Well-being in the workplace

An employee whose life is the antithesis of mental, emotional, or spiritual well-being stands almost no chance of engaging in long-term behavior changes that lead to good physical health. We must see these truths for what they are and the remarkable opportunity that they represent. Because all analyses along these lines lead to the same conclusion: Achieving company-business and employee-personal goals are interdependent and aligned. One needs the other. One feeds the other. And good employee mental, emotional and spiritual health are critical ingredients.

The mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of health, wellness and well-being are almost entirely ignored by workplace-wellness programs. There are many reasons for that. Some believe such matters have no place in the workplace. Others focus so much on the physical that they ignore the mental. And even most definitions of good health or wellness are characterized by the absence of illness or disease, not by the presence of positive feelings such as happiness or contentment or engagement.

Stress

In this regard, stress cannot be ignored. All employees suffer stress, some greater than others. While stress can be the result of situations outside the workplace (most notably family), they more often result directly from the workplace and its impact on employees. The American Institute of Stress tells us that long hours, lack of control, job insecurity and perceptions of unfairness create stress that adversely affects employee health and engagement, and is a barrier to positive lifestyle changes.

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“Despite a growing awareness of the disturbing trend of ‘the overwhelmed employee,’ research shows that there is a pervasive failure to act in most organizations,” according to AIS. The National Business Group on Health and Towers Watson’s 2013-14 Staying@Work Report says the top wellness challenge identified by leaders is stress. Seventy-eight percent of leaders are reporting that this is their top concern, but only 15 percent of organizations are actually taking measures to address the issue, says Laura Putnam in her book, “Workplace Wellness That Works.”

A workplace that creates excessive stress for its employees is a breeding ground for bad health, excessive claims expense, disengagement, voluntary turnover and absenteeism. It also can create personal tragedies for employees and their families. The very best antidote for such a situation is replacing such an environment with a culture of well-being that actively addresses the causes of excess workplace stress.

Contrary to popular belief, lack of money is not the primary cause of workplace stress. The most prevalent cause of workplace stress is actual or perceived unfairness, usually personified by immediate superiors who show no care or appreciation for those who report to them.

Virgin Pulse’s “2016 Move Over, Wellness: Creating an Engaged Culture Through Wellbeing,” tells us:

“Perhaps the most important factor in overall employee well-being is the relationships employees have with their immediate manager and co-workers. Research consistently shows that employees are more engaged at work when their leader cares about them as a person. Additionally, Gallup research highlights the importance of workplace friendships and supports the idea that people who have high-quality friendships on the job are seven times as likely to be engaged in their work.”

Substance Abuse

Let us shine a bright light on substance abuse, a subject that can no longer be ignored in the workplace. Since the 1950s, this was the role of employee-assistance programs. Usually it involved alcoholism. Now drug abuse is equally, if not even more, horrific. Addictions destroy employees and their families in unimaginable ways. Just as with the more mundane lifestyle behavior changes, yes, it is the role of the workplace to help employees move to a better place with regard to addictions.

Let’s get blunt. It’s a disability, so you can’t just fire them. Addictions drive up horrific claims expense. This is chronic illness at its worst. But it is more reversible than many chronic illnesses, so there is more than just a little hope.

The very first step is to deal with the stigma. That can be done best in a culture of well-being, where there is some semblance of trust and respect held by the workforce for management and its motives. Addiction has to be taken out of the darkness and workplace programs must be very much publicized and explained – made as nonthreatening and inviting as possible.

Addictions are perhaps the clearest and most poignant examples of how the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual join together so they are indistinguishable. Our workplace programs must recognize this and create an environment where participation in such programs is the default for employees … unthinkable not to. And family involvement is key.

Accordingly, any comprehensive and thoughtful attempt to achieve good employee health, wellness and well-being must place emphasis on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It is beyond argument that to achieve good physical health, one needs sound mental health and well-being as enabling platforms, and vice versa.

Driving Success

So, what is the takeaway for employers? Whether for-profit or nonprofit, success is almost always determined by employees. The more creative, energized, thriving, engaged and productive employees are, the more likely success will be achieved, however measured. In their superb book, “Shared Values Shared Results,” authors Dee Edington and Jennifer Pitts make this key point:

“Our mission is to create shareholder value. We create shareholder value because we have innovative, creative and quality products and services. We have innovative, creative and quality products and services because we have healthy and productive people.”

Accordingly, it is key that business leaders see the complete alignment here of operational success, profit, performance and customer service, with employee health and well-being. Indeed, it is a puzzle why almost every business does not have as one of its top strategic objectives the well-being of its employees. •

James E. Purcell is the former CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. He is also an attorney and operates a national consulting practice on workplace wellness.

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