Well-being Is the Future of Work
I’m on a mission. Perhaps you’ve noticed. For 15 years I’ve been on a mission to show that well-being is the future of work. It hasn’t always been easy. There are many who don’t believe this to be true. But I’m not deterred by the skeptics.
I have found there are far more champions supporting this concept right along with me. The Conference Board recently stated, “For many companies, building long-term value through people can only be achieved through a genuine commitment to employee well-being.”
In his book Everybody Matters, Bob Chapman CEO of Barry Wehmiller, explains the core of the caring culture in his organization, “…it dawned on us that everybody is somebody’s precious child. And we realized we could have a greater inspirational impact on people than any other organization if we were good stewards of their lives…” When employers acknowledge that their role is to be a good steward of people’s lives, well-being as the future of work becomes a reality.
Furthermore, in the 2020 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends study, 80% of survey respondents identified employee well-being as important or very important to their organization’s success.
Why well-being is the future of work
In my recent interview with consultant, author, and speaker, Jason Lauritsen, we discussed the concept of well-being as the future of work. According to Lauritsen, “The work we need to do today is dependent on human ingenuity, creativity, passion, and compassion. To really unleash all this, we’ve got to rethink the entire work experience. The approach to management moving forward must be reset and redesigned around maximizing what human beings need. So, at its core, that work is about understanding basic motivating human needs. That work has been around for a while in the corner called ‘well-being.’”
What your employees need
The people business is about understanding and supporting the needs of your employees. This starts with basic needs – think Maslow. Once those basic needs are fulfilled, there will be higher order needs to fulfill. In the past year, Maslow’s pyramid imploded and we have gone back to focusing on the basics: our financial needs, shelter, protecting ourselves, and our health.
Now that the worst of the pandemic is past and we are preparing for what’s next (see this blog and this one), it is time to think about what your employees need. Understanding their needs is essential for retaining your current workforce and attracting the people you need to create a thriving, sustainable business.
We have to recognize that the needs of your employees are different today than they were a year ago, or even six months ago. For starters, employees are going to want much more flexibility, as described in a recent Harvard Business Review article.
Drivers of well-being
The following workplace components influence well-being as the future of work when they support the needs of your employees:
Culture describes the values, beliefs, norms, and rituals that drive behavior. Have you ever worked in a workplace with a dysfunctional culture? Have you ever noticed that there were no consequences for bad behavior? Have you ever felt like there wasn’t psychological safety in your workplace? If you’ve experienced any of this, then your well-being was diminished.
Job Design is the way jobs are created to accomplish the organization’s goals, while rewarding and motivating employees. Have you ever worked in a job where your hours were long or unpredictable? Have you ever worked in a lower wage job? Have you ever worked in a job where you had far more work than you could reasonably complete? If you’ve experienced any of this, then your well-being was diminished.
Management Systems encompass elements such as communication, rewards and recognition, and learning and career development. Have you ever worked in a dead-end job with no opportunity for growth? Have you ever worked in an organization where communication was on a need-to-know basis? Have you ever had to learn the skills for your job on your own time and dime? If you’ve experienced any of this, then your well-being was diminished.
Physical Environment includes physical safety, air quality and temperature, access to natural light, noise levels, etc. Have you ever been too cold or too warm at work? Have you ever worked in a window-less office? Have you ever worked in a place that was so loud you couldn’t think? If you’ve experienced any of this, then your well-being was diminished.
Herb Keller, co-founder of Southwest Airlines said, “The business of business is people – yesterday, today and forever.” When organizations understand the needs of their people and shape their culture, job design, systems, and environment to support those needs, they create thriving workplaces.
