The summer holiday provides us the opportune moment to pause, reflect on our personal and organisational practices, and where needed, plan a fresh approach for the upcoming season.
One critical area deserving our attention is workplace wellbeing.
Recent years have seen a surge in corporate focus on employee wellbeing, and rightly so. Regulations and rising employee expectations certainly demand it, and today’s leaders increasingly recognise their role in achieving it. However, many organisations still implement workplace wellbeing initiatives reactively, when burnout, lack of trust, disengagement, or rapid employee turnover have already set in.
The illusion of care in the workplace: A modern corporate mirage
In today’s corporate world, a narrative of care and wellbeing has become a cornerstone of many companies’ public personas. With mission statements boasting commitments to employee happiness and initiatives designed to promote work-life balance, it would seem that modern workplaces have evolved into havens of support and empathy. However, beneath the surface often lies an illusion of care that masks a reality far more complex and, at times, disheartening.
The facade of wellbeing programmes
Many companies have embraced wellbeing programmes, offering gym memberships, mindfulness workshops, and flexible working hours. These initiatives, while beneficial, can sometimes act as a mere facade, especially as they project the image of a caring employer but often fail to address the deeper, systemic issues that contribute to employee dissatisfaction and burnout.
Offering yoga classes and meditation sessions may help the individuals who take up the opportunity, although they do little to alleviate the stress caused by unrealistic deadlines, understaffing, and poor management practices. Employees may certainly appreciate the gesture, but without meaningful change to their workload and work environment, these programmes can serve more as a band-aid than a cure. And of course, prevention is even more effective and beneficial.
The culture of overwork
Nevertheless, a culture of overwork continues to plague many organisations, even those that publicly champion work-life balance.
The expectation to be constantly available, the glorification of long hours, and the subtle (or not-so-subtle) pressures to sacrifice personal time for work commitments are still prevalent. This contradiction between stated values and actual practices can erode trust and morale. Employees quickly recognise when the rhetoric of care does not match their lived experiences. When management speaks of balance but rewards those who burn the midnight oil, the illusion of care becomes glaringly apparent.
Performance over people
Another aspect of this illusion is the emphasis on performance metrics over personal wellbeing. In many workplaces, the drive for productivity and efficiency can overshadow genuine concern for employees’ health and happiness. While high performance is undoubtedly important, it should not come at the cost of employee wellbeing.
Performance reviews and targets can create a high-pressure environment where employees feel they must prioritise work above all else. The constant push to meet or exceed expectations can lead to chronic stress and burnout, undermining any genuine efforts to promote care and balance.
The role of management
Management plays a crucial role in perpetuating or dismantling the illusion of care.
Compassionate leaders who prioritise their team’s wellbeing are instrumental in creating an authentic culture of care. This involves more than just implementing programmes; it requires a commitment to listening, understanding, and addressing the real issues facing employees.
Effective managers recognise the importance of empathy, communication, and support. They understand that showing genuine care means advocating for reasonable workloads, providing opportunities for growth and development, and fostering an environment where employees feel heard, valued, and respected.
Moving beyond illusion to genuine care
To move beyond the illusion of care, organisations must adopt a comprehensive approach that integrates wellbeing into every aspect of their operations.
To move beyond the illusion of care, organisations must adopt a comprehensive approach that integrates wellbeing into every aspect of their operations.
This means re-evaluating workloads, fostering a supportive culture, and ensuring that policies and practices align with the stated values of care and balance.
Real care involves taking tangible steps to improve the work environment, such as implementing reasonable deadlines, providing mental health support, and encouraging regular breaks. It also means recognising and rewarding behaviours that promote a healthy work-life balance rather than those that perpetuate overwork.
Understanding employee needs: Life over work
Recent studies suggest that employee priorities are shifting from a focus on meaning and purpose to fundamentally needing a life. This is certainly true depending on individual priorities, for example, those with young families or caring obligations who may desire a job that allows for flexible working hours or clear boundaries between work and personal life. It is crucial for leaders to understand the needs of their employees on a deeper level. Needs and priorities vary employee to employee, and these change over time, all of which highlights the importance of flexible and responsive leadership.
Genuine care in the workplace
To avoid the implementation of irrelevant wellbeing initiatives, increasingly referred to as ‘wellwashing’, leaders need to know their employees, and to commit to authentic, comprehensive wellbeing strategies that address root causes and systemic issues.
Organisations need to go beyond superficial perks and address the deeper issues that impact employee lives and their wellbeing. In so doing, they will demonstrate genuine care for their employees.
As we wind down for the summer, it is crucial to reflect on how we can improve our approach to employee wellbeing. Token gestures only serve to create a hollow shell and threaten organisational integrity and employee trust.
The summer break offers the perfect time to reassess our strategies and to return in September with a renewed commitment to authentic employee wellbeing. By committing to genuine wellbeing strategies, leaders can foster a healthy, loyal, and high-performing workforce.
Truly care for your people and they’ll truly care for your business.
Beverley Le Cuirot FRSPH (main picture) is the Founder of WellBeing World, WellBeing At Work, Leaders in WellBeing, and the global awareness events, World WellBeing Week and World WellBeing At Work Week. She is committed to promoting personal, corporate and societal wellbeing and hosts a membership body for health and wellbeing practitioners and experts.
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