3 Ways Leaders Can Support Employee Wellness
Gone are the days of clocking into work at 9 am, clocking out at 5 pm, and leaving behind all things “life” related in between. Work and life are one and the same in the year 2024.
I mean, as I write this at 9 am on a Thursday, I am sitting on my living room couch with my cat cuddled up next to me.
The COVID-19 pandemic completely redefined work as we knew it. And with that came new expectations from employees. Enter, working from home or thousands of miles away from an organization’s HQ, creating more flexible PTO policies, and expecting employers to take more of an active role in what it means to care for an employee’s wellness.
A growing focus on wellness in the workplace
In recent years, there has been rising awareness and rhetoric around wellness in the workplace, especially among younger generations. Over 70% of Gen Z workers are looking for better mental health resources in the workplace, and 61% would leave their current job to find them elsewhere. This expectation for employers to care more about their employees holistically expands to Millennial workers as well, and when these expectations aren’t met, it hurts employee retention.
Over 70% of Gen Z workers are looking for better mental health resources in the workplace, and 61% would leave their current job to find them elsewhere.
When I was first pitching the idea for our new program, Wellness-Driven Leadership, to ADVISA’s leadership team, I received the question, “Well, what actually is a leader’s role in employee wellness?” As we enter this new normal of supporting the whole person at work, below are three ways that leaders can start supporting employee wellness today.
(Spoiler alert: a monthly yoga class isn’t going to cut it.)
What can leaders do to support employee wellness?
1. Care for their own personal wellness
Leadership begins with self. Leaders cannot be expected to care for their employees’ wellness if they first do not understand what wellness is and the impact that their wellness has on both their personal and work lives.
We’ve all heard the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” And it’s true that you cannot support others’ wellbeing until you first look inward at how you are caring for and showing up for yourself. Think outside of the typical ideas of wellness, like exercising or eating healthy. Are you proactively managing stress and burnout? Are you content with your social life? When was the last time you practiced a hobby?
Not only do you receive the benefits of caring for your wellness, but a study from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that there are lower absenteeism rates among employees whose leaders clearly communicate strategies on health promotion and personal views.
2. Redefine “work/life balance”
“Work/life balance” is a term that’s thrown around endlessly within organizations today. Many of us think of work/life balance as how you spend your time – making work and life separate from one another. In this new era where work has been redefined, the idea of work/life balance must also be redefined.
Work and life are no longer separate – work impacts life and life impacts work. With this new definition, it’s important for leaders and organizations to take a more holistic, sustainable approach in supporting the whole person that shows up each day.
3. Create environmental conditions for their employees to thrive
Through leadership commitment and support, wellness initiatives are more likely to take hold within an organization and create an environment and culture that intentionally fosters health where employees can thrive.
The US Surgeon General has declared an “Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” so the role that leaders play in creating connection and an environment to care for overall well-being becomes even more important. Checking in 1:1 with employees, offering space for your team to connect on topics outside of their day-to-day work, and proactively keeping a pulse on workloads and burnout are ways leaders can help their teams thrive.
Want more support as a leader?
If you want to learn more tangible tools and resources to care for the wellness of yourself, your team, and your organization, join our next cohort of our NEW program, Wellness-Driven Leadership.
You’ll find upcoming openings for Wellness-Driven leadership here, along with our other amazing programs that help leaders create sustainably loved workplaces.