An Introduction to CWP’s 10 Best Practices for Corporate Well-Being

As a team of ex-investment professionals who have now pivoted into new and no less exciting roles, Davina and I are fully aware of and have experienced many attitudes about employees within the workplace and how it functions.  Here are some of them:

·      ‘It’s all about performance.  Nothing else matters.’

·      ‘There is no crying at work.  Toughen up or get out.’

·      ‘Only the weak and lazy get sick.  Unless you’re dying, you’re working.’

·      ‘Fit in or f**k off!’

·      ‘Your mother has cancer?  OK, take a couple of days then come back to work.’

·      ‘People are the biggest assets in our business.’ – as budgets for learning and development are reduced, as staff are required to take on the roles of 3 people

To be clear, it isn’t all bad and virtually every organisation that we encounter does make some effort to ensure that employee well-being matters.  Depending on the company or country, policies (albeit reluctantly for some) are introduced to make the workplace a safer and fairer place to work.  There is some investment in Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to help ‘deal’ with issues employees may face.  These initiatives should be encouraged and applauded.  Additionally, there are a plethora of platforms especially tech-based ones that have various offerings to help address employee well-being.  Again, this is huge progress and is phenomenally welcome.

However… in spite of all the extra investment of time, effort and money into new initiatives, the data on the state of our well-being has worsened, in part due to the pandemic but largely due to the fact that something fundamental is clearly not being addressed – whatever that may be.

Here are some stats to illustrate where we are today (ie post the height of the pandemic)

·      Roughly 7 in 10 people are struggling in their lives (Gallup)

·      85% of employees said their mental health was causing other issues eg poor sleep, deteriorating relationships etc (Oracle)

·      Almost £92b (US$121b) was lost in 2020 down to absenteeism and presenteeism (Mercer) and these figures are set to worsen and likely be larger in reality

·      76% say wellness programs don’t adequately address their needs (R Walters)

CWP’s stance

However, Davina and I posit that organisations can do a lot more to help support the well-being of its employees and the reality is that it doesn’t have to be expensive or overly time-consuming, the usual refrain for not wanting to implement more change.

The background

For us, it starts with the simple premise that we work with humans.  This means acknowledging that we work with humans who have emotions.  And these humans show up alongside their emotions, with a whole variety of experiences, beliefs, mindsets and values.  Things that make them who they are and what they will bring to the party.

It follows for us then that if those humans are not working in environments that acknowledge, accept, embrace and celebrate all facets of them, then organisations will not get the best of those ‘assets’.  If businesses want their people to fulfil their potential despite high stress and high stakes environments – so that they can be agile, efficient, effective and innovative – those ‘assets’ need to be supported and cared for to enable this to happen. 

Picture a horse race.  Would you place your bet on thoroughbred A who doesn’t train or when it does, with a trainer who is erratic and harsh, who eats junk food, barely sleeps and hangs out in a field of stones and gravel?  Who, if it has a bad race, is punished with less food, sleep and training?  Or would you place your bet on thoroughbred B who eats healthy foods, trains with experienced, disciplined but kind trainers, with a schedule for sleep and rest, and when it has a bad race, is treated with care and further support?

In order for organisations to reap the rewards of high performance, sustainability and impactful growth, we believe that employees have to be set up for success.  This means that organisations have a duty to embed well-being into its very DNA for this to happen.  This means focusing not just on employees’ physical health but also to provide an environment and culture where the individuals feel safe and respected, where healthy relationships are the norm.  This means supporting individual needs and that the energies of those employees, are actively encouraged.

Our motto of ‘Feeling Good – Working Well’ can be encapsulated by the following:

10 Best Practices for Corporate Well-Being

5 Best Practices for the Organisation

·      A Thriving Culture

o   One where there is genuine integrity, respect, innovation and trust

·      A Dynamic Organisation

o   Prioritising people over systems and processes

·      The Multi-Faceted Worker

o   Acknowledging, accepting and embracing authenticity

·      Equity for Progress

o   There is no sustainable progress or growth without equity for all

·      Responsible Insights

o   Data is key – are we measuring the right things and using it the right way?

5 Best Practices for Individual Support in Well-Being

·      Relational Support

o   How to navigate and manage conversations for healthier outcomes and relationships

·      Stress, Distress, Burnout

o   Awareness and coping strategies for the most common reasons for poor health in the workplace

·      Emotional Well-Being

o   Understanding the main driver of nearly all our thoughts, decision-making and behaviours and how to respond better to challenges

·      Escalation, Anxiety and Depression

o   Understanding the key symptoms and how to have better conversations with those who need our support

·      Implementation and Processes

o   Integrating these into organisational systems and processes

Clearly the above is an overly simplified overview of our 10 Best Practices for Corporate Well-Being and we would be happy to elaborate further should you wish.

With a little sprinkling of pixie dust

However, here is also where the magic lies.  As coaches in our specific fields, we believe that we will offer you an effective and foundational framework from which to embed well-being into your and your organisation’s DNA.  However, we also believe that each of you, with your organisations, are entirely unique and in order for the solution to be truly effective, relevant and impactful, your input is vital.  Research has shown time and again that when stakeholders have an active involvement in the process and solution finding, typically, the results are more effective, relevant and sustainable.

When we work with you, we actively partner with you to ensure that the solutions which are uncovered, are crowdsourced with you.  The ideas and insights on how to create impactful change throughout your organisation, at every level, and with every individual, leader and stakeholder, will come directly from you.  This is what makes the change powerful, significant and sustainable.

For more information, please message as at: contact@corporatewellnesspartnership.com and follow us on Instagram @corporatewellnesspartnership and on LinkedIn @Corporate Wellness Partnership

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