8 Step Audit: How Well-being Centric is Your Organisation Really?

More and more articles are appearing about stress and promoting mental well-being in the workplace. We could debate whether we’re now living in more stressful times, or whether we’re just getting better at talking about it. Regardless of the answer, there’s no point in ignoring that we all need to look after both our physical and mental well-being.

Mental and physical well-being are inextricably linked, and yet we talk openly about physical ailments, whilst ignoring or concealing matters of the mind. With the Royal Family spearheading the way with their “Heads Together” mental health charity, it’s encouraging to see the progress we’ve made; although undoubtedly there’s still a long way to go in breaking down enduring prejudices and barriers.

The business case for looking at mental health and well-being in the workplace is a strong one. First of all, morally, it’s the right thing to do. If you still need convincing, there’s the cost of absenteeism hitting the bottom line, not to mention the knock-on effects on client satisfaction and staff retention. Stress currently costs the UK economy is excess of £4.5 billion per year, and accounts for 45% of all staff absences. When people finally succumb to stress, they can face upward of 30 days out of the business. Our bodies “implicit memory”, also makes us more like to suffer these symptoms again in the future.

We’re championing our “Say Something” strapline during our Well-being Week this week because we want to tackle some of these barriers. We don’t want staff to suffer in silence until it’s too late. Understandably staff might be frightened to say when they’re struggling with their emotional well-being. They might fear being judged, or of being treated differently.

We wanted to tackle these stigmas head-on by holding a week of well-being activities and to mark International Stress Awareness Day today.

Here’s an 8-step audit, to see how well-being centric your organisation is already.

1. Cultural readiness

There’s no point inviting your staff to a seminar on well-being, if this isn’t congruent with the rest of your company’s culture. If you don’t have practices that ensure people are being treated consistently and fairly, any attempt to push “well-being”, is going to be transparent and ineffective. 

2. Leading from the top 

The chiefs at the top need to be on board. Business decisions will be made, out of the control of your middle managers, that could make or break staff well-being. The Directors need to understand and be on board for change. If profit is the only thing driving your organisation, or if decisions around personnel are based purely on revenue, it isn’t going to work.

3. Widespread management acceptance

There should be a degree of separation between our personal and work lives, but we can’t ignore they’re not mutually exclusive. We must accept the lines between work and home are sometimes blurred, and the influence and support expected from employers is increasing. A team member going through a painful divorce, or suffering the loss of a loved one, deserves to be treated exactly as you would expect to be treated in that situation. Pretending these things aren’t happening isn’t an option.

4. Proactive and preventative measures

We all need pressure in our lives from time to time: the presentation we want to perfect, the project we need to stop procrastinating about, or the looming report deadline that spurs us into action. A certain amount of stress can actually be a good thing and life without any stress could be a boring and laborious slog. Too much stress though can have disastrous effects.

The workplace can’t ignore the part they play in proactively preventing this by identifying areas of risk. This could be capacity-planning and effective recruitment practices, as well as making sure that roles and responsibilities are clear through well-defined job descriptions and appraisals. Are teams clear where they fit in to the overall strategy? A quarterly business-wide risk assessment is essential.

5. Tackling negative or unhelpful behaviours

Negative or unhelpful behaviours need to be tackled head on. We all know those team members who have a draining or negative impact on the rest of the team. Left unchallenged, these can lead to a toxic environment, where conflict is stressful for everyone around them. Nip it in bud, whilst respecting that the individual in question may have their own issues to deal with. How can we support them to ensure a positive outcome for everyone?

6. Regular catch-ups

1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some kind of mental health problem in their lives. Each and every one of us have faced, or will face, stress and anxiety at some point in our lives. The majority of people will wait over a year before letting their closest family and friends know about it – let alone letting their employer know. We know people are worried about talking things, so we can’t assume they’re going to tell us. Without regular catch-ups, it becomes almost impossible to spot changes in mood or behaviour. Carrying out a return to work interview after periods of absence is also critical.

7. Management training 

In the event that someone is already showing signs of stress, do your managers know what to do? The sooner the stressors are removed or minimised, the less severe the symptoms are likely to be, and the sooner they are likely to recover. Managers don’t need to have all the answers. Simply listening can make a big difference, and managers mustn't be frightened to have these conversations.

8. Leading by example

At work, as a manager, we may feel we need to distance ourselves from the team. However, managing behind our façade, rather than encouraging honest and open communication, can be detrimental to effective teamwork and well-being. The more “real” we are in the workplace, the more real others will feel they can be with us. Encouraging an open culture where staff can truly “say something”, is invaluable.

If these foundations are in place, then well-being initiatives can be introduced to help your company have a happy, productive, and healthy workforce. It would be great to hear some of the ideas you’ve already launched, or plan to launch in the future.