Leading by example to support your teams’ wellbeing

Employee health and wellbeing is now a significant part of any leader or manager’s responsibility. With UK absenteeism reportedly rising at unprecedented rates and demand increasing for more physical and mental health support from businesses, we wanted to take a look at some practical ways to approach team wellbeing.

People Directors Ben Birchall and Caroline Taylor talk us through some helpful tips and advice to ensure your teams’ wellbeing is fully supported.

Employers hold a significant social responsibility in prioritising the wellbeing of their employees. Creating a safe and nurturing workplace, both physically and mentally, is crucial. This duty of care includes practical aspects such as ensuring fair wages, providing access to healthcare and making work spaces fully accessible and appropriate for employees, but also things like promoting work-life balance, building trust and psychological safety with individuals and teams, and fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity. By doing so, employers not only fulfill their ethical obligations but also enhance productivity and employee loyalty, contributing positively to society as a whole.

“It’s fundamental that you speak to your team and understand what wellbeing means to them and how they can focus on interventions and things that are going to help them.” – People Director, Ben Birchall

Ten useful things you could do to help create a workplace where employees thrive, enhancing both their wellbeing and the organisation’s overall success.

 

1. Work-life balance: encourage employees to disconnect after work hours, promoting a healthier balance between work and personal life.
2. Mental health support: offer mental health resources like counselling or employee assistance programs to address stress and emotional wellbeing.
3. Physical wellness: promote regular exercise, ergonomic workspaces, and healthy eating habits among your staff.
4. Flexibles schedules: allow flexible hours or remote work when possible to accommodate personal needs and reduce commuting stress.
5. Open communication: foster a culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their concerns and seeking help when needed.
6. Skill development: invest in training and development to boost employee confidence and career satisfaction.
7. Recognition and rewards: acknowledge and reward employees’ achievements to boost morale and motivation.
8. Team building: organise team-building activities to create strong bonds and reduce workplace stress.
9. Encourage breaks: encourage regular breaks to prevent burnout and boost productivity.
10. Inclusivity: promote diversity and inclusivity, ensuring that all employees feel valued and respected.

“Sometimes it can be really easy when you get busy in a smaller business, you don’t have those touch points as much as you used to. And I think touch points, whether they’re casual at the making a coffee, getting drinks on the way to meetings, it’s then that you actually spot if something’s not quite right and not being afraid to explore it.” – People Director, Caroline Taylor

How to get started

It is relatively easy to list theoretical ways for leaders and managers to promote team wellbeing but applying these principles in the real world, amongst deadlines and competing priorities can be much more challenging.

Start with yourself. Consider your own stress levels and what you are bringing to each conversation or meeting. By modelling the behaviours you encourage your team to display you are building the foundations of trust and psychological safely. Your reactions, actions and examples are where your team will look first, so if you are burnt-out, working long hours and getting visibly stressed or angry, it is much more difficult for them to feel supported. It takes courage and consistency to normalise a more vulnerable, authentic culture at work but when subjects like mental health and emotion can be talked about more openly and regularly, it helps to reduce the stigmas and make people feel safer to speak up.

We are all human, after all

It is so important to remember that we are not job roles, but humans. Treating each other with respect and consideration goes a long way. The principles of modern leadership prioritise authenticity and vulnerability in leadership in order to create more inclusive, equitable cultures in which more people are able to thrive. And when your people and teams can thrive, so will your business.

 

 

If you would like to find out more about how we can help develop wellbeing practices that meet what your whole team need in your business please call us on 0345 646 5201 or email [email protected] we would love to have a chat and see how we can help.