It’s no secret that employee well-being is closely tied to workplace productivity. Research by Gallup shows that when employees feel supported, their engagement and performance improve, which benefits the entire organization. Unfortunately, some leaders unknowingly undermine these efforts by neglecting to address the factors that impact well-being.
Here, 18 members of Forbes Coaches Council weigh in on the nuances of employee well-being. Their tips below provide actionable insights that can help leaders create a more supportive environment and avoid the pitfalls that can undermine employees’ job satisfaction and morale.
1. Understand The Value Of Well-Being
Leaders need to value well-being as something they too experience that is beneficial for themselves. List those benefits and acknowledge them. If they get that, they will know the cost of sabotaging employee well-being. There are many well-being initiatives that can be introduced into the workplace. Engage with your people about these initiatives, and they will most likely not feel sabotaged. - Cellene Hoogenkamp, KokuaHub Inc Coaching
2. Focus On Building Trust
Well-being is often thought of as something that costs money. The most effective well-being strategy, which also improves the bottom line, is building trust, showing care, being respectful, not judging, acknowledging, listening to understand, setting clear expectations and holding people accountable. These elements are what employees need to build a healthy culture and healthy personal well-being. - Jill Bornstein, Upnext Leadership Coaching
3. Become An ‘Energy Manager’
Leaders can strive to become “energy managers.” Instead of squeezing every ounce of productivity from their teams, they should focus on recharging team energy in creative ways, like implementing focus zones and recharge breaks, or even encouraging a reverse commute where employees start and end their day with a 15-minute walk to decompress, whether they’re remote or in-office. - Thomas Lim, Centre for Systems Leadership (SIM Academy)
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4. Weave Well-Being Into The DNA Of The Workplace
Incentivizing performance often conflicts with well-being when metrics focus only on output, neglecting the human cost. Well-being must be woven into the DNA of the workplace—integrated into its values, culture and operations. Leaders should be rewarded for fostering well-being, not just KPIs. When well-being becomes intrinsic to success, it stops being a trade-off and starts redefining success. - Cree Scott, Serenity Psy Consulting
5. Cultivate Emotional Intelligence
An emotionally intelligent leader promotes employee well-being inherently. Company leaders would benefit from understanding that developing EQ skills, such as empathy, self-awareness, decision-making and providing feedback, not only promotes the well-being of the employees, but also directly impacts productivity and the bottom line. - Elena Sarango Muniz, Sarango Executive Coaching LLC
6. Foster Self-Management And Accountability
The only way to create a balanced life is to balance work through self-management and self-organization. Leaders who know how to support teams to become self-sufficient, honor their commitments and thrive on their own create high-functioning human systems. They choose to hold themselves and each other accountable. That is their standard, for themselves and in life. Make it so, and it shall be. - Kinga Vajda, Execute Your Intentions, LLC
7. Implement ‘Flexible Focus Hours’
Leaders can avoid sabotaging employee well-being by implementing “flexible focus hours.” Employees choose their most productive times to work, reducing burnout and boosting output. With fewer meetings and distractions during their peak hours, the results are higher-quality work and people feeling more energized, which leads to improved productivity and reduced stress. - Laurie Sudbrink, Lead With GRIT
8. Listen To Discover What Really Matters
Tapping into their listening skills is one easy way leaders can avoid sabotaging employee well-being. Ask questions, but don’t stop by listening only to what keeps your employees up at night. Instead, listen for what’s important to them, and address it. For example, an unexpected rush job might concern them, but what’s important may be meeting deadlines, prioritizing or getting needed resources. - Kathleen Shanley, Statice
9. Help Teams Prioritized And Reprioritize Effectively
Managers can help their teams prioritize and reprioritize work. All efforts to provide flexible hours or work-from-home benefits fall flat when the work continues to pile up because nothing ever gets taken off the plate. In times of great change, the ability to quickly reprioritize tasks is critical to avoid having people experience burnout in a constant effort to put 20 pounds into a two-pound bag. - Martina Kuhlmeyer, Martina Kuhlmeyer Coaching and Consulting
10. Emphasize Empathy And Foster Transparency
Cultivating a trustworthy environment, advocating for work-life balance and providing mental health resources can help leaders safeguard well-being. It is essential to consistently engage with employees, acknowledge accomplishments and facilitate avenues for professional advancement. Emphasizing empathy and fostering transparent communication is crucial to harmonizing well-being with productivity. - Damodar Selvam, Equifax Inc.
11. Hone Interpersonal Communication Skills
Leaders need interpersonal communication skills to create authentic partnerships with employees. This will allow them to express their support for employees’ well-being and engage and align with them in actions to achieve their company’s success. - Leslie Monieson, Monieson Coaching Solutions
12. Distinguish Individual From Organizational Well-Being
Remember to separate out programs that can help with individual well-being versus those that can impact the entire organization. Systematic changes that can impact organizational well-being will require many stakeholders and thoughtful experimentation, not just a quick speaker event. In fact, organizational change is probably a cultural change that will have to start at the top. - Kelly Huang, Coach Kelly Huang
13. Provide Clarity
Clarity is kind. Leaders need to create clarity with and for people around the company’s mission, value, purpose and expectations. This is a mutual process. Clarity dialogues are empowering. With clarity and transparency, people can prepare their mindsets, adjust their behaviors and eventually make choices that are conducive to the company’s bottom line and their own well-being. - Katharina Schmidt, Inspiration & Discipline
14. Implement Needed Changes Based On Feedback
Poor well-being in the workplace is expensive. It incurs costs in terms of illness, absenteeism, “quiet quitting” and low morale and productivity. To prevent sabotaging employees’ well-being means deeply listening to their needs and desires and adjusting accordingly. It may include a hybrid workplace, shifting team members to other groups, immediately recognizing high performance or replacing micromanagers. - Diane Hudson, cpcc-careercoach
15. Promote Work-Life Balance; Lead By Example
Leaders can avoid sabotaging well-being and productivity by promoting work-life balance, investing in employee development, encouraging open communication and recognizing efforts. By leading by example, they can foster a culture of support and engagement. By aligning well-being with business goals, leaders boost productivity, creativity and retention for both employees and the organization. - Maryam Daryabegi, Innovation Bazar
16. Foster A Culture Of Autonomy
Prioritize meaningful work, set boundaries and actively address burnout risks. Foster a culture of autonomy where employees feel trusted to balance tasks and personal well-being. By modeling this balance themselves, leaders create a sustainable environment that aligns well-being with long-term productivity and success. - Carlos Hoyos, Elite Leader Institute
17. Recognize Your Impact On Teams
Leaders who are more concerned with the completion of tasks miss the subtle signs their teams resent their actions. When leaders don’t recognize their impact, they miss the energy they evoke and pass on, which turns into culture. Today’s work environment requires collaboration and buy-in from employees. Leaders often focus on obtaining buy-in from senior leaders and forget about those doing and managing the work. - Miriam Simon, Mi Sí Coaching and Consulting LLC
18. Build A Positive Work Culture; Communicate Openly
Company leaders can avoid sabotaging employee well-being by prioritizing a positive work culture, fostering open communication, providing mental health resources, promoting work-life balance and recognizing employee contributions. Investing in employee well-being yields dividends in the form of increased productivity, engagement and retention, ultimately benefiting the company’s bottom line. - Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D., Human Capital Innovations