A happy, healthy workforce is imperative for the success of any organisation. UK employees will work an average of nearly 85,000 hours in their lifetime [1]- the equivalent for spending approximately a decade working solidly night and day. Looking after our wellbeing and the wellbeing of our colleagues is therefore essential.
What is “wellbeing?”
Many people would reference health and happiness when asked what wellbeing refers to, but often struggle knowing how to achieve this. Wellbeing can be thought of as how we feel and how we function. There are a number of different factors which can influence our wellbeing and consequences lots of different things we can do to boost and positively shape our wellbeing.
How do we foster wellbeing? What’s the secret? There are five.
The Five Ways to Wellbeing is an action-orientated framework that has been proposed by the New Economics Foundation [2], based on an extensive review of the actions we can take that are positively associated with cognitive health and happiness. These five ways are: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give.
Over a series of five blogs, we will address these five ways in which we can bring wellbeing to life within the workplace. These evidence-based techniques have been shown to positively impact our health and wellbeing and throughout these blogs, we will provide examples of how you can adopt these approaches into your everyday life. Taking steps to improving your wellbeing doesn’t have to mean hard work or struggle- finding activities and adapting approaches which you find enjoyable, exciting and stimulating are the key to success.
Connect
As humans, we thrive off our connections with others. Social psychologists have frequently found that our need for belonging is a hugely important motivator. A research study spanning over 80 years run by Harvard University has shown that social connections are crucial to our happiness, physical health and even life expectancy [3]. If we don’t have these social connections, we increase our risk of cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and cancer [4].
How does this translate into our performance at work? Relationships with co-workers were found to be the top driver of employee engagement by the Society for Human Resource Management, with 77% of participants identifying social connections as a priority for them [5]. Engagement and loyalty employees feel towards the organisation they work for has been found to depend on positive working relationships rather than economic incentives [6]. Social connections at work have been shown to boost employee morale [7], increase productivity [8] and act as an essential buffer against stress [7]. Without these connections, working days lost to stress are more likely. According to the Labour Force Survey, last year 12.8 million working days were lost to stress [9]. This is a staggering number, especially when little changes can go a huge way to combatting this stress and improving wellbeing in the workplace.
What can we do to improve workplace connections?
There are many ways that we can look to amplify the quality of our connections and relationships at work. Here are 3 to try.
1. Give your complete focus and attention
It may seem obvious, but giving colleagues your full attention can help them feel valued and heard. The benefits of listening are frequently discussed, but the majority of us are distracted or preoccupied about 75% of the time when we should be listening [10]. Stop what you’re doing, take a moment to make eye contact with who you are speaking to and really listen to what they’re saying. Showing verbal and non-verbal signs that you’re focused on what the person you’re speaking to is saying is a hugely important part of active listening, and will help them feel more at ease. This could be something as simple as nodding, maintaining eye contact and making encouraging signals. Your colleague will feel more respected and this will help foster a good relationship between you.
2. Respond actively and constructively
Responding appropriately is just as important as listening. Showing interest and engagement through asking questions helps promote positive and meaningful connections. As well as developing appreciation and a sense of connection, curiosity improves our ability to learn and retain information.
3. Say thanks- genuinely
Practicing gratitude is one of the most powerful ways we can connect with those around us. Showing appreciation has been found to directly improve positivity levels and the quality of workplace relationships. Not only this, but giving thanks provides a welcome esteem boost and motivates high performance. Previous research has shown that 80% of employees agreed that receiving gratitude for their work encourages them to work harder [11]. More importantly, generosity is contagious- showing your sincere appreciation of a colleague may inspire them to show this same consideration to others, creating a positive and empowering workplace environment.
What are you going to try to boost your connections at work today?
References
1 Skoulding, L., (2018). How long does the average UK employee spend at work? [online]. AccountancyAge. [Viewed 26 November 2019]. Available from: https://www.accountancyage.com/2018/10/02/how-long-does-the-average-uk-employee-spend-at-work/
2 New Economics Foundation., (2011). Five Ways to Wellbeing. [online]. New Economics Foundation. [Viewed 4 December 2019]. Available from: https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/d80eba95560c09605d_uzm6b1n6a.pdf
3 Mineo, L., (2017). Good genes are nice, but joy is better. [online]. The Harvard Gazette. [Viewed 26 November 2019]. Available from: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/
4 Uchino, B.N., (2009). Understanding the links between social support and physical health. Perspectives on Psychological Science 4(3), 236-255.
5 Society for Human Resource Management., (2016). Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report. [online]. Society for Human Resource Management. [Viewed 26 November 2019]. Available from: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/2016-Employee-Job-Satisfaction-and-Engagement-Report.pdf
6 Dutton, J.E. and Ragins, B.R., (2007). Moving Forward: Positive Relationships at Work as a Research Frontier.
7 Achor, S., (2011). The happiness advantage: The seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work. Random House.
8 Bandiera, O., Barankay, I. and Rasul, I., (2009). Social connections and incentives in the workplace: Evidence from personnel data. Econometrica, 77(4), pp.1047-1094.
9 Labour Force Survey., (2019). Work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics in Great Britain, 2019. [online]. Health and Safety Executive. [Viewed 26 November 2019]. This report is no longer available but an updated version can be found at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/historical-picture.pdf
10 Listen.org., (2015). Are You Hearing or Listening? Five Benefits of Listening. [online]. [Viewed 26 November 2019]. Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-hearing-listening-five-benefits-jan-johnston-osburn/
11 Kaplan, J., (2012). Gratitude survey. Conducted for the John Templeton Foundation.
