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Develope workplace wellbeing with these four methods

What is workplace wellbeing? In this article, we help you understand the areas of workplace wellbeing and provide practical ways to enhance it.

Why invest in workplace wellbeing?

From a business perspective, workplace wellbeing is an essential focus area because it is one of the key competitive factors. The impact of intangible assets, such as an organization’s employees, on the organization’s results can be as much as 50–90 percent.

When workplace wellbeing is at a good level, employees are motivated, responsible, and flexible, which directly affects the company’s results. Workplace wellbeing also influences organizational communication and collaboration, so the wellbeing of individuals is important for the community as a whole.

In this article, we help you understand the areas of workplace wellbeing and provide practical ways to develop it.

Workplace wellbeing, employee wellbeing and employer’s responsibility​

From a management perspective, factors affecting an organization’s workplace wellbeing include:

  • Employer’s management skills
  • Presence
  • Continuous development
  • Interaction skills
  • Age management

Age management means managing all ages well, considering the needs of different-aged employees.

Good management plays a significant role in organisational wellbeing. A good leader promotes open interaction, reduces inequality, understands different employees, continuously wants to develop in their role, and is present. When a manager has everything under control, it’s easier for them to stay on top of others’ situations too.

What Does Workplace Wellbeing Consist Of?

Practically, workplace wellbeing is visible in everyday life as meaningful work, resilience, and consistent performance. It is the sum of many factors and is created through the collaboration of the work community. A sense of purpose, confidence in your skills, and the ability to make decisions and influence your work are crucial for workplace wellbeing.

Workplace wellbeing consists of several separate areas. Understanding these areas and developing them can enhance workplace wellbeing.

1. Workplace wellbeing and internal motivation

An internally motivated employee is motivated by the work itself and by knowing they can develop. Internal motivation encourages long-term activity and increases self-confidence and efficiency. It is one of the sustaining forces of creativity, as without internal motivation, reaching a flow state is more difficult and organising tasks is unclear.

Employees’ internal motivation can be boosted by discussing the meaning of work, their desires, and the skills they would like to develop. When your voice is heard, you can jointly promote the meaningfulness and significance of work – and thus also improve workplace wellbeing.

2. Reciprocity and Community

Reciprocity increases community and social capital, which are known to be linked to reduced morbidity and a lower risk of depression. Maintaining community requires effort, and with hybrid work, social contacts and non-work interactions decrease. This significant shift in work demands even more investment in community and, through it, workplace wellbeing.

Tips for promoting community:

1. Communal lunches – Arrange a communal lunch with the team at least once a week.

2. Take communal breaks – Take Cuckoo breaks together a couple of times a day, including those working remotely. Try the Cuckoo app for free here.

3. Have fun at afterwork –Have a casual after-work meeting at least once a month, either remotely or live.

4. Weekly casual meetings –Organize weekly learning and getting-to-know-you meetings within the team, rotating the responsibility weekly.

3. Promoting Work Engagement

Workplace wellbeing and work engagement are closely related. Work engagement is part of the positive state of workplace well-being, characterised by a positive attitude towards work. Positive emotional, experiential, and motivational fulfillments prevent becoming tired of work and the emergence of burnout.

Work engagement is linked to an employee’s perceived vigor, dedication, and absorption in work (flow state). Thus, work engagement generates job satisfaction, which can have significant and long-lasting effects on an individual’s and organisation’s profitability, well-being, and health.

Additionally, an ethical corporate culture is linked to low levels of work burnout and high levels of experienced work engagement. Good management can also indirectly generate work engagement when the work atmosphere is supportive and safe, and employees’ strengths are recognised.

Work engagement can be promoted in the following ways:

1. Rewarding, developmental, and diverse work –Work engagement can be enhanced by rewarding good performance and making job tasks skill-developing and varied.

2. Organising work – The ability to influence your own work, clarity of work roles and objectives, and flexibility in working hours promote the experience of work engagement.

3. Work community interaction – Clear and fair management, support from supervisors and the work community play a significant role in the formation of work engagement. Additionally, considerateness in daily interactions, friendliness, receiving feedback, and appreciation, as well as the work engagement experienced by others, affect an individual’s own experience of work engagement.

4. Job security and practices – Job security, innovative practices, the workplace atmosphere, and attitudes that facilitate the integration of work and other aspects of life.

4. Customising Work

Today, in many companies, employees have quite free hands to customise their work to suit themselves. Especially if experiencing work engagement is difficult and an employee feels exhausted at work, customising work is a good tool to promote workplace wellbeing.

Work can be customised in many ways: by increasing structural and social resources, as well as developing the significance and demands of the job. Different people benefit from different ways of customising work: for some, increasing work pressure may only cause more stress, while for others, it creates motivation and efficiency.

There are many ways to arrange work times, places, and methods, so consider what works best for you. Individual customisation of work increases the experience of work engagement, which promotes workplace wellbeing. When work is modified to be more enjoyable, its significance becomes more positive, and work efficiency improves.

Sources:

Inceoglu, I., Thomas, G., Chu, C., Plans, D. & Gerbasi, A. (2018). Leadership behavior and employee well-being: An integrated review and a future research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 179-202.

Summanen, A. (2019). Kuntien johtoryhmän jäsenten työuupumuskertomuksia.

Uusitalo-Malmivaara. (2015). Positiivisen psykologian voima.

Manka, M.-L. & Manka, M. (2016). Työhyvinvointi. Helsinki: Talentum Pro.

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More efficient workdays with Cuckoo

Cuckoo is a wellbeing software where you can find over 100 break exercises, created by physioterapists. The gamified features really attracts you to take those breaks: for every break you take, you will collect points and participate in weekly raffles.

Gamified wellbeing for your workday

By collecting points you will move on our Cuckoo map and participate in competitions with great prizes, while maintaining your wellbeing. You can also challenge and follow your colleagues in the app as well as create groups within your company. Cuckoo is used by over 200 leading companies and organizations. Are you the next one?

Cuckoo is based on science.

According to research from the Institute of occupational health in Finland Cuckoo contributes to work wellbeing in many ways; social, mental and physical. Sick leave days decreased and significant amounts of money were saved. Other effects were increased sense of community and better recovery. Read more here.

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