Defining a psychologically healthy & engaged workforce is about as challenging as defining a psychologically healthy & engaged person. There are many different aspects of workplace and/or employee health, and many ways to achieve it. So, what makes a workplace, and it's employee's, psychologically healthy and engaged?
One of the most important issues fostering and maintaining psychological health is a sense of empowerment or control. People who feel that they have control over significant parts of their lives tend to feel less stress and are happier. They tend to be more resilient and affected less by negative events than those who feel that they have little control, or fall victim to circumstance. An organization can foster a sense of control or empowerment in its employee's in many ways.
The first is a sense of purpose. Look at a company's missions statement. Does it include a reference to the importance and value of employee's? As one company puts it in its mission statement, they strive to provide an atmosphere of "trust and respect" for employees. An employee who feels valued has a greater sense of control and empowerment than one who doesn't.
Does the mission statement represent pro-social goals that the employee can be passionate about? A statement that makes it clear to employees (and to the public) that the organizational goals contribute to the greater social good, and are not just about profits, helps employees feel that their role is important and serves a vital function. Not only within the organization, but within the entire community, which taps into intrinsic values and empowers employees to want to succeed.
Second, organizations that encourage employee participation in decision making are obviously fostering a very real sense of control. I recently heard the CSO of Pepsico say that he never made a single decision alone, and that all decisions were made with all members of his leadership staff. This kind of transparency and fairness, empowers individuals to speak freely and express themselves, which ultimately aids in more opportunity for better solutions. The process called Kaizen, which originated in Japan, seeks to use groups of representative employee's to analyze and maximize productivity and customer satisfaction, is today being utilized by several multi-national corporations.
How many of us would like to evaluate our supervisors? While some companies collect 180º data when they have a problem to solve, other companies routinely ask for such input from all employees, a true 360º, at annual or semi-annual performance reviews.
One more example of employee participation comes in the form of "FOCAL" (Forum for Opportunity, Communication and Learning) groups, which are designed to facilitate discussion of personal growth and management issues such as conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, relationship building and productivity. Using corporate coaches to facilitate these small discussion groups goes a long way in stretching the Learning and Development budget as well. Utilize in-house SME's to promote mentorship and training opportunities help to share the wealth of knowledge within an organization, so everyone is working from the same playbook.
Of course, people want to feel in control of their lives outside of work, too. Therefore, organizations that have policies, procedures and resources that facilitate health, wellness, family and work/life balance help restore order and control instead of creating situations in which priorities are always in conflict. Some examples include on-site coaching staff or coaching consultants, on-site fitness facilities, re-reimbursement for gym memberships, counseling, unlimited sick leave or health insurance subsidies for wellness program participation.
Companies that invest in the growth and development of their employees foster a sense of purpose, continuity and control in these worker's lives and as a result, see healthy bottom line, and continued success. Those that do not, will fall by the wayside.
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