Coaching, Wellbeing Is coaching the missing piece in your wellbeing puzzle? Wellbeing is a huge focus for many global businesses right now, as they seek to mitigate the long-term mental health challenges their teams are facing in the wake of the last few years. Whether it’s hybrid working, enhanced benefits programs, or ‘summer hours’, new initiatives and wellbeing trends seem to emerge every week. The thing many companies are missing, however, is the desire for purposeful careers; people are seeking work that aligns with their values, and companies where they see a long term future. The best way to create that purpose is to commit to people development. Specifically, it’s time to invest in professional coaching for wellbeing. How can professional coaching help? The words ‘professional’ and ‘wellbeing’ may feel somewhat at odds, but it’s really important businesses understand what wellbeing truly is, and move away from the entrenched view of something fluffy and intangible that can be created through discounted cinema tickets and on-site gyms. Wellbeing is the state of being comfortable, healthy, and happy. It’s a combination of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health factors, and as such is unlikely to be heavily impacted by the addition of an office pool table or drinks fridge. True wellbeing requires a great deal of psychological safety, something a workplace has a huge positive – or negative – impact upon. When organizations support their people via meaningful, relevant development initiatives, those people thrive. The best way to ensure mutual alignment on values and purpose is to provide a clear investment in their future. Three ways coaching supports wellbeing Your people have a safe, confidential space to discuss challenges and work through issues. For companies where wellbeing is a priority, leadership and managers likely already have strong coaching skills, and people undoubtedly feel supported. By investing in external, independent coaches, you’re creating the additional psychological safety your people need in order to thrive. Coaching allows them to address challenges in real-time, independently, and on their own terms. Coaching encourages work/life balance, developing strong boundaries, and prioritization. One of the main stressors people face is a lack of perceived balance. This is a huge barrier to wellbeing. Coaching encourages prioritization, allowing your people to perform at an optimal level at work, while also feeling as though they can live their lives. The impact coaching has on workplace performance is always positive: achieving work/life balance doesn’t mean prioritizing life, rather setting boundaries that allow them to achieve all their goals. Mental and physical health will improve. This is a huge positive for both your people, and your business. Absence due to burnout costs US businesses $500 billion annually. Much of this could be avoided by creating healthier work environments and empowering people to understand their own stress-triggers and limits. People who are coached are more self-aware, communicate more effectively, and understand their own stress triggers. Less people will reach the point of burnout, absenteeism will decrease, and your people will be healthier and happier. Ready to discover this impact coaching can have on your business? Get in touch today. Written 14 June, 202314 June, 2023 by Shelley Mole Post navigation Previous article:The new manager: how to equip your leaders for successNext article:The power of a coaching culture
Layoffs, Wellbeing 5 ways to re-engage your team after layoffs There are few events more disruptive for an organization than layoffs. However well planned, the people remaining in your business feel displaced and disengaged: they’re facing shifting reporting lines, new team dynamics, and changing responsibilities. The impact layoffs have on exiting employees will – and should be – a huge focus for leadership during this time. Providing support and solutions is paramount. But the huge psychological toll on remaining teams must also be addressed. Minimizing long term disruption following a round of layoffs is critical to your ongoing success. Avoiding low engagement is the best way to off-set the damages: here are five places to start re-engaging your teams. Invest in your leadership Layoffs bring complex challenges to your leadership team. Whether they’re part of the C-Suite or a first-time manager, developing a solid leadership toolkit benefits not only the individuals, but everyone they interact with. Critical leadership skills, like clarity of communication and effective delegation, massively reduce the negative impacts of layoffs on your remaining teams. When you engage your team by aligning them with leadership, and help them understand what the new normal looks like, performance will organically improve. Avoid ‘burnout culture’ The burden of additional work is disheartening in the wake of layoffs. Your remaining people are picking up ongoing projects, taking on new responsibilities, and trying to achieve more with less. They’ll feel increased pressure to deliver and appear high-performing due to fear of a second round of layoffs. But the added workload and perceived demand to perform rapidly leads to burnout. Avoid overloading teams by addressing the risks of burnout head on. Ensure managers are discussing workload and prioritization in 1:1s, create a culture where asking for help is encouraged, and allow people breathing space to adjust to the new way of working. Address survivor’s guilt head on It’s common for remaining teams to experience survivor’s guilt; a complex mix of gratitude that they kept their job, and sadness for their departing colleagues and friends. Unsurprisingly, this anxiety is not conducive to productivity, and output drops by 20% immediately following layoffs. Be as transparent as you can about the layoffs; understanding the cause, and the criteria, can help eliminate feelings of guilt for departed colleagues. Take time to teambuild After layoffs, team dynamics shift beyond recognition: for people who view workplace relationships as central to their career, layoffs are an enormous blow. Giving teams space to network and socialize allows new bonds to be formed, and people will adjust more quickly. Consider neurodivergent colleagues, and cultural differences in your team. ‘Team building’ is not just taking your team for Friday drinks; for some, that’s hugely off putting. Team building also looks like: Focused creative problem solving A 15 minute coffee chat Volunteering Reinforce your ‘why’ Connecting work with purpose eliminates feelings of uncertainty and gives your people a sense of meaning. Re-centre your company purpose, vision, and values to align teams, and ensure you’re sharing success stories – from new client wins to great internal feedback. Engage your team by reinforcing company vision and values; reminding everyone what the overarching goal is and what you’re all working towards is sure to inspire your people and gain buy-in. Layoffs are always complicated. Find out more about the hidden costs of layoffs in our guide Written 15 March, 202315 March, 2023 by Shelley Mole Post navigation Previous article:Layoffs are a major life event. Make grief management top of your to-do list.Next article:How can you avoid the burnout epidemic in your business?
Wellbeing Get your people to engage with employee wellbeing programs Demanding work environments and the impact of the pandemic have skyrocketed the need for employee wellbeing programs. A recent survey showed that employees of all generations rank wellbeing as one of their top three needs from their companies. In Gartner’s 2020 employee wellbeing survey, they showed that 46% of US companies increased their budgets in 2020 from 2019. Despite that, the engagement with these programs have been low. For example, only 23% of employees use emotional wellbeing support – such as access to therapists – offered by their company. This highlights the big disconnect between a company’s wellbeing initiatives and what employees actually want. Why spend money on wellbeing programs that go unused? Successful employee wellbeing frameworks have a positive impact on employee health, engagement, and retention. Companies that are able to do the most to promote successful employee wellbeing programs have lower turnover to those that put in least efforts towards such employee wellbeing initiatives. So what are employee wellbeing best practices and how can we increase access to and engagement in the programs that are created by companies? Assess employee needs and get feedback to measure the impact Before coming up with a wellbeing program, companies should understand the needs and goals of their employees. Running a company-wide survey or conducting focus group conversations can give employees the opportunity to share their current challenges and the elements of employee wellbeing that are most important to them (physical, emotional, financial etc.). Additionally, measuring impact is crucial. Creating employee wellbeing metrics that are measurable and attainable should be part of any employee wellbeing program. To measure these metrics, a simple pulse survey run over time can help get insights and feedback on how people are doing. Increase awareness on benefits of employee wellbeing For a program to be successful, employees need to be aware of it. Too often, employees forget the benefits they have access to. Companies can remind employees of the programs available and increase knowledge of the wellbeing efforts by leveraging the influence and connections of their team managers. Managers have greater access to their teams. Through regular check-ins, they can also get insights about their team’s wellbeing needs, and help personalise the available offerings. Personalise This is a great way to empower employees to own their wellbeing! When employees find tailored solutions to their unique challenges, they can be more motivated to utilise the offerings. One-to-one coaching for employees is a powerful tool to enable this. Coaches provide a safe and confidential space which honors the individual’s strengths and helps them successfully navigate through their road-blocks and unique challenges. Create space and time to participate If employees are always busy with work, they are unlikely to have the time or energy to participate in any company initiatives. By integrating wellbeing into everyday practices, companies can increase employee participation and help them reap the benefits of such efforts. One way of doing this is to incorporate company-wide or team-wide breaks into employees calendars to participate in the company’s employee wellbeing offerings. Normalise seeking support Even with good employee wellbeing programs in place, people may not want to access them for fear of being judged. Leaders should walk the talk, share their own experiences and challenges around wellbeing, as well as participate in the offerings themselves. This will empower people to have open and honest conversations around employee wellbeing and participate in such offerings. Companies can boost engagement in employee wellbeing programs by incorporating their employees’ needs, proactively demonstrating the benefits of such initiatives, and empowering them to own their wellbeing. Written 3 November, 202112 November, 2021 by Sadhika Katyal Post navigation Previous article:How Coaching for Employees Can Help Financial Services Companies Elevate Their Team’s Performance and WellbeingNext article:How Can Tech Leaders Reduce Employee Turnover and Improve Diversity in the Workplace?
Wellbeing Increase the wellbeing of your employees Wellbeing at work is a hot topic for both employees and employers. While wellbeing encompasses the elements of having time for a life outside of work (work-life balance), as well as a state of physical health and energy (wellness), it also involves broader dimensions of a holistic and thriving life.Gallup found that there are five elements of wellbeing for a successful life: CareerLiking what we do and being motivated to achieve our goals. SocialHaving supportive relationships. FinancialHaving a secure and stress-free economic life. PhysicalGood health and energy to get things done. CommunityFeeling safe and having pride in our community. A focus on wellbeing supports both individual and company goals. Having a sense of wellbeing means individuals build better relationships with their colleagues and ensures they have the mental capacity to work on complex tasks. A study by HERO and Mercer revealed that companies with a comprehensive wellbeing program outperformed the S&P 500 Index in 16 out of 24 quarters. Professional coaching is a powerful way to support employee wellbeing in the following ways: Aligning valuesResearch shows that shared values between the individual and their company results in greater commitment, feelings of success and self-confidence. These feelings can act as a buffer to stress and burnout, increasing overall satisfaction and wellbeing at work. By engaging with a coach, people are able to identify areas where their values align closely with the work that they do, which parts of their job mean the most to them, and where their strengths lie. This enables individuals to find their work motivating and meaningful. These positive effects are not just confined to the workplace, but also impact other aspects of their life. Building new skillsEngaging in personal development helps performance by increasing confidence and self-awareness. Performing well increases the feeling of belonging, purpose and accomplishment that contributes to wellbeing. Becoming a better communicatorPersonal wellbeing is closely tied to the strengths of a person’s interpersonal relationships. In general, people who communicate effectively tend to experience greater wellbeing. Coaching can help improve communication skills with any type of audience, which in turn improves interpersonal relationships with colleagues. Building resilienceResilience is a personal resource that protects from stress and potential burnout. Coaching focuses on building awareness by challenging limiting beliefs, setting realistic goals and finding ways to meet them, to help adopt more positive ways of thinking and working. With the challenging year that has just gone by, and the uncertainties we continue to live in today, many employees are going through heightened stress, isolation and anxiety. How employers and managers respond to this, makes a big difference in how people show up to work, as well as their engagement and productivity. Written 20 April, 202120 April, 2021 by Sadhika Katyal Post navigation Previous article:How organisations can ensure a successful return to the officeNext article:Keep your Gen Z employees engaged
