MC46 Proactive wellbeing

The pandemic changed workplace awareness of physical and mental wellbeing. So what does it look like in 2023? We discuss what managers can do to pro-actively improve wellbeing for their workers. This can be a challenge for leaders as wellbeing is something we experience at an individual level, but it is influenced by factors inside and outside the workplace. What is a manager to do?

0:10 min Did the pandemic change workplace wellbeing forever, or was it a temporary shift?

5:30 Work isn't only a source of stress, it can also be a place for improving wellbeing.

8:00 We examine the skills leaders need to help their team with wellbeing, starting with awareness and curiosity.

9:45 How to be proactive for example by anticipating times of high demand and encouraging rejuvenation in quieter times. These initiatives are hard for managers to sustain without organisational support. Within many companies and teams there is pressure to keep working.

14:10 Are we treating the symptoms or the cause? Cultural change is hard work. Tim references this brilliant paper where the CEO engaged researchers to investigate the firm's difficulty retaining women. When the research showed the actual cause was a deeply embedded "long-work hours problem" that both women and men at the firm faced, the CEO terminated the project!

17:30 We ponder how much it might cost companies if they ignore employee wellbeing.

18:30 Pilar emphasises that being seen as a whole person means going beyond someone's demographic to consider their actual needs and circumstances.

20:00 We wrestle with how instructive a manager can be with an employee about their well-being and behaviours outside of work. What happens if the person doesn't want to address it? Or if it's really hard for them?

23:00 An individual's wellbeing is also influenced by their environment. And that environment is influenced by our actions as a manager.

25:00 Tim shares how an Bec, a brilliant HR consultant, taught his company to take a more nuanced view of workload and stress. For example some periods of higher load could be positive for growth and motivation if they didn't last too long.

What about you, dear listener? Have you found ways to be pro-active in promoting wellbeing in the people that you manage? We'd love to hear from you.

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