Communicator

COMMUNICATOR 45 illustrations ©iStock / erhul1979 I IN THE NAME OF EMPLOYEE WELL- ness, and in response to insurance company demands, corporations are offering well- being initiatives with financial incentives. Complete this cholesterol screening, say, and you'll get $100 added to your paycheque; participate in some number of wellness pro- grams and you'll receive another bonus. In this quest to increase employee wellness, however, organizations are often unwittingly making things worse. Is it any surprise that initial studies on wellness programs are showing they don't lead to any visible results? At best, these initiatives are nothing more than lip service or PR. But at worst, they actually cause more stress. Having to jump through hoops, do cholesterol blood tests, and fill out well-being questionnaires is just one way that these programs can add yet more to-dos to an already full schedule. As one employee shared with me, "I feel like my workplace wants me to take care of my well- ness yet pressures me with such tight dead- lines that I barely have time to eat lunch at my desk. I know it would be good for me to attend, but I also feel anxious when my man- ager and colleagues frown at me leaving my desk to go stretch. What's more, at the end of the day I feel guilty because I didn't take care of my well-being and attend the yoga class." Well-being becomes not a needed break from the pressures of work but just one more job requirement. When you look at the data, employers seem to be missing the point. It is not by obligating employees to participate in these kinds of classes or screenings that well-being will improve, nor is it by providing material perks; a revealing study showed that employ- ees actually prefer a happier workplace to a fatter paycheque anyway. So what leads to employee happiness? A workplace characterized by humanity. An organizational culture characterized by for- giveness, kindness, trust, respect and inspiration. Hundreds of studies conducted by pioneers of positive organizational psych- ology, including Jane Dutton and Kim Cam- eron at the University of Michigan and Adam Grant at the Wharton School at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, demonstrate that a cul- ture characterized by a positive work culture leads to improved employee loyalty, engage- ment, performance, creativity and productiv- ity. Given that about three-quarters of the U.S. workforce is disengaged at work – and the high cost of employee turnover – it's about time organizations start paying atten- tion to the data. Research suggests that the most powerful way leaders can improve employee well-being is not through programs and initiatives but through day-to-day actions. For example, data from a large study run by Anna Nyberg at the Karolinska Institute shows that having a harsh boss is linked to heart problems in employees. On the other side of the coin, research demonstrates that leaders who are inspiring, empathic and supportive have more loyal and engaged employees. So checking in with employees about their fam- ilies once in a while may help more than offering a mindfulness class at lunchtime. Leaders set the tone for their organization, and their behaviour determines whether interactions in their organization are charac- terized by trust, forgiveness, understanding, empathy, generosity and respect. For example, one Fortune 500 corporation in the San Francisco Bay area has a system in place whereby the CEO is immediately informed if an employee comes down with a major ill- ness or has experienced a personal tragedy. Within 15 minutes, no matter how busy he is, the CEO makes time to call that person and offer his support. We have forgotten that organizations are first and foremost places of human inter- action, not just transaction. Research shows that our greatest need after food and shelter is social connection – positive social relation- ships with others. If we create work environ- ments characterized by these kinds of posi- tive and supportive interactions, we create organizations that thrive. Organizations with very low turnover. Organizations that inspire. Leaders set the tone for their organization, and their behaviour determines whether interactions in their organization are characterized by trust, forgiveness, understanding, empathy, generosity and respect

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