4 key elements for promoting workplace wellness
Every team member should have an opportunity to grow toward their best personal and professional self.
Many organizations recognize the importance of promoting healthy habits and lifestyles among their employees to improve their wellbeing and boost productivity, engagement, and retention rates.
When I started Jmac PR, my boutique PR and marketing agency, I wanted to build a company that fits my vision of how we should treat employees, and how to support them in the world we live in today — that is, not all roses and rainbows. In one survey from Project Healthy Minds, 96% of respondents report feeling anxiety in their lives, with 46% saying they experience anxiety frequently or consistently. But — and here’s the kicker — these stats are about the same for 2020, when the global pandemic was in full effect.
My thinking here for adopting a commitment to workplace wellness is that I want to see how everyone’s headspace is. Are they in the right frame of mind to do their job to the best of their abilities?
I see this commitment as part of my responsibility as a manager. Throughout my experience in the professional world, I’ve had good and bad managers. The bad ones tended to sit back, without involving themselves in my work or how I was feeling about it. The good managers were the ones who pushed me to succeed and valued my wellness. They were the ones who cared, and showed it. The CEO of one company I worked at gave out $100 at every monthly staff meeting, plus Godiva chocolates on every employee’s birthday. As I grew in my career, experiences working with incredibly generous leaders like this — as well as the not-so-generous ones — spurred me to start a company that truly made workplace wellness a priority.
At just over three years in, I’m proud to say that Jmac PR has made this goal a reality. We build concern for employee wellness and mental health into everything we do as a company, from one-on-ones to the executive level. Mental health is a cause I’m very committed to, and I’ve taken the opportunity to share my thoughts publicly. Here are four key elements for leaders to keep in mind when it comes to promoting workplace wellness:
1. Treat the whole person
There’s plenty of data out there on workplace wellness’s many proven benefits for employee engagement, productivity and culture. These benefits emerge at the organizational and team levels. More importantly, though, they affect individuals. No matter what kind of company you’re leading, your employees are complex people with needs that extend beyond the workplace. It’s possible to stay productive without compromising work-life balance. Hard work is important, but leaders need to be addressing physical, financial and mental health as well. This is sometimes called the “whole-person approach” to workplace wellness.
The possibilities for treating the whole person are only growing Employee Assistance Programs offering therapy, coaching, a generous time-off policy. At Jmac PR, we have a dedicated life coach on staff (independent from HR), built-in mental health days and unlimited PTO (including for birthdays), and a weekly lunch stipend for all employees. Work-life balance is encoded into our DNA as a company, and it should be in yours, too.
2. Practice healthy team building
Nothing should be compulsory in the workplace. Gone are the days when your workplace was your “family”, and you simply did what you were told. But even though individual wellness is paramount, the workplace should still be a team. And the best teams are the ones that form real bonds. To that end, we offer a travel stipend for all our employees — to promote connection by making it easier to share memorable times together during work trips. I also make a point to treat junior employees to unique perks that make them more well-rounded, including Michelin meals and WeWork passes. This year, I even offered all my employees tickets to the Coachella music festival. After all, with so many of us working remotely and not using that office space anyway, why not put that unused budget toward fun experiences that make your team stronger?
Diversity and inclusivity are also crucial to healthy team building. A strong team is one that draws from many different backgrounds, experiences and strengths — especially those that are underrepresented. I’m a member of the AAPI community, and I pride myself on leading a team of over 50% women and people of color. I firmly believe that diversity makes us better, and that leaders should strive for more of it.
3. Conduct intentional one-on-ones
Employee one-on-ones are a perfect setting for leaders to prioritize mental health, and they’re often overlooked. More than just a venue for ticking off tasks, one-on-ones should be a place to practice empathy and check in with employees on a meaningful, holistic level. During every one-on-one, I make sure to ask employees these four questions:
- How was your week?
- What were your highlights?
- What were your challenges?
- Anything I can help with?
Armed with this game plan every time, I’m able to get a real understanding of what’s going on with my employees, and how I can make a difference to their experience.
4. Discuss mental health at the executive level
I’ve discussed the importance of executive visibility before that it’s key for executives to publicly demonstrate their industry knowledge by exercising thought leadership strategies. Mental health is no exception. Executives have a responsibility to model the wellness best practices they’re promoting at their companies. For my part, I don’t shy away from discussing mental health maintenance. As someone who’s seen a therapist, I’m a major advocate for it. And at Jmac PR, we’ve showcased insightful content about mental health and wellness on our blog.
Related: Workplace wellness at risk, as COVID public health emergency expires
At this point, having some sort of workplace wellness program is table stakes for companies. But not all wellness programs are created equal. Even though 80% of employers claim to support their teams’ physical and emotional health, only 46% of employees actually feel supported. In other words, the trends are heading in the right direction, and that’s heartening to see. But we still have work to do. In my view, it’s a leader’s responsibility to provide a creative, communication-driven workplace where employees feel supported on an individual level. Every team member should have an opportunity to grow toward their best personal and professional self.
John McCartney, APR, Principal, Jmac PR