WELLBEING LAUREN PARSONS
Building resilience in the workplace If one thing’s for sure, it’s that the COVID-19 pandemic has given us opportunities to test and grow our resilience, individually and organisationally. Challenging times stretch us out of our comfort zone. Lauren Parsons, wellbeing specialist, shares her insights into learning and growing from these times.
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esilience is defined as your capacity to recover or bounce back from difficulties. Picture yourself five years from now, reflecting back on this period. What lessons will you have learnt? What gifts will you be thankful for? What processes will you have changed? You can take steps right now to ensure your workplace is more resilient for whatever lies ahead. The sooner you can reflect on and implement those learnings, the stronger you and your organisation will be. These five strategies will help you build a resilient workplace culture.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
AUTUMN 2022
1.
Commit to wellbeing
In 2017, the World Health Organization cited leadership commitment and engagement as the most important factor to achieve healthy workplaces. Yet an Australian report showed that only five-in-ten employees believed their most senior leader valued mental health and a British study showed that 40 per cent of employees felt their line manager wasn’t genuinely concerned for their wellbeing. To foster a positive work environment that supports people to be at their best, senior leaders need to be on board and prepared to lead by example. Too often, staff wellbeing is seen as a lower priority than financial goals, which is ironic because the research shows such a strong return on investment. A 2017 Deloitte study showed a return on investment of between $4 and $9 for every dollar spent on workplace wellbeing, with the average return on investment being $4.20. Safe Work Australia showed that businesses that improve their mental health environment rating from poor to good can save $1,887 per employee, per year, from lost productivity. For a team of 55 staff, that’s over $100,000 a year; for a
firm of 550, that’s over $1 million a year. Creating a positive, resilient, wellbeing-focused workplace culture attracts and retains great people, reducing the massive costs of staff turnover. It allows people to perform at their best, increasing productivity and reducing absenteeism and presenteeism. For any sort of wellbeing initiative to gain traction, leaders need to show staff they believe in it and clearly signal that it deserves their time and attention. Senior leaders set the tone for the wider leadership group who ultimately have the most significant influence on the resilience of individuals and teams day to day.
2. Build leadership capability
Leaders need to be equipped with the skills and tools to influence their own and others’ wellbeing. All leadership starts with self-leadership, and the example managers set is vitally important. It creates a whole set of ‘unwritten rules’ that form part of your workplace culture. Is it acceptable to get away from your desk at break times? Is flexible working encouraged? Is it safe to speak up in meetings or put forward new ideas?
