Episode 57 – Employee Wellbeing: Is it Important Or Are We Just Ticking a Box?
It’s clear that there has been an increase in employee wellbeing programs in our workplaces in recent years. This is a positive step, because a focus on mental health is definitely required, especially where we spend much of our time – at work!
However, I’ve also noticed that these programs will be introduced without the necessarily changes in behaviour that need to go with them. Everything else stays the same – the stress, deadlines and micromanagement.
In this episode I discuss what is required to actually make a difference in employee wellbeing, so that we make this more than just a “tick the box” exercise.
Show Links:
- Article: Employee Wellbeing: A Hollow Promise or Do We Really Mean It?
- Research: Study from the Black Dog Institute.
- Research: Statistics from Mental Health First Aid.
This was a goodie! I find that in my industry (construction) there are always tight time constraints and pressures and the hours that people put in to get the project done are astronomical. Unfortunately, the project life cycles don’t allow for many breaks between jobs so many people suffer burnout as there is little or no recognition of a job well done and pressure to start on the next project. I assume people are well compensated, but I wonder at what cost it is to the families who don’t have time with their loved ones and how healthy that is.
I think most business check the boxes, but it does take a big health problem for anything to be done and usually only lasts until the person is better. I feel like the current workplace structures of working all the time and long hours are what contribute to divorces, poor self-esteem, serious physical and mental illness.
Thanks for the comment Irene – I completely agree, some industries are definitely worse than others and it’s difficult to change an entire industry.
I think the only thing to do is to try to reach one leader at a time and grow the “tribe” of people who take a longer-term outlook on employee wellbeing!
Ben