With a number of challenges facing workers following the pandemic and current cost of living crisis, Dr Dawn Nicholson, Senior Lecturer in Business & Organisational Psychology addresses why workplace wellbeing is so important and the best-practices employers can implement to support staff.
Know What Your Employees Are Thinking and Feeling
Check- in with your employees frequently – take regular “pulse” surveys, analyse what they are telling you and look out for potential points of tension.
Create Open/Transparent and Safe Communication Forums
Organise regular drop-in meetings – both virtually and face-to-face – where employees and senior managers can come together informally, without any agenda, for an open exchange of information, thoughts and ideas. Use these to disseminate and share information: be as transparent as you can regarding changes to working practices or the organisation.
Put Mental Health at the Top of Your Agenda
Ensure that working policies clearly address mental health and discuss mental health challenges openly – make sure your employees know that “it is OK to not be OK”.
Highlight Available Resources For Employees Seeking Additional Support for Mental Health
Ensure that employees know where to go to ask for additional support should they need it – for example, recirculate information regarding Employee Assistance Programmes or other external resources. Highlight any internal resources/teams who may also be able to help.
Be Open to Flexible Working – Trust Your Employees
Be open and receptive to requests for flexible working arrangements – whether virtual, hybrid, 4-day/week, or other part-time or job-sharing. Trust your employees to get the job done in the working time or arrangement you have agreed with them.
Enable Team/Group Meeting for All
Ensure that team and group meetings are set up in such a way so that employees working virtually and face-to-face can participate equally. Arrange for team “in-days” versus team “awaydays” – “in-days” are those days where you can bring team and group members together in-person. Face-to-face working has been shown to be the optimal for certain tasks, including creative tasks.
Support Your Managers
Make sure that your managers also feel supported – they are now managing and dealing with more complex team set-ups and issues – ensure they have the appropriate training and resources.
Dr Dawn Nicholson is a Senior Lecturer in Business & Organisational Psychology, with over 28 years of organisational experience working in London in Financial and Professional services. Her research interests are concerned with the primary aspects of group/individual decision-making and performance and the factors which affect this.