modules on or off without time-consuming and expensive software coding, or if customization only entails putting your logo to the platform.
Integration and Collaboration
Employee use and exposure to various options rises when there is a single point of contact for corporate wellness solutions. Examine in great detail how simple or challenging it is to integrate all of your third-party services and information. Examine how each platform streamlines reporting by connecting disparate data points to produce a clearer, more accurate picture.
Reporting
You should regularly monitor how your employees are using the wellness program. How often do they stay on the platform, and for how long? What appeals to them the most? Peeling back the layers will allow you to examine how specific staff groups use the platform and the effects that is having. Make sure you are aware of your administrator privileges so there are no misunderstandings about how you access reporting or how much it will cost you.
User encounter
A well-designed user interface and user experience are essential to achieving the results you want because they depend on your employees using it frequently. You want employees to be able to discover what they need easily and quickly, therefore you’re looking for straightforward navigation, uniform treatment, and a clear visual hierarchy.
Engagement
When assessing a program’s effectiveness, the wellness solution’s continued use is a crucial indicator. How many employees use the platform, its content, and its offered tools and activities on a regular basis? Are new users pulled in while existing users are drawn back? How involved is each user overall? In an ideal world, users would use the platform’s numerous features and capabilities frequently to maintain positive routines that promote long-term behavior change.
What are the benefits of a corporate wellness program?
Corporate wellness initiatives include a variety of advantages. Most importantly, the reduction in the severity of employees experiencing numerous occupational health concerns can be made possible by the introduction, acceptance of and engagement with wellness initiatives.
The significance of establishing a workplace wellness program can also be linked to employee recruitment and retention.
Workplace variables like workforce size, climate, and schedule all affect employee wellness. The needs, size, and budget of the firm will all impact the way that a corporate wellness program is put together for each organization.
A corporate wellness program can be advantageous to both the organization and its employees. Here are a few of the main advantages of putting one into practice. Programs for workplace wellbeing can:
Improve work satisfaction
Corporate wellness initiatives aid organizations in fostering a positive work environment. Employees typically feel more motivated and pleased at work when they perceive that their employer is interested in their wellbeing. Numerous research studies show that they often feel more rested, energized, and inspired to perform at their best at work. As a result, employers gain from decreased turnover rates and training costs as a result.
Encourage a more wholesome work environment
Employees are more likely to lead healthier lifestyles when they have greater resources to take better care of themselves. Many corporate wellness initiatives encourage workers to engage in physical activity and consume a healthy diet, which can reduce illness and the incidence of chronic diseases. Employees are less likely to call in sick or show up to work sick when they feel better. People can feel at ease and concentrate on their tasks in such a work atmosphere. Employers can gain from decreased costs associated with workers’ compensation, disability, and absenteeism.
Display company values
Many people search for an employer who values its staff. Having a corporate wellness program shows that a company values the health of its workers highly. A corporation that prioritizes employee health will likely have more support from its employees.
Businesses with a culture that prioritizes employee wellbeing often have a more engaged staff. Employees who are actively engaged and participate in their corporate wellness programs often report feeling closer to their employers and their co-workers.
Bring in fresh talent
Prospective employees are curious about the additional benefits that an employer provides in addition to income. According to research, a lot of job candidates rank wellness programs among the benefits that are most essential to them.
Guidelines for creating a successful corporate wellness program
In order to create a successful corporate wellness program, it helps employers to first take a few factors into account. Implementing some, or all of the following can help with the development of a successful workplace wellness program:
Provide leadership backing
If a company’s management team is excited about the wellness initiative, other employees may be inspired to lead healthier lifestyles. There should be a designated leader who can respond to enquiries from staff members concerning the initiative. Additionally, this person should be in charge of liaising with new hires and overseeing the program’s onboarding procedure.
Establish a committee for wellness
The organization can support a wellness culture by forming a committee to spearhead and carry out the new wellness plan. To assist build a varied representation, employers should ask or welcome volunteers from several departments, including management, human resources, union representatives, communications/marketing, and health-conscious staff.
Introduce incentive-based initiatives
Incentive-based programs are quite effective at motivating people. Employers should design wellness initiatives that honor the most active participants for their wholesome actions. The employer might provide lunch for an employee or recognize them publicly when they achieve a personal goal.
Make a social structure
Employees may be more willing to join in a program if they witness how enthusiastic their co-workers are about it. Establish a social network for workers who want to discuss their aspirations, triumphs, and challenges. For instance, businesses that utilize Slack could set up a channel just for the corporate wellness initiative. Participants can share pictures, discuss the program, and seek help from other staff members on the channel.
Privacy should be respected by employers and co-workers. Some employees may want to keep their aspirations private. These workers are able to express their goals for success measurement. They could prefer a private communication from management congratulating them rather than having it displayed publicly.
Case Study: The Motley Fool’s Approach to Engagement
The Motley Fool is a multiplatform provider of financial services that provides clients with news and trends about the stock market. The company was established in 1993, is headquartered in Virginia, and employs more than 300 people.
More importantly, the business has a fantastic culture that is renowned for its distinctive features.
Putting Employee Happiness First
How content are your staff members? not as a whole, but rather on a person-by-person basis? Which staff members have ratings of 3, 6, and 9?
Employees at The Motley Fool are routinely asked that question and asked to rate it on a scale a few times per year as part of company policy. The organization looks further to find ways to consistently push and maintain people in the high area, as the image below demonstrates, rather than just utilizing it as a type of attitudinal barometer.
Is Your Talent Slowly Declining?
How many outstanding employees do firms lose because they lack enthusiasm and vigor? This is known as the “slow fade” at The Motley Fool, as shown in the graph below.
Combining it with the previously described happiness exploration question is the solution to this. How can we support people in pursuing their passions and strengths and living happy lives?
When speaking at conferences, Lee Burbage, The Motley Fool’s Chief People Officer, uses one of the business’ engineers as an example.
The engineer said in one of his happy check-ins that he wanted to start a personal training business, which didn’t exactly fit with the company’s mix of advice and financial services work. In other words, at least not at The Motley Fool, the position didn’t exist.
The engineer was encouraged to utilize some of his time to lead a weekly fitness session for staff instead of simply accepting that they would lose this great person. The class was so well-liked after a year that he was able to carve out a new position for himself and become The Motley Fool’s first wellness director.
Utilizing employee interests and abilities where they can most help the organization is a terrific example of talent mobility in action.
Testing the water …
This would be a little terrifying for most businesses, but consider that each month, one of your employees is chosen at random to spend two weeks away from the workplace with no communication at all.
Where does you mind go? What questions does this bring up?
• What if they are a major player on a project?
• What if this person has leadership responsibilities?
• What if this individual is knowledgeable about a crucial procedure that others do not comprehend, such as payroll or quality control?
Each of these queries raises the possibility of an organizational weakness. And The Motley Fool uses the idea of a “Fool’s Errand” to draw attention to any of those problems and find solutions.
More crucially, it’s viewed as a last-minute getaway, replete with $1,500 in cash for the recipient, to help people unwind and refuel their mental and physical energies.
Exercise 2.2: Looking into Corporate Wellness Programs
1. Does your workplace have a current wellness program?
– 1 = strongly disagree
– 2 = disagree
– 3 = neutral
– 4 = agree
– 5 = strongly agree
10. What do you think is the one thing that causes the answers of different participants to vary?
Course Manual 3: Personal Wellness Programs
Introduction
Living a healthy lifestyle takes time and conscious effort. It doesn’t happen on its own. It’s important to understand that you are in the driver’s seat and are the one who must make an effort to look after yourself.
People can easily lose touch with themselves in today’s world of technology and busy schedules. However, one of the most crucial aspects of life should be your own wellbeing.
Multiple surveys, conducted over decades, show that approximately 70% of Americans feel unsatisfied with their general health. Unfortunately, a considerably smaller percentage of people truly step into taking action to enhance their own wellness.
There are six different areas of life that directly play a role in maintaining your health: physical, emotional, social/family, intellectual, spiritual and occupational. Personal wellness is achieved when you create a holistic way of living that encompasses all six of these areas in the way that is perfect for you.
Why is individual wellness significant?
An individual’s capacity to carry out daily tasks depends on their level of wellbeing.
You must take into account all of the interconnected elements of a person’s life, including their mental health, physical fitness, sense of worth, relationships with friends and family, and so on, in order to completely comprehend why personal wellbeing is vital.
Because it combines all of these factors, personal wellbeing is crucial because it eventually results in a longer, better life.
According to research, those who practice personal wellness have a reduction in stress, improved sleep and an improvement in overall health and wellbeing, as well as an increase in energy and self-esteem.
Additionally, there are huge financial advantages to pursuing wellness. Over time, those who focus on personal wellness as a part of everyday life will save thousands of dollars on medical costs simply due to their lifestyle preventing them from experiencing lifestyle related diseases and conditions.
People who take care of their personal wellness also tend to live longer and are considerably more likely to have strong immune systems that protect them from various other diseases.
Focusing on personal wellbeing will mostly assist individuals to:
• Have life in balance.
• Relieve tension and stress.
• Enhance energy levels and physical wellbeing.
• Inspire you to be the best version of yourself by boosting your self-confidence.
• Increase life expectancy and reduce sickness.
What are the six areas of personal wellness?
Physical, emotional, social, intellectual/creative pursuits, spiritual, and occupational wellbeing are the six pillars of personal wellness. Each dimension has its own set of objectives and advantages that improve your general health.
The various aspects of personal wellness may seem to be related and even overlap in some areas, and that’s because in reality, they are. In fact, ignoring one component of personal wellness will very likely have an impact on another as well.
Additionally, even though each area has its own crucial role to play and focuses on providing specific outcomes, they will also directly or indirectly enhance the other categories of personal wellness.
For example, while you may undertake cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging, walking, biking, and swimming in order to assist you in strengthening your physical health, it can also play a part in improving your mental health – because both physical and mental health benefit from an increase of the supply of oxygen to the brain.
Therefore, by focusing on one aspect of wellbeing, you can positively affect another aspect at the same time.
However, it is important that you don’t rest on your laurels and assume that focusing on one area will automatically provide everything you need to another area. It’s important that you focus on all the areas individually to make sure you are getting the things you need for you to be OK.
There are many dimensions to personal wellness, and it is important that each dimension be addressed in order for an individual to live their best life.
What is a personal wellness plan?
A wellness plan is a set of actions you design to meet your individual needs in relation to your physical, mental, emotional, financial and environmental wellbeing, among other areas of your life. It can assist you in setting goals based on the health knowledge you currently possess, identifying necessary boundaries, and allocating much-needed time for self-care.
You get to choose what you want to place more emphasis on when you are creating your wellness strategy, and it can include everything from physical to financial wellness.
When you make a wellness plan for yourself, you list the objectives you have and the requirements you must fulfil. Making a wellness plan is similar to setting limits in several ways.
What is it for?
A personal wellness plan is useful for making sure that the six crucial areas of wellness are addressed on an individual level, every day.
The significance of physical health
Physical wellbeing is more than just maintaining a healthy weight and engaging in regular exercise. It also covers everything about our physical selves, such as what we put into them – like food and drink – what happens to them, and how we take care of them.
In fact, physical fitness is so crucial to our ability to carry out our everyday tasks that some people may even argue that it serves as the cornerstone for all other facets of personal wellness.
The advantages of physical health:
• increased energy, mood, and alertness.
• maintain a healthy weight and improve our body composition by leading an active lifestyle.
• lengthen the average lifespan.
• strengthens the body’s defenses.
• reduce the danger of chronic illnesses.
A few activities to assist in getting started with focusing on physical wellness:
• exercise on a regular basis.
• make healthy nutrition a priority.
• be sure to get enough sleep.
• drink plenty of water.
• routine appointments with your health care provider.
• avoid harmful substances and drugs.
• less screen time, more movement.
The significance of emotional health
We all experience emotions, but how we deal with them can improve or impair our general health. A person who is content and at ease is more likely to have a healthy state of mind and body than someone who is under constant stress.
The key to emotional wellbeing is learning how to deal with situations as they arise, release the emotional ‘stuff’ that comes with them, control your stress levels and maintain a happy, positive outlook on life.
It’s also about learning to deal with secondary stress which occurs when we see others experience stressful situations and we start to ‘feel for them’.
As a result, developing strong skills that assist you in maintaining a balanced emotional state will assist you in your overall emotional wellness.
The advantages of emotional health:
• helps to manage the pressures and responsibilities of modern life.
• helps people create efficient coping mechanisms.
• helps in dealing with major changes, failures, and setbacks in life.
• put relaxation first.
• helps in controlling thoughts and emotional response.
A guide to psychological and emotional wellbeing:
• keep in touch with loved ones, especially if they live far away or are challenging to visit.
• take part in activities you find enjoyable, such as team sports, playing an instrument, watching a movie, or reading a book.
• regularly engage in breathing exercises and meditation.
• keep a journal or diary.
• practice gratitude.
• spend some time alone.
The significance of intellectual health
It’s critical for us to engage in mental challenges and engagement. This helps to keep our mind healthier and more attentive. Activities that inspire the mind to think creatively and flexibly are part of intellectual wellbeing.
Being intelligent is merely one aspect of being intellectually well. It involves trying out new activities and learning new things. It entails maintaining mental acuity through challenging mental endeavors.
Being open to new ideas and learning new skills are both possible when you have strong intellectual wellbeing.
The advantages of intellectual health:
• enhances your intellect, creativity, and memory.
• increases your mental acuity and ability to solve problems.
• helps prevent dementia and memory loss.
Some recommendations to enhance intellectual wellness:
• learn a new language.
• actively take part in discussions and debates.
• play card games, puzzles, and other games.
• read a collection of poems.
• produce original artwork.
The significance of spiritual health
A person’s sense of spirituality may be connected to their religion, their outlook on life, or their strong bond with nature. The most important aspect of being spiritually healthy is to have a healthy sense of curiosity about life’s big questions.
Perhaps the most imposing of these questions is: ‘Who am I?’
This is closely followed by: ‘Why am I here?’
These two questions leave us with a desire to have some sense of direction and significance in our lives.
For instance, where participating in your community can boost your health and give you a sense of pride in who you are and where you work or live, your spirituality will have more of an impact on your personal goals and health care choices.
The advantages of spiritual wellbeing:
• lowers stress levels and encourages greater tranquility and relaxation.
• keeps a positive outlook on life in general, family, career, and school.
• promotes self- and other forgiveness.
• helps you give back to your community, assist those in need, and become a part of something greater than yourself.
• aids in stress management and grieving and stress-related coping.
Some recommendations for where to start with focusing on spiritual wellness:
• regularly engage in meditation or prayer.
• spend time with loved ones or friends.
• participate in volunteer activities.
• spend time in nature by hiking, gardening or cycling.
• donate to people in need.
• participate in religious services (church, temple, etc.).
• try journaling or meditation.
The significance of workplace wellbeing
Occupational wellbeing keeps us inspired to get out of bed in the morning and helps us love the work we do.
Since we can spend up to one-third of our life at work, it’s critical that there isn’t excessive stress in our jobs. Additionally, it’s crucial for our work to support a healthy lifestyle and keep our bodies and minds engaged.
Taking care of yourself at work is a crucial component of occupational wellness if you want to stay effective and content in your position. Setting up reasonable priorities and goals as well as developing the ability to refuse can help with this.
The advantages of occupational wellness:
• encourages stress reduction and a healthy work-life balance.
• makes work more productive.
• increases your enjoyment of your task.
• improves interactions with supervisors and co-workers.
Tips and suggestions for occupational wellness:
• look for a job you like.
• strive to achieve equilibrium in all areas of your life.
• if your workplace offers a wellness program, participate in it.
• say ‘no’ more often.
• set reasonable expectations, priorities, and goals for yourself.
• participate in workplace fitness initiatives, such as group walks or runs, yoga sessions, or team-building activities.
• improve your own productivity by focusing on your personal wellness needs.
The significance of social wellbeing
It is imperative that we do everything we can to ensure that the relationships we have in our lives remain healthy. This encompasses being kind and loving to yourself as well as engaging in healthy communication with others.
We interact and form these crucial human ties with the aid of social wellbeing. It also includes allowing positive support and assistance from close friends, family members, and romantic partners.
It involves having a support system in the form of a social network that you can turn to when things get tough.
The advantages of social wellbeing:
• reduces loneliness and stress.
• aids in the development of important traits.
• creates close relationships with others.
• enhances interpersonal and communication abilities.
• aids in setting up personal limits.
Some things to consider when focusing on social wellness:
• be deliberate in developing your friendships.
• visit a store or museum.
• schedule some time to interact with your family.
• spend time with others in a group.
• spend some time by yourself, unwinding, and doing something exclusively for you.
• keep up constant communication with others.
Components of a personal wellness plan
Creating your own personal wellness plan can be one of the most daunting things to step into. You’re a unique individual, so the wellness plan has to include a customized strategy that best meets your needs.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, the thought alone might be enough to scare you off. If you make it past the fear and step into creating one, then it can take a lot of time, thinking, and research before you’re ready to begin putting pen to paper.
However, when you know what you’re doing, it’s easier to find the simplest solutions that allow you to move forwards.
A personal wellness strategy is essential for success.
When you first start, it can seem overwhelming and challenging to maintain your commitment to your exercise and health goals, even when you understand the advantages it will provide to your personal wellness.
So, what’s the easiest way to develop a personal wellness strategy that is manageable and that can be maintained over the long-term?
Before starting, it’s crucial to think through the measures you must take to achieve your goal.
Set yourself up for success by breaking the goal down into ‘doable’ activities and calculating how long it would take to complete them.
Additionally, be sure to give yourself adequate time to complete each work before moving on to the next.
Great personal wellness plans include the following:
• your goals.
• the steps you need to take to accomplish those goals.
• the tools, equipment and resources you need to achieve your goal.
Personal wellness can take many forms, such as regular exercise, a healthy diet, employing positive mental health techniques, and keeping professional connections with co-workers.
This entails taking charge of your own wellbeing by making decisions that are good for your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
A good strategy has five essential elements:
1. Recognize your present circumstances and values.
Without a plan, you can’t build a house, and without goals, you can’t develop a wellness plan. Decide where you are now and where you want to be in the future as a result.
A critical part of the success of your personal wellness plan is knowing what it is going to cost to achieve your goals (both financially and psychologically).
2. State your objectives.
Before choosing your wellness goals, it’s important to understand your objectives. The following questions can help you before stepping in to choosing goals:
• What in your life would you wish to change?
• What do I hope to achieve by reaching these objectives?
• When can I start putting my efforts into achieving these objectives?
• What drives me to pursue this objective?
• What have I previously done to maintain my dedication to reaching my goals?
• What will happen once I accomplish this goal? Have I made the necessary preparations to advance in the right direction?
• How much time and effort am I prepared to put into the endeavor?
• Is this objective feasible?
• What options do I have if a crisis occurs while the procedure is going on?
• Who can assist in making this happen if I can’t?
• Can I complete these chores on my own?
• What is the price tag for achieving this objective?
• Will I need to make any compromises to get there (like quitting my job or spending less on entertainment)?
• Can I afford to make these efforts?
• Is there room in my current schedule for these tasks? If not, will adjustments be required to carry out these tasks?
• After setting your goals, it’s time to identify what actions you must do to achieve them.
Make a thorough list of everything that must occur; err on the side of being overly specific! You can also come up with creative ways to complete the various phases.
3. Identify the components of your own wellness plan.
Determine your objectives, then list the abilities, qualities, and resources you’ll need to reach them.
You should consider both mental and emotional resources in addition to physical aids (such as yoga mats, books, and gym memberships) – for example, meditation.
Keep in mind that you might need to update your gear or equipment stash as you go.
Additionally, you should think about what support resources your plan could need – for example, yoga instructor or nutritionist. If you need to buy anything, think about what would be more affordable.
Reach out to family or friends who are eager to help you attain your goals because most individuals function better in groups rather than alone.
Because they believe you’re using your efforts to adopt a healthy lifestyle as a pretext to criticize their actions, some people could be reluctant to lend a hand.
If this is the case, it is your responsibility to demonstrate that your objective is to make positive changes for both you and those around you, not to judge them.
4. Determine where each goal fits into your budget.
It’s crucial to set out your goals and make sure they’re feasible for you to complete. Once more, you might need to ask for assistance from your family and friends.
Remember, don’t try to make too many adjustments at once or you’ll overwhelm yourself.
Once you’ve created your plan, it’s crucial to follow it. If nothing goes as planned, remember that lifestyle changes take time … and don’t give up! The more flexible the plan is, the more you can play with the schedule to make sure you give yourself what you need.
Use the resources you listed in your personal wellness plan as support, and keep in mind that modest measures taken today can have a large impact tomorrow.
5. Monitor results and make necessary adjustments.
Regularly review the results of your actions against your stated goals to see how you’re going. If something isn’t working, or isn’t giving you the results that you want, look at adjusting that part of the plan to better suit your needs.
A personal wellness plan has a purpose, just like any other kind of plan. You can use it as a reference to keep on track. It is the key to reaching your objectives and leading a fulfilling life.
Notably, your wellness plan ought to be as exact and thorough as you can make it. An ideal strategy is one that you can refer to every day as a decision-making framework.
However, make sure it is adaptable enough to allow for future updates or changes as well as compliance.
How can you set action in motion to help you achieve the goals of the plan?
Having a personal wellness plan is the first piece of the wellness puzzle. The second piece is creating the action plan that helps you to put your plan into motion.
It’s always taking action that makes the most significant impact in your life, so it’s critical that you have a plan that will support you to take the steps you need to get the plan rolling.
There are six main ways you can create action that puts you plan in motion:
1. Identify things that might get in your way:
We all have things that keep us stuck in place. Over the course of our lives, we have life experiences that create barriers to us being able to move forwards. Whatever these barriers are, we created them, so we can remove them.
The first step is to identify what they are, so you know what you’re dealing with.
2. Develop strategies to overcome these things:
Once you know what the things are that might create barriers to you getting what you want, you can identify ways to remove the barriers and/or work around them so that they no longer have the influence in your life that they may once have held.
There are always ways around, through, under and over the barriers – you may have to think outside the square to find them.
3. Work out who can help you:
You don’t have to do everything on your own. Who can you get to help you and encourage you along the journey to personal wellness?
Do you need professional help so you can access information, knowledge and wisdom, or do you need your friends, family and colleagues looped in so that they can give you the moral support and encouragement along the way.
Perhaps it’s a mixture of both?
Are there others that you know who are wanting to achieve a similar goal? Can you work with them to keep you motivated and on-track?
Who else do you know that has already achieved a similar goal? Do they have contacts or access to information that might help you?
4. Check-in and measure your progress:
Create a regular check-in system so you can track your progress. Know where you started so you can see how far you’ve come when you check in.
This serves as another form of motivation and encouragement when you see your success along the way, and also gives you regular feedback on the areas that aren’t working for you – this allows you the flexibility to tweak the plan so it’s always relevant to what you need.
5. Re-work your wellness plan:
Revisiting your wellness plan regularly gives you a chance to assess what’s working and what isn’t, and also allows you to make adjustments as required, including giving you the opportunity to enhance your goals and objectives.
‘Trial and error’ is bound to happen as you make a start to your wellness journey. The most crucial aspect of the wellness plan is that you pay attention to yourself as you go.
It’s perfectly acceptable to make adjustments and follow your instincts if you feel like you need to, because YOU are the expert on yourself.
Be flexible with your plan once you’ve begun to develop it. Some actions might require re-prioritization or more funding. Continue the process of locating sources of support while you make improvements. Be persistent and patient; the result will be worthwhile.
Try to modify your strategy to account for any deviations from your original course or missed steps.
Additionally, if you discover that a step is simply too expensive or difficult, think about whether there is another approach to get the same result.
Revisiting your plan is also a great opportunity to determine any more materials or components that may be necessary for you to finish this activity (for example certain tools or equipment you might now need).
A little bit of research will help you work out how much this extra component will cost and whether you should invest in it now or wait.
6. Re-evaluate your goals:
As you achieve each goal you set, you move to the next decision that needs to be made being do you need to set a new goal or a maintenance phase for the existing goal.
Each goal will be different. Some will encourage you to set a new goal at the next level, others will give you the opportunity to rest for a bit through a maintenance plan.
Whatever the answer is, make sure you put in place the option that is perfect for you.
Case Study: Neuro-link: Individual Wellness and Performance Improvement
Background:
The case study assessed a 27-year-old male participant.
The participant’s greatest degree of education at the time of the study was a National Senior Certificate, and he was unemployed at the time of the study.
The participant’s father saw the need for an intervention in his son’s life due to a number of problems, including:
• low self-esteem and self-worth
• bad habits
• inability to deal with current life circumstances
• lack of motivation and drive
• difficulty sleeping
• issues with anger and aggression
• anxiety attacks
• depression
• withdrawal from previously cherished hobbies and interests
• reduced physical activity/sedentary lifestyle
• poor general lifestyle choices.
Purpose:
The case study’s goal was to:
• find out how the participant’s overall wellbeing was affected by putting a personal wellness plan in place.
• investigate the relationships between bettering wellbeing and brain health.
• create a training and development program with a solid foundation and a quantifiable implementation and evaluation methodology.
Results:
There were several significant areas of improvement observed during this case study:
1. Brain performance increased by 35% over the 4-week period of the case study. This increase in performance included a reduction in previously reported psychological issues such as sleep problems, nightmares and bruxism (teeth grinding). It also included a reduction in fatigue, ringing in the ears and stomach pain.
There was an increase in concentration and a reduction in feelings of anger, anxiety, mood swings, depression and aggression, along with a lessening of a desire to engage in risk taking behaviors such as binge drinking.
2. Improved sleeping pattern which led to increased alertness and not feeling as tired during the day. This also positively influenced efficiency when doing tasks and provided a more motivated and more focused outlook.
The participant also reported feeling much more relaxed and noticed an improvement in concentration without the need for medication.
3. Relationships improved. Individuals in the participants life reported that they were getting along much better with the participant.
4. Behavior improved. Individuals in the participants life also reported a significant improvement in his behavior and a reduction in the aggressive behavior.
Exercise 2.3: Your Personal Wellness Plan
1. The specific goal you want to achieve.
2. What might get in the way of you achieving this goal?
3. What strategies will you put in place to overcome these barriers?
4. Who will you get to help you, and what will you ask them to help you with?
5. How and when will you measure your success?
6. How will you hold yourself accountable for taking action and putting the plan into motion?
7. Write down how important you think is it that the workplace acknowledge the difference in individual plans, and the support required for them to achieve their goals.
Course Manual 4: Strategic Wellness
Introduction
More than ever, businesses must put their employees’ health and wellbeing first. Global pandemics, economic crises, and high levels of stress have proliferated to the point where they are now accepted as the norm in our culture.
Life continues to get busier – technology makes sure of that. As the world progresses, the demands on our time and energy levels grow in parallel. We’re juggling far too many balls – and under greater and greater pressure not to drop any of them – all whilst smiling brightly to prove to the world that we have everything under control.
In this environment, it would seem impossible to keep everyone focused on the bottom line whilst ignoring their health and wellbeing. But we’ve reached the tipping point where individuals are no longer prepared to sacrifice their health and wellbeing for the greater good.
The answer is a comprehensive strategy for promoting employee wellbeing that has made mental, emotional and physical health a priority in society. a workplace wellness program that promotes healthy behaviors among the workforce, enhances health outcomes, and boosts productivity.
According to research, each individual employees’ health has a direct impact on their behavior at work, their attendance, and their performance whilst working (engagement, presenteeism and the like).
Yet, in order for wellness efforts to be successful, they must be ingrained in the culture of the firm.
All levels of leadership must be actively engaged and committed to achieving the outcomes of the strategic wellness plan.
Providing wellness solutions to your employees now involves so much more than providing a yoga or meditation class at lunch time. Societal demands are now much greater, and in looking to meet these demands organizations must now take into account a raft of considerations that perhaps weren’t quite as necessary previously.
Things like occupational health and safety, safe workplaces and legal compliance with legislation (that is always changing, growing and morphing). Furthermore, organizations must consider both the physical work structure AND the employee’s psychological wellbeing as well as their perception of the environment within which they work.
Wellness programs now need to take into account:
• The alignment of the program to make sure it is a logical extension of a company’s guiding principles and objectives.
• The range, importance, and quality of what is offered to make sure that the programs are thorough, employee-centered, and of the highest caliber.
• Employees have the ability to access both on and off-site at either low or no-cost.
• Collaboration with internal and external partners is encouraged on an ongoing basis.
• Ongoing communication to ensure that the message of wellness is more than just a mission. The likelihood of success will rise with sensitivity, originality, and a variety of media.
• Leadership from the top of the organization to ensure that everyone knows that it’s a strategy that is taken seriously.
The trend for workplace wellness has changed over the past 20 years, moving away from facility-based exercise centers and towards a wider range of informational, instructional, and motivating programs and activities.
Wellness strategies must now have a primary goal of providing holistic wellness options to enhance each individual’s physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing.
In every employer/employee relationship, a set of expectations is formed. Over time, as the relationship grows and develops, expectations also grow but often lines of communication become blurred.
There’s always a weight that comes with carrying any expectation and the weight of expectations around health and wellness can be a significant burden to carry over time.
In 2019, the WHO redefined burnout in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and stated that it is an ‘Occupational Phenomenon’ (World Health Organization ICD-11, 2019), linked to stress at work, that can be defined as including depleted energy, exhaustion, negativity, cynicism and reduced productivity.
This seemed to point the finger squarely at organizations to ‘fix’ the growing stress and burnout issues being experienced around the globe. However, it also led to the conundrum of organizations needing to provide health and wellness solutions that were effective for each and every individual in their employ.
What is a strategic response to wellness?
In order to address the growing physical and psychological illness that is now occurring, organizations must do their part to ensure they address all risk factors in the workplace, provide positive and engaging workplaces, and enable employees to thrive. This can only be achieved through implementing a wellness plan that takes an integrated approach to mental health and physical wellbeing.
Why is it crucial to have a wellness strategy?
Your organization’s dedication to employee wellbeing is expressed in your wellness strategy, which will also assist in incorporating employee wellbeing into your organization’s overall mission and daily operations.
C-Suite, Executive and Senior leadership commitment to the wellness strategy is critical to ensuring that appropriate resources and support are put in place to implement the strategy effectively.
A strategic, integrated, and holistic approach to wellness is also more likely to be successful in terms of impact on mental health and engagement in the programs offered. The way your leadership team implements, backs and engages with your wellness strategy establishes your directions and priorities for the whole organization.
Improving employee welfare at work is a critical first step in caring for your workforce and enhancing organizational effectiveness.
It has been demonstrated that an employee wellbeing strategy that is well thought out and put into practice raises employee engagement, which raises organizational performance.
Focusing on your workforce’s financial, physical, and psychological welfare needs to play a significant part of your employee wellness plan. In order to support people in thriving at work, it should take into account both urgent assistance and more long-term positive and preventative tactics.
It’s important to note that generic, off-the-shelf solutions are no longer effective in assisting individuals with their health and wellness needs. Every organization, as well as each of its personnel, will have a unique and distinct health and wellness needs and will need individual and unique wellness strategies put in place.
Therefore, a bespoke solution needs to be created that provides effective solutions for the organization, but that also then provides each individual the opportunity to create the unique plan they need for their personal circumstances.
Why is a wellness strategy important?
The human resources within an organization are the company’s greatest asset. To achieve long-term performance over time, it is essential to ensure that they are content, healthy, and engaged.
It makes good financial sense to support and strategically define and then invest in your organization’s wellness agenda since it will result in more resilient, engaged, and productive workers. A well-honed and effectively implemented strategy for employee welfare will therefore improve organizational performance.
Sadly, a variety of issues contribute to organizations not always giving wellbeing programs the time and money they require.
It’s possible that businesses are unaware of the full benefits of encouraging workplace wellness and the potential effects it may have on workers’ morale and productivity. Maybe there isn’t a strong communication plan put in place around the wellness strategy and the employees aren’t aware of the programs that are offered. Or perhaps the wellness strategies are far too hard to monitor and analyze, making it hard for anyone to determine their effectiveness or demonstrate the value of them.
Prior to creating your plan
After reviewing the assessment results and asking yourself some important questions, it can be helpful to gather your thoughts before developing your wellness strategy.
• How comprehensive and interwoven can your plan be?
• How can responsibilities be divided amongst teams and departments?
• Do you have a clear understanding of the realistic extent of your strategy?
• Will the wellness team remain the exclusive owner of the strategy, or is there a chance it may be integrated into a more comprehensive health and safety plan?
• What tools are at your disposal for execution?
Try to keep resources in mind while you plan to help you prevent overcommitting or underdelivering. This can include the people and departments involved, as well as the available time and money.
The project will be easier to complete if there are more resources available to help it. With limited resources, if your goals are too lofty, you run the danger of falling short and losing the support of your team.
Focusing your approach
Keep in mind that when first creating a wellness strategy, the majority of organizations will base a number of years focusing on addressing mitigation of sickness and preventing further harm.
Other focus areas seem to get moved to the back burner as these two issues take priority, simply because it’s where most employees are sitting in the initial stages of a wellness strategy.
It’s important to remember that your organization is made up of many unique individuals, all of whom experience their lives in different ways. They start from different places, have different health and wellness challenges and will grow and develop at different rates and at different times.
Your wellness program needs to accommodate the needs of each employee no matter where they are at with their health and wellness journey. Therefore, it’s imperative that you create a program that provides on demand solutions as well as in the now solutions that employees can access as they move through the different stages of their personal health and wellness journey.
Having thought through these things in the pre-planning stage, it becomes critical to ensure that you invite the appropriate team members to help you build your approach.
The ultimate objective is to create an integrated strategy for mental health and wellbeing that takes into account employees’ requirements across the entire wellbeing spectrum.
Things to consider when creating your wellness strategy
Look at including any significant and strategic wellness-related actions that you noted in your pre-planning assessment.
Prioritize the activities you believe are crucial for improving the mental and overall wellbeing of your employees.
Think about ways you can create your strategy so that it employees an integrated approach. Make sure it includes actions intended to lessen disease, reduce risks and stop harm, as well as actions that foster thriving.
Look to incorporate strategies that will help your organization’s wellness initiatives mature over time. For instance, actively include plans that will help you to integrate measurement and evaluation of current initiatives, so you know what you need more, and less, of over time.
Include at least one statistic or employee feedback channel that could assist you in tracking your wellness objectives. This will assist you in determining the effects of your actions, where you are succeeding, and where your staff members might require more assistance.
Although you don’t have to cover all of the aforementioned issues in your employee wellbeing strategy, it’s a good place to start to think about how you might do so given the size and financial standing of your company.
The effectiveness of your wellness strategy will rely on your creating a plan that allows you to tackle all your wellness issues over time. It’s crucial to avoid attempting to handle all aspects of wellbeing at once when it comes to any item. Instead, think about which aspects of your wellness to emphasize and then give one or two areas your undivided focus and commitment at once.
The following may also be of assistance with creating your wellness strategy:
1. Think about your company’s goals before implementing an employee wellness program.
Is the goal to improve productivity and engagement, lessen absenteeism, or simply to let workers know how much they are appreciated? Whatever the answer, use that information to assist in guiding your plan.
2. Choose the areas of emphasis for your wellness strategy by getting suggestions from the workforce.
This can be accomplished by conducting a poll, holding focus groups or even through casual ‘water cooler’ chats. Decide the most appropriate method for information gathering for your organization and use the information to help you put together your wellness initiatives.
3. Include staff members in all phases of developing the approach.
Keep involving staff members in the process of formulating the strategy and assessing its success. Timely and relevant feedback from the people who will be the end users of the programs provided by the strategy will help you to ensure that it is relevant and providing what the employees need.
4. Implement a strategy for improving employee wellness within your company.
Make sure that the wellness strategy isn’t a standalone document, but rather that the entire business strategy is aligned to the wellness strategy through the culture and values of the organization.
5. Invite your superiors to join you.
Make sure the strategy has the support of the C-Suite, Executive and Senior Leadership and management; they should be serving as examples for the organization.
6. Recruit wellness advocates.
There is nothing more powerful than a wellness warrior that takes the wellness program to the people. Find the wellness warriors within your organization who are willing to lead at the coal face and talk the program up to anyone who will listen. They’ll not only create groundswell support and engagement, they’ll also provide a valuable link to the end experience and will be able to provide feedback on what’s working, what’s not working, what’s loved and what’s not quite so relevant. This information will help you to tweak your strategy in real time rather than wait for months (or years) to make changes.
7. Establish your priorities for the organization’s wellness.
Think about the short, medium, and long term in relation to the broader business strategy and plans of your organization.
What types of wellness should your strategy address?
The employee wellbeing strategy of an organization should be comprehensive and take into account psychological, physical, and financial wellbeing. Wellness strategies can have a short or long-term focus or can be on strategy that encompasses both short and long-term goals.
When creating a wellness strategy, it’s important to take the following aspects into account:
• Social wellbeing
• Psychological wellbeing and safety
• Mental health wellbeing and safety
• The optimal workplace atmosphere for engagement
• Relationships and communication
• Spiritual and purpose
• Meaningful employment
• Physical wellbeing
• Exercise
• Financial wellbeing
• Budgeting / financial planning
• Redundancy assistance
• Retirement preparation
• Debt management
How to ensure your employees are engaged in your wellness strategy
Employee participation in the development of the wellness plan is crucial, as is the identification of the areas that demand the most attention and investment. Keep in mind that when the plan is implemented throughout the medium and long terms, you will also need to think about how to maintain your employees’ involvement.
Branding
Effective branding is vital in all aspects. Think about how to draw attention to the initiatives and get people talking about them by making the presentation and materials related to the wellness plan eye-catching, interesting, and enjoyable.
Efficient planning
Make sure there are a variety of wellness activities available that can be accessed by people with all sorts of schedules, especially if your workforce works in shifts.
Consider national trends
As your strategy for improving wellness develops, you may choose to use existing specific national awareness events, such World Mental Health Day, Mental Health Awareness Week, Mindful May and the like to the programs you are implementing and then create initiatives within your organization that relate to these but in the way that matches the individuals in your organization.
What line managers do
Line managers, in fact ALL managers and organizational leaders should set an example by participating in the programs made available through the employee wellness strategy. They can encourage engagement and feedback from their teams by involving them in discussions about the approach.
Actively seek criticism
Continue to ask staff members for feedback on your wellbeing strategy through informal forums, polls, or focus groups. This will guarantee that the solution is still relevant and changes to reflect the company’s and your workforce’s shifting demands and goals. It also lets your people know that you value their opinion and that you take the wellness strategy seriously enough to want it to match their needs.
How to evaluate the effectiveness of an employee wellness program
What changes would you like to see?
When choosing the metrics you want to measure, it’s crucial to first think about what you hope to accomplish by putting the organization’s wellness strategy into practice. Here’s a few metrics to consider, but you should also come up with others that are perfect for your organization:
• Employment productivity
• Decreasing the rate of absences
• Increasing employee retention and lowering staff turnover rates
• Engagement and satisfaction of employees
Techniques for evaluating happiness
Your organization and the resources you have will determine the precise metrics you use to measure the level of happiness in your organization. One method might be to conduct a regular engagement survey that is completed by the entire staff. It’s important to use consistent metrics so you can better gauge improvement and make sure the strategy is working. By performing this type of survey regularly (for example, every three months) you will create a suite of data that you can use to determine whether the health and wellness of your organization is growing over time.
Another way to measure your growth is to use your HR system to gauge staff absence rates and graph them.
The best way to compare how well you have accomplished your goals is to take a measurement before you adopt the wellness strategy and again at regular intervals. After it has been in place for a considerable amount of time you will be able to see the impact that your strategy has had over the short, medium and long-term.
Case Study: Massachusetts Working on Wellness
In 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts (WWCMA) surveyed the state’s employers in order to compare workplace health promotion policies, practices, and initiatives.
According to the survey results, just 10% of the firms examined had a strategic plan for wellness, despite it being crucial to the achievement and sustainability of wellbeing efforts.
Working on Wellness (WOW) was created by the Massachusetts DPH in collaboration with Health Resources in Action and Advancing Wellness in response to this unmet need. WOW is a program that teaches companies in Massachusetts of all sizes and in all industries how to design and administer thorough worksite wellness programs that safeguard and advance worker health and happiness.
The WOW program’s training, technical support, resource, and seed funding distribution criteria were developed with a strategic perspective. A six-step development cycle, including Buy In, Assessment, Planning, Community Partnerships, Implementation, and Evaluation, was followed by participating groups as they completed an online curriculum. Organizations were coached by technical advisers as they created successful and long-lasting initiatives.
Easily accessible evidence-based materials were made available to assist with planning and execution. Finally, seed money was given out in accordance with the infrastructure-building for the program, the submission of a worksite wellness action plan unique to the organization, and targeted interventions.
Actively spreading the word through collaborations, gatherings, webinars, social media, and advertising channels, over 200 Massachusetts employers were attracted to the program.
A wide range of industries were represented by the participants, including social services, manufacturing, local governments, health care, and other services. Moreover, half of the organizations were small employers (200 employees or fewer).
These 200 employers represented almost 70,000 people, with 21% of them being low-wage workers.
Organizations that participated in the curriculum followed specific steps in the strategic planning development cycle:
• Created the necessary framework for their business, including a wellness executive sponsor, champion, and committee. The infrastructure for the smallest organization could consist of three individuals.
• Evaluated their organization’s and its locations’ environments as well as the demands and interests of their employees in terms of wellness. Evaluation served as the baseline benchmark for many organizations.
• Developed their priorities and an organization-specific worksite wellness action plan with goals, targets, and interventions catered to their employees using the assessment results and a quick strategic planning process.
• Established new connections, strengthened existing alliances, and collaborated with the community. While larger firms frequently formed new collaborations, smaller organizations looked for cost-effective resources.
• For their personnel, they planned, disclosed, announced, launched, and carried out policies, environmental supports, educational activities, and skill-building programs.
• Completed a worksite wellness evaluation report and assessed interventions and program impact.
156 WOW participants were able to develop a thorough strategic wellness plan, something that most Massachusetts firms lack. They created workplace guidelines and environmental supports that encourage healthy behavior, such as paid time off for exercising or attending wellness programs, on-site fitness centers, smoking-free areas, stretch breaks during meetings, and healthy meeting regulations.
Most importantly, the measures they put in place to improve the health and wellbeing of their 70,000+ employees are well positioned to continue through the implementation of regular feedback and evaluation processes.
Exercise 2.4: Building a Strategic Wellness Plan
1. Looking at the current wellness strategy in the organization:
– Is there a wellness strategy in place?
– Is the strategy a part of the overall business strategy, or is it a standalone strategy?
– Is the strategy the same for all divisions within the organization?
– How often is the strategy updated/refreshed?
– How often does the initiatives/offerings within the wellness strategy change?
– Can the initiatives/offerings be accessed on demand or are they offered holistically across the organization at the same time?
– How often is feedback sought from the participants of the programs?
– Do you know what the level of engagement is within the programs?
2. Does the current strategic wellness plan incorporate holistic elements?
– Does the plan cover physical, psychological and financial wellness aspects?
– Are the initiatives/programs presented generically or can they be tailored to the individual level?
3. Is there one person responsible for the wellness strategy at board level?
– Do they report on the performance of the wellness strategy at every board meeting?
– Are there performance metrics in place at board level for the wellness strategy?
– Are the board members visibly engaged in the wellness strategy?
– Is responsibility and ownership of the wellness portfolio visibly promulgated throughout the organization?
4. Are executive leaders held accountable for, and measured against wellness performance in the business?
– Do they provide reports on strategic wellness performance to the board each reporting period?
– Are they measured and remunerated on strategic wellness performance?
– Are they actively and visibly engaged in the wellness strategy and programs that are offered?
– Do they engage with their direct reports to solicit feedback about strategic wellness performance on a regular basis?
5. Is there a wellness warrior team?
– What is their role in the organization?
– How visible are they?
– How often are they engaged to assist the organization with the strategic wellness program?
– Are they provided with appropriate resources and assistance to complete the tasks they’re allocated?
– How often does the organization check in on them to see how they’re going?
6. Using your answers to the above questions, write down how effective you think the current strategic wellness plan is.
– Is the current strategic wellness plan effective?
– What do you think is done well?
– What do you think is missing?
– Is the ownership and responsibility of the performance of the wellness strategy visibly enough?
– Is the ownership and responsibility of the performance of the wellness strategy shared?
– What needs to change?
– What needs to be added?
– What needs to be removed?
– What needs to be tweaked?
Course Manual 5: Personalization
Introduction
One of the greatest issues an organization faces with introducing and offering a wellbeing program is that in order to be effective, a program must be tailored not only for the organization or business that implements it, but also for the participants, including staff, family members and other participants.
It can be absolutely disastrous to get either side of that equation wrong.
It might be challenging to make the wellness program successful if it doesn’t match with a specific business culture (or its other benefits packages), but what use is a wellness program that achieves organizational goals but doesn’t make sense to participants at the same time?
The wellness equivalent of a wonderful program with no participation is a tree falling in the forest and no one is around to hear it! It’s important to remember that each organization has business goals, culture, benefits strategy, problems and more.
Each plan participant, however, is different. Not only do they each have unique health requirements, but they also have highly diverse levels of engagement, and highly individual levels of desire to participate.
The world would be incredibly monotonous if everyone needed exactly the same things; in reality it’s extremely uncommon for any two people to consistently require the same things.
The same holds true for staff wellness initiatives. While most businesses will concur that introducing some form of physical and mental wellbeing programs will benefit their employees, it’s likely that not every person will benefit from them.
‘One-size-fits-all’ is no longer appropriate for workers.
Stories in which you can “choose your own journey” are always immensely popular and much loved because people value being able to make their own choices.
Employees are looking for individualized, curated treatment and services that will enable them to maximize their health and wellness and obtain what they require as they continue to be burdened by rising health care prices.
Your company’s overall health can be enhanced by having a wellness platform and program that meets your employees where they are and guides them towards greater health.
Starting from the start
It is very easy to look backwards and get caught up in the journey that has already been taken.
However, the power of creation comes into play when you look at where you are, where you want to go and then create the tools and resources that will help you to get to where you want to go.
A GPS device doesn’t worry about how you go to where you are; it simply looks at your starting point, assesses all the options and then creates a pathway forward to get you to where you want to go. So too for your wellness plan for your organization.
Start from the start, not from the past.
Make sure you have the information you need to understand where you are at. Without the data, you can’t possibly know what your starting point is. And without a starting point, who knows where you will end up!
According to research, in order to affect long-lasting change in any aspect of health behavior, the change must be made actually relevant. Every company, and every individual within the company, has different ideals, therefore it only makes natural sense that their approach to wellbeing would also be different.
For instance, employees are attracted to a business based on the values that the business portrays. If a business openly takes pleasure in being inventive, agile and dynamic, then these values must be reflected in the wellbeing products and services being offered to its people. Offering products and programs that don’t match this would be a values mismatch that would immediately cause lack of engagement, and the employees would find it hard to connect to the program in any meaningful way.
People today expect personalization in every aspect of their lives, so it stands to reason that they would want it in their nutrition counselling, resilience training, or mindfulness practice as well.
Turning your attention to the things you CAN do
It’s also really easy to get stuck going around in circles on the things that you don’t have access to and/or that you can’t afford to provide to your people. Small businesses in particular, but also some medium-sized businesses, often don’t have the resources – time, money and/or people – to be able to provide significant wellness programs that compete with those that bigger businesses can provide.
You can spend a lot of time worrying about the things you don’t have, and that will keep you trapped in a state of inaction. Or you can focus instead on the things you can do and the ways in which you can provide wellness to your people.
You might not be able to afford to pay for every employee to join a gym for twelve months, but perhaps your local council provides free fitness classes that you can take advantage of. You might not have the budget to pay for bottled water for everyone every day, but perhaps you can afford to buy some filtered water jugs that can be placed in the fridge and refilled constantly (which is also a great way to support the Earth and perhaps sustainability goals as well).
The great thing about being a small- or medium-sized business is that it’s much easier to know each of the individuals in your organization more personally – this in turn makes it much easier to create a personalized wellness plan that truly matches the needs of your people.
Holistic, bespoke wellness programs
For a wellness program to be effective, it must be tailored to the employer AND the employee. For it to be holistic, it must cover physical, psychological, emotional, financial, social and intellectual components in a way that can be personalized for each individual. And that requires effort.
Among other things, a bespoke wellness program often offers the following benefits:
• High levels of motivational support: Motivating factors work better when they are relevant to the individual.
• Access to knowledge and wisdom: The information and strategies underpinning the program will be customized for the business and the participants.
• More engagement: Events, products, services and activities with personal significance or meaning foster greater participation.
• Improved results: Organizations and participants need to understand the financial picture, which includes overall cost savings along with improved health outcomes for workers and their families.
The obvious question that needs to be asked, yet is often missed out, is the fundamental question of: ‘What’s in it for me?’
And it’s a question that needs to be asked simultaneously from the perspective of the organization AND the employees. It’s not meant to sound egotistical; it’s just the truth. It’s important for businesses and participants to comprehend the importance of the wellness program in their own lives.
A coordinated personalization strategy is the “magic sauce” to a wellness program’s success.
From an employer perspective, tailoring a wellness plan to your business AND your personnel can be hard if it hasn’t been done before.
Here’s a few questions to help you start to gather the information you need to create a bespoke plan that will be truly tailored to you and your people:
1. What are the corporate goals behind having a wellness program?
• What does the organization need to get out of having a wellness program?
• What problems currently exist that the organization needs the wellness program to counteract?
• What health-related issues is the organization concerned about?
• What bottom-line change does the organization need to see as a result of providing the wellness program?
• What do your employees expect the organization to provide to them in relation to wellness products and services?
2. Why should the organization provide a wellness program?
• Get VERY clear about WHY you are doing what you’re doing and WHY you’re offering what you’re offering.
• WHY is now the perfect time to be offering the things you are offering?
• How do you know that what you’re offering meets the needs of the individuals you’re offering them to?
3. Link your wellness program directly to your corporate goals.
• How will you assess the progress of the program?
• What metrics will you use to assess the progress?
• How often will you measure against these metrics?
• Who will the results of the measurement process be reported to?
• Who is responsible for making decisions about the progress that is reported?
You must comprehend the specific health and wellness metrics for your company in order to complete this task effectively. What health related problems, outside costs, are you worried about? Unwell days? general health indicators like cholesterol or obesity? certain diseases?
For example, pre-diabetes is a significant problem in the United States but that doesn’t automatically mean that your company should be concerned about it.
If your people aren’t affected by pre-diabetes, then including services that help them reverse it is a waste of time and money for the organization, and completely misses the mark for the employees.
Tailoring the wellness program to the needs of the employer is only half the battle. Understanding your employees is critical to creating a truly bespoke program that can be used effectively be each employee.
Employee by employee, personalization must also make sense on an individual basis. The only way to understand what your employees need, is to ask them.
There are a number of ways to do this.
The first is to provide them with access to biometric testing which, assuming they allow you to access the information from the test results, gives you access to a set of data that you can then analyze across the organization.
Another way is to create a survey that your employees can answer anonymously, so that you can create a set of data that gives you an insight into the problems they’re facing and find any health patterns that can help you to create programs to suit their needs.
Thirdly, you can source vendors who provide you with education packages that enable you to provide training to your people in group format, but that provide the information shared in a way that each individual can apply it to their own circumstances and then create a solution that is a perfect fit for their needs.
After using choosing whichever process works best for your organization, the next step becomes about how you use the information to create the products, services and programs that will go together to create your wellness program.
Whatever you decide to include in your wellness program, it is essential that you include a process that enables each individual to create a personalized health and wellness plan that includes an action plan they can follow to implement the plan in their life.
The overall organization wellness program should then also include a component that follows up with each employee and regularly checks in to:
• Recognize accomplishments and create new goals
• Appreciate real developments
• Recognize that lifetime habits and behaviors are a process that never ends.
• Encourage progress to keep those who have the longest journey on track.
Last, but not least, be aware of additional opportunities for personalization, such as unique invitations to webinars that address employees’ health needs, suggestions for workshops based on current health conditions (such as stress management, tobacco cessation, and better nutrition), challenges, and ongoing activities.
These are but some of the ways that tailoring a wellness program for both companies and employees may produce truly excellent outcomes.
Personalization
Let’s face it: Not every employee will be interested in everything you publish or provide as part of your wellness program. They are always going to focus on what is important to them and neglect everything else.
The game changes when you provide them with a curated, individualized experience through your health program. In that situation, everything appeals to them at once.
Additionally, the information in their individual “channel” is tailored to where they are in their journey towards health and wellbeing. The advantages are vast and could be advantageous for the entire firm.
It encourages workers to actively take responsibility for their own health.
When your employees let life get in the way of their healthcare, you see a range of illnesses seemingly pop up at the same time. Things like toothaches, back problems and mental health conditions can appear as if out of nowhere. These types of issues usually occur when there isn’t a regular health and wellness focus at the forefront that underpins what your employees do on a daily basis.
When you bring the focus of health to the top of the ‘to-do-list’ and give it the same priority that a looming deadline gets, then your employees pay attention to what’s going on and create solutions that mean that larger, more demanding health care issues arise less often.
It increases the diversity of your business.
If you’re anywhere along the implementation of a DEI program continuum, you’re already beginning to grasp the significance of personalization and the value of equitable care in maintaining a productive workforce.
Your organization may attract more diverse talent if you approach your wellness program with an equality lens and take social determinants of health into account while personalizing it. Also, it can foster an inclusive workplace environment where all workers are encouraged to ask for and receive the support they require. This is going to be especially crucial for workers who haven’t received treatment for a major sickness or even yearly check-ups at the doctor.
It affects your profits.
Employees are able to stretch their health care funds further and spend them much more effectively by receiving assistance in accessing curated, tailored health care and services. This benefits both of your financial outcomes.
A strong argument was made for adopting a return-on-investment mindset when it comes to employee health by the authors of a September 2021 McKinsey & Company article titled “Innovating Employee Health: Time to Break the Mold?”. They cited that: “Organizations that support employee mental health see a return of $4 for every $1 spent.” U.S. companies might save up to US$80 billion by addressing racial and ethnic health disparities.
Flexible health and benefits package creation
While creating a flexible health and benefits package, it can help business owners if they take into account the following three factors.
Recognize the offerings of your rivals
In a highly visible world, where everyone can see what is happening in places all around the world with ease, the rivalry for talent in the labor market today grows exponentially year on year. While pay still ranks high on the list of reasons why individuals change professions, overall perks are not far behind.
Understanding the advantages that rival companies and other nearby companies offer in terms of health and wellbeing can help increase hiring and retention rates. Usually, your local chamber of commerce or your employee benefits representative can provide you with such information.
If you own a specialty business and are a member of a trade association, you might want to get in touch to see if there is any information about the perks that businesses in your sector are providing.
Request opinions from your staff
The days of employers making all of the crucial decisions regarding health insurance and wellness programs (outside of financial constraints) are long gone. Consider asking your staff which particular program components they enjoy and dislike. Ask them what advantages they see in the future. You can carry out this either on your own or in a focus group. Employee participation in decision-making will probably make them feel more empowered to use their benefits.
The 15 most well-liked employee perks were recently discovered by a survey conducted by Unum, which was covered by Employee Benefit Advisor. It covered both expected benefits like flexible work schedules, employee family leave, gym memberships or on-site fitness centers, and professional development as well as unexpected ones like assistance for financial planning, pet insurance, and ID theft prevention.
Provide flexible options for health and wellness benefits
Up to five generations of workers can be found in today’s workplaces, and each has its own demands, wants, and financial constraints when it comes to health and wellbeing. You might be tempted to think that worrying about your senior worker group is less crucial, but that is often proven to be a mistake.
In the workforce, there are more people over the age of 65 than ever before, and that number is predicted to increase in the next 20 to 30 years, per a Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation report on the multigenerational workforce published last year. Older workers often desire flexibility in the job, which might include wellness initiatives and benefits.
A lot of value is provided to businesses and employees by health and wellness programs that allow for individual customization and include options for specific hospitals and doctors, wearable gadget allowances, and other features. Employer discounts at neighborhood shops, entertainment venues, tourist hotspots, and other establishments are just a few of the inventive benefit plans that you might also consider including.
Case Study: Miami Children’s Hospital
Miami Children’s Hospital is one example, which tried to shift its focus from employee participation to accountability. In addition to making wellness a business strategy, improving participation and employee productivity, cutting costs, and achieving visionary goals like being a top employee leader in the wellness industry, the hospital clearly stated its business objectives.
They then began by asking what was in it for both the employer and the employee. Simple solutions that emphasized using each employee’s personal life to improve their health were provided. This made perfect sense because they were used to assisting others in enhancing their health in order to enhance their lives; Miami Children’s Hospital simply need a customized wellness plan that would turn part of that focus to the staff members themselves.
The “Healthy Triumph” program turned out to be the ideal fit. For a hospital, offering wellness perks to spouses and staff made sense. Yearly biometric screening, or “Smart Testing,” provided factual data to medical practitioners who use scientific findings to guide care. “Smart Testing” included a 38-panel blood test and an exhaustive report.
Quick outreach and intervention gained prompt involvement, preventing carers from delaying personal care in order to assist others. Employees and spouses were able to study more on their own time using online tools and resources. After all, a lot of people work weekend and night-time hours, so they need access to information when it suits them.
Wellness remained a primary priority thanks to continued coaching, monthly newsletters, and six-month check-ups. Financial awards were provided as incentives for achieving established wellness objectives.
Numerous other resources were linked to the initiative as a result of Miami Children’s Hospital genuinely taking ownership of the issue and making wellness part of its business plan rather than merely a “tick the box” benefit, including:
• Linking a disease management program and health benefits to the wellness strategy.
• Ensuring participation in the senior leadership program, as well as the use of wellness champions and meetings and materials in Spanish.
• Using a wellness center on-site and receiving discounts at nearby exercise facilities
• Hiring a nutritionist on staff
• Emphasizing healthy eating by offering daily healthy choice meals in the employee cafeteria and vending machines, as well as a farmers’ market every Wednesday.
The dedication of hospital management and their personalization produced outstanding results. Around 92 percent of employees and 60 percent of spouses participated in the program. Significantly, the preliminary biometric test findings revealed that 399 participants – hospital personnel and spouses who weren’t aware they wanted medical attention – needed it right away.
Director of Total Rewards and Wellness at Miami Children’s Hospital, Janet Lara-Vital, stated that “Our executives were happy with the involvement.” “We made significant progress in achieving several of our corporate goals in just one year. Maybe more importantly, we were delighted to inform individuals of significant health advancements in their own lives who, for whatever reason, may not have known they need medical attention. Our leaders are aware of the value of prevention.”
Miami’s initial results were good, but not entirely unexpected:
• Blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and cigarette cessation significantly improve in the first year for members at high risk. In addition, up to 81 percent of individuals who received a diabetes-related essential outreach call one year, did not need one in the following year.
• While 35 percent of participants receive extra testing, the “right test, right person, right time” strategy, which includes a 38-panel venipuncture blood draw, health questionnaire, and blood pressure readings, is effective (tests they might not have known they needed).
• Of the participants whose initial tests put them in the “High Risk” category, more than a third reduce their risk or move to a healthy state in just one year.
• When given individualized health goals, the right incentives, and follow-ups, 77 percent of people succeed.
• Employers who use effective wellness strategies have reported up to a 20% decrease in medical spending.
• Participants in wellness programs experience a decline in workers’ compensation and disability claims, as well as significant cost and absence reductions.
Impact on the organization (financial, cultural, competitiveness) and influence on individuals are used to evaluate the program’s success (participation, engagement and health improvement). Personalizing the curriculum for the organization and for each individual participant is the secret to this achievement.
No two people have exactly the same needs, so shouldn’t their wellness journey be personalized? Or at least incorporate some “magic sauce”?
Exercise 2.5: Personalizing Corporate Wellness Programs
1. What do you believe the corporate goals behind having a wellness program should be for your organization?
• What does the organization need to get out of having a wellness program?
• What problems currently exist that the organization needs the wellness program to counteract?
• What health-related issues does the organization need to be concerned about?
• What bottom-line change does the organization need to see as a result of providing the wellness program?
• What do you believe your employees expect the organization to provide to them in relation to wellness products and services?
2. Why should the organization provide a wellness program?
• What do you believe is the organizations main ‘WHY’ for providing a wellness program?
• WHY is now the perfect time to be offering a wellness program to your employees?
• How do you know that what you’re offering meets the needs of the individuals you’re offering them to?
3. Link your wellness program directly to your corporate goals.
• How do you believe the progress of the program should be assessed?
• What metrics would you use to assess the progress?
• How often do you believe the organization should measure against these metrics?
• Who do you believe the results of the measurement process should be reported to?
• Who do you believe should be responsible for making decisions about the progress that is reported?
Course Manual 6: Psychosocial Hazards
Introduction
Any occupational risk connected to how work is planned, organized and managed, as well as the social and economic surroundings of work, is referred to as a psychosocial hazard or work stressor.
Psychosocial hazards are classed as an occupational hazard, but unlike most other occupational hazards (such as chemical, biological, and physical), they do not result from a physical substance, object or dangerous energy.
Workers’ psychological and physical health, as well as their capacity to interact with others in a work environment, are all impacted by psychosocial hazards. These can result in bodily harm or illness like cardiovascular disease or musculoskeletal injury in addition to behavioral and psychological effects including depression, anxiety disorders, and professional burnout. Psychosocial hazards are linked to how work is organized and to workplace violence, and they are widely acknowledged as substantial obstacles to occupational safety, health, and productivity.
Workplace safety encompasses much more than ensuring that employees depart without being hurt. It involves more than just fostering a secure work environment or only advising staff to look after their mental health.
It involves creating a work environment where individuals feel they can directly influence and control their own safety and wellbeing. This includes fostering a culture where employees are aware of the value of their work and are rewarded for it. It also involves identifying when workplace stress is directly affecting any employee and when stressful working conditions are to blame.
This leads to the conclusion that ensuring workplace safety involves putting safety management systems in place that include techniques for evaluating and managing both safety threats and psychological hazards. Psychosocial workplace hazards should be addressed for the benefit of both the organization and the individual.
Employees are without a doubt essential to an organization’s mission and success, and as such, employers have a duty to prioritize their health and safety.
What is a psychosocial hazard?
According to Wikipedia, ‘…in general, workplace stress can be defined as an imbalance between the demands of a job, and the physical and mental resources available to cope with them.’
There are so many models for workplace stress that have been released, such as those that emphasize overall wellness and others that highlight imbalances between employee control and job expectations.
Psychosocial risks can be broken down into those that are caused by the context or content of the workplace.
The quantity and pace of the job, including both too much and not enough to do, the extent, flexibility, and predictability of the working hours, and the degree of employee control and decision-making are all considered to be part of the content of the work.
Work context includes effects on work-life balance, company culture, interpersonal interactions, and career progression and pay.
In a study conducted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the following stressors at work were identified as the most significant psychosocial hazards:
• work stress
• unbalanced effort-reward
• absence of support from the boss and co-workers
• long hours at work
• intensity of work
• outsourcing and lean manufacturing
• emotional toil
• work-life balance
• job instability; and
• unstable employment
Additionally, psychosocial hazards can include:
• having an unfriendly or poisonous work environment
• perceived organizational support issues, including alleged breaches of the psychological contract
• work-family conflict and a lack of work-life balance
• inadequate match between the individual and their environment
• behavioral problems like aggressive behavior at work, bullying there, sexual harassment there, incivility there, retaliation there, and violence there
• personality disorders such workplace narcissism, workplace Machiavellianism and workplace psychopathy
• micromanagement
• conflict in the workplace
• incidental anxiety
• peer tension
• shift work
• difficulties with information privacy involving information derived from workers.
In addition, even at noise or air quality levels that are deemed to be low in terms of physical or chemical risks, there may still be psychological risks due to annoyance, irritation, or fear of additional health issues arising from the work environment.
What causes psychosocial hazards and ways you can deal with them
Every organization is unique and will therefore have its own mix of psychosocial hazards that affect it and in general, psychosocial hazards at work can be caused by a variety of circumstances.
Minimal job control
Employees have little say in the safety rules that are implemented as well as limited influence over how or when the job is completed.
Minimal job control means that employees have little influence or control over the task. This includes control over when or how the work is completed. Lack of job control involves more than just being given tasks – whether it is severe (for example, very poor job control), ongoing (long-term) or frequent (it happens often), it becomes a risk.
Low job control may include things like:
• having little control over break times or when to switch tasks (for example, when work is machine or computer-paced)
• needing permission for routine or low risk tasks (for example, ordering standard monthly supplies or sending a low-risk internal email)
• strict procedures that can’t be changed to fit the situation
• or workers’ level of autonomy doesn’t match their role or abilities (for example, when supervisors don’t have enough authority to perform their jobs well).
High or low job demands
Job demands can be strong or low, requiring employees to exert high or low levels of physical, mental or emotional effort.
A high demand job means that a high level of physical, mental, or emotional effort is required to do get the job done and for employees to be able to meet high expectations. It denotes more than only “sometimes being a little busy.” When they are extreme (such as very high job demands), ongoing (long term), or frequent (happening often), high job demands become a risk.
Working long hours or without proper breaks can place high physical demands on the body. Having too much to do in too little time or physically taxing duties (such as moving big boxes or digging trenches) are also examples of this.
When junior personnel are assigned difficult jobs, for example, they may not have the necessary training or skills, and there may also be no protocols in place to guard against individual mistakes, especially when they could have serious repercussions (for example, expecting workers to memorize complex processes and not providing written prompts).
High emotional demands might include things such as:
• helping those who are upset (such as by breaking unpleasant news)
• having to display emotions other than what you are feeling (for example, being friendly to difficult customers who are rude and offensive)
• ongoing and regular exposure to hostility, violence, harassment, or bullying.
A minimal demand job is one that entails little persistent physical, mental, or emotional effort is required to complete the work.
There is more to minimal job demand than having the occasional lazy afternoon with nothing to do. Low job demands become dangerous when they are extreme (for example, a very low amount of things to do), ongoing (long term), or frequent (happening often).
Long periods of inactivity, especially if workers are unable to perform other activities (such as while waiting for necessary tools), excessively tedious or repetitive duties (for example, packing items or keeping an eye on manufacturing lines), or workers who are unable to keep their skills current are a few examples (for example, not enough role-specific tasks to keep competencies).
Inadequate support
Employees do not receive the necessary tools to do their jobs, or they receive insufficient help from colleagues or superiors.
Inadequate support refers to either not having the resources necessary to perform the job effectively or not receiving enough help from managers or co-workers. It involves more than just needing to wait for someone to finish a meeting before asking a question that isn’t urgent. When inadequate support is severe (such as very little support), ongoing (long term), or frequent (happening often), inadequate support poses a risk.
Inadequate support may consist of:
• lacking the instruments required to do the task effectively, securely, or on schedule (for example, limited tools or faulty IT systems)
• failing to obtain important information (for example, information is unclear or not passed on in time)
• not being able to readily receive help (for example, employees are unable to leave their stations or are physically isolated from others)
• not having enough supervisor support (for example, supervisors are unavailable to help, give incorrect instructions, take a long time to make decisions, or are uncaring)
• an environment at work that discourages support (such as one that is intensely competitive or demanding, or where workers are too busy to help each other).
Inadequate organizational change management
The health, safety, and performance consequences of downsizing, relocation, or the adoption of new technologies and manufacturing methods are not well considered or communicated.
Changes that are inadequately planned, communicated, supported, or managed are said to have bad organizational change management. That is more than just a controversial workplace adjustment. When inadequate change management is extreme (such as very poor management), ongoing (long term), or frequent (it happens often), inadequate organizational change management poses a risk.
Examples of poor change management include:
• not consulting on changes (for example, not speaking to employees or actually considering their opinions)
• not evaluating how a change may affect WHS risks or employees’ performance (such as not allowing extra time to do things while workers learn a new process)
• changes that are poorly planned (for example, disorganized or lacking in a clear purpose), poorly communicated (lacking or imprecise information regarding the changes), or lack sufficient support (such as not training workers on how to use new tools).
Weak organizational justice
This means unfairness or bias in decisions on the distribution of resources or work, inconsistent application of policies and processes, etc.
Lack of procedural justice, informational fairness, interpersonal fairness, or practices that promote fair decision-making are all examples of poor organizational justice – that is, treating people with dignity and respect.
It involves more than just a worker occasionally not obtaining the shift they requested. When it is severe (such as very poor organizational justice), ongoing (long term), or frequent (happening often), poor organizational justice becomes a risk.
Among the signs of weak organizational justice are:
• improper handling of employee data (such as not keeping personal information private)
• unfair, partial, or inconsistently applied policies or procedures (for example, favoritism in the assignment of “good” shifts).
• placing blame on employees for circumstances that are beyond their control or are not their responsibility (such as not making the workplace accessible)
• underperformance, misconduct, or inappropriate or harmful behavior, such as bullying, are not being addressed in a timely manner.
• weak decision-making processes are implemented and workers aren’t told about it.
Unclear role descriptions
Workers who lack a clear understanding of their roles are unsure of their duties or what is expected of them. When people receive incorrect information or when circumstances are constantly altering, this may occur.
It goes beyond occasionally being given a challenging task. When a lack of role definition is extreme (such as there being very little clarity), persistent (long-term), or frequent (happening often), it poses a risk.
Role confusion may result from:
• overlapping responsibilities (such as where two workers are given the same task)
• ambiguous reporting structures and functions (for example, unclear who is responsible for what or who is working to which manager)
• inconsistent or erratic expectations and performance standards (such as changing deadlines or contradictory instructions)
• uncertain work priorities or not receiving the information required to complete the assignment (for example, not knowing which tasks are most important or urgent).
Insufficient employee recognition and reward
This is represented by a dearth of encouraging comments, an imbalance between formal and informal employee recognition and reward, and/or a lack of opportunities for skill development.
An imbalance between the effort employees put forth and the praise or reward they receive is referred to as inadequate reward and recognition. Recognition and rewards do not just refer to situations of official recognition; they can also refer to informal occurrences as well.
That goes beyond not receiving a promotion at work. Whether it is severe (such as very little reward and recognition), ongoing (long term), or frequent (happening often), inadequate reward and recognition becomes a risk.
Insufficient recognition and rewards may include:
• unfair or biased recognition and awards (such as where workers are rewarded for others work)
• insufficient praise or feedback (for example, workers don’t get criticism of their work or pointers on how to do better);
• unfair negative feedback (such as condemnation of actions beyond a worker’s control or that they haven’t been trained how to perform),
• limited development chances, or
• failure to recognize a worker’s skills are all examples of this (for example, micro-managing simple tasks).
Traumatic events or materials
A psychosocial hazard occurs when you are to, witness, research, or examine distressing events or materials.
When something happens unexpectedly, looks uncontrollable, or is brought on by deliberate cruelty, it is more likely to be traumatic. When traumatic events or materials are severe (very traumatic), ongoing (long term), or frequent (happening often), they pose a risk.
Traumatic events are things like:
• seeing or conducting an investigation into a mortality, significant injury, abuse, neglect or other tragic incident (such as police staff working in child protection)
• experiencing anxiety or being in danger greatly (for example, being involved in a car accident)
• being exposed to natural disasters (such as emergency personnel battling a blaze)
• helping others who have experienced traumatic or unpleasant situations (for example, providing counselling)
• being exposed to things that trigger painful memories
• hearing or viewing unpleasant materials (such as reading victim accounts or an online moderator viewing proof of a crime)
• exposure to any kind of activity that incurs recall of a traumatic event.
Toxic behaviors
Workplace bullying, hostility, harassment, bad interaction, or conflict are examples of poor working relationships.
That goes beyond a single instance of someone failing to say good morning. When harmful behaviors are severe (that is, very detrimental), ongoing (long term), or regular (happening often), they pose a risk.
Both the target of harmful behavior and anyone who witnesses it may suffer consequences. Toxic behaviors include:
• aggressiveness and violence
• bullying
• racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, all of which are forms of harassment
• other forms of poor behavior, including disagreement or toxic working relationships and interactions.
Bad environmental circumstances
At work, you may be exposed to conditions that are unhealthy or dangerous, such as poor air quality, loud noises, handling potentially harmful materials, extremely high or low temperatures, working near or around dangerous machinery, or repetitive tasks.
Workers who work in unfavorable, subpar, or hazardous conditions are exposed to poor physical conditions.
There is more to it than just the office being a little cool in the morning. When a poor physical environment is severe (that is, very poor or dangerous), persistent (long term), or frequent (happening often), it creates a psychosocial hazard.
Working in risky situations, such as being close to dangerous machinery or chemicals, performing dangerous jobs, such as working at heights, or performing demanding tasks while wearing uncomfortable PPE or other equipment are all examples of poor physical surroundings (particularly where PPE is poorly fitted, heavy or reduces visibility or mobility).
Other examples of poor physical work environments include:
• circumstances that impair concentration (such as high noise levels, uncomfortable temperatures or poor lighting)
• unfavorable circumstances, such as unkempt facilities, foul odors, or loud music
• utilizing outdated or badly maintained machinery (such as machinery that is hazardous, noisy or vibrates strongly)
• workplace environments that wear you out (for example, conditions are noisy, uncomfortable or stop workers from getting enough sleep).
How do you identify a psychosocial hazard?
Psychosocial hazards are typically discovered or evaluated by observing how employees perform their duties and interact with one another, speaking with employees one-on-one or in focus groups, conducting surveys, and reviewing records like incident reports, workers’ compensation claims, worker absenteeism, and turnover statistics.
If there is doubt regarding the possible seriousness, interactions, or efficacy of the dangers, a more rigors occupational risk assessment may be necessary.
For psychosocial hazards, there are many risk assessment survey tools available.
These include the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire from the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment, the Management Standards Indicator Tool from the UK Health and Safety Executive, the People at Work survey from Queensland Workplace Health and Safety, and the NIOSH Worker Welbeing Questionnaire (WellBQ) from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Total Worker Health program.
Ways to control and manage psychosocial hazards
Although addressing psychosocial hazards is thought to be challenging, it is actually simpler than most people believe. There are signs that can be used to determine whether a particular employee or group of employees is having a problem. Examples include:
• a decline in the caliber of the work being done
• increased occurrences and mistakes
• changes in employee conduct, such as a decline in participation, a refusal to collaborate with others, or an increase in disputes
• increases in the rates of absenteeism and presenteeism
• change to employee’s physical appearance, such as a fast increase in weight or the neglect of their wellbeing
• an increase in the rate of employee turnover.
There are ways to deal with psychological risks without having to wait for them to happen.
Everyone in the company, from the top executives to entry-level workers, is impacted by the organizational culture. In order to increase participation and give employees a sense of control, it is important to create a work environment where everyone has a voice and can express ideas and concerns without being judged. This will assist in lowering psychosocial hazards.
Directly involving your employees in the process of identifying potential environmental stresses and putting preventative measures in place to lessen and control such stressors can also be a successful method.
A healthy work environment is promoted by strong leadership and a clearly defined chain of command because these factors add a level of predictability and stability that lessens uncertainty and the anxiety that is frequently associated with it.
When employees are able to work without being distracted by anxiety, it can help to make them more situationally aware of potential hazards at work, more “present” and less likely to make a mistake that could endanger their own or others’ safety. The lesson here is that stronger leadership enables a more comprehensive strategy for safety management.
The consequences that contribute to long-term physical health issues are diminished with effective psychosocial hazard management. It will be simpler for organizations to monitor an integrated safety culture that addresses psychosocial dangers if they have the necessary information, relevant and reliable data collecting, and efficient and user-friendly tools. This will enhance physical health and overall safety.
Comprehensive initiatives to promote worker wellbeing and reduce worker safety risks can have noticeable effects on costs, productivity, and performance indicators. Better retention rates and increased productivity can result from strategies that enhance workplace regulations, plans, and procedures.
Case Study: Sydney Water
This case study is an overview of a current effort to identify, manage and improve the psychosocial conditions across Sydney Water.
Background
Sydney Water’s regulator has been vocal about its need to manage psychological risks with the same importance as physical risks are managed, although how to proactively avoid these risks is a topic of great uncertainty in many organizations.
Sydney Water has made a significant investment in understanding how to identify and manage psychosocial risks, as well as how to prevent these risks from occurring through influencing work design and organizational climate.
Implementation
The initial investment Sydney Water made was to partner with the University of South Australia to use their Psychosocial Safety Climate tool (PSC-12) to help survey the organization’s climate for health, safety and wellbeing.
Once a baseline had been established, the organization set a target of reducing its PSC as a primary aim. This target was established in line with the extensive research on PSC within the organization.
Regular monitoring and assessment of PSC since implementation demonstrated that reduced PSC occurred not only with improved individual outcomes (that is, reduced depression, increased engagement) but also improved organizational outcomes (that is, reduced psychological injuries, absenteeism).
Sydney Water implemented an organization-wide mental wellbeing program, including various levels of training, partnerships with new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers and a fitness passport as well as efforts to embed wellbeing in the way business is undertaken.
Further, this project allowed Sydney Water to identify groups that were high and low in PSC and take further steps to understand what workplace psychosocial factors were setting these teams up to thrive or languish.
These psychosocial factors were identified by partnering with the University of South Australia and using scales from the Australian Workplace barometer which allowed Sydney Water to reference these psychosocial levels against utility and state averages to provide some context.
Benefits and outcomes
Sydney Water was awarded the 2019 Australian Psychological Societies Workplace Excellence Award in the highly competitive category of health, safety and wellbeing due to the impact of their mental wellbeing program which saw a significant reduction in PSC, along with the above associated individual and organizational outcomes as predicted.
Action plans were put in place to address any identified hazards or risk factors and the groups were resurveyed again to ensure that risk levels had been controlled.
Finally, teams with high PSC were discovered to experience positive psychosocial factors such as increased support and positive relationships.
These factors create high PSC and are known to offset the risks associated with high work demands as well as lead to positive outcomes such as performance, engagement and positive health.
Exercise 2.6: Identifying Psychosocial Hazards
1. Identify any psychosocial hazards and risk factors you believe currently exist within the organization.
2. Assess each of these risks:
• Review lines or reporting and supervisory responsibilities.
• Evaluate the state of the actual workplace (for example, is the equipment working properly, is software current and up to date, are there appropriate tools and resources for employees to get their jobs done efficiently?).
• If you were to examine how specific job needs are met throughout the organization, what consultative process would you use?
• Is there appropriate workplace data for detailed analysis to be conducted?
• What analysis needs to occur on existing workplace data? (for example, incident and hazard reports, data on human resources, claims for worker’s compensation and the like).
3. What do you believe the organization needs to do to control these risks?
4. What do you believe is the most appropriate way to monitor these risks moving forwards?
Course Manual 7: Wellness Leadership
Introduction
Between 2020 and 2022 the COVID-19 global pandemic taught every organization in the world the need to be agile, tough and steadfast in a world that suddenly transformed. Life changed so significantly during this period of time that there was a line drawn in the sand declaring things to be either pre-pandemic or post pandemic in nature.
Life changed irrevocably during these years, but the question then arose: how does leadership need to change in response?
It’s a timeless question that was brought to the forefront because of a global event, but it’s one that needs to be asked regularly to ensure the wellbeing of the organization, and the people within it, on a long-term basis.
No matter whether you’re operating in ‘normal’ times or under the increased pressure of a significant event, leaders must grasp how fundamental wellbeing is to the ongoing success and vitality of their organizations, and must accept that it is part of their responsibility to take steps to promote a culture of wellbeing.
The intersection of wellness and leadership
The intersection of leadership and wellbeing can be viewed from three distinct perspectives: that of the organization as a whole, that of the people who make up that organization, and that of individuals as leaders.
The organization
The results of multiple research studies show that putting holistic wellbeing initiatives into practice has many advantages.
Businesses that deliberately prioritize employee wellbeing reap a number of advantages:
• employee engagement and morale grow
• fewer turnover and attrition rates
• lower costs involved in onboarding and offboarding new employee
• fewer incidences of both presenteeism and absenteeism
• lower health care expenses
• lower incidents of stress, burnout and exhaustion
• Increased productivity and output.
Although many organizations have started wellbeing initiatives the truth is that, to date, these programs are frequently seen as superficial attempts to ‘check the wellness box’.
To move past this, leaders must first broaden the definition of wellbeing to include not only the more narrowly defined aspects of emotional and mental health, social connection and the need for meaning and purpose, but also the broader dimensions of diet, exercise, healthy habits and sleep (what is typically encompassed by the term “wellness”).
The entire organization can change when wellbeing initiatives are promoted, and lived, by leaders openly engaging in healthy behaviors on many levels.
When we broaden the concept of wellbeing, we also need to realize that a healthy organization consciously incorporates wellbeing into its business goals. Leaders of healthy organizations need to be aware that any endeavor to promote wellbeing will fail if it does not permeate the entire organization. This means that every leader from the Chairman of the Board throughout the entire organization needs to proactively live the goals in their everyday lives and become wellbeing role-models for the organization. Every facet of the company or business, including business development, client service, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, professional development and HR procedures, must take wellbeing into account.
Also, healthy workplaces are places where people can be themselves and where a feeling of community is developed. Leaders who are excellent at fostering psychological safety within their organization promote it at all levels. Those who feel included and that it is safe to learn, contribute and challenge the status quo without fear of being embarrassed, marginalized or penalized in some way, are said to be in a psychologically safe environment.
Individuals within the organization
The ability to make decisions, govern one’s life, and believe that one has control over one’s choices in life is referred to as self-determination. There are three essential components of self-determination that are found to be present in higher amounts in engaged people.
1. Autonomy, or the conviction that one has some say in how they live their lives and carry out their responsibilities and activities.
2. Competence, or the capacity to define and attain objectives that promote development and mastery.
3. Connection, or the feeling that one is a part of the environment in which they are on, and that one may engage with people in a genuine way.
By enabling team members to take an active role in their own development, giving useful feedback, and providing support and encouragement, leaders may not only help people but may also cultivate high levels of these qualities of self-determination in people.
Morale and engagement invariably rise when the people within the organization feel supported by their leaders. Those who are healthy, active and focused are more productive and engaged than those who are worn out, stressed out or easily distracted.
Many leaders find the topic of mental health to be challenging. Discussions on mental health are fraught with stigma and have long been taboo subjects. Many people find it difficult to even bring up the subject, much less admit that they are dealing with depression, anxiety or other mental health issues.
Leaders who join the movement to de-stigmatize mental health issues can help create a more accepting environment where individuals can be authentic.
The causes, signs, and symptoms of burnout need to be understood by leaders. Burnout, which is very different from “general stress”, is defined by ongoing weariness, a growing mental detachment from one’s work and decreased effectiveness. These factors can cause (or exacerbate) anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other mental health problems.
How can leaders help? In addition to being aware of the difficulties relating to mental health and burnout and taking steps to solve them, leaders need to be proactive in establishing solid, trustworthy connections with people across the board in their organizations.
Individual engagement and wellbeing are related, and leaders play a crucial role in making this relationship connection. Employee wellbeing is positively correlated with high-quality, reciprocal interactions between staff members and the executives with whom they collaborate.
In essence, everyone benefits when it is evident that leaders genuinely care about the welfare of the people within the business. And when leaders go above and beyond to demonstrate this concern through their leadership practices, everyone benefits.
Individual leaders
Just telling people to take care of themselves is insufficient. Since a “do as I say, not as I do” scenario undercuts a leader’s position of authenticity and can make employees doubt leadership’s commitment to wellbeing, leaders and leadership more broadly should demonstrate their commitment to wellbeing.
As a leader, making sure that you have addressed your personal needs is crucial. You may be more present, resilient and productive in your work by establishing a self-care practice to support your own wellbeing, in addition to setting a positive example for others. Be sure that you have a robust support system – friends, family and a coach that you can rely on as resources to help you out when needed.
Setting boundaries for work hours and being upfront about expectations for response times over weekends and vacations are examples of ‘walking the talk’. It undoubtedly entails taking some time off to unwind, recharge and rejuvenate. It also entails developing the ability to open up about your own experiences with stress and worry. When others realize they are not alone, they are more likely to trust you.
Leading in a wellness culture
Why should we prioritize enhancing employee welfare at work?
Leaders that put a priority on enhancing employee wellness typically have stronger relationships with their workforce, which in turn promotes greater wellbeing and job satisfaction.
Let’s examine the essential leadership traits that improve wellness and enhance team wellbeing.
Boost certainty while reducing uncertainty
Humans find uncertainty to be incredibly distressing. Despite this, the modern workplace can be fraught with uncertainty because of shifting markets, relationship dynamics, role-related uncertainty, and more. To combat the inherent uncertainty that comes with working life, leaders should endeavor to bring certainty into their employees’ lives.
This can be done in a variety of ways. Leaders can help their people to focus on finding ways that increase the balance between work and life outside work to assist in increasing productivity. They can also work with their people to create flexible working plans that suit the needs of both the individual and the organization.
Another excellent leadership behavior is letting their people adopt proactive measures and actions to redesign the way they get their work done, so that it matches their strengths and personalities. This means the employees ‘create’ a job for themselves that they love, using methods and strategies that are aligned with their strengths and interests, while still satisfying (and often outstretching) the needs of the organization.
But being honest with employees is one of the most straightforward and efficient ways to reduce uncertainty. Clearly stating when you can help them with their difficulties and when you can merely listen, for instance. Often, leaders’ problem-solving abilities are more constrained than staff members realize. Being truthful increases trust while reducing uncertainty.
Assist staff in maintaining their energy levels
Every employee needs to be adept at energy management if they want to achieve a healthy work-life balance, enhance interactions with their families, find sustainable ways to accomplish more with fewer resources, and increase their resistance to exhaustion, stress, and burnout. Energy management is essential, along with high levels of emotional intelligence.
Mastering a variety of skills is required when trying to achieve things such as reducing time spent in overwhelm and circular thinking, increasing physical activity, taking work-related breaks throughout the day, and breaking down larger goals into smaller activities. Each sub-skill either slows down a person’s energy or helps it grow.
Leaders may assist in a variety of ways. The first is by explaining to workers why energy management is so important; otherwise, they might only pay attention to time management. As there isn’t any way to make additional time in the day, focusing only on time management doesn’t provide a long-term solution. However, your energy levels are a renewable resource, so energy becomes a significant priority to focus on for enhancing long-term wellbeing.
Education around personal energy management is key and, when combined with a flexible work schedule, can aid individuals with creating a strong wellbeing plan that will assist them into the future. To ensure the longevity of energy management, it is critical to make sure that bigger goals are broken down into manageable jobs and that staff members completely comprehend how to complete these tasks so they can better manage their energy over the long-term.
Provide constructive criticism and kudos
The use of strengths-based development has increased recently as businesses realize the value of using an employee’s current skill set as a springboard for advancement. Positive reinforcement from the leadership cohort encourages individuals to further develop strengths and abilities that can be harnessed by the organization in many ways.
Leaders who use a strengths-based approach create an environment where individuals can thrive and develop a strong and healthy sense of self. It is important to remember that, in general, positivity fosters a culture that is healthier and more forward-thinking.
The lesson for leaders is that having a thorough understanding of their employees’ talents, strengths, limitations, and aspirations provides the knowledge necessary to help them develop by highlighting their finest qualities while also gently directing their behavior with constructive criticism. Executing leadership in this environment is only possible where you get to know your employees’ talents and weaknesses and work with them effectively to create a healthy and productive environment that benefits all parties.
Strength through relevant corporate messages
Every day, we are all exposed to an enormous amount of information, and nowhere is this truer than in the workplace. Staff members continue to experience stress because of email, and these days there’s also all the direct messaging that occurs as well. We all know that being overwhelmed with information can cause burnout and exhaustion, but most of us aren’t aware that it can have a negative impact by making people blind to the most important information that needs their attention.
The more regularly the information is received, the more they are likely to be overlooked. This is particularly true for internal messages. Given the frequency with which they come, they are more likely to be overlooked than mission-critical or client-facing communications. These are frequently the ones that are most crucial for employee performance and wellbeing. Examples include comments on how to make sure they don’t miss the budget deadlines for the month or reminders to sign up for seminars or other wellbeing activities.
To help employees understand this type of material, leaders should summarize it, issue information about deadline reminders in different ways to cut through the noise, encourage participation at pertinent events, and overall demonstrate their concern for their employees’ welfare by reiterating messages about it. This fosters trust between the employer and the employee.
The effect of leadership behaviors on employee wellbeing in the workplace
If we look at leadership, it’s easy to see that it’s the method through which one person persuades a group of people to accomplish a shared objective. When we take this view, leadership becomes a process – not a quality or personality that a leader possesses – but rather a transactional (and transformative) event that takes place between the leader and his or her followers.
Leadership as a process suggests that a leader both influences, and is influenced by, followers. It focuses attention on the idea that leadership is an interactive process rather than a linear, one-way event. When leadership is described in this way, it is made accessible to all.
Employee satisfaction within every facet of the workplace can be linked to leadership.
There are many ways in which a specific leadership behavior may impact the wellbeing of employees. Studies have repeatedly shown that a leader’s actions have an impact on the happiness and stress levels of their subordinates. Employees with leaders who cultivate strong wellbeing environments benefits from effective leadership practices. Negative leadership traits, on the other hand, have negative effects on people’s wellbeing.
Positive leadership behaviors (such as increasing employee control, improving communication and organization, taking into account employees’ wellbeing, and treating employees fairly) have been shown to predict employee wellbeing independent of age, lifestyle, social support from co-workers and at home, and stressful work and life events. Strong leadership that is fully engaged with an effective wellbeing strategy has also been regularly linked to improved employee wellbeing.
Fostering a wellbeing culture
Everyone’s probably heard the saying: ‘Managers do things right, leaders do the right things’.
While they sound similar, the gulf between these two statements is huge. There’s a massive difference between your recollections of the best leader you ever worked for versus your memories of the manager who wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either.
Here’s a few ideas for ways a leader can promote a wellbeing culture, along with one tip for what to avoid doing.
DO: Practice and develop empathy, compassion, and self-compassion skills
Understanding other people’s feelings and emotions is referred to as empathy (cognitive empathy). Another definition of empathy is “feeling others’ sorrow” (emotional empathy). It’s crucial for leaders to cultivate empathy, but it’s also necessary to be conscious that empathy can be challenging to retain when you’re stressed out or burned out. It’s also critical that leaders develop a form of empathy that ensure they don’t take on board the emotions and ‘stuff’ of others.
Empathy is enhanced through compassion: A leader may preserve their own wellbeing while caring for the wellbeing of others because compassion has an element of emotional distance from the person and the issue. Compassion is a response to another person’s experience that inspires a desire to help. Having self-compassion involves treating yourself the same way you would treat a friend who is going through a tough moment. This quality is crucial for leaders, especially during times of increasing stress. Leaders are often overly harsh on themselves, and developing self-compassion can improve wellbeing both inside and outside of the workplace.
DO: Give mental health in your organization the same emphasis as physical health
A skills-based training program called Mental Health First Aid teaches about mental health and substance use issues and enables people to recognize risk factors, signs and symptoms of mental health and addiction concerns, as well as strategies for how to help people experiencing mental health issues. It can, and should, be offered to people at all levels. According to studies, being familiar with Mental Health First Aid empowers people to assist others and lessens the stigma associated with mental health disorders.
DO: Take wellbeing into account during both planning and feedback procedures
For both the reviewers and those being evaluated, making sure that wellbeing is taken into account in associate and staff assessments can completely change the game. If you employ competences, think about how to include wellbeing in them. If your company has a formal procedure for developing individual development plans, you should add a self-care plan to it and purposefully tie self-care to setting and accomplishing goals. Remember to ask people how they are doing and if there is anything you can do to assist them and their wellbeing as a leader, even informally, and then take action based on the responses you receive.
DON’T: Think that everyone has equal access to resources or that everyone will have the same level of wellbeing
It is crucial that everyone has equal access to wellness tools, services and benefits. Becoming more aware of biases will enable you to eliminate implicit and unconscious biases in wellbeing programs wherever they appear.
Involving a diverse range of individuals in the selection, design, and implementation of wellbeing offerings is one method to improve fairness. This will aid in ensuring that the right options and programs are presented. Also, people feel more invested in the process when they are involved, which promotes and reflects a culture of wellbeing.
Case Study: Integrated Approach to Wellness
Normally, both growing project costs and slim profit margins provide challenges for the Australian infrastructure development sector. When coupled with the rise in competition within the tendering process, it is not surprising that there is growing strain and stress to perform, stay on schedule, and stay within (or under) budget.
While many people are aware that stress, wellbeing and burnout are problems, they feel helpless or ill equipped to deal with them.
White-collar workers frequently accept authoritarian leadership styles, inconsistent communications, ambiguous reporting structures, and long hours as the norm since they have only seen what has been modelled for them in the past. Employees who don’t feel psychologically comfortable will either follow cultural norms or leave the business, which will result in a shortage of talented resources because they won’t speak up.
Industry leaders are coming together to discuss mental health and wellbeing as a group since the problem is now at a crisis stage. The goal is to create something that businesses can use to analyze existing wellness initiatives, concentrate and lead their efforts, and ensure that meaningful, systemic, and enduring change will take place. This is because the problem is so complex, and there is no true expertise in how to solve it.
The objective
Through creating a positive culture and altering leadership practices, the industry has created an Integrated Approach to Wellness that aims to prevent mental injury and illness.
It is acknowledged that efforts were made in the past with varied degrees of success to address psychological safety and wellbeing in the sector. While some businesses have been able to devote large resources to health and leadership efforts, others have tried but were unable to garner enough traction to make the desired improvements.
The Integrated Approach to Wellness outlines the essential components of any successful program, prioritizes and guides individuals through an integrated process, demonstrates how efforts in one area can be multiplied in order to promote clarity and consistency, and offers practical tools and resources for implementation.
Four main areas constitute the framework’s primary focus:
• Culture and Connection: A clearly articulated strategy that includes behavioral expectations that will drive a positive culture.
• Constructive and Committed Leadership: Obtaining the support of committed senior leaders who also understand what constructive leadership looks like and how important it is to effective performance.
• Communication and Participation: The capacity to engage and inspire the larger organization to participate in activities that will build psychological safety and guard against harm to mental health.
• Process, Systems, Tools and Resources: Provide templates, systems and processes that support the desired culture and incorporate good practices, or provide links to such resources.
The process
The process follows a carefully thought-out procedure to achieve its goal of establishing safe and mentally healthy environments so that people thrive and the danger of work-related psychological impairment or mental injury is decreased.
Without first comprehending the underlying problems and contributing elements that affect mental health and wellness, systemic change cannot be achieved. In late 2018 in forums led by Professor Luke Downey and Grant Fuller, research was performed with extensive industry participation to identify the six hazards and contributing factors listed above.
Early in 2020, more study was conducted with the Wellness in Infrastructure Working Group members to determine how these risks were being addressed in the sector and the efficacy of these initiatives. This made it possible to collect data on what worked as well as conduct more thorough investigation into what didn’t and why.
Key learnings
• The problems were too complex for “safety and wellness representatives” to handle on their own because they affected the entire sector.
• The industry considered itself “incapable” of major reform.
• Proven return on investment (ROI) was crucial in the decision-making process surrounding any discretionary purchase due to the highly competitive nature of the industry and the resulting narrow profit margins.
• Senior executives were aware of the importance of the problems, but they were reluctant to devote resources to change programs without proof that they would produce outcomes.
• There has been and continues to be a stigma against discussing feelings and mental health in a profession that is predominately male.
• Leaders feared that the competitive tendering process was to blame for the pressure and stress that affects the industry, but they were unsure of how they might change things.
• For many project teams, a focus on culture was not a top concern, especially in joint ventures and alliances where personnel from many organizations tended to be loyal to their own processes, systems, and working methods.
• Without a more comprehensive integration strategy, the activities being carried out had variable take-up and isolated results, and they did not necessarily result in the broad transformation they were developed for.
Following extensive study to discover international models, success stories, and case studies from other industries, the project team was able to confidently address some of the major obstacles in the Australian infrastructure construction industry.
A standardized approach
To address these key learnings, and provide an effective pathway forward, The Integrated Approach to Wellbeing introduced a standardized, research-based framework that can be used by any organization that is dedicated to enhancing mental health and wellness.
It uses the construction industry as its primary case study. It serves as a kind of road map for any sector, outlining how to determine strategic direction, mold culture, and carry out operational tasks using tools and activities throughout an organization.
When organizations use the framework, those having organizational programs in place may fill in the blanks and make sure all of their initiatives are coordinated and integrated to maximize wellness progress.
The framework also gives organizations that are just getting started a clear plan, helps them prioritize efforts, explain the reasoning behind them, provide education, and make sure that the right initiatives will foster a positive culture, produce the desired results, and most importantly, be sustainable for a very long time.
The results of implementing the framework show that There was clear evidence of a positive change, with improvements in employee happiness, work-life balance, burnout, stress, anxiety, and depression.
This important framework shows what is achievable when approaching mental health and wellbeing preventatively. Working at the top of an organization with senior leaders to build culture, develop leadership capability, encourage communication and involvement, and align systems and procedures to support and reinforce will almost always have a big impact on the employees.
This improves psychological safety, job happiness, leadership and direction perceptions, as well as having noticeable effects on people’s mental health and wellbeing. And when this occurs, not only do people flourish, but projects and businesses as well as their own employees amaze them with their performance.
Exercise 2.7: Wellness Leadership
1. Write down how you’re feeling right now:
• How are your energy levels?
• How present are you?
• What’s distracting you?
• How stressed do you feel?
• How did you sleep for the last week?
2. Write down all the things you’ve done in the last week that are solely focused on your own wellbeing.
3. When was the last time you took a day off to focus on your own wellbeing:
• Without answering any emails
• Without answering any phone calls
• Without doing anything work related
4. What do you actively and regularly do that provides an example to your team that shows them you believe in wellbeing?
• What do you do?
• How do they know you do it?
• How does the role-modelling affect them?
• What do you see them doing that they wouldn’t do if you hadn’t shown them the importance of wellbeing?
5. What do you believe you need to do differently for yourself, that will provide a positive wellbeing example to your team?
• What simple steps will you put in place to do those things?
• How, and when will you start doing them?
• How will you hold yourself accountable for making sure they get done?
6. How often do you openly talk about wellbeing topics and issues with your team?
• Do you know how they feel about sharing concerns and issues around wellbeing with yourself and other team members?
• Do you have an ‘open door’ policy for team members to discuss wellbeing concerns and issues with you?
7. Discuss your answers to the above questions. Take notice of the different experiences for each group member.
8. What simple team-based rituals do you think need to be put in place to enhance the wellbeing of each individual member of your team?
Course Manual 8: Meaningfulness of Work
Introduction
Meaningful work is defined as labor that people believe to be, at the very least, significant and purposeful. When a person’s employment is significant, it is important to them and enables them to pursue important goals.
When labor is done with a purpose, its goal is clear and significant. Work must therefore be viewed by the individual as both personally important and connected to outcomes of personal consequence in order to be meaningful.
Employee perceptions of work as meaningful are deteriorating as a result of technological advancements, globalization, and the rapid adoption of new business models.
Organizational culture has been identified as a key element that sets apart incredibly successful companies from their rivals. It is frequently described as the fundamental ‘glue’ holding organizations together.
Therefore, studies have demonstrated that culture affects the interpretation and meaning that employees give to events and experiences within an organization and to their perception of their work being significant and purposeful.
The amount of work, the level of interest in the job being done, and the level of trust that the leaders place in the employees are all closely associated with the innovation, participation, and dedication of the employees to their organization.
In recent times, the prospects for meaningful employment seem unclear since companies are under pressure from new business models, technological advancement, and globalization. As a result, many people view employment as meaningless.
The definition of ‘work’ has changed rapidly over the years, and with that change has come a precarity of employment that didn’t need to be taken into consideration.
The advances in technology have expanded the boundaries of when and where work can be done and growing technological surveillance and human-machine interactions, along with globalization, new technologies and new organizing paradigms all play a role in creating dynamically complex, interconnected systems that employees often find it hard to find their place within.
New forms of interorganizational collaboration and representative bodies are required as a result of the growing demand for businesses to pay attention to their expanded social and environmental responsibilities. Included within this is the question about the way in which individuals within these shifting situations can satisfy their intrinsic desire for meaning in life and the ways in which the businesses can foster that meaningfulness so that employees can step beyond the monotony of a ‘Monday through Friday’ culture.
What is meaningful work in the workplace?
Work that is meaningful to an individual is work that makes sense to them. They understand what is expected of them, it makes sense, they can see how it advances the corporate objectives as a whole, and they can see how it helps others. Often, it is more important for someone to grasp how their work fits into the greater scheme of the firm than it is the actual nature of the tasks itself.
You might believe that the key to employee engagement is to select the best candidate for the job, but this isn’t always the case. However, research shows that engagement is more readily found in employees if you provide them with meaningful work, and doing so gives you the opportunity to increase their productivity and raise the mood at work. It is this, rather than trying to find the ‘best candidate’ that will boost employee engagement and improve your bottom line as a result.
Regardless of the industry, there are actions you can take to make sure that your employees feel connected and content in any industry. Each leader in the organization needs to take responsibility to create a meaningful environment (even or especially during difficult times) in order to boost employee engagement and keep your top performers.
Connecting each employee and the work they do to the mission and values of the firm is critical to engendering meaning at work. No matter what position they hold, every one of your employees needs to have a clearly defined job description that explains how they contribute to the success of the business. They ought to be able to easily articulate why their position is crucial to the company’s success.
Assess each role in your organization frequently. Regularly assessing the role’s contribution to the company’s ideals is essential to ensuring that you can continuously draw a line from the output of the role to the success of the business. In addition, to ensure you are regularly reinforcing the essentiality of the role, every performance review ought to have a section devoted to this particular subject.
Give your staff room to develop and support them as they grow so that they can flourish more easily. A key component of employee engagement is the opportunity to advance professionally. You must make sure that every one of your employees can identify a distinct route for development and growth. Provide them the resources and instruction they require to accomplish these objectives, and mentor and coach them to achieve the things they want.
How do workers search for meaningful work?
To put it clearly, if your staff members aren’t happy at work, they will quit and look for work elsewhere. Particularly millennials want to be fulfilled in their careers, and they frequently search for positions that give them room to develop and adapt.
Also, these days there is a massive desire to improve society and the globe at large. Each individual finds it hard to create impact on a singular level, so they expect the organization they work for to step in and create change on a larger scale that they can be both a part of and associated with. Think about collaborating with a charity or a worthwhile cause and motivating your staff to perform volunteer work while on the job. Having a positive social impact on the community can go a long way to employees associating meaning with their work. When you review your mission statement and workplace policies, keep this in mind.
Whatever your sector, you can and should give every single one of your employees meaningful employment. This will boost their happiness and working satisfaction and keep them from leaving your business in search of a better opportunity. Your productivity will increase as a result, and so will your revenue.
Why is meaningfulness of work important?
An increasing collection of studies highlights that having meaning in life is a fundamental human need that has a significant impact on both psychological and physical health.
Those who believe their lives are significant tend to have longer, healthier, and happier lives than people who don’t share this belief. The importance of meaning in life for humans is becoming increasingly acknowledged, but research has mainly disregarded how meaning affects larger societal flourishing.
Meaning has significant social and economic ramifications, especially when nations are confronted with grave existential challenges like international conflicts and pandemics. More specifically, meaning serves as a self-regulatory and motivating intrapsychic resource that directs people towards the kinds of beliefs and actions needed to create and support thriving social structures.
The need for significance in life has long been acknowledged by researchers. More meaningfulness increases a person’s sense of overall psychological wellbeing. Moreover, having meaning in life lowers the likelihood of depressive disorders, addiction, and suicide thoughts. Health and longevity are also strongly correlated with meaning.
To understand the importance of meaning in life and in work, it can be helpful to examine existential health and its significance for societal flourishing.
Because meaning in life and work is motivating and self-regulatory, it benefits both psychological and physical health. For instance, it has been demonstrated that meaning in life—rather than wellbeing indicators like positive affect or optimism—positively predicts physical activity, and that when people reflect on what gives their lives meaning, they are more likely to engage in physical activity and to exercise for longer periods of time, even if they had previously been physically inactive. Thereby impacting the overall wellbeing of an individual.
Meaning, in a broader sense, motivates goal pursuit. For instance, people who recall and reflect on significant events in their lives report higher levels of meaning perception and drive to achieve goals. People are typically more motivated and self-reliant when they are focused on what gives their lives significance. This emphasizes the fact that meaning is distinct from other wellbeing metrics.
Another evidence of meaning’s motivational nature comes from research recognizing it as a coping resource. For instance, when people struggle with mental health issues, finding purpose in life may be essential to the success of treatment by encouraging adherence to, and participation in, the therapeutic process. In fact, psychotherapy and other types of health interventions work better on persons who perceive meaning more strongly.
Experiences of uncertainty, stress, sadness, and loss are common throughout life. We all experience the loss of loved ones and must eventually face our own mortality. Meaning is a crucial psychological tool for overcoming these obstacles.
People are better equipped to move forward with their lives in useful ways and to be at peace with their own mortality when they are able to respond to tragedy and loss in ways that affirm meaning.
People have an incentive to control their conduct in ways that support their continued survival and wellbeing when they feel that their lives matter.
How do you determine meaningfulness at work?
We experience more joy, reward, and engagement in our professions as well as meaning and purpose when we can discover work and situations that allow us to fully embrace who we are.
Also, when we become more conscious of the ways in which our individual traits are not valued or recognized at work, we have a larger choice as to what to do about it – because over time it becomes incredibly upsetting and disheartening when we must conceal our true, authentic selves in order to achieve.
People frequently misinterpret the concept of “finding meaning” in work, believing that it isn’t important unless it has a significant, immediate influence on people. The truth is, that finding “meaning” and purpose in our work doesn’t necessarily involve large scale, massive achievements in every second of every day.
To determine whether your work holds meaning for you, here are four quick questions to ask yourself that can help you to get clarity around what you’re doing:
Does my job enable me to support my family?
For our effort to have purpose, we don’t need to significantly influence thousands of others. Your employment and the money you make are valuable to you and your family if it helps you put food on the table, fulfil your children’s educational aspirations, pay for urgently needed medical care, take a family trip that creates priceless lifelong memories, etc.
Does my job allow me to fully utilize my skills and experience?
Another way to find significance in your work is to use your natural talents and abilities. Your distinct perspective, experience, and skills have been combined in a wholly unique and potent way that makes you very useful to both the workplace and other people. Accept and make the most of these skills.
Are my efforts contributing to something larger?
Sure, some people have roles that are strictly defined and/or concentrated on a single important task. But every action we take has a knock-on impact that contributes to a bigger picture. Your limited concentration does not necessarily mean you are not making a significant contribution to something much larger that changes the world.
Does my job allow me to be myself?
We are all happiest when we are living in physical reality what we know to be true about ourselves, and when we are giving form to our life’s intentions in a way that benefits others.
There is true meaning in your work when you can be who you truly are, make the most of your special abilities and skills, and apply those talents to pursuits that you like and help further a goal or end that you care about. Don’t question it.
How do you make work meaningful?
Leaders can create a greater sense of meaning for their people by understanding the importance of the five sources that help create meaning in the workplace.
There is no denying the importance of meaningful work.
According to research, when workers are engaged in their work, they perform better on average by 33%, are 75% more loyal to their employers, and are 49% less likely to quit. In addition, for a considerable amount of time, Americans have rated meaningful work as being more significant than pay, job stability and hours worked.
How employees find meaning depends on a variety of things, from their personalities to the nature of their professions so it can be challenging to ‘create’ an organizational culture that automatically makes employees feel their work is meaningful.
There is one tactic, however, that has been shown to make an impact and that can be used in all situations: demonstrating to employees the value of their job. It turns out that this is a “five-sizes-fits-most” approach rather than a “one-size-fits-all” one, based on our experiences.
Leaders may give their staff a deeper sense of purpose by emphasizing the impact work has on society, the company, customers, the team, and personal accomplishment.
Here’s a summary of the five sources that can help create meaning in the workplace:
Society
Those who are motivated by their work’s positive effects on their community, the environment, and humanity as a whole find significance in societal impact. The pro-social theory of motivation contends that while it may appear that this form of meaning is more prevalent in certain occupations (such as those of nurses and teachers), everyone continuously chooses to put forth more effort when it benefits others.
A great example of this is the NASA janitor who, during the 1970s space race, said his work involved “placing a man on the moon”?
Company
People who find purpose in their work are motivated to make their organization a market leader, attract top talent, deliver for shareholders, and uphold its reputation. Psychology theories have demonstrated that certain people form ties with their organization, where the rules, vision, and ideals become a part of who they are. When this happens, an organization’s success also benefits an individual.
Customers
For some people, the impact on their customers is what gives their work purpose, whether it is by exceeding their expectations, making their lives better, easier, and safer, or by offering “best-in-class” goods or services. According to various management studies on work design, interacting with and having an impact on customers boosts effort, perseverance, readiness to assist, and perceptions of competence and self-worth.
Team
Those who find meaning in their teams are motivated by working in high-performing teams, fostering a psychologically secure environment, and giving others the opportunity to succeed. They look forward to going to work each day and working side by side with their co-workers to solve challenging problems. Teams therefore have a big impact on how people feel about their work in the workplace.
Personal success
People discover significance via experiences that foster personal development and achievement. This includes being able to bring one’s best self to work and getting credit for contributions. It also includes having opportunities to advance and grow. Self-determination theory is one of the motivating factors behind this source. This theory of motivation, like other theories of motivation, contends that intrinsic motivation occurs when three needs—autonomy, relatedness, and competence—are satisfied.
Case Study: Eric Lansdown Trist
Psychological wellbeing is a state of equilibrium and comfort, in both the body and the mind, marked by sociability, happiness, self-control, and psychological balance.
Eric Lansdown Trist (11 September 1909 – 4 June 1993) was an English scientist and pioneer in the subject of organizational development. He was a founding member of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research which was started in London in September 1947.
Trist started working as a clinical psychologist at the Maudsley Hospital in London at the start of World War II to treat soldiers who had been evacuated from Dunkirk. He recalls how “some extremely frightened people burst out of their apartments, ran all over the grounds, and we had to go and find them” during the London Blitz in 1940.
Trist also served as the chief psychologist for returned prisoners of war for the Civil Resettlement Units (CRUs) during the final two years of World War II, implementing plans created by Tommy Wilson and Wilfred Bion. “Perhaps the most exhilarating single moment of my professional life,” he said of this.
Trist arrived in the United States in July 1966 to take a position as professor of organizational behavior and social ecology at UCLA’s Graduate School of Business Administration. He collaborated with Russell L. Ackoff in the Social Systems Science Program (S-cubed) at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1969. He served as a professor there until 1978, at which point he retired. He began teaching at York University in Toronto’s Faculty of Environmental Studies that same year, where he also started a degree in future studies. He remained there until 1983.
Along with Hugh Murray and Fred Emery, Trist authored a three-volume overview of the Tavistock called The Social Engagement of Social Science in the 1990s.
Along with his colleagues, Eric Trist developed a strategy called Socio-technical System Design in an effort to comprehend the factors that encourage people’s dedication to their jobs. His model makes an effort to structure work in ways that correspond to employees’ extrinsic needs (salary, benefits, health and safety, etc.) as well as intrinsic motivations (demonstrating one’s skills and autonomy, self-improvement, etc.).
All of this was done in an effort to improve organizational performance.
The term “organizational commitment” is used to describe the type and gravitas of the connection that exists between a person and their work. It is also a crucial indicator of organizational effectiveness since it affects how employees are engaged and motivated.
Employee engagement (low absenteeism rate), job performance, the caliber of customer service, and “corporate” behaviors – that is, behaviors that go beyond the expectations and precepts of given roles – are all indicators of an organization’s overall performance.
The engagement and commitment of an organization’s employees is essential to solving a pressing issue that affects businesses of all sizes: how to retain personnel.
Trist’s model contends that there are three ways to commit:
1. The term “affective commitment” relates to an employee’s identity, involvement, and attachment to the company. Here, the employee continues in their position because they genuinely want to.
2. Normative commitment indicates the worker’s sense of obligation or accountability to the company. A worker who exhibits a strong normative commitment keeps his job because he believes he has a duty to the company.
3. The level of the employee’s commitment to staying on shows how much he or she is aware of the costs involved in a potential exit. Employees who exhibit great continuation commitment keep their jobs because of necessity. Two attitudes are linked to this kind of commitment: the lack of job market alternatives or the personal sacrifices the employee would have to undertake if he quit his job.
An employee will form a unique and subjective opinion of their employment, but they will also respond to the hidden incentives in their workplace in the same way as their co-workers in general.
These incentives line up with the six elements that give labor meaning: social purpose (or utility), autonomy, opportunity for learning and personal growth, moral rectitude, quality of relationships, and acknowledgement.
It is in the best interest of all managers to uncover the hidden motivations and help their employees to connect them to the organizations goals as a means of increasing the meaning of the work and fortifying the connection between the employee and his job. As improving psychological wellbeing is a shared duty between individuals and the organization, these incentives also highlight possible courses of action that managers, human resource officers, and staff members might take.
Exercise 2.8: Finding Meaningful Work
1. Write down 5 words you believe best sum up who you are.
• What are your core values?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your gifts?
• What mix of 5 adjectives goes together to perfectly describe who you are?
2. What can’t you stop yourself from doing?
• What are your natural talents?
• What are you always drawn to doing?
• Where do you always find yourself?
• What can you talk about for hours?
• What makes your eyes light up with passion?
3. If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?
• Suspend your fears and write down your dreams.
• What would you change?
• What would you add to your life?
• What wouldn’t you do anymore?
4. What is one small thing you can do today to allow yourself to have more of these things right now?
• Is there something you can do to feel more connected to your work?
• Is there a change you can make to your role to give it more meaning within the outcomes of the organization?
• Is there something you can do that is outside the organization, but that doing it will make it easier for you in the workplace and makes it simpler to create meaning at work?
5. If you knew exactly when you were going to die, what would you do differently now?
• What do you want to experience?
• What have you been putting off?
• How would this change your perspective on life?
6. How does knowing the answers to these questions give you more clarity about what needs to change so that you create more meaning to the work you are doing?
Course Manual 9: Employee Morale
Introduction
Employee morale is all about how employees feel about the company while they work there (and after they leave), including their attitudes, contentment, and perspective. In general, businesses with poor organizational cultures, environments, and working circumstances may find that their employees have low morale. It indicates if an employee is enthusiastic, willing, and energetic to work or not.
Employee morale is a combination of a worker’s thoughts, hopes, and attitude that merge together to create their general sense of satisfaction. The motivation to work, which influences both organizational and personal goals, is influenced by a person’s mental state and level of enthusiasm.
Characteristics of employee morale
Employee morale can be challenging to define because it is made up of several characteristics that blend together to create an emotional response within individuals. Each individual is unique; therefore the blend of characteristics for each individual will be unique.
Some of the more common employee morale characteristics are:
• Psychological Concept: employee morale becomes a psychological notion because it describes the emotional connection an employee has to the company and how they feel about it.
• Intangibility: morale is an immaterial quality; it is not a concrete object. This means that morale can only be sensed and cannot be seen or touched. Therefore, it becomes more challenging to measure as a result.
• Contagious: morale can spread much like a virus does. Consider the scenario when one employee is unhappy with organizational policies and continuously complains to other employees about it. If this happens continuously, then, after a while, his co-workers may begin to align their thinking similarly.
• Herd mentality: morale is a collection of many emotions, attitudes, expectations, convictions, and perspectives.
• Long-term idea: developing and keeping up staff morale takes more than a single day. It happens over the long-term idea and requires ongoing commitment.
• Morale is a byproduct of motivation: morale is a byproduct of motivation and interpersonal connections within a community. It is a conceptual process that, once it begins, permeates the entire organization. It also creates a mindset that gives rise to a widespread attitude.
Despite everyone being a unique individual and therefore having a different blend of morale characteristics, employee morale can generally be separated into three main types:
Individual Morale
It all comes down to being aware of and exceeding one’s own expectations. This means that morale will be high if we know what we genuinely need, how to get it and are then provided with it within the workplace.
Group Morale
This aligns with the prevailing mood of a group of people. Each team member in this situation adds to the morale, which either raises or lowers the team’s overall spirit.
High Morale
When an employee has high energy and a strong work ethic, their morale is good. It is important to understand that just as excellent health is essential for an individual, so is a positive work environment for an organization. This is due to the fact that it indicates the employee’s level of pleasure, as well as their desire to stay employed by the company and motivation to accomplish the objectives.
Employee complaints and grievances are reduced when the employee morale is high. In this environment, goals are also defined clearly, and the employees almost always have a solid connection to the organization.
Some of the advantages of high morale include:
• high levels of commitment of the workforce to the company.
• high morale increases production.
• employees voluntarily comply with the organizational rules and procedures, maintaining discipline.
• employees’ level of interest in their jobs and company is high.
• decrease in labor turnover and absenteeism.
• coordination and cooperation between employees improves.
Measuring employee morale
In a lot of workplaces, employees hesitate to share their ideas in a courageous or forthright manner, making true measurement of employee morale difficult. Because it is an intangible matter, you need to use a variety of techniques to get as clear a picture as possible of where the true levels of morale sit within your organization.
Some of these techniques include:
Observation
Managers can observe the difference in an employee’s behavior by observing the employee’s behavior:
• their attitude towards work
• the way they talk to their co-workers, managers and leaders
• whether they arrive and leave work on time (punctuality)
• their willingness to get tasks done
• their enthusiasm for the work allocated to them.
However, this technique can be flawed and may provide skewed information because changes observed, and in particular the way the changes are viewed, is completely dependent on how well the person conducting the observation knows the employee and also whether the employee has other non-work-related issues that might be contributing to behavioral changes.
Surveys
Surveys are a good way to learn how a person thinks about the company, their co-workers, their job, their supervisors, and other factors. The management can use an interview or a questionnaire to get the employees’ opinions. Anonymous surveys in particular are an effective way of collecting more detailed and forthright information.
Records
It can be very helpful to evaluate the level of employee morale by reviewing historical records of things such as absenteeism, turnover, grievances, strikes, etc. This information can provide important insights into morale levels.
Suggestion box
Without identifying their names, employees are free to write comments and grievances in the suggestion box. The box is put in a certain spot in the office and the contents are reviewed regularly. This technique is another one that provides important insights that might not be shared if an employee is asked for in-person feedback.
Factors that affect employee morale
Workplace morale can be affected by a number of different factors. Each individual will experience their own unique blend of these factors, so it becomes extremely important to understand what they are, and how they can affect people:
Organizational Goals
When the company’s top executives set goals that are reasonable and attainable, the employees adopt a positive outlook on their work and the organization as a whole.
In addition, when the organizational structure is well-defined and roles are laid out transparently, it is easier for the employees to be fully aware of their roles and obligations. As well as creating an environment that encourages high morale, this also promotes self-assurance at work as well.
Leadership
A strong leader shapes their followers’ perspectives. Employee morale is greatly boosted when workers receive fair treatment, equal rewards, and recognition for their efforts. When a leader is sympathetic, inspirational, and compassionate as opposed to acting like a dictator, employees feel more connected to them.
Co-workers
The co-workers in a workplace can either make it heaven or hell. Consider an individual who only brings up bad things about the company. Everyone at work suffers because of these folks and there’s nowhere to hide from them.
Nature of work
No one enjoys doing monotonous, repetitive, or boring work. It limits their creativity and stunts their development. When a job is demanding and intriguing, people frequently give more, in an effortless way, to get the job done. Also, when people receive praise for successfully completing a difficult activity, their morale immediately improves.
Work environment
An employee’s workplace environment has a significant impact on the way they think. Employee morale will increase in a secure, modern, hygienic, and comfortable work environment.
Individual
A significant factor affecting morale is how an employee views themself within the company.
Why is workplace morale important?
Employee morale measures how content and committed employees are in their work. It is a critical component of job satisfaction.
It pertains to how employees view their surroundings and jobs in relation to the demands, goals, and objectives of the business.
Pay, perks, job stability, and relationships with co-workers and managers are some of the variables. You can anticipate more production and reduced attrition rates when employee morale is high. They have a direct impact on production and profitability, which helps businesses perform better.
Additionally, raising worker morale might assist your business recruit more qualified individuals for available positions and increase retention rates.
When you get the workplace culture right and you have high employee morale, there are four benefits that your organization generally enjoys:
An increase in output
Employees that are engaged and enjoying their work are more likely to put in extra effort when necessary and take greater pleasure in the outcomes their work creates. Because of this, they will be able to create more with less effort, saving you money on the cost of continually employing and training new employees.
Lower rates of turnover
Because they are content with their roles and connected to the value they provide to the organization, employees with high morale are less inclined to leave their jobs. Team members who feel appreciated are less inclined to look for, let alone depart for, better opportunities.
Enhanced client satisfaction
Employees who are content with their work and their employer will treat consumers better than those who are not. Customers will feel valued rather than taken advantage of by companies that don’t care about them as a result of this.
Enhanced originality
Because they are content and don’t feel like they’re under too much pressure, employees with high morale can be particularly creative and innovative in the tasks they complete. They are well positioned to give their best work without being concerned about their employment because their morale is high.
Tips for increasing workplace morale
There are several really simple things an organization can do to boost the morale of its employees:
• ensuring that employee compensation is fair and reasonable, given the standard rates of pay in the sector.
• have strong and effective equity, diversity and inclusion policies that are actively engaged and routinely evaluated.
• create as much job security for your employees as possible.
• treat employees as humans beings and as individuals rather than as instruments that get a job done.
• invite employees to participate in workshops and focus groups that provides the organization with important information when big decisions that will impact the organization are being made.
• make the work as engaging as possible to enrich the roles that are fulfilled within the organization.
• provide efficient and effective communication channels so that employees can communicate their issues with management in an open, honest and timely way.
• set up the organizational structure so that there is as little separation as possible between management and employees. Make it normal for lower-level employees to regularly speak to top managers.
• provide employee counsellors who are appointed to deal with any issues creating low employee morale (such as turnover, absenteeism, tardiness and the like). These counsellors could provide employees with help working through the issues that are creating lower morale, assist them with their career planning and goal setting, and then monitor their progress.
Strong leaders will find these techniques easy to apply because they’re about placing the employee at the center of the equation and finding ways to help them be as happy as possible whilst also achieving significant results for the organization.
To provide the most effective and efficient workplaces where morale levels are high across the organization, leaders should pay attention to the concerns of the workforce. It is only when taking on board the lived experience of the workforce that strong procedures around compensation plans, safety precautions, welfare initiatives, and the like can be effectively implemented.
Employee perceptions of their job and their general level of happiness with it are key factors in determining employee morale. Employee retention is almost always directly impacted by employee morale. A disengaged or disgruntled employee won’t stick around for very long in a company if they can’t rationally justify their goals and growth.
According to a range of human resources executives from around the world, here are six straightforward strategies for raising employee morale at work:
Simplify work according to skills
It’s critical to hire and assign individuals in accordance with their skill set. For example, you wouldn’t hire a lawyer and expect them to do duties that fall under the purview of an engineer. A win-win situation for both employees and employers is allowing people to work in accordance with their competencies.
Provide them good professional development training
Most businesses overlook the significance of employee training. Employees should be properly prepared to carry out their duties at work and accomplish their goals, whether it be through employee onboarding or any other formal training procedure. At the beginning of the fiscal year, a budget that supports the training and development program should be assigned.
Employees’ skills will be developed thanks to this training, which will be advantageous for both the individual and the company. Every organization wants a well-organized, self-sufficient workforce, so investing in training and development programs that encourage curiosity and imagination, foster self-assurance and so on result in a motivated workforce.
Acknowledge and praise employees to raise morale among staff members
This will keep them engaged. Employees feel empowered and take a personal interest in the tasks that are given to them when leaders foster an environment where good work is valued.
Reinforcing what an employer wants an employee to do, and the way they want the employee to do it should be the goal of employee recognition. Always recognize an employee’s efforts and successes when they are successful and also when they’ve done a good job but haven’t necessarily achieved ‘success’.
For example, an employee may have gone ‘above and beyond’ to win a tender, but the bid was unsuccessful. The employee’s work ethic and commitment isn’t in question – in fact, it was greater than expected – but another organization’s bid more closely matched the vendor’s requirements. Rewarding this employee for their dedication and commitment to task is just as important as rewarding an employee for a winning tender.
Be receptive to feedback
Because they are receptive to feedback, many firms today advocate the open-door policy, which gives employees the freedom to communicate their feelings to their superiors or other persons with control over them.
Workers must feel comfortable approaching their superiors. As a result, this will provide a positive feedback cycle that will help your team. Instead, be open to criticism; for the majority of businesses, openness is a must, and so it should be.
Prioritize work-life balance
Making sure your employees have enough personal and family time is essential for a healthy work-life balance. Setting your staff members clear, attainable goals and allowing them adequate time to achieve them is the greatest approach to accomplish this.
This is crucial because it lessens the likelihood of burnout and boosts employee happiness and office morale, both of which can increase productivity.
Introduce greenery
The office is more pleasant when there are green plants there. In addition to bringing beauty and freshness to your workplace, plants also help to filter the air and reduce stress.
A Life Science study found that having just a few plants in the workplace increases employee happiness, and that happy workers are more likely to have strong morale than their unhappy colleagues.
Case Study: Boosting Employee Morale Through Virtual Volunteerism at Deloitte
During the global COVID-19 pandemic, ‘virtual volunteerism’ emerged as a means of boosting morale and giving professionals a feeling of connection and purpose, when everyone was working from home and the rest of the world seemed so far away.
During this time, more than 60% of American workers conducted their business from home. While working remotely has its benefits, spending the year so distant from co-workers and friends—especially at a time of such loss and uncertainty—was shown to generally have a negative effect on morale and mental health.
The CDC reports that the pandemic-related mental health concerns increased in about 40% of adult Americans. Two-thirds of HR managers said it had been difficult to keep employees motivated, while at the same time, workers were frantically trying to maintain connections with one another and the outside world more than a year after the outbreak began.
Employers started looking for strategies to keep workers content, committed to, and engaged with their jobs. At the same time, there were also looking for ways to give back to their communities and deal with some of the social issues and disparities that came to light while everyone was locked down. Deloitte found themselves in a similar position, but had the good fortune to have had a program running for years that was able to assist them in achieving connection and continuity objectives.
The Answer
Deloitte had been working with the non-profit Strive for College, which prepares staff members to serve as volunteer mentors, since 2016. In order to help first-generation students navigate the college application process, the program matches newly appointed mentors with them. A Strada-Gallup poll found that having “a mentor who encourages a student’s goals and dreams” ranks among the most crucial elements in determining whether a college graduate finds success in life and at work, but few students report having a mentor. This research highlights the importance of mentoring services for students.
Regular volunteerism has numerous advantages, which are also widely known. Volunteering has been shown to lower stress, anxiety, and even high blood pressure while raising self-worth and confidence. It has been demonstrated that adults who give their time to serve as tutors or mentors have less cognitive deterioration. Employees value it when businesses include volunteerism and community involvement into the workplace, according to the 2017 Deloitte Volunteerism Survey, which specifically polled 1,000 U.S. individuals age 18+ who had volunteered in the previous 12 months. Almost 70% of respondents agreed that volunteering boosts morale more than company-sponsored happy hours, and 77% said that volunteering is crucial to employees’ wellbeing. About 90% of survey participants agreed that improved working conditions are produced through company-sponsored volunteer activities.
Almost 70% of workers claimed they were not volunteering as frequently as they would like to. These figures almost certainly rose during the pandemic. During the pandemic, two-thirds of volunteers reduced or terminated their volunteer work.
Virtual volunteering provided a solution.
Volunteering Moved Online
UStrive, the online mentorship program run by Strive for College, linked 8,000 students from all 50 states with Deloitte mentors. Using a supervised platform, mentors and mentees engage via text, video, and email. The platform is crucial in that it keeps track of all communications between mentors and mentees in order to ensure everyone’s safety. Also, UStrive provides mentors with training so they are familiar with the current college application procedure as well as how to apply for financial aid and scholarships. All of this is also virtual. Before COVID-19, the program was already practical and effective. It has been simple to maintain connections between mentors and students during the pandemic.
The initiative demonstrated Deloitte’s dedication to enhancing fair access to education. 85% of the students who participate in UStrive for College are individuals of color, with Black or Hispanic students making up 55% of this group. This emphasis on racial diversity is essential since black students are less likely to have access to courses that are college-ready, which makes mentoring programs even more necessary.
All of the Deloitte professionals looked forwards to sharing their knowledge and experience with others. Caroline Weatherford, a consultant with Colorado-based Deloitte Consulting LLP, claims that college was one of her most formative experiences. More than just lectures, the instructors, mentors, and friends I met left a lasting impression on me and are still a part of my life today. I want as many people as possible to have access to this chance. I was able to assist students in getting one step closer to this experience through Strive for College.
Of course, the mentorship program benefits more than simply the pupils. Workers develop and learn in much the same way as the pupils they work with. Rachel Fowler, senior consultant, Deloitte Consulting LLP, one of our professionals, explained how rewarding it is for her to serve as a mentor. “As a mentor, I’ve discovered that discovering each student’s amazing path, accomplishments, and dreams is the biggest satisfaction. I feel invigorated and motivated by their tenacity and commitment in their quest of higher education.”
UStrive for College, which began at Deloitte as an employee engagement program, quickly grew to be their largest year-round volunteer project. With Deloitte and other business partnerships, UStrive has seen an increase in the number of employees helping year over year. Moreover, the pandemic encouraged volunteerism: from May 2020 to April 2021, twice as many volunteers registered to be UStrive mentors as during the same period in 2019.
At Deloitte, mentoring is ingrained across everything they do. It’s ingrained in their culture, from how they support their employees’ professional growth to how they interact with the community. Their mentor-mentee networks are expanded via virtual volunteering, giving their employees a chance to use their skills and abilities outside of the company and in the community. Virtual volunteerism emerged as a means of boosting morale and giving professionals a feeling of connection and purpose during the COVID-19 pandemic when the rest of the world appeared so far away. It promoted interpersonal relationships, thankfulness and empathy when those emotions might otherwise be lacking. It is what makes volunteering online so special.
Deloitte’s association with UStrive gave its employees something to connect to and that assisted in boosting employee morale at a time when everyday systems and procedures were thrown into chaos.
Exercise 2.9: Workplace Morale
1. When you set goals for your team, and for each of the individuals within your team:
• Are the goals well-defined and transparent?
• Do your team members believe that the goals are reasonable and attainable?
• Are individuals rewarded for their efforts alone, or do the rewards rely on others in the team to pull their weight?
• Are individuals fully aware of their roles and obligations?
• Are the goals broken down into manageable, bite-sized pieces that make it easier for employees to achieve.
2. Do you treat all of your employees the same?
• Do all your workers receive fair treatment?
• Are they all rewarded equally?
• Are they all given recognition and reward for their efforts?
• Do you expect more from some of your employees than others?
• Are there some employees who carry a higher workload to pick up the slack of other team members?
3. Do you have team members who are constantly negative?
• What is their impact on the energy of the team?
• Are the things they’re complaining about real?
• Are the things they’re complaining about thing that affect the other team members as well?
4. Do you have team members whose work involves monotonous, repetitive or boring work?
• How often are your team members completing work that falls into this category?
• Is there any variety in the tasks being completed?
• How often are they given tasks that demand them to be more intellectually and/or physically motivated?
5. Is the work environment your team works in every day conducive to boosting morale?
• Does your workplace offer your team members a secure place to work?
• Does your workplace have a modern fit out?
• Is your workplace hygienic?
• Is your workplace a comfortable place for your employees to work in?
6. How do your employees view themselves within the organization?
• Do your employees view themselves as merely a tool that is used to get the job done?
• Does your employee view themselves as a valuable resource that has a critical part to play in the collective that gets the job done?
7. Using the answers to the above questions, discuss where you think morale can be improved for your team members.
• Write down three things you can do differently right now to improve the morale in your team.
– For the first change you can make, write down three simple steps you can take to create action around improving morale.
– What is the first step you will take?
– How and when will you take the step?
– How will you hold yourself accountable for taking the step?
Course Manual 10: Employee Motivation
Introduction
The term “work motivation” describes the urge people have to labor in order to receive benefits, whether those rewards are material, psychological, social or emotional.
Work motivation varies with age and personal psychology, and is frequently influenced by aptitude and contextual circumstances. For instance, some people labor solely for financial gain (extrinsic drive), while others do so for the love of their jobs, the company’s mission, or other intrinsic motivations (intrinsic motivation).
The interaction of conscious and unconscious elements, such as the degree of need or want, the incentive or reward value of the objective, and the individual’s and their peers’ expectations, leads to motivation. These elements serve as the justifications for one’s behavior.
A student who spends additional time studying for a test in order to get a better grade in the class serves as an example. A person’s desire and energy to be persistently engaged in and committed to a work, career, or subject, or to make an attempt to achieve a goal, are stimulated by both internal and external stimuli.
To feel good about their work and perform at their best, the majority of employees need motivation.
While some workers are driven by money, others are personally motivated by praise and awards. The level of motivation at work directly affects how productive employees are. Employees who are inspired and enthusiastic about their work perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Businesses can employ a variety of incentives to boost output levels.
Employers may increase employee motivation and productivity in a number of ways. Employers might use motivation strategies that combine numerous techniques because different elements have varying effects on employees. An employer might, for instance, adopt a daily “spiff” that rewards workers immediately in cash if they reach short-term production goals in order to incentivize those who are motivated by money.
An employer may develop a program that promotes healthy competition among employees to accomplish productivity targets in order to meet long-term production goals. Employers can publicly thank top performers for a job well done at the program’s completion.
To feel good about their work and perform at their best, the majority of employees need motivation. While some workers are driven by money, others are personally motivated by praise and awards. The level of motivation at work directly affects how productive employees are.
Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation
It’s a simple but crucial task to distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motives.
Extrinsic motivations pertain to everything we do for refers to those activities you perform at work for the benefit of the things you do outside of work.
Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, occurs simply because you enjoy the activity itself. Employees who feel driven only when they are secure in their talents and personally identify with their function within the firm respond little to incentives and rewards. These people work hard because they enjoy the personal challenge that their jobs offer.
Salary, employment perks and benefits, status, and working conditions are examples of extrinsic motivators. Recognition, demanding work, purposeful employment, achievement, and chances for personal development are a few examples of intrinsic motivators.
An excellent illustration of an extrinsic motivator would be a sales team contending for first place on the quarterly metrics tracker. Making sales may be related to the task at hand, however winning this competition is a motivator based on performance rather than the actual requirements of the job. On the other hand, a worker might delight in the selling itself. For instance, figuring out the optimum times to conduct outreach and the most potent scripts might be intriguing in and of itself. This is an intrinsic motivator.
For those employees who are motivated more extrinsically, rewards can take many different forms, such as paid time off, bonuses, cash, and travel benefits. Employee motivation is increased by incentives since they give workers something more to aim for than just a regular wage.
For more intrinsically motivated workers, producing high-quality work requires their employers’ approval. Employees that execute their tasks well are identified by employee incentive and recognition programs. Employees feel good when their work is recognized, which motivates them to continue working hard.
There are many different ways organizations can provide personalized solutions for employees who are driven either intrinsically or extrinsically. Some examples of the types of internal and extrinsic incentives are as follows:
Intrinsic
Responsibility
The degree to which a person wishes to feel accountable is included in this motivational component. While some people enjoy being in charge of major choices for their teams, others would prefer to delegate that duty to others.
Influence
The degree to which a person tries to sway the thoughts and intentions of others is described by this motivational factor. While people who score lower on this motivation dimension are happiest when they can maintain an open mind to many points of view, those who are strongly motivated by influence love persuading others.
The degree to which a person aspires to belong to a group is referred to by this motivational factor. While some people prefer to keep their interests or viewpoints apart from the rest of the group, those who are highly motivated by belonging look for common interests and hobbies with their co-workers to foster a sense of teamwork.
Challenge
The degree to which a person tries to step beyond their comfort zone is described by this motivational component. Those who are highly motivated by difficulty always strive to surpass their prior accomplishments, whereas people who are less motivated by challenge are happy to make progress towards manageable goals.
Recognition (intrinsic enjoyment)
Those who fall short of the recognition bar are looking for intrinsic pleasure. Even if they do not receive any external appreciation for their work, they look for projects and tasks that they enjoy working on.
Reward (a need to benefit society)
Those who score lower on the reward component want to work on initiatives that benefit society. Regardless of whatever immediate rewards they may get, they need to be aware of the bigger picture effects of their labor.
Extrinsic
Autonomy
The degree to which a person wants to have control over their circumstances is referred to as autonomy in this motivation factor. Those who are strongly motivated by autonomy like to set their own objectives and schedules, while others who are less highly motivated by autonomy prefer to get input from others before making decisions.
Competition
This motivational factor describes how much a person will try to exceed others. While individuals who are less driven by competition will strive to share their knowledge to advance group objectives, those who are highly motivated by competition prefer situations that promote public performance measurements.
Relation
The degree to which a person aspires to a wide range of social relationships is indicated by this motivational factor. Those with high levels of this motivation component look for socialization chances as often as they can, while others with lower levels of this motivation dimension prefer privacy in the workplace.
Recognition (external acknowledgement)
Those who score well in this area look for praise and nice comments after a job well done. Even if they may not particularly appreciate the work they are doing, the outward acknowledgement is sufficient to keep them motivated.
Reward (tangible benefits)
Those who score highly on the reward dimension are driven by the prospect of receiving tangible rewards for their efforts. When there are opportunities, they are frequently urged to work harder.
Excitement
The level to which a person is motivated by thrill is referred to as the excitement motivation dimension. Those with high levels of motivation value risk-taking opportunities and uncertain surroundings, whereas those with lesser levels of enthusiasm value secure, predictable environments.
Variety
The degree to which a person actively seeks out new experiences is reflected in this motivational component. While some people like to continue with their tried-and-true routines and working habits, others seek out diverse experiences, projects, and talents.
Why is it important to have motivated employees?
The level of devotion, desire, and enthusiasm that a company’s employees bring to the role each and every day is not only essential to the success of the organization, but also the key to it. Without it, businesses endure decreased productivity, lower levels of output, and a higher likelihood that they will miss key objectives.
Due to the fact that not every task will be engaging, it can be challenging for many businesses to maintain and improve worker motivation. Businesses must therefore create strategies to maintain staff engagement while also monitoring and fostering employee motivation.
Employee motivation is vital for a number of reasons, but primarily because it enables management to accomplish business objectives. Without a motivated workforce, businesses run the risk of being put in a very dangerous situation.
Employee motivation can enhance productivity and enable an organization to produce at higher levels. Imagine having a worker who lacks motivation at the office. The time they spend at their desks will likely be spent online for personal enjoyment or maybe job searching. Your time and money would be better spent elsewhere.
Keep in mind that this is based on a single employee; imagine the majority of your staff members performing the same action. No one wants to be in this situation.
Think about a worker that lacks enthusiasm for their job. They’re presumably working more slowly, putting off chores, and using their phones excessively. Yet, when they are focused on work that needs to be done for the organization, they lack energy and are largely distracted in their tasks.
This isn’t only a waste of your resources; it might also affect other employees, which could prevent the entire organization from creating work of the greatest caliber and/or accomplishing crucial goals.
A motivated employee, on the other hand, is enthused, determined, and takes pride in their work. They work swiftly, take initiative, and want to do a good job for both themselves, and the business.
Employee motivation is crucial regardless of where your business is in its development. As it declines, output and revenue may not be far behind.
A motivated workforce is invaluable to any organization. Employee motivation, which is intangible, impossible to measure, and highly tough to regulate but is simple to facilitate when done properly, is correlated with an organization’s performance. In an environment where most employees work remotely, it all comes down to intention, energy, and tenacity.
When one employee is visibly joyful and involved at work, morale will rise and motivation will spread throughout the company. We have identified four factors that make motivation crucial in the workplace in order to fully comprehend its significance:
Improved innovation
Employee motivation is a key aspect in a company’s capacity for innovation. Fostering innovation and motivation at work is essential if you want to run a business over the long term. Inspired staff members will be deeply committed to the company’s success; as a result, they will frequently be in charge of developing fresh concepts and enhancing operational efficiency.
Enhanced employee engagement
Engagement and motivation are inextricably intertwined. An employee is more likely to put in more effort for the organization if they feel motivated at work. A highly engaged workforce can produce approximately 20% higher corporate profitability, making engaged employees vital to an organization.
Enhanced productivity
Productivity directly correlates with employee motivation levels. Production rates rise as a result of motivated individuals performing their duties to the best degree; in fact, the Hay Group’s study on employee motivation found that workplaces with engaged employees are 43% more productive.
Greater retention rate
There are requirements that must be met in order to keep an employee, such that they find their job interesting and challenging, have the chance to advance, have strong and reliable management, and be motivated. Motivation serves as a critical catalyst for success. Those who change jobs frequently do so because they perceive their current position to be a dead end and want to advance their careers.
Employee motivation is crucial if they are to meet goals or advance in their careers; without it, they are more likely to become complacent and make less of an impact on the business’s overall performance.
The global COVID-19 pandemic threw every organization into a remote working structure within weeks. Most organizations now find themselves in a hybrid working situation where some workers have returned to the office full time, some split their working hours between the office and working remotely and some have chosen to continue working remotely full time.
From a motivational standpoint, this hybrid working environment adds a new layer of complexity to ensuring employee motivation remains high. Trial and error are essential when it comes to employee motivation; avoid letting your staff members lose motivation.
The benefits of having motivated employees
How can having a large pool of motivated employees benefit businesses?
The following are the top eight advantages of motivation at work:
Greater creativity
Workers that genuinely like their work and are driven to succeed are frequently inspired to come up with fresh innovations and ideas. Employees who are highly motivated have the drive and excitement to lead their teams and the firm in innovation.
They will be able to see potential areas for improvement and be motivated to take action, which will make your company more innovative.
Exceptional staff engagement
Even a highly engaged person can get demotivated from working with a large group of unmotivated colleagues.
On the other side, working in a group of driven co-workers can assist raise overall engagement levels and encourage workers to be more dedicated to their jobs.
Also, increasing overall engagement rates has several advantages because engaged employees are a great asset to your company. Engagement and motivation frequently go hand in hand.
More productive staff
A valuable employee is one who completes more work in less time. Compared to other employees, they can do a lot in the same period of time. And with a motivated team of workers, you can realize significant productivity benefits if their work is of a very high caliber.
Employees who are motivated work effectively because they are eager to complete their jobs and perform a fantastic job.
Reduced turnover rates
Higher turnover rates are associated with unmotivated or disengaged workers, particularly when it comes to your top performers.
On the other hand, motivated individuals are inspired to stick around and keep making a high-level contribution because they can see the difference their job has on their team or firm. Maintaining these motivated and highly productive personnel is beneficial for your company.
Boosts job satisfaction
An employee’s performance is greatly influenced by their level of job satisfaction. A lower attrition rate in a business would also indicate greater job satisfaction. Paying well is one thing, but today’s workers also seek fulfilment in their work.
Workers are 4.6 times more empowered to do their best work when they feel that their voice is being heard.
Increasing staff morale
Motivation and morale go hand in hand, and employee happiness is measured by staff morale.
It is possible to increase motivation and morale through empowering individuals to make decisions at work, giving them a sense of responsibility and authority, and fostering creativity.
Enhancing effectiveness
A motivated worker is eager to contribute his best work, come up with new ideas, and innovate inside the company. They become more productive as a result, which boosts the company’s earnings.
Increased Employee Self-discipline
Employee self-discipline is encouraged through motivation. Employees who are disciplined by themselves achieve significantly more than those who are disciplined by their superiors.
Employees who are motivated discipline themselves because they see it as being in their best interests.
Ways to improve employee motivation
It’s not always simple to create an environment where every employee is motivated to perform at their best, all the time.
Improving employee motivation needs to be a constant focus of the organization and it requires looking at what drives each and every individual within the organization, and then providing them with the motivators they need to work at the highest levels.
Here are four key areas to focus on that can help you to keep the motivation for your employees high:
Set attainable goals for employees
Employee motivation is greatly influenced by a sense of control and autonomy. Employees won’t feel motivated to give their best efforts until they believe they have control over what they do and can contribute.
Setting goals that are specific to what employees can contribute and measure is essential to inspiring them to new heights, but sadly, it’s not very common. In various surveys conducted in different places around the world, only about 21% of employees strongly agree that they have control over performance metrics.
Try offering employees specific plans for the year or quarter that they can directly influence, rather than connecting it to extremely high-level goals that employees can’t really touch on a personal level. In this manner, they are able to see their impact and the outcomes of their efforts.
Improve manager communication skills
According to SHRM, in general, there is a significant difference between the workplace culture that employees experience and the one they would want.
The level of motivation among employees is significantly impacted by improved communication between them and their immediate managers. 95% of workers claim that how they feel about their jobs is significantly impacted by their relationship with their management.
All manager’s jobs include giving direct and actionable feedback, yet few managers excel at it.
About 26% of workers strongly agree that getting feedback improves how well they accomplish their jobs. Employees won’t have the knowledge or incentive to improve if they don’t know whether their performance is good or bad.
Create an inviting work environment
Even your most motivated workers will lose their enthusiasm quickly if they are forced to operate in a depressing setting where it is difficult for them to do their duties effectively.
It may entail offering state-of-the-art technology to help employees do their work quickly, presenting them with a welcoming and inviting workspace, and delivering a comprehensive package of benefits so they may lead fulfilling personal lives as well.
What kind of mood are you currently creating in your workplace? Environments have an impact on an individual’s energy level. Employees feel valued and motivated when the workplace is welcoming, upbeat, and comfortable with everything they need to execute their tasks well.
Give employees praise and rewards
Saying “thank you” is an effective method to inspire any employee, from recent graduates working in entry-level roles to the highest-level leaders. Don’t just say it once either; in order for appreciation and recognition to be effective, it must be expressed frequently and sincerely.
Giving employees praise for a job well done demonstrates your appreciation for what they do and your awareness of their attempts to perform successfully. Humans have an inherent need to be recognized and valued, which is quite motivating. It also demonstrates to other workers what performing well at your firm looks like, so they have a model to follow.
When done correctly, rewarding staff for giving their utmost effort may also be quite motivating. That entails giving staff cash and carefully chosen prizes that they genuinely cherish. Having a variety of prizes available for good performance is a smart idea because different things have different values for employees.
Employees are encouraged to continue that behavior and reinforce it as well when you thank them for performing their best work and acknowledge them for it.
How to measure employee motivation
Finding a metric to gauge employee motivation can be challenging. Knowing how your employees genuinely feel is the only reliable method to gauge this. Some businesspeople organize frequent one-on-one meetings, while others use employee engagement tools.
Yearly surveys are too long, too difficult to measure, and too infrequent. Employees may have been dealing with those issues for up to a year by the time you ask for comments in an annual survey, and they may be negatively impacting the company. If your chosen method of gathering information about how your employees feel is through surveys, it’s advisable that you create a process that is conducted monthly (or quarterly at a minimum).
Gathering the pulse of your organization more frequently means you will be able to run brief, repeated surveys, and HR will find it simpler to swiftly obtain and act upon crucial data regarding what makes employees tick.
Confidential questionnaires are a terrific method to gain a complete picture of the firm because employees may find it difficult to be honest in face-to-face interviews with a business leader or HR representative.
The finest solutions will show your outcomes on a real-time dashboard, enabling you to immediately gauge trends and spot difficulties before they develop into more serious issues. This enables you to quickly create a solution because you can learn what motivates employees and what they perceive as perhaps restraining them. You can also follow up with them frequently to see if anything has changed or improved.
The key to keeping motivation high is to demonstrate your concern, pay attention to their concerns, and take appropriate action.
Case Study: Starbucks Corporation – Motivation and Teamwork
Recent rapid globalization has increased the rivalry in the service sector where there are related products being sold under different brands. To stand out from the vast array of competitors, two main factors have been identified as being critical to succeed:
• The quality of the products that are offered.
• The atmosphere and teamwork in the premises within which the products are offered for sale.
As a result, it has become crucial for businesses to inspire, recognize, and develop their staff so that they can provide the highest level of service.
The most well-known chain of retail coffee shops in the world, Starbucks Corporation, derives the majority of its revenue from the roasting and sale of specialty coffee beans as well as other types of coffee or tea beverages. It has around 4000 branches worldwide. Moreover, it has been among the US corporations with the fastest growth rates.
Starbucks is well-known throughout the world for its high-quality coffee, friendly staff, and cozy atmosphere. Starbucks creates welcoming environments for socializing with a reasonable price, which draws customers of all ages into the locations.
It is also renowned for its happy employees. Employee turnover at Starbucks was 65% and manager turnover was 25% every year. Some national chain merchants’ staff turnover, on the other hand, ranges from 150% to 400% (employees) and 50% (managers). The turnover rate at Starbucks is significantly lower than the average for other industries when compared to them.
Starbucks is one of the best service sector business models for techniques involving customer happiness, employee engagement, and teamwork.
The development of Starbucks
In 1971, three friends who had met at the University of Washington – Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker – founded Starbucks. Howard Schultz, a sales representative, made the decision to join Starbucks as director of marketing and retail sales where he learned the ‘ins and outs’ of the exceptional culture and environment of the business.
In 1985 in Seattle, Howard Schultz opened his own coffee shop – II Giornale. After seeing the successful business strategy that Schultz employed over the next two years, the original three owners of Starbucks agreed to sell their company to Schultz.
After that, Schultz recruited additional investors and changed II Giornale’s name to Starbucks. He was interested in the rate of expansion because he wanted to pursue his aim of having everyone experience his coffee. He believed that opening new stores in other locations was the most effective strategy to increase the number of branches at the time.
Starbucks opened its first international location in Japan in 1997 and grew nearly 300 times the size in 10 years, from 17 locations to 5,688 distributed across 30 countries as of the end of 2002!
In the United States, Starbucks was recognized as the 11th greatest company to work for in 2005 by Fortune magazine. In 2006, it climbed to the 29th spot. It was rated as the 16th best in 2007. The Financial Times named Starbucks as one of the top 10 UK workplaces in the same year.
Motivation
For business, motivation is a crucial component of the manufacturing process. Workers are not machines and cannot always perform the same task with the same level of enthusiasm. Howard Schultz, the company’s chief executive officer, believed that it is the employees – rather than the coffee – who make Starbucks successful. He is incredibly aware of the worth of Starbucks employees and passionately believes that they embody the company’s spirit. Starbucks provides an engaged environment that encourages employees to fully commit to their work.
Fair treatment
All staff members at Starbucks, including the branch supervisors, are referred to as “partners” by the managers, who treat every employee equally. They also collaborate with the entry-level front-line personnel in an effort to reduce the gap between management and employees. As a result, they are able to maintain a good management system and establish a setting that is much more intimate and familiar than other locations. Customers are impacted by staff passion just as much as they are.
Pay attention to staff
Starbucks provides an effective means of employee communication. It emphasizes the value of labor. To suit the needs of the employees, managers, for instance, plan the working hours for each employee and also set up a vacation program.
Weekly interviews are conducted to determine the needs of the personnel. The directors appreciate any recommendation made by the partners as they have the right to determine which policy is best for them. Starbucks even wants each employee to contribute to the creation and development of plans before working together to achieve their objectives. As a result, everyone on staff is aware of the policies and ideals, and employees are free to express their personal viewpoints.
Excellent welfare policies
These are offered to all employees, even non-exempt staff, and include things like employee discounts on goods, health, dental, and vision insurance, and paid time off. Also, partners who put in more than 20 hours per week are eligible for benefits. Starbucks chooses to distribute stock dividends to all employees with a free script issuance since it also believes that debt financing is not the best option.
The employees can benefit from the company’s dividends thanks to this policy. Because of this, they have a common objective; in other words, they are driven to boost sales in order to raise profits. The employees are Starbucks’ most valuable resource.
Teamwork
1. Starbucks maintains a well-developed strategy to maintain positive working connections between managers and staff.
2. As previously indicated, they refer to all employees as “partners”, which reduces the bureaucratic divide. Also, they collaborate in the front line to close the gap between various statuses.
3. There are typically three to six people per company. Staff members may quickly and easily get to know one another because of the small size.
4. Employee concerns and suggestions are given the same weight. They also have the right to take part in the revision of corporate policies. In doing so, each staff member believes that they play an important role in company operations, and they jointly work out the direction of Starbucks.
5. Employees feel respected as a result of this.
6. Starbucks donates a portion of its earnings to charitable causes. Staff members believe that what they do for Starbucks benefits society as a whole as a result.
7. With regard to goals, Starbucks set a challenging and specific goal, and it allows all partners to decide the direction.
Conclusion
Starbucks changes the behaviors and viewpoints of global consumers of coffee, and this successful example has caught global attention. Nowadays, it is not only one of the fastest growing corporations, but also an outstanding business model with low employee turnover rate and high profit performance.
Starbucks shows that motivation is the key factor of a company policy, opposite to the principles of classical management which is only concerned about production and ignores workers’ ideas. A good relationship between managers and employees could maintain a high quality of performance.
We can learn from Starbucks: using the correct strategy leads to success.
Exercise 2.10: Measuring Motivation
1. Where do you think the organization needs to improve employee morale?
2. What’s the first thing the organization should do to improve employee morale?
3. What steps can be taken to address this?
Course Manual 11: Employee Engagement
Introduction
As industries try to find a foothold in turning the tide against significant health and wellness issues, researchers in the fields of organizational behavior, psychology, and industrial psychology have all stepped in to extensively examining the area of employee engagement as a possible way to assist in improving the mental health of employees.
As a result of this research, employee engagement is now widely acknowledged as a corporate activity that not only helps with improved health and wellbeing of employees, but one that also significantly contributes to organizational success and profitability.
It is described as “a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that can be characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption”, where “vigor” refers to a person’s willingness to put forth additional effort and energy into their work by remaining energized and developing the tendency to remain focused during times of difficulty or failure.
Dedication is a standout characteristic that is associated with employee engagement. It is also widely held as a key emotional component linked to employee engagement. One of the primary characteristics of dedication that is almost always present, is that of paying attention to one’s work.
A person who is completely immersed in their task, so much so that time seems to fly rapidly, and who forgets everything else around them is said to be in an absorption state.
Given the results of this extensive research, more companies have now started to understand the importance of engaged employees and, as a result, have begun implementing a number of measures to engage their staff members and motivate them to stick with the organization.
Three types of employee commitment
One of the key things for organizations to understand is that some people commit to remaining with the organization because they love what they do and are completely engaged with the goals and values of the company. Others remain at the organization because they’re too afraid to leave, or they feel obligated to the company or their manager.
Clearly, the latter can create issues in the organization because these employees aren’t engaged and that impacts the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the work that is produced.
Therefore, it becomes important to understand the three types of employee commitment, and what changes you can make to improve your employee engagement and loyalty.
The Three Component Model of Commitment was created by John Meyer and Natalie Allen, and it was published in the Human Resource Management Review in 1991. According to the model, loyalty to an organization is a psychological state with three separate elements that influence how employees feel about the company they work for.
The three components are as follows:
• Love for your work (“affective commitment”)
• Loss aversion (“continuance commitment”)
• Feeling of duty to remain (“normative commitment”).
Affective commitment
The most significant and effective predictor of favorable organizational effects is affective commitment.
The emotional connection an employee has to the company is known as affective commitment. An employee that is emotionally committed understands, values, and participates in their affiliation with the company.
Affective commitment focuses primarily on the emotional connection or identification of the person with a goal that holds a special meaning and importance for the person and inspires them to go above and beyond their formal obligation.
An employee that has a strong affective commitment demonstrates job happiness, employee engagement, and a desire to remain with the company. They also exhibit improved and motivated performance, which contributes to the success of the firm.
Affective commitment is important because a person’s affective commitment to their employer shows their dedication and loyalty to it. Workers that have a high level of affective commitment identify with the company, feel like they belong, and are eager to work towards the company’s objectives.
This raises their participation in organizational activities, improves their engagement and productivity, and increases the likelihood that they’ll be with the company for a while.
Continuance commitment
The degree to which employees feel compelled to stick with their company is referred to as continuity commitment. Employees that are devoted to the organization in the long run do so because they need to continue working there. The need to remain with an organization may have a variety of causes, but the two basic ones are compensation and the absence of other employment options.
Employees that feel compelled to remain with their company because leaving would result in lower pay and benefits are a strong example of continuation commitment. Such situations can cause problems for organizations since long-term employees may become dissatisfied (and disengaged) with their jobs but remain averse to leaving the company.
As you consider the advantages and disadvantages of leaving your organization, there is an overriding kind of commitment that comes into play. The loss you would suffer by leaving your firm can be larger than the gain you believe you would realize in a different position, leading you to believe that you must remain there.
These anticipated losses, or “side bets”, can be financial (you’d lose your pay and benefits), professional (you might lose your seniority or role-related abilities that you’ve spent years developing), or social (you’d lose friends or allies).
With time and expertise, the severity of these “losses” frequently worsens. If you have multiple promotions at one company or are in an established, successful career, you are more likely to have continuous commitment.
Your motivation to complete your work on time and cooperate with others may come from your fear of losing your employment. But it may also sap your will to grow and learn. For instance, you can be afraid to take risks or think creatively because you don’t want to mess up. Alternately, you could decide to cease pursuing promotions or new initiatives for fear of offending people and ruining your reputation.
Normative commitment
When employees have a ‘normative commitment’ there is a sense of obligation to their employer or organization that prevents them from resigning. The employees feels that they have to stay because the organization has invested money or time into training for them or that the organization has been ‘good’ to them through promotions and compensation reviews.
High normatively committed individuals:
• Believe it is their duty to continue working at their current position.
• When a fresh opportunity presents itself, are less likely to depart.
• Would feel bad about leaving their company.
• Have a strong sense of loyalty.
• Are more likely to put in extra effort because they feel obligated to the company.
Individuals may have a normative commitment to both their profession and to their organization. A nurse or soldier, for instance, can feel strongly about their obligation to their career and hence be less likely to change their line of work. A recent graduate of a trainee or graduate program might experience a similar sense of loyalty to their employer.
Normative commitment comes in two forms.
• Moral commitment: which is a strong want to act or provide assistance because it is the right thing to do.
• Owed commitment: which is a strong sense of obligation to act in a certain way in order to avoid the social consequence of doing otherwise.
A missionary, police officer, or firefighter who considers their job to be their calling or life’s purpose is an example of someone performing their role morally.
An employee who feels unable to leave because their employer provided assistance to them during a time of need is an example of an owed responsibility. Another possibility is someone who feels unable to leave their team because they don’t want to let their supervisor or co-workers down.
Why is employee engagement so important?
Every business needs strong employee engagement initiatives because they improve work environments, lower staff turnover, boost productivity, foster better working relationships with clients, and have a positive influence on bottom lines.
It also makes workers happier and makes them your biggest supporters.
Being engaged with one’s work, employer, and co-workers is crucial to an individual’s overall enjoyment and experience, especially if the individual works a regular schedule.
The more engaged employees a workplace has, the more the energy and productivity of the workforce increases, and the more individual employees perform above and beyond the call of duty.
Research clearly shows that the environment within a workplace affects the mental wellbeing of every employee within the workplace and highly engaged employees can have a good impact on people around them, including co-workers and clients.
Increased productivity, a more positive workplace culture, decreased attrition, improved working and customer connections, and an impact on revenues are all benefits of employee engagement. Employees who are highly engaged become your best supporters.
Employee engagement generally has the greatest impact on business operations and profitability at the corporate level. Yet, it also assists in understanding the needs of the workforce and locating opportunities to boost morale and foster better working conditions.
Employee engagement versus job satisfaction
The terms ‘job satisfaction’ and ‘engagement’ are being used interchangeably more and more often. While the determinants of both share certain similarities, there are also important distinctions between the factors that make up each one.
Employee engagement is what happens when employees are dedicated to assisting their organizations in achieving all of their objectives. Employees that are engaged are driven to come to work every day and go above and beyond to support the success of their organizations.
Engagement is regularly defined in terms of employees’ emotions and actions.
Employees who are engaged with their work may say they feel deeply immersed and concentrated. They have a sense of urgency and are excited. Engaged conduct is tenacious, pro-active, and adaptable in ways that, if needed, broaden the job tasks.
Employee engagement goes beyond responsibilities in areas like service delivery or innovation.
Satisfied employees, in comparison, feel nice, comfortable, and fulfilled. Engaged employees, on the other hand, feel focused with a sense of urgency and concentrate on how they approach what they do.
Employee satisfaction refers to the state in which a worker enjoys their work—but may not necessarily be actively involved in it. Imagine the employee who is permitted to arrive at work early and depart late without making a significant contribution or exerting themselves.
In contrast to employee engagement levels, which are generally under the direct control of, or considerably impacted by the employee’s boss, employee job satisfaction in an organization frequently corresponds to elements that the business has control over, such as compensation, benefits, and job security (through job assignments, trust, recognition, day-to-day communications, etc.).
While satisfied workers might do a respectable job of handling their duties, they’ll never go above and above. This is the main distinction between engaged workers and satisfied workers.
Employees that are engaged are not just content with their jobs but are always considering how the business might improve. This may mean optimizing business procedures, coming up with concepts for novel goods or services, or constantly lending a helpful hand to co-workers in need.
The difference between these two factors is what makes them both important. Businesses need to focus on measuring both engagement and satisfaction to get a true reading on where the commitment of their employees lies.
What are the benefits of having engaged employees?
Globally, more and more organizations are realizing that there are significant benefits to having engaged employees. Some of these benefits include:
Increased loyalty to employers
When you place an emphasis on employee engagement you can lower turnover costs and retain your staff at much higher levels.
Employees that are disengaged and uninterested may leave their employer abruptly and frequently. Disengaged employees may not be actively seeking employment elsewhere, may be ‘headhunted’ and jump ship with zero notice, simply because they’re offered more compensation at another organization.
They will be more invested and determined to stick around if they care about their work, the other employees, and the firm.
Higher productivity
Because they enjoy what they do and are confident in their contribution to the organization, engaged employees put in more effort.
It is far more probable that you will do something well and be invested in working at your highest level if you are interested in it and have a connection to what you are doing.
Increased levels of customer service
Customer satisfaction and client success are essential components of any profitable organization. After all, the majority of businesses depend on attracting and keeping consumers.
Employees are more likely to care about consumers and go above and beyond to guarantee clients and customers have a positive experience when they are content and interested in their work.
Increased profitability
Sales in highly engaged organizations are typically 20% greater than those in disengaged organizations.
It’s easy to connect the dots between higher sales, engaged people, enhanced efficiency, and excellent customer service.
Greater employee satisfaction
To maintain interest and passion, workers must feel satisfied with their employment.
Employee satisfaction with contributions and influence is higher when there is significant employee engagement. They are related to both the business they work for and their performance.
High employee satisfaction levels also result in general happiness, which is advantageous for business morale, productivity, etc.
Improved early adoption of business initiatives
Engaged employees are more likely to take part in new business-boosting activities that your organization launches. They’ll enthusiastically join because they appreciate what your business is trying to do, which will result in high adoption rates and sustained engagement.
Engaged staff members become brand ambassadors
Employees are more inclined to promote a brand when they are well-informed and highly engaged. They will promote your business through word-of-mouth campaigns, post company content on social media, and expand the reach of your marketing and employer brand.
The most reliable spokesperson for your business’s services or goods is its workforce.
Case Study: Developing and Sustaining Employee Engagement
Increasing employee engagement is one of the top five worldwide company initiatives, according to executives from around the world. Engagement is a critical factor in customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and shareholder value. It also has the ability to have a substantial impact on staff retention, productivity and loyalty.
Organizations are increasingly looking to HR to determine the direction for employee commitment and engagement in order to gain a competitive advantage.
The majority of executives are already aware that employee engagement has a direct impact on the stability and profitability of a firm. Just 33% of American workers, according to Gallup, are engaged in their work.
The majority of businesses still have a lot of work to do in order to realize the full potential of their workforce because 52% of employees claim to be “simply showing up” and 17% identify as “actively disengaged”.
Social cohesiveness, feeling supported by one’s boss, information sharing, shared goals and vision, communication, and trust can all have an impact on engagement and productivity. Workers want to be appreciated and valued; they want to know that their work matters and that their opinions are taken seriously.
Employees who are highly engaged are more dedicated to their employers and more productive. Consult Workplaces That Improve Human Performance and Experience.
Results of Business Engagement
Highly involved workers at beverage juggernaut Molson Coors were five times less likely than nonengaged workers to experience a safety event, and seven times less likely to experience a lost-time safety issue. The organization reduced safety expenses by US$1,721,760 in a year through improving employee engagement.
Increased employee engagement at the manufacturer of construction equipment Caterpillar led to US$8.8 million in annual savings from reduced attrition, absenteeism, and overtime in a European plant and to a US$2 million profit boost and a 34% rise in highly satisfied customers in a start-up plant.
What Engagement of Employees Is – and Is Not
Many definitions of employee engagement have been created by researchers and consulting firms. To identify and distinguish different levels of worker participation, they have also developed categories.
Although they have some overlap, work happiness and employee engagement are not the same things. The degree to which an employee is personally content with their work is more important than their level of involvement in furthering organizational objectives.
Employee engagement has been defined in a variety of ways, from the succinct and direct to the descriptive and in-depth. Many aspects of an employee’s loyalty to the company or the admirable traits that an engaged employee demonstrates are emphasized in these descriptions. Examples of definitions for employee involvement include:
• Employee engagement, according to Quantum Workplace, is the degree of the psychological and emotional attachment workers have to their workplaces.
• Employees who are involved with, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace are defined as being “engaged” by Gallup.
• Employee engagement, according to Willis Towers Watson, is the readiness and capacity to contribute to business success.
• Employee engagement, according to Aon Hewitt, refers to “the degree of an employee’s psychological investment in their firm”.
What sets apart engagement disengaged employees
Gallup distinguishes between employees who are “actively engaged” (loyal and productive), “not engaged” (average performance), and “actively disengaged”. As an illustration, engaged and less than completely involved workers have been described as “ROAD warriors” (“Retired On Active Duty”).
Employees who are “engaged” (who know what to do and want to do it) are distinguished from “disengaged” (who know what to do but don’t want to do it), “enthusiasts,” (who want to do the work but don’t know how to do it), and “renegades” (those who know what to do but either don’t do it or decide to do it another way because they can).
Disengaged workers typically perform the bare minimum and feel no meaningful connection to their work. Disengagement may manifest in a number of typical ways, such as a rapid shift towards a ‘9-to-5’ time-clock mentality, a reluctance to engage in social activities outside of the workplace, or a propensity to isolate oneself from peers. It is most obvious when a typically vivacious and energetic person seems to fade away and offers nothing constructive. They could dislike their occupations, have a habit of complaining to co workers, and lower productivity levels.
Employee engagement and disengagement behaviors are as follows:
Engaged actions
• Optimistic.
• Team-oriented.
• Surpasses all expectations.
• Solution-oriented.
• Selfless.
• Actively demonstrates a desire to learn.
• Gives credit to others but accepts blame.
Disengaged behaviors
• Pessimistic.
• Self-centered.
• Frequently absent.
• Highly negative.
• Egocentric.
• Only focuses on monetary compensation.
• Accepts credit but passes along any blame.
Exercise 2.11: Employee Engagement Survey
– 1 = No
– 2 = Ambivalent/Maybe
– 3 = Yes
1. How did you feel about going to work today?
2. Do you see any problems with the current organizational culture?
3. Are there ways and/or things the organization can do that will help improve engagement in the workplace?
4. Is there anything else you think should be noted regarding the employee experience within the organization?
5. What areas do you believe the organization needs to improve employee engagement?
6. What are three simple things the organization can easily do now to improve employee engagement?
7. What’s the first step you think the organization needs to take to improve employee engagement?
Course Manual 12: Investing in Health and Wellness
Introduction
The daily interactions that people have with one another, the structure of working conditions, management practices, and the way that decisions are made and conveyed all have an impact on the health and wellness of employees.
Employers should be aware of the psychological health and wellbeing factors that are under the control, responsibility, or influence of the workplace and that may have an impact on the workforce. There are, of course, additional factors that are external to the workplace that can affect employees’ health and wellbeing that are out of the organizations control, however focusing on those factors that are internal to the organization can assist employees to better deal with external issues as they arise.
When it comes to employee health and wellness and, as an extension, the wellness of the organization as a whole, there are a few important things to bear in mind:
• The significance of employee health and wellness is growing and now, more than ever, employers need to recognize the need for organizational wellbeing strategies to help employees address the emotional and physical components of their working life.
• Happy employees foster a highly productive organizational environment.
• Happiness is everything! The quality of an employee’s professional performance can be impacted by every area of their personal lives.
• By focusing on employee wellness an organization can provide a huge motivation to the workforce.
• A more active, healthier, and happier workforce becomes the goal, and the overall outcome of fostering a culture of health and wellness and encouraging employees through engagement, cooperation, and stress reduction.
Why it’s worth your business investing in health and wellness
The health issues that employees face at work are numerous and diverse, ranging from the general (like stress, which affects all industry sectors) to the specific (like mesothelioma), and from the well-known to the recently discovered. Physical risks to the health and safety of employees still exist.
Individuals are increasingly at risk from various organizational demands and larger environmental pressures due to complex developments in the workplace. Research shows that people’s work and home life have become more intertwined and provide compelling evidence that work has intensified.
Health is “a condition of total physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not only the absence of disease or disability”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHOa, 2014). According to the definition given in the article, mental health is a “state of wellbeing in which every individual fulfils his or her own potential, can cope with everyday stressors, can work successfully and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (WHOb, 2014).
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), building an atmosphere that fosters a level of contentment that enables employees to thrive and realize their full potential for the benefit of both themselves and their business constitutes a key component of wellbeing (CIPD, 2016). The focus of literature on wellbeing is on aspects of psychological, bodily, and social wellbeing.
From a larger standpoint, wellbeing also typically refers to work-life balance, mental health, wellness management programs, job satisfaction, job-related wellbeing, and contentment.
The top five reasons to spend money on workplace wellness
1. There are now multiple research reports that show that there is a Return on Investment (ROI) of between $3 and $8 for every $1 spent on workplace wellbeing.
The research shows that employees who work for organizations that take health and wellness seriously have a higher ‘Employee Positivity Factor’. The impact of this can be seen when employees engage with customers (it can result in a markedly improved customer experience and more sales) and when they interact with co-workers (it may result in the production of fresh concepts or solutions to organizational problems).
Generally, a workplace with high employee positivity factor is a happier workplace, which sees more value provided by each employee, which creates a direct benefit to the bottom line of the business.
2. Absenteeism decreases by up to 25% and workers compensation expenses claimed for mental health issues can drop significantly as a result.
Effective health and wellness programs lower absence rates among employees because it helps them improve their health. When you can decrease the occurrence of sickness, allergies and mental health conditions, employees are less likely to report absenteeism. They’re also less likely to require checkups and treatments in the doctor’s office that mean they need to be absent from the workplace to receive medical assistance.
Additionally, when workers are under constant pressure and in a state of health decline, some workers will call in sick without any apparent cause other than they are feeling low in energy or experiencing depressive moods. Wellness initiatives can often help lessen the emotional burden of experiencing mental health issues and effective wellness activities can assist in lessening the frequency of such incidents.
3. Workplace health and wellbeing initiatives can cut health care costs.
Although investing in fitness initiatives to save on health care expenses may seem counterintuitive, this strategy is highly effective.
The main goal behind any health and wellness initiative is to assist employees to form health and wellness routines that create greater overall health that can benefit every aspect of their life.
Effective health and wellness plans give workers an opportunity to improve their diet, exercise more frequently, and create strong stress management processes for themselves. They might even decide to stop bad habits like smoking and binge drinking as a result of the programs activities. All of these things can assist in lowering absenteeism and boosting productivity, saving the business money.
They also lower the chances of employees getting sick or developing chronic diseases as a result of poor health. The end result of all of this is that the cost of employee health care decreases.
4. Organizations that prioritize employee welfare, can see much higher levels of employee engagement.
An employee’s productivity is significantly impacted by their level of stress and wellness. Working long hours damages both our body and mind, which makes them counterproductive to an organization achieving its long-term goals.
Programs for the health and wellness of employees can aid in stress management. Freeing the brain up to better concentrate on the work at hand enables individuals to consistently put in their best effort at work. Reducing stress loads also gives the body more energy to get through the day.
Motivation and mental health are directly related. Because of this, a lack of motivation might be a sign of depression and other mental health problems. Keeping employees healthy will also provide additional motivation to help them to accomplish their work.
If you maintain the physical and mental wellbeing of your staff, your business will benefit from their hard work and increased productivity.
5. Wellness programs can assist with retaining talented employees.
A wellness program improves a company’s ability to compete on the job market. Today’s workers take into account both the income and the benefits. Offering wellness programs can therefore draw the best personnel in the sector.
Virgil HealthMiles and Workforce Management Magazine conducted a survey a few years ago, finding that 87% of employees look into the company’s employee wellness programs before choosing an employer.
Also, existing staff members are almost certainly talking to others about what it’s like to work within the business. Referrals can be a powerful tool to assist a business when looking for talented and reliable staff.
And, because employees are more likely to appreciate their employment, retention rates are greater as a result. For employees, wellness programs are quite important. They are unlikely to quit the company for one without comparable programs.
According to research, an efficient workplace wellness program, conducted in accordance with best practices and that addresses the vital areas of physical, mental, and social health, can not only help employees improve their healthy lifestyle choices and optimize their physical and mental wellbeing, but will also make a significant difference to the results and performance of the organization.
The way that health risks impact employee performance
A workplace health and wellness strategy will only be as effective as the employees make it. If the employees are engaged with the program and the activities, products and services provided they will get the most benefit out of it, which in turn then provides the most benefit to the organization as whole.
Here are five things to consider when looking to get your employees involved in workplace wellness:
Find out what your employees want.
Asking questions prior to planning wellness activities will give you the information you need to create the program that’s right for your employees. It will increase the likelihood that your program will be successful. The underlying goal of your program should be that no matter how healthy your employees currently are, all employees should be able to participate in your workplace wellness initiatives.
Providing workers with a variety of ways to engage with your program will give everyone an option to participate in the different events and activities. While some people prefer to work alone, others value peer support or competitiveness.
Get others involved in the planning.
Employee participation is key to any wellness program or activity’s success, so it is crucial to incorporate discussion and engagement with them in the planning stage. A wellness committee may not be necessary for very small organizations, but someone will still need to oversee the activities.
Use rewards.
Employee engagement and motivation can be maintained by offering some inexpensive incentives or prizes to stimulate and promote participation. Extrinsic reward goods that promote participation include gift cards, discount coupons, T-shirts, water bottles, plaques, coffee mugs, buttons, pens, and pins. The actual rewards you choose should be aligned with your people and what is important to them.
Share information and recognize successes.
Create a communication strategy to spread the word about the organization’s wellness initiatives. Activities can be promoted through emails, posters, and the corporate intranet. Urge your staff to document their participation with images and stories that can motivate and inspire others. To commemorate the completion of an activity, think about organizing a staff lunch or an afternoon break for participants.
Walk the talk.
Owners or senior managers who take part in the wellness activities and events serve as role models for others and communicate to staff that workplace wellness is a top priority. This is a critical component of the wellness strategy that is often missing.
How workplace wellness incentives can help
Employee participation and engagement in healthy activities, attitudes and behaviors is enhanced when the organization they work for continuously invests in their health and wellbeing. Enhanced health and wellness will provide employees with activities that assist them to be more energetic, productive and healthy throughout the day.
It also assists them to minimize the time they’re absent from the workplace with injuries, illness and sickness. This in turn results in them needing fewer days off from work and lowers the turnover and churn of employees from the organization.
In a workplace that values health and wellness, employees have been shown to feel good about coming to work, like the work they do, and are more focused and involved in their work.
As a result of a health and wellness focus, it is not uncommon to see the following aspects of an organization’s performance rise:
• Enhanced productivity
• Higher profit levels
• Recruitment and recognized as an employer of choice
• Organizational excellence and sustainability
• Employee co-operation
• Employee engagement
• Employee retention
• Loyalty to the organization
• Employee engagement; and
• Increased employee creativity and innovative thinking.
According to research, companies that apply strategies for psychological, emotional and physical health and wellbeing perform better overall across all important performance metrics, including health and wellbeing, key human resource metrics, and shareholder returns.
Companies who limit their focus to standard health indicators like weight, nutrition, and activity are missing important cues on how to maximize a healthy and productive staff. By adopting a more comprehensive perspective, it is possible to uncover previously underestimated costs of poor health.
How to shift your workforce into gear
Through strong and effective health and wellness programs that have been designed specifically to meet the needs of the individuals within the organization’s workforce, employers can assist their staff members in all facets of their lives and in ways that are measurable, connected to meaningful behavior change, and that result in meaningful outcomes.
More productive workers are those who are less stressed, healthy, joyful, and highly engaged. They are safer, more productive, and more attentive at work. They are more engaged at work and more likely to remain with your company for a longer period of time.
Family, friends, and co-workers all have a big impact on an employee’s health and happiness. A company’s success is boosted by developing a culture of wellbeing and fostering contented workers, who in turn attract and retain your most important staff.
Workers that are less stressed and in good health will have lower health risks, which will lead to fewer health issues, worker’s compensation claims, absenteeism, and presenteeism.
Case Study: Johnson & Johnson Employee Wellness Program
Since 1979, J&J (Johnson & Johnson) has built a reputation for providing comprehensive, all-encompassing workplace wellness programs. J&J employs 115,500 people worldwide, with about 40,000 of them working in the US.
Programming Goals
1. By education and simple access to health promotion initiatives, encourage J&J employees to become the healthiest in the world.
2. Put in place programs and services that are available on-site to boost employee morale and output while lowering the company’s health care expenses.
3. To improve the health, wellbeing, and productivity of J&J staff members globally.
4. To act as a global leader in the implementation of high-quality integrated health programs and services by offering leadership, advice, direction, and support.
Program Summary
1. J&J runs an extensive, multifaceted, holistic onsite wellness program that integrates services for mental health, occupational health, and health coaching throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
2. The organization’s culture and operations are totally interwoven with health and wellness.
3. J&J reorganized its employee health, wellness, disability management, employee assistance, and occupational medicine programs into a shared services-focused program for the United States.
4. A centralized department is responsible for managing the programs, which include a core set of services given at each of the 200+ business units of the corporation. Additional services are delivered as required based on site-specific requirements and employee demand.
5. Participants in the program are given financial incentives to complete health risk assessments and, depending on the severity of their concerns, meet with a health adviser once or more to create a detailed, personalized strategy for lowering recognized risks.
6. The program saw very high participation rates, considerably lowered risk factors (including inactivity, smoking, high blood pressure, and cholesterol), and produced a positive return on investment while also lowering overall company health care costs and reducing absenteeism.
7. Health and wellness centers outside of the US and Puerto Rico are decentralized and run by separate business locations. Although > 80% of all J&J workers still have access to EAP services, the corporate Global Health Services group continues to serve as a consulting body for core services and manages all EAPs and contracts globally directly.
Programming Elements
“Global Health Services Wellness & Health Promotion” offers a variety of options for achievement.
Continuous Analysis and Workplace Wellbeing Insights
1. The relationship between lifestyle-related risk factors and expenses, presenteeism, and absenteeism: Employees with more health risk factors have a propensity to spend more health care resources, miss more days of work, and operate at subpar levels of productivity and efficiency.
2. Worksite wellness and health promotion have untapped potential for lowering risk factors in both employees and dependents. This is possible with well-designed programs.
Innovative Problem-Solving Techniques
Employees who agree to participate in a voluntary assessment that includes biometric screening and receive follow-up coaching are eligible for a US$500 medical benefit plan credit. This is one financial incentive to complete the health risk assessment and health advising procedure.
1. Continuing guidance and a plan of action: In the US, eligible employees receive a once-per-year telephone health adviser counselling. discussing the results of their health profile and informing them of the resources that can help them with their health needs. In most of their facilities, workers have the option to contact other health experts by phone, email, in-person meetings (where accessible), or other means. Individuals’ health needs are addressed based on these discussions, and action plans are created to improve their health and wellbeing.
2. Comprehensive menu of integrated services and support, site-specific: Each business unit provides a comprehensive menu of integrated services and support, including wellness, health promotion and prevention, occupational health, and mental health services, to aid employees in carrying out their plans of action. Each site provides a core set of services in addition to extra services based on the particular needs of the employee population and the distinctive culture of that particular site, with support and control from corporate Global Health Services professionals.
3. Basic services for all workers are available at every J&J location.
4. Integrated professional team support: Employees have access to a 24/7 mental health/wellness counsellor, an EAP professional, a wellness professional, and an occupational health professional. Together, they form the Global Health Services team, which offers continuing counselling, recommendations, guidance, and other forms of support based on the need of the client.
5. Strong education, awareness, and coaching initiatives: Employees may access a range of information and guidance on wellness, health promotion, managing chronic diseases, and other related topics. Unique, tailored programs are available both on-site and online.
6. Fitness centers: The majority of J&J locations feature an on-site fitness center or exercise room that is manned. Employees who live or work more than 10 miles from a J&J fitness center may request reimbursement of the costs associated with joining an outside facility or investing in authorized exercise equipment.
7. In-person biometric exams are often provided on-site and include measurements of height, weight, body mass index, blood sugar, and cholesterol.
8. Training in resilience and stress management is usually provided on their websites, along with counselling and other resources.
9. Nutritional assistance: workplaces encourage employees to eat healthier by covering the cost of nutritious items in company cafeterias (so that they cost no more than unhealthy choices). The ‘eatcomplete’ program, created by J&J, gives employee cafeterias instructions on how to serve high density nutritional meals. Also, the compliance of vending machines with program requirements is audited. In addition, employees have access to personalized nutritional information and recipes to be used at home.
10. Smoke-free campuses: No tobacco products are allowed in any J&J facilities anywhere in the globe.
11. Ongoing risk/disease management: individuals found to be at high risk during the health risk assessment receive a referral to the CareConnect program (US), which provides ongoing support in managing identified risks and chronic diseases/complex conditions. The risk assessment incentive is only available to those who actively participate in the program after being referred.) CareConnect is designed to encourage eligible individuals with complex or chronic health conditions to participate with a nurse health coach.
12. Post event management: anyone who experiences a major health event, such as a hospitalization or emergency department visit, receives additional support.
13. Optional, site-specific services: individual sites may offer additional services based on the needs of employees and the culture in place within the site. This includes limited primary care services such as wellness exams, episodic (acute) care and treatment, on-site physical therapy and massage services and pharmacy concierge services.
Results
The US program has achieved very high participation rates, significantly reduced risk factors and led to lower overall corporate health care spending, less absenteeism, and a positive return on investment.
1. High participation rates: after the introduction of the US$500 financial incentive in 1993, participation rates in the program reached roughly 90%. Participation rates have remained between 80% and 85% since that time – well above the levels achieved in the typical corporate wellness program.
2. Significant reductions in risk factors: the percentage of J&J employees who exhibit key risk factors has declined significantly between the 1995-1999 time period and 2007-2009, including reductions in the percentage of employees who:
a. are sedentary (from 39% to 20.4%),
b. smoke (12% to 3.9 %),
c. have high blood pressure (14% to 6.3 %), or
d. have high cholesterol (19% to 5.3%).
In addition, from 2006-2009, the percentage of employees:
e. at low risk increased from 78.1% to 87.1%,
f. at moderate risk fell from 20.5% to 12%, and
g. at high risk fell from 1.4% to 0.9%.
Each of the 2007-2009 figures is well below the average for the entire U.S. population.
3. Lower health care spending, positive return on investment: a 2002 published analysis of the program’s impact on long-term trends in utilization, costs and behavior change suggest that:
a. The program has saved approximately US$400 per employee per year (in 2007 dollars).
b. High-risk intervention programs have saved an estimated US$390 per participant per year (as compared with those not participating in these programs).
c. Yields an estimated US$890,000 per year in savings to the company.
d. A separate analysis conducted in 2009 found that the program has achieved a positive return on investment, with combined data showing an overall return on investment of ∼3:1.
4. Less absenteeism: The program has reduced absenteeism for 96% of employees who use EAP.
Exercise 2.12: Wellness Checklist
1. Which of the ‘No’ answers do you think it is important for your organization to have?
2. Why do you think it is important?
3. Which one do you think is the most important for your organization to consider first.
Project Studies
Before the commencement of Workshop 3, the Head of each department is to provide a detailed report relating to the introduction of a strategic wellbeing plan within their department.
The report should include the following:
– Initial evaluation of the current status of strategic wellbeing within the department.
– A SWOT analysis relating to the department’s current strategic wellbeing status.
– Strategic process for implementing and maintaining strategic wellbeing on an ongoing basis. The process is to include the following 12 elements:
o Why you want a well workplace
o Corporate wellness program
o Personal wellness program
o Strategic wellness
o Personalization
o Psychosocial Hazards
o Wellness leadership
o Meaningfulness of Work
o Employee Morale
o Employee Motivation
o Employee Engagement
o Investing in Health & Wellness
– Detail any challenges experienced whilst implementing the process.
– Confirmation that the process has been successfully implemented and is now fully operational.
Program Benefits
Human Resources
- Improved engagement
- Improved culture
- Reduced burnout
- Increased retention
- Employee loyalty
- Performance improvement
- Empowered workforce
- Healthy organization
- Increased effectiveness
- Happier workplace
Management
- Stronger leadership
- Increased focus
- Cohesive workforce
- Greater collaboration
- Wellness mindset
- Greater potential
- Improved communication
- Consistent management
- Greater creative flow
- Positive environment
Business Operations
- Improved wellness
- Reduced costs
- Operating efficiency
- Improved quality
- Operational synergy
- Enhanced environment
- Clarified priorities
- Improved effectiveness
- Organizational resilience
- Increased productivity
Client Telephone Conference (CTC)
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