Given that most of us spend around half of our lives in work, it goes without saying that we would prefer that to be a positive experience, which adds to the quality of our lives and our health and wellbeing (and doesn’t detract from it)!
I think most of us reasonably expect that work can’t and won’t always be positive or enjoyable all of the time. As in life, there are inevitable challenges, stresses, difficult times and uncertain factors that will impact any organisation. No organisation, no matter how big or powerful, can guard against these and be entirely impenetrable from events happening in the wider environment.
However, as with any mindset choice, how an organisation behaves, treats its people and deals with those challenges; we strongly believe it is possible (and necessary) to do this well and ensure that people are always treated with respect, as human beings and with integrity, positive regard and care.
So, let’s explore, what does it really mean to have a healthy Wellbeing culture. We thought we’d dive into that in more depth this month to share our experiences, insights and learning gained from working with many clients over the years.
What Does a Thriving Wellbeing Culture Look Like?
Here are some key fundamentals that we have found to be common amongst those organisations that really deliver on a culture that authentically supports and values Wellbeing.
Wellbeing is a true priority, valued as a human-centric way of working and being with one another.
- Human-Centric Approach: People are treated as human beings and as individuals, valuing everyone’s contribution, voice and unique strengths and needs.
- Balanced Work Environment: Organisational ways of working and leadership support both individuals and teams to work well in a balanced way, to ensure there is a clear, compelling vision, shared purpose, collaboration, diversity and opportunity for all, whatever their individual motivation.
- Sense of Community: The concept of ‘Community’ is really felt and lived, where social wellbeing and relationships are actively encouraged, enabled and supported. One of the main drivers for work, other than economic reasons, is for our connection with others. A sense of belonging and ‘tribe’. Many of us know the well-publicised fact that people often stay in roles because of their colleagues and relationships and when they leave, it is quite often because these are not working well.
- Holistic Approach: Wellbeing is seen as a composite measure, incorporating various factors beyond single KPIs. It is recognised as an holistic approach that everyone pays attention to and values, as a key enabler to better performance and organisational effectiveness. With those organisations that do it well, it is viewed as a ‘composite’ measure, where there is recognition of a number of Wellbeing/Engagement factors taken into account (such as feedback, engagement, capability, performance, development, innovation, contribution, etc) and not a single KPI (often absence or productivity).
- Sustained Attention: There is consistent time and effort put in to an effective Wellbeing culture; it isn’t left to just happen on its own, which, without sustained attention, it can wane or go stale. Nor is it a fad or initiative that blows in and blows back out again when leaders change or times are difficult. As with the garden analogy, if left untended, gardens become wild, unruly, neglected and can become full of weeds, unhealthy or toxic environments. Whereas the opposite is true, if nurtured and regularly maintained and cared for, they, like us, will flourish.
- Integrated into Daily Practices: It is just part of the way we do things – not an add-on or a luxury when there is time. It is an automatically implicit part of all interactions with one another. It is built into 1-1s, team meetings, conversations, ways of working, processes, policies, values and behaviours, delivery, etc.
- Empowerment and Trust: People are genuinely trusted and empowered to achieve the balance that is right for them. And this won’t look the same for everyone, as individuals have different commitments, priorities, demands and needs at different points. At some points, it might be a need for flexibility for childcare, elderly or ill relatives, to manage their own health requirements. At other points it might be additional responsibility or opportunities for development, growth, challenge, learning, change, etc.
- Psychological Safety: There is authentic, felt and lived psychological safety. People can be themselves, ask for help, be honest and expect honesty, express different opinions, challenge, learn, take risks, try new things and know that this will be received and encouraged positively, without detriment, blame or negative consequence. Effectively, what we call in therapeutic settings, ‘held in unconditional positive regard’. How often is this achieved? My belief is this is special when it happens, as it takes strong and vulnerable leadership. And when it does, people truly thrive, because who wouldn’t want to work in this kind of environment?
- Inclusive Leadership: Leaders create space for people to contribute. This is really, for me, the one that enables all of the previous 8 factors. If we get the right leadership behaviours and mindset, we really can enable an effective Wellbeing culture, which benefits everyone and delivers the bottom line sustainably and ethically.
As in most things, it is important to equally know what a Wellbeing culture isn’t, as much as what it is. So that we can look at ourselves honestly and recognise where we might be, what our strengths are and where we could make changes for the better.
What a wellbeing culture isn’t:
- Superficial Niceties: Where everyone is nice to each other all the time. We know that it also means dealing with difficult things and having healthy conflict. Advocates of this come from recognised thought leaders in this area, such as Simon Sinek, Brené Brown, Kim Scott (creator of the ‘Radical Candor’ model) and Gustavo Razzetti (founder of ‘Fearless Culture’) and inspiring leaders from the world stage such as Barack and Michelle Obama, New Zealand’s former Prime Minister, Dame Jacinda Ardern, Melinda Gates, Volodymyr Zelensky, Kamala Harris – all of whom, are committed to creating positive, global change, are leaning in, dealing with high conflict, speaking truth to power and taking action to change ‘the system’.
- Excuse for Poor Performance: Where it is used as a reason or excuse not to perform. This is an interesting one, but worth calling out explicitly. I have come across some instances where wellbeing has been used as a form of shield, to avoid what were actually reasonable performance expectations. I’d like to think its in the minority, but it is out there. Of course, this absolutely isn’t about being used as a lever to excuse or veil poor or toxic behaviours or unreasonable demands; instead, it is about balance and reasonableness and two way psychological contracts.
Wellbeing is about accountability, responsibility, shared commitment and mutual trust. Most of us do want a sense of purpose, the ability to find meaning, feel motivated and contribute value and we expect and want to pull our weight. We just want to be treated with respect, listened to and valued and to know that our overall health and wellbeing will be enhanced by the experience of work and not damaged. - Mutually Exclusive from Performance: It is not mutually exclusive from performance. The best organisations recognise that looking after wellbeing just makes good business sense. Looking after people fundamentally looks after our organisation and those they serve. Investing in people’s wellbeing and engagement doesn’t detract from profit and shareholders, in fact. it adds value and return on investment, because it increases long-term goodwill, discretionary effort. sustainability, productivity, innovation through ideas, harnessing strengths and diversity and empowering and upskilling people.
- Surface-Level Interventions: Avoiding superficial efforts and ensuring cultural alignment with genuine wellbeing practices.While well-intentioned, Superficial wellbeing offerings can have limited benefit or sometimes even backfire. When we work with organisations, we carry out a customised, comprehensive survey to explore the broader health of the organisation, as well as looking at various indicators of wellbeing and engagement. We also co-create a blended approach, which builds capability, understanding and actionable strategies, through coaching, interactive workshops, toolkits, leadership development and self-directed learning to enable both organisations and individuals, to improve overall wellbeing effectiveness and enhance the cultural health of the organisation for everyone’s benefit.
The Key Ingredients for a Thriving Wellbeing Culture
Overall, I would say there are some really key ingredients in building and sustaining a thriving Wellbeing culture, which are fundamentally important and which don’t need to be hard or expensive to do.
Wellbeing is about accountability, shared commitment, and mutual trust. Investing in people’s wellbeing fundamentally benefits the organisation. Effective wellbeing cultures require sustained effort, belief, and unwavering commitment. However, the business and human reasons for investing in them are overwhelmingly supported by evidence.
We Are Here to Help You!
We’d love to assist you and your organisation in creating a thriving wellbeing culture. Have you faced challenges in fostering a wellbeing environment? Do you need support in implementing these key fundamentals?
If you would like to learn more about how we help organisations develop their effective Wellbeing culture, please contact us. Call: 0161 969 2512, or email: info@Co-Creation.Group