FROM BURNOUT TO BALANCE: PRIORITIZING WELLNESS IN THE MODERN WORKPLACE
BY HEIDI MCIVOR ALLEN
In the fast-paced world we inhabit today, our workplaces have become more than just spaces where we spend a significant portion of our lives. They have evolved into dynamic environments that greatly influence our overall wellbeing, both physically and mentally. The impact of work on our lives can be profound, with the potential to bring about positive transformations or contribute to stress and burnout. Recognizing the profound importance of workplace wellbeing, it becomes our collective responsibility to foster an environment that prioritizes happiness and contentment for ourselves and our employees. By cultivating a culture of wellbeing, we can not only enhance productivity and success but also create a nurturing and fulfilling atmosphere that promotes growth, satisfaction, and long-term prosperity. Join me as we delve into the world of workplace wellbeing, exploring strategies, insights, and actionable steps to elevate our professional lives and unlock the potential for a happier, healthier, and more harmonious work experience.
“When you change one thing, you have the ability to change EVERYTHING.”
OUR NATION’S CURRENT WORKPLACE LANDSCAPE
84%
of respondents said their workplace conditions contributed to at least one mental health challenge.
81%
of workers reported that they will be looking for workplaces that support mental health in the future.
THE SURGEON GENERAL’S FRAMEWORK FOR WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
This framework is centered on worker’s voice and equity and has formed Five Essential support workplaces as engines of wellbeing. Each essential is grounded in 2 human needs. Creating a plan that includes these practices can help strengthen and better all workplace environments in the area of wellbeing.
ESSENTIAL #1: PROTECTION FROM HARM
The first Essential of this Framework is Protection From Harm. Creating working conditions that provide both physical and psychological safety is a critical foundation for ensuring workplace mental health and wellbeing. This Essential rests on 2 human needs: safety & security.
Human Needs
Safety
Safety protects all workers from physical and non-physical harm, including injury, illness, discrimination, bullying, and harassment.
Security
Security is ensuring all workers feel secure financially and in their job future.
WAYS TO ACHIEVE PROTECTION FROM HARM
1. PRIORITIZE WORKPLACE PHYSICAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
The performance of individuals in the workplace is inherently linked to their sense of physical and psychological security. Creating a work environment that minimizes the detrimental effects on employees requires a comprehensive assessment of the existing conditions, ensuring adherence to occupational health and safety regulations. Leaders at every level have a crucial role to play in fostering collaboration with workers, jointly examining and mitigating potential physical and psychological hazards. Through the thoughtful design, implementation, and regular evaluation of workplace safety programs, organizations can promote a culture of wellbeing and protect their employees from harm. It is imperative to recognize that certain groups, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, face a heightened risk of workplace injuries. Disturbingly, non-Hispanic Black and foreign-born Hispanic workers experience a disproportionately higher frequency and prevalence of work-related disabilities. To address this disparity, proactive measures that specifically address the unique challenges faced by these individuals must be implemented, ensuring equal protection and opportunities for all employees, regardless of their background or ethnicity.
2. ENABLE ADEQUATE REST
The lack of sufficient rest, which may stem from extended work hours or juggling multiple jobs, poses a significant threat to the physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing of workers. When individuals do not receive adequate rest, their vulnerability to workplace injuries and errors increases. Moreover, extensive work hours have been extensively linked to heightened risks of exhaustion, anxiety, and depression among workers. Additionally, fatigue hampers productivity and significantly raises the likelihood of experiencing burnout. By recognizing the detrimental effects of insufficient rest on employees, organizations can prioritize the implementation of strategies and policies that promote work-life balance, safeguarding the health and productivity of their workforce.
3. NORMALIZE & SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH
Organizations can normalize and support mental health by modeling and promoting services, providing comprehensive healthcare coverage with mental health benefits, ensuring accessibility and confidentiality. This includes offering quality and affordable care options, encouraging time off for mental health, and facilitating convenient access to services.
ESSENTIAL #2: CONNECTION & COMMUNITY
The second Essential of the Framework is Connection & Community. Fostering positive social interactions and relationships in the workplace supports worker wellbeing. This Essential rests on 2 human needs, social support & belonging.
Human Needs
Social Support
Social support is having the networks and relationships that can offer physical and psychological help and can mitigate feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Belonging
Belonging is the feeling of being an accepted member of a group.
WAYS TO ACHIEVE CONNECTION & COMMUNITY
1. CREATE CULTURES OF INCLUSION AND BELONGING
Organizations can cultivate social connections and a sense of community in the workplace by fostering prosocial behavior—welcoming, helping, and reassuring others. Promoting a culture of belonging not only enhances positive social relationships but also serves as a potent defense against bias, discrimination, and exclusion. By creating inclusive environments that prioritize connection, organizations can ensure that employees from diverse backgrounds feel valued and included.
2. CULTIVATE TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS
Supportive work relationships enhance performance and are linked to worker engagement and innovation. These relationships encompass interactions between leaders and workers, collaborations within teams, and connections between workers and customers. Establishing trust relies on clear and consistent communication between leaders and workers, including attentively listening to concerns and providing explanations for key decisions. Trust can be fostered through everyday interactions, such as leaders modeling vulnerability and inviting others to share glimpses of their personal lives.
3. FOSTER COLLABORATION & TEAMWORK
As the future of work embraces remote and hybrid setups, encompassing diverse full-time and part-time arrangements, it becomes crucial to be deliberate in team building, communication, and collaboration. Organizational leaders play a vital role in emphasizing the value of teamwork, fostering regular communication, exemplifying authenticity, equipping teams with effective collaboration tools, and allowing time for non-work interactions and potentially community service.
ESSENTIAL #3: WORK-LIFE HARMONY
The third Essential of this Framework is Work-Life Harmony. Professional and personal roles can together create work and non-work conflicts. The ability to integrate work and non-work demands, for all workers, rests on the human needs of autonomy and flexibility.
Human Needs
Autonomy
Autonomy is how much control a worker has over when, where, and how they do their work.
Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability of workers to work when and where is best for them.
WAYS TO ACHIEVE WORK-LIFE HARMONY
1. PROVIDE MORE AUTONOMY OVER HOW WORK IS DONE
Granting workers greater control over the how, when, and where of their work can have wide-ranging benefits for organizations. By minimizing conflicts between work and personal life, increasing trust among colleagues, and promoting better overall health, organizations can create a more positive work environment. Leaders can facilitate this by empowering workers to have control over the scope of their work, the process for completing projects, and even the flexibility of scheduling and location, including options such as condensed hours, work weeks, or remote and hybrid work arrangements. Such measures not only contribute to lower turnover rates but also result in heightened productivity and increased job satisfaction reported by workers.
2. MAKE SCHEDULES AS FLEXIBLE AND PREDICTABLE AS POSSIBLE
Unpredictable and unstable scheduling has significant consequences, including heightened income volatility and a greater risk of economic hardship, which can detrimentally impact both physical and mental wellbeing. Irregular schedules also contribute to work-life conflicts, straining relationships both within and outside the workplace and potentially leading to behavioral and mental health challenges for children of working parents. Furthermore, workers with disabilities requiring accommodations for transportation or personal care face additional difficulties due to schedule instability. Employers can mitigate these issues by implementing policies that offer flexibility in start and end times for workdays, ensuring workers are not penalized with lost wages when personal, family, or emergency needs arise.
3. INCREASE ACCESS TO PAID LEAVE
Organizations should increase access to paid leave—sick leave, paid family, and medical leave (including paid parental leave), and paid time off for vacation. The U.S. remains the only advanced economy in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) that does not guarantee paid medical and family leave to its workforce. While paid sick leave is available to 79% of U.S. civilian workers, this percentage varies significantly among wage categories. For those whose average hourly wage is in the lower 10% of workers, only 35% have access to paid sick leave. Black and Hispanic workers are disproportionally affected. Paid family leave access is the least common, available to only 23% of civilian workers overall. Unequal and limited access to paid leave, particularly sick and medical leave, can contribute to the spread of infection at work, decreased productivity, workplace burnout, and labor shortages. Increasing access to paid leave can reduce the likelihood of lost wages by 30%, positively affect the physical and mental health of workers and their children and improve retention.
4. RESPECT BOUNDARIES BETWEEN WORK & NON-WOR TIME
Establishing, respecting, and modeling clear boundaries between work and personal time by workplace leaders have a profound impact on the well-being of workers. When leaders refrain from penalizing employees for needing flexibility, it alleviates anxiety and concerns about missing work-related obligations. This, in turn, enables workers to prioritize rest, which optimizes their health, productivity, and creativity. Additionally, organizations can implement policies that restrict digital communication outside of work hours, further supporting the maintenance of healthy work-life balance.
ESSENTIAL #4: MATTERING AT WORK
The fourth Essential of the Framework is Mattering at Work. People want to know that they matter to those around them and that their work matters. Knowing you matter has been shown to lower stress, while feeling like you do not matter can raise the risk for depression. This Essential rests on the human needs of dignity and meaning.
Human Needs
Dignity
Dignity is the sense of being respected and valued.
Meaning
Meaning in the workplace can refer to the sense of broader purpose and significance of one’s work.
WAYS TO ACHIEVE MATTERING AT WORK
1. PROVIDE A LIVING WAGE
Work and income are crucial for health and well-being. Financial stress impacts mental health. Increasing the minimum wage improves child health and reduces income disparities. Organizations should pay equitable, stable wages, and provide benefits like mental health support, retirement plans, and childcare.
2. ENGAGE WORKERS IN WORKPLACE DECISIONS
Employers have a responsibility to inclusively create opportunities for meaningful engagement and empowerment among all workers, thereby enhancing the overall workplace environment. Employee engagement encompasses the involvement of workers in organizational goals and objectives, as well as their level of dedication and enthusiasm towards their work and workplace. To assess well-being, leaders can utilize surveys and other reliable tools for measurement purposes.
3. BUILD A CULTURE OF GRATITUDE & RECOGNITION
Workplace leaders play a crucial role in cultivating a culture that fosters a sense of visibility, respect, importance, and value among workers. Irrespective of their position, when individuals feel appreciated, acknowledged, and actively involved by their supervisors and colleagues, their overall sense of worth and purpose is heightened, along with their capacity to cope with stress. Moreover, employees who regularly receive appreciation from both coworkers and supervisors are more inclined to recognize and value others in return.
4. CONNECT INDIVIDUAL WORK WITH ORGANIZATIONAL MISSION
Shared purpose refers to the collective pursuit of a common goal, imbuing work with deeper meaning, fostering pride, and fueling motivation while simultaneously reducing stress. Organizations can facilitate this by helping workers recognize the link between their daily tasks and the overarching purpose and mission of the organization. Additionally, leaders play a vital role in reinforcing these connections by acknowledging the diverse roles played by individuals, teams, and departments in achieving organizational goals.
ESSENTIAL #5: OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH
The fifth and final Essential of this Framework is Opportunity for Growth. When organizations create more opportunities for workers to accomplish goals based on their skills and growth, workers become optimistic about their abilities and more enthusiastic about contributing to the organization. This Essential rests on the human needs of learning and a sense of accomplishment.
Human Needs
Learning
Learning is the process of acquiring new skills and knowledge in the workplace.
Accomplishment
Accomplishment is the outcome of meeting goals and having an impact.
HOW TO ACHIEVE OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH
1. OFFER QUALITY TRAINING, EDUCATION & MENTORING
Workplace leaders can provide training and educational opportunities to enhance skills and promote growth. They can show genuine interest through encouragement, coaching, and mentorship.
2. FOSTER CLEAR, EQUITABILITY PATHWAYS FOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Organizations promoting inclusion and diversity can do so by offering transparent career paths and advancement opportunities for all workers. This entails providing resources and tools to support workers, address systemic barriers, and facilitate long-term growth. Opportunities may include accessible professional training programs, career navigation support, tuition reimbursement, English language courses, and promotion pathways. Additionally, offering new responsibilities and assignments that allow workers to expand their skills and knowledge can further contribute to their development.
3. ENSURE RELEVANT, RECIPROCAL FEEDBACK
Leaders and managers can play a vital role in guiding workers by recognizing their strengths and identifying areas for growth. Organizations can create ample opportunities for genuine engagement with their workforce, emphasizing positive collaboration and outcome-driven approaches. Equipping leaders at all levels with the necessary training, tools, and resources is essential for effective engagement and leadership.
The Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being underscores the crucial link between worker well-being and organizational health. It serves as a valuable foundation and resource applicable to workplaces of all sizes and industries. Sustainable change necessitates dedicated leaders who actively engage in ongoing collaboration with their valued workforce, the driving force behind every workplace. People are the most vital asset within any organization. By prioritizing their voices and providing a platform for their growth and thriving, we can foster an environment where everyone can flourish.
HOW MCIVOR MARKETING CAN HELP YOU IMPLEMENT WORKPLACE WELLBEING CULTURE INTO YOUR COMPANY
Here at McIvor Marketing, focusing on our staff and customers’ wellbeing is at the core of our business. With that, our owner, Heidi McIvor-Allen spent 7 months taking a positive psychology class about how to create wellbeing through an amazing organization called “The Wellbeing Lab“. As you scroll down this page, we will continue to add more and more resources around why wellbeing is important along with your very own “tool-kit” to implement within your workplace or home. If you have any questions, please reach out.
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