Less Stress: Small Steps to Seismic Shifts
If you are a modern worker in 2024, some of the following may sound familiar: waking up in the middle of the night with a racing heart, your mind spinning with an endless list of tasks for the next day. Months or years of sedentary days spent in front of a computer, leading to physical illness and exhaustion. Skipped meals and reliance on highly processed snacks leading to elevated blood sugar, slowed cognition and declines in mood. More people than ever are feeling anxious and depressed—and the demands of work play a major role.
If work is a major contributor to poor health and chronic stress, shouldn’t companies feel responsible for improving the well-being of their teams? If a typical workday entails back to back meetings and the expectation of instant replies to emails and Slack messages (even outside of working hours), shouldn’t companies also offer wellness breaks and dedicated “deep work” blocks?
The numbers tell a clear story: employee health directly impacts business health. Sick days and high turnover from burnout are costly, and it's even more expensive to lose talent to competitors who might care more about employee well-being.
So, what’s the solution? Many companies are turning to HR and employee experience professionals to tackle these challenges. Yet, for these teams, driving large-scale, meaningful change is often an uphill battle. Recognizing that it can be challenging to secure leadership buy-in, here a few impactful ways they can lead this movement:
Psychological Safety as a Foundation of Wellbeing
Reframing Psychological Safety: Move beyond compliance-focused policies and emphasize a culture where people feel safe to share concerns and set boundaries without fear of repercussions. Gallup found that teams with high psychological safety saw a 27% reduction in turnover, a key benefit for HR to consider when aiming to reduce attrition.
Proactively Building Boundaries into the Work Culture
Workday Redesign: Create clear boundaries in the workday; for example: "No-Email Fridays," meeting-free time blocks, or core working hours that discourage after-hours communication.
Encouraging Physical and Mental Health Practices Beyond Generic Wellness Programs
Move Beyond Perks: Employee health is often tackled through reactive programs (e.g., gym discounts or app subscriptions), but sustainable wellbeing can be supported by integrating micro-breaks, access to fresh air or natural lighting, and virtual health coaching programs. Encouragement for breaks should come from leadership down, with modeling by managers. Implementing initiatives like “scheduled movement breaks” or company-wide “Step Challenges” can provide both a physical break and a sense of team engagement.
Empowering Managers to Foster Wellbeing and Model Balance
Train Leaders in Balance: Guide managers to avoid emails or chats during off-hours and provide flexibility around deadlines when possible. Encourage “wellness-centered leadership training,” where managers learn how to prioritize workload balance, delegate thoughtfully, and celebrate team rest and recharge times.