The priority for workplaces in the new normal? Well-being

By talking about well-being and backing it with action, leaders can eliminate a work culture that implies work should come before personal needs.

- By Liz Hilton Segel

The Covid-19 pandemic has made it painfully clear that the well-being of the workforce is in jeopardy. At a time when more than half of Americans say the pandemic has negatively affected their mental health, employees are needing and increasingly demanding additional support from their employers.

A November report from McKinsey showed that 62 per cent of employees globally consider mental-health issues to be a top challenge during the Covid-19 crisis, with higher reporting among diverse groups. The same report paints a picture of employers that are scrambling to meet the moment: 96 per cent of companies globally provided additional mental-health resources to employees, but only one in six employees reported feeling supported.

Moreover, the costs associated with not addressing employees’ mental-health issues cumulate to a material impact of hundreds of billions of dollars-from lower motivation and work productivity, to increased calls to mental-health services, to anxiety about unprecedented family needs. Mental health occurs along a continuum, with thriving and positive mental health on one end and serious mental illnesses or addictions on the other. In between, there are a range of conditions that vary in intensity and impact that employers need to understand and support.

To truly build a more resilient workforce and rebuild the economy in 2021 and beyond, employers should prioritise well-being, which is the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. Well-being can be achieved when our mind, body, and sense of purpose lead us to feel positive about ourselves and satisfied with our lives. Businesses should treat well-being as a tangible skill, a critical business input, and a measurable outcome.

"Well-being as a skill is a daily intention that can be enhanced by elements including meditation, sleep, exercise, nutrition, community belonging, a spiritual connection, and more"

Well-being is a skill that we can all learn and model

Well-being as a skill is a daily intention that can be enhanced by elements including meditation, sleep, exercise, nutrition, community belonging, a spiritual connection, and more. Forward-thinking companies will embrace well-being not as a vague concept, but as an index of learnable actions and daily behaviour.

Like any skill, well-being must be practiced every day. Employers who want to build a workplace that prioritises well-being will treat it like a growth priority by rolling out self-assessment exercises and measuring improvement against the skills needed to achieve well-being. This, in turn, allows employees to identify their starting points, discover their building blocks, and track their own improvement. Each of us will have a different set of practices and experiences that lead to a positive sense of well-being, and others that cause stress, anxiety, or discomfort. It is critical to recognise this and actively cultivate the elements that enhance one’s well-being.

Forward-looking companies will enable and empower employees to find the right mix of tools and experiences for their individual needs. For some, creating time to recharge means prioritising adequate sleep, exercise, or nutrition. Others might place emphasis on carving out time for mindfulness, disconnecting from technology or reconnecting with the community.

We should anticipate that employees will seek out employers who not only commit to supporting well-being, but also have visible and accessible pathways for employees who need help and flexibility for customisation within their approach.

"The actions businesses take through this current global crisis will make us stronger in the future. As we navigate the challenges of today, our capacity to foster well-being in the face of uncertainty will determine the strength of our leadership tomorrow"

A better future is possible when businesses help build the skills for well-being

We improve our ability to problem solve, present, communicate, resolve conflict, and lead at work through the coaching of colleagues and formal learning opportunities. In the same way, well-being should be treated as a business-critical skill that can be improved through training and development programs.

It is crucial that leaders value their colleagues’ and peers’ well-being just as much as their technical skills, and it is their responsibility to model positive behaviour and prioritise supporting their colleagues’ own efforts. It could be as simple as building in well-being check-ins as part of team meetings and ensuring that key resources such as self-help tools are easily accessible. By talking about nurturing your well-being openly and backing it with significant action, leaders can eliminate a work culture that implies work should come before personal needs, and empower employees to invest in themselves so that they can be at their best for others.

Moving forward, managers must be equipped to create a safe space for open conversations. Based on a recent McKinsey survey, only 30 per cent of employees say they feel comfortable talking to their manager about their mental health. Well-being cannot be achieved without creating workplaces that empower employees to prioritise themselves and talk about their overall well-being, specifically their mental health, as easily as they might discuss a broken arm. Employers should invest in training to equip their workforce with the skills, language, and norms needed to support these conversations.

One simple yet powerful tactic we have implemented to measure the well-being of our workforce is sending out a weekly, one or two-question survey that simply asks, “How are you feeling?” This allows us to get a quick, automatic pulse each week on how everyone is doing-and we are able to look at the data by geography, practice area, role, and other filters. While not a stand-alone solution, it allows us to identify areas we need to provide with more support, helps us measure the well-being of our workforce, and gives employees an option to request individualised and confidential support.

We have rolled out additional training for all colleagues to provide early intervention support to those experiencing psychological distress, as well as resources to help employees develop skills that will nurture their wellbeing and build their emotional flexibility.

In this moment, when technology allows the demands of work to permeate our lives 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there is a clear case for businesses to build their employees’ skills for well-being. The actions businesses take through this current global crisis will make us stronger in the future. As we navigate the challenges of today, our capacity to foster well-being in the face of uncertainty will determine the strength of our leadership tomorrow.