This guest post was written by Natalie Khoo, Founder and Director of Avion Communications.
As a business owner, I know firsthand what it’s like to burn the candle at both ends. There’s constant pressure to juggle clients, staff, operations, and your bottom line. When you’re at the top of the chain, there’s no safety net—you do what you can to keep things moving and promise yourself a vacation when you get the time.
But I also know this isn’t sustainable. During times of stress, I’ve
- Caught myself hating my job, when I know deep down it brings me joy;
- Reviewed some of my work and thought, “I could’ve done this much better”;
- Hastily said things to colleagues I shouldn’t have, then resented myself for it; and
- Realized it’s been weeks or months since I was supposed to give myself time off.
I don’t wish this on anyone. All work and no play damage your productivity and, often, your self-esteem. If you’re a manager reading this article, I know you feel me.
For these reasons, I make employee well-being a priority at work. The last thing I want is for my team to lose mindfulness and make the same mistakes. I want them to be happy. Their well-being has a direct impact on business performance.
If you’re a leader looking for new ways to support employee well-being, I’ve listed some practical examples and strategies, based on my experience, below.
Strategy 1: Get on their level
This is about knowing how to communicate with employees so they feel heard and understood—and sharing your expectations in a way that makes sense to them.
I was conducting a performance review of one of my employees. They were so good at their job that I felt I didn’t have much to say. Unfortunately, their “love language” was “words of affirmation” (mine is “acts of service”). By glossing over their contribution and going straight to areas for improvement, I inadvertently made them feel insignificant.
In this scenario, I had forgotten to apply my understanding of personality types at work. Had I acted with emotional intelligence (rather than the clock) in mind, I could’ve avoided this conflict. Upon reflection, I also remembered that this approach would help me find the right words to motivate team members one-on-one.
Tactic:
- Write down the names of your employees and take a moment to jot down what communication style best suits them. If you have a large team, short-list those you have the most interaction with. In addition to the “love languages” mentioned above, I take a moment to review Myers-Briggs personality types, DiSC® profiles, and high/low self-monitors.
Strategy 2: Check yourself
This is about understanding the influence you have over other people’s frames of mind—and that means knowing what to say, when to say it, and how you say it.
We’re all busy. So busy that sometimes we just want to Slack someone or whip up an email and ship it out so a task is no longer on our to-do list. But this can backfire. We all want our employees to be productive, and there’s nothing worse than non-urgent distractions.
I recently made a company-wide announcement about changes to a client contract. While I normally prefer to share news in person, COVID-19 and working in a different time zone meant I had to communicate via email. The next morning, instead of seeing virtual high-fives in my inbox, I had questions and concerns. I’d not provided enough detail or explained the impact of the changes; consequently some team members were rattled.
In hindsight, I see that I should’ve taken the time to better describe the changes and contact the employees affected individually. Such a gesture would’ve made them feel more at ease.
Tactic:
- When writing important emails to team members, make a conscious effort to reread your draft before clicking “send.” Also, respect their time and have proper chats, not instant messages. Before you nudge someone, be honest about whether the issue can wait instead of interrupting them with your demands.
Strategy 3: Celebrate them
This is about tapping into what employees really want: recognition.
My favorite authority on all things staff motivation is Dan Ariely, prolific public speaker and Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. In a famous pizza experiment, he promised employees one of these at the end of their day: cash, pizza, or a compliment from their boss. Lo and behold, the group that received compliments outperformed the rest.
As previously mentioned, I’m not naturally a “words of affirmation” person, so I struggle with this. But if you can find ways to make it work (while being 100% genuine), it does have a huge impact. An approach we’ve implemented is setting up a virtual “love jar” channel on Slack where people can give props to each other. I also encourage employees to name whom they’re grateful for in our weekly team meetings. That way, peers can thank each other for their support that week—it’s not just unidirectional from me to them.
Tactic:
- Ask yourself when the last time was that you thanked someone for their contribution. Did you give them a shout-out when you presented their findings in a company-wide or client-facing report? Take a few minutes now to craft a few thank-you notes.
Strategy 4: Enable honest feedback
This is about acknowledging that you can’t improve the health and happiness of your staff without asking them first—and sometimes the best feedback is anonymous.
I’m sometimes asked what business owners can do to boost positivity at work. Usually, I reply with: “Have you asked your employees directly?” And I get a sheepish response.
Often, managers are afraid of hearing things they don’t want to hear. But this is dangerous. Without conversations about what makes individual team members tick, you risk wasting time and resources—not to mention a drop in output as their emotional investment in their work plummets.
When you reach out to employees, be mindful of the fact that there’s no one-size-fits-all way to do it. Some prefer to bury themselves in projects. Others like to withdraw completely. Some prefer to be more involved. Others like space to do their work.
Tactic:
- Think about what you have in place, other than performance reviews, for candid catch-ups. These can be virtual coffees or in-person walks. Also, consider staff engagement software with anonymous functions like Culture Amp. At Avion, we use Officevibe.
Strategy 5: Formalize mental health initiatives
This is about not just giving people permission to take time off if they need it but also proactively making mental health a priority when you know someone deserves it.
I’ve read tons of literature on the effects of infinite vacation time offered by many tech companies, and the reality is that employees can feel insecure and awkward about nominating themselves for extended breaks.
At Avion, we have a mental health policy that if someone needs to take personal leave, they may do so without judgment or a medical certificate. And we don’t wait until someone’s burned out; we see how hard someone has been working and put it into their schedule.
We also have an Employee Assistance Program, which offers free confidential clinical counseling to staff members when they request it. This has been critical in 2020. Some use it more than others, but everyone is reassured knowing the service is there.
The team also incorporates quirky routines that make everyone accountable for self-care. For example, we have “Wellness Wednesdays,” when employees report what they’re doing that day for themselves. It could be going for a run or making quality time to chill on the couch with a tub of ice cream.
Tactic:
- Consider what you can prescribe for your team to reset and refresh—mental health should be a process, not a privilege. Everyone is different, so I recommend brainstorming with employees about what would be most meaningful to them.
Strategy 6: Be a role model
This is about remembering that your employees look up to you, and they don’t want to be seen as taking advantage at work.
I’m a workaholic and often get swept away with unexpected tasks that eat into my time off. But mental health initiatives are useless if you don’t participate. I’ve recognized that if I don’t set the standard for being bright-eyed every morning, no one else does either. Instead, they show solidarity by putting in extra hours.
While I appreciate this, it can affect their positivity and performance at work—and this is exactly what I need to avoid when I’m the one literally running on fumes.
Tactic:
- Since 2018, I’ve made an effort to schedule at least one long weekend every 12 weeks, minimum. It might sound dramatic, but that’s only a few days off every three months. I strongly recommend this to anyone in a managerial role. Don’t feel guilty—it gives you the vigor to lead a team through anything when circumstances call for it.
Conclusion
With businesses trying to navigate a global health crisis, there’s never been more pressure for managers to ensure that their teams perform. Yet employee mental health is simultaneously taking center stage.
I believe work and well-being go hand in hand; the secret is getting the balance right—and it all flows from the top down. I hope you can find meaning in my experiences and strategies in a way that works for your team.
Calm Business is the mental wellness platform to help your teams stress less, sleep better, and build more resilience. Learn more about how Calm can support the well-being of your workforce here.
