The challenges and changes to our lives from the pandemic meant employee wellness was thrown to the forefront of individuals, leaders and organisations’ minds.
The awareness increase of employee wellbeing in the workplace
The aftermath is a recognition that wellbeing and employee wellness should be prioritised, but our recent research with HR leaders suggests there is a distinct lack of workplace wellbeing programmes making a tangible difference to key challenges organisations are experiencing.
Organisation challenges impacted by employee wellness
Our research indicates the following key challenges, which are unlikely to come as a surprise:
- Absenteeism and illness
- Productivity and engagement
- Key staff retention
- Internal conflict
- Team culture and morale (impacted by hybrid working)
- Coping with change
- The distinction between coping with everyday challenges and mental health problems
There is no doubt mental health problems need support, and urgently.
However, without mental strength and resilience, the normal stresses from the challenges and opportunities of everyday work and life impact us more than they would if we had a robust mental resilience foundation.
This makes coping with stress more difficult, leading to feeling overwhelmed. This inability to cope with ‘normal’ stresses can be written off as mental health problems or lead to problems occurring.
The observation is that many people lack this essential foundation, whether due to overload, never being taught the necessary skills, or lack of application.
Why prioritise employee wellness?
No matter our role or path, our brain and mind are our greatest tools to thrive.
Yet we are never taught how they work, how to optimise them, or how to look after them.
Developing skill and knowledge is not enough – mental fitness determines how effectively individuals execute their abilities.
You cannot drive a car without fuel.
Fuel is employee wellness – mental fitness, focus, motivation, confidence, empathy and resilience.
The challenge with traditional workplace wellbeing programmes
Employee Assistance Programmes are essential, but not enough.
Traditional workplace wellbeing programmes such as EAPs, mental health first aiders and therapy access are primarily reactive – waiting until there is a problem to find a solution.
This is like waiting until your car breaks down to service it.
Reactive workplace wellbeing programmes are critical for helping people in crisis and signposting next steps.
However, they do not address the majority of the workforce who are not in crisis, but are not working to their potential due to employee wellness and mental fitness challenges.
Key employee wellness challenges
- Distraction: Easily distracted and prone to procrastination on important tasks, particularly those without deadlines or quick wins. Many reported uncertainty around where to focus their time and effort.
- Setback: Feeling deflated when things go wrong. Mistakes can trigger exaggerated “what if” scenarios, leading to avoidance rather than learning.
- Confidence: Limiting beliefs that prevent action or stepping outside comfort zones.
- Conversation: Difficult conversations are delayed or deferred to managers, resulting in unresolved issues that impact relationships and motivation.
- Motivation: Money alone is not enough. Individuals seek purpose, clarity on the bigger picture and ongoing development to master their craft.
- Work/life balance: Inability to mentally switch off from work has led to many feeling constantly ‘on’ and disconnected from home life.
Particularly in remote or global organisations, there is pressure to work beyond contracted hours or respond immediately to messages and emails.
If these are the key challenges, and traditional reactive wellbeing programmes are not helping, what would?
A proactive approach to employee support
A proactive approach focuses on mental fitness, productivity, engagement and effectiveness.
There must be a clear distinction between mental health support and proactive mental fitness.
This means equipping individuals with a way of working that helps them unlock their potential and thrive in the challenges and opportunities of the 21st-century workplace and beyond.
Our research with HR leaders identified key elements a proactive employee wellness approach should include:
- Accountability
- Ongoing implementation support to build helpful habits
- Evidence-based methods
- Tangible, practical tools
These elements enable long-term, meaningful change, leading to improvements in productivity, illness, coping with change and staff retention.
How to develop a thriving workplace
Our people’s productivity directly impacts the productivity and profitability of the organisation.
Teams should be treated like top athletes, equipped with an evidence-based mental toolkit that helps them overcome day-to-day challenges.
The Thriver toolkit draws on the latest evidence-based thought leadership and provides a tangible approach through initial learning and ongoing support to embed it into daily working practices.
