Managers must consider many factors when organizational goals and results aren’t met, including setting unrealistic expectations, lack of communication, disorganized planning, ineffective management, and poor employee performance.
Poor employee performance can have devastating effects on reaching team goals, and today, it has become necessary for team managers and business owners to prioritize employee well-being and incorporate programs that will help improve employee performance.
From employee recognition programs, health seminars, and healthy food options to organizing after-work get-togethers, there are many ways to holistically promote and prioritize your employees’ well-being inside and outside your office.
In this article, we will discuss employee well-being, how it is affected by stress and burnout, and ways you, as team managers, can help your team members become happier, more satisfied, and more productive at work.
What is employee well-being?
Employee well-being encompasses not only physical health but also how employees act, think, feel, and communicate within an organization. As employees are the heart of an organization, they need to thrive and be holistically healthy—in mind and body—for the organization to succeed.
There are many signs of poor well-being among your employees, including feeling demotivated, taking frequent absences, having poor focus, and missing deadlines. These manifestations are often easily visible, but sometimes, they can be subtle, like refusing to attend team gatherings and lacking communication with colleagues and superiors.
As a team manager, you are responsible for rekindling the fire in your team by implementing and encouraging employee well-being programs in the workplace. Even with problems they encounter outside of work that can affect their performance, effective well-being programs can help them improve their personal growth and health and encourage them to be more productive and happy at work, positively impacting organizational goals.
Impact of burnout and stress on employee well-being
A study of 20,000 employees led by Brigham Young University showed that 66 percent of respondents with unhealthy diets and 96 percent who had difficulty exercising had decreased productivity. Among the respondents, those between 30 and 40 years old were most likely to experience a drop in productivity, which is more prevalent among women and those separated, divorced, or widowed.
A cross-sectional study published in the National Library of Medicine also reported an inverse relationship between stress and productivity and work satisfaction—where stress increases, productivity and work satisfaction decrease.
With hundreds of studies on the correlation and inverse relationship between stress and workplace performance satisfaction, it is needless to say that in the short-term and long-term, organizations that don’t address employee well-being issues are most likely to experience adverse effects on productivity, goals, and KPIs, including but not limited to:
- High employee turnover
- Poor employee relationships
- Decreased productivity
- Increased absenteeism
- Project goals not met
- Low employee morale
- Decreased organizational reputation
- Interpersonal conflicts with colleagues and superiors
- Increase in costs and decrease in revenue
Ways to improve and promote employee well-being in the workplace
Fostering workplace employee well-being goes beyond what you can see physically or the problems they face in the workplace. Holistic care for an employee’s well-being should also include support and resources to support their mental and emotional concerns, including personal and career difficulties.
Get to the bottom of the problem
Workplaces without proper and open communication between management and employees are prone to miscommunication, inefficiencies, and misunderstandings. For this reason, team managers must set up effective communication channels that allow employees to share their concerns and feedback on anything that may impact their work environment and performance.
As a team manager, you can set up the following workplace communication methods that will allow you to have an in-depth discussion with your team members:
- One-on-one meetings
- Team discussions
- Open forums
- Anonymous feedback forms
- Email or messaging
Prioritizing your employees’ well-being doesn’t begin and end with just giving them health consultations or diet food vouchers. It starts with knowing the root of the problem and providing a direct solution through tailored wellness programs that your employees need to address their problems, subsequently improving their work performance.
Engage in career path discussions
A career path discussion, or career conversation, is a one-on-one meeting a team manager holds with an employee to discuss their current role and career goals.
In the 2024 Career Optimism Index study by the University of Phoenix, employees reported feeling more stagnant at work due to their lack of career opportunities, such as mentorship programs, skills development opportunities, and career path guidelines.
When employees start feeling stagnant at work due to a lack of career path guidelines or opportunities, they are most likely to underperform, feel demotivated, or, at worst, separate from the organization. This will throttle the organization’s operations due to poor work quality or the hiring and training new staff to fill the position.
Engaging in career conversations allows you to assess a clear career path for your employees based on their goals and skills. These conversations help your employee’s personal growth and align your team to roles that benefit organizational goals.
Create a positive work environment
One of the most challenging tasks for team managers and HR managers is to define and create a “positive work environment” in the workplace. Ultimately, there is no definite answer to what makes a work environment positive for employees, as what may work for one organization may not work for another.
At its core, team managers must remember that a positive work environment must be a workplace where employees feel motivated, encouraged, and comfortable and have a space where they can grow both professionally and personally with their team members and colleagues.
Some ways how team managers can promote a positive work environment are:
- Fostering a culture of openness and inclusivity
- Encouraging open communication and engaging in conversations, even if not work-related
- Improving workplace ambiance
- Practice supportive leadership
- Recognizing employee achievements and milestones
Provide access to mental health support
Stress and burnout can be a nail in the coffin of an employee’s poor well-being and performance in the workplace. When employees feel burned out, they lose the motivation to work and communicate, causing high employee absenteeism and presenteeism, adversely affecting work productivity and quality.
Some ways how team managers can proactively provide mental health support and resources to employees showing signs of stress and burnout include:
- Providing access to discounted or free counseling services, as well as publicizing mental health hotlines or support they can call whenever needed;
- Providing outdoor workspaces;
- Conduct stress management workshops;
- Conduct regular mental health education seminars.
Provide holistic well-being programs
Most managers and executives see employee well-being programs as an added cost to business operations without genuinely realizing the hard return that investing in their employees’ well-being brings to the company. In today’s world, wellness programs should be a part of every company’s regular business activities rather than just being a perk or an incentive.
Hear this out: Employee well-being programs need not be expensive! Here are some ideas you can implement in your organization today:
- Conduct regular health screenings
- Providing affordable but healthy snacking and water station
- Provide lunch nap breaks
- Conduct wellness challenges
- Provide nutrition and wellness education or seminars
- Conduct financial counseling
- Give gym memberships or discounted gym subscriptions
- Encourage walking breaks and outdoor meetings
- Conduct smoking cessation programs
- Encourage employees to join volunteer activities
Employee well-being programs need not be limited to improving physical health but also encouraging employees to engage in activities that help them improve their skills and competence.
Activities like attending educational, motivational, and business seminars or learning foreign languages like Attic Greek or Spanish allow them to connect with themselves and their colleagues and broaden their horizons.
Employee recognition
Believe it or not, employee recognition is considered one of the lowest-cost yet highest-yielding efforts management can make to help employees become more motivated, productive, and efficient at work. However, empty praise can be as catastrophic to your employees’ morale.
A survey by Gallup showed that 45 percent of well-recognized employees are less likely to turn over within the next two years. However, another survey indicates that recognition should be authentic to be effective, as it mirrors the respect, culture, and value an organization places on its employees.
As team managers, insincere recognition towards your employees can do more harm than good. Be intentional about praising and recognizing your employees’ achievements—explain why the praise was necessary, how it positively impacts the company, and who is recognizing them.
Allow work-life balance and flexibility
If your organization is still stuck at a 9-to-5, 5-days-a-week work schedule, it’s time to change things. Recent years have proven that flexible working, in terms of schedule and location, is possible and may offer increased positive outcomes for both the employees and the organization.
Offering flexible working can significantly improve employee well-being. Employees are given more opportunities to work at their own pace, at times, and in places where they feel more productive. Organizations that adopt these methods (with proper planning, scheduling, and discussions) give their employees opportunities to practice work-life balance.
In addition, the current Gen Z and Millenial talent pool places great importance on flexible working arrangements when choosing their next job. Thus, organizations that actively pursue these working arrangements have a greater chance of attracting a larger talent pool than those still using traditional methods.
Conclusion
Prioritizing employee’s well-being should be more than just a perk but rather an investment team managers must make through addressing workplace and personal problems, discussing career pathways, providing physical and mental care programs, or even just simply uplifting your team’s morale through recognition, incentives, and providing them a positive workplace environment.
In the long run, healthy employees will cost you less—from reducing healthcare spending to investing in healthy, productive, and efficient employees who generate valuable results toward the company’s objectives and goals.
Author Bio:
Emma Becker
Emma Becker is a psychologist and professional counsellor. She specializes in mindfulness-based interventions and stress management techniques. Her main goal is to guide people towards greater self-awareness and resilience.
