Everything’s changed - how we work together needs to change too
This is a special edition post - written with guest contributor Neil Hunter, Chief Culture & People Office, Partner, Employee Experience at Deloitte Canada
“The difference now is that we have a chance to make a change. We have the opportunity to hit the reset button to reimagine norms and assumptions in ways that were not possible before. We can realign the nature of work, the workforce, and the workplace to build resilience for the long haul. We have the opportunity to thrive. ”
What does it mean to support well-being at work? It’s a question I come back to every day in my work and upon personal reflection. Recognizing how much everything’s changed, it’s no surprise that team expectations and personal values have been rewritten and more, the need for compassionate management has never been greater.
More and more, we’re understanding how interconnected team health and well-being is with the health of our organizations - when team members are healthy and feeling supported, team productivity, collaboration, and efficiency are strong. It’s important to make employee well-being a business priority and invest in it - the ripple effects across the organization otherwise include missed deadlines, friction within teams, loss of motivation, and attrition.
Team member well-being refers to the state of employees’ mental and physical health, resulting from dynamics within – and sometimes outside – the workplace. These include their relationships with colleagues, use of tools and resources, larger business decisions that impact them and their work, and many other factors brought on by personal circumstances.
Gone are the days of thinking about team wellness as an isolated program or initiative.
Surely these tactics meant well, but they lose momentum if they feel transactional. Instead, team members are expecting more from the places they work; things that include connection, flexibility, meaning, purpose, psychological safety, and total health support. In this time dubbed “the Great Resignation” (sidenote: I like to call it the Great Rethink), Canadian employees are doubling down on the work they want to do and the type of environments they want to be in and research is showing that at the top of the list of workplace asks are items are reasonable (if not should be the norm): a commitment to lowering stress, offering new opportunities to learn and grow, a well-rounded out package of well-being and mental health supports, and a shared expectation that flexibility is key.
I had a chance to connect with a well-being thought leader, and my friend, Neil Hunter from Deloitte Canada. As part of the Chief Culture & People Office, Neil works to create a workplace experience that is premised on optimal organizational health. More simply, an environment where people thrive while they work and live with purpose when the day is done. Getting to this ideal state takes mindful practice and attention and most importantly, requires a shared understanding that our daily interactions underpin how our businesses are run.
Supporting workplace well-being requires two commitments. First, the commitment to create and promote a culture that truly models care and consideration for all. Second, the commitment to prioritize total well-being as an enabler to team engagement, business success, and personal fulfilment.
“I believe that mental health needs to be destigmatized from the top down and that well-being is a movement that needs to happen individually, organizationally, and societally. There is no need to think about it as a trade-off between well-being and growth but rather, well-being is a catalyst for growth in business and life.” - Neil Hunter, Chief Culture & People Office, Partner, Employee Experience at Deloitte Canada
Commitment one: create and promote a culture that truly models care and consideration for all
When we gather to work with each other every day, we bring our whole selves and with that, a variety of perspectives, experiences, personal situations, and learnings. We exist on what the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) refers to as a mental health continuum, a pendulum that we continuously slide across and when we do, we experience: changes in mood, outlook, performance, physical health, and coping methods. With compassion, we must recognize that we change. And when we do, it’s on us to level up on how we’re supporting each other when we’re together.
Actions to consider:
Ask yourself every morning this one question:
“How will I make today easier for someone else?”. Flexibility in where we work is important. But how we work is paramount. There are 13 factors that affect mental health at work and if you read them closely, they’re well within our reach to influence for the better. At its most basic, it’s all about preventing and removing stressors from the workplace and the more I consider these 13 factors, the more obvious it becomes that we’re directly responsible for how work is carried out. It’s not the systems or the processes in place – it’s us. The people who make it all hum.
Additionally, ask with genuine curiosity and interest how someone is doing the next time you speak with them. Listen without judgement and if you detect signs of struggle, know that it’s ok to not have the answers but to instead simply reply by saying “thank you for trusting me”.
Sometimes we forget that we’re not expected to be mental health experts – because we’re not (you might be if that’s the field of work you’re in, in that case, please ignore). I do believe, however, that we have a responsibility to be a guiding bridge to supportive care. Take the time to know the available resources within your organization and be a champion of them, share how you’re using them yourself. And if you’re not using them. Please. Give them a try.
While our team cultures unite us, they give us the permission more specifically take a stand on how we want to be with each other.
Commitment two: be grounded in strategy and guided by deliberate daily actions that enable good well-being at work
What’s built to last is grounded in strategy and a well-thought out well-being plan with focused objectives is essential. A good framework to follow - and one that I strongly recommend - is The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.This set of voluntary guidelines, tools, and resources are designed to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm when at work.
While it’s important to be grounded in strategy, it’s how the strategy plays out day-to-day that drives real impact for people. When well-being is purpose-driven, intentional, and woven into the fabric of an organization’s values, the employee experience shifts to one that is premised on a shared commitment to keeping each other mentally safe, focused on being our best, and having the energy of the end of the day to go and do good within our communities and amongst our friends and family.
“People are waking up to the fact that they are spending the majority of their time and energy for a paycheck to live a life that was designed for them and going: Wait, what if there is more? Who am I, really? What do I actually want?”. We need to embrace this new world, fully and completely. Providing safe spaces for people to explore who they are and want to become, meaningful career development - beyond titles and compensation, investing time and energy into others and creating an environment where people aren’t afraid to express themselves or their ambitions.” - Seth Anderson, a senior leader who gets it
Actions to consider:
Take a look at your established team norms a few times per year. If something feels outdated, it probably is. Routinely check in with your team (and yourself) to see what practices can be improved. One area to particularly note is meeting fatigue. Before inviting someone to a meeting, ask if they really need to be there. There’s no better thing to give back to people than time and like Neil told me, “it’s about managing energy and the meeting hangover impact as a gift to others.”
In the virtual space, the meetings tend to "blend together" and we aren't as intentional about being present with those in any particular meeting. Taking 30 seconds to do something to reset before you join the next zoom is a ritual that helps you and those on that next meeting receive the best of you.
Evidently, when we’re well, we go the extra mile for our business and each other. How are you making a difference within your workplace?
