How effective leadership can improve employee wellness & organisational health

Katrina's vast experience in developing result-oriented strategies for organisations as a Wellness Manager and strategist has led her to uncover some important truths for managers that can ultimately change the course of a business, for good:

Leaders are currently finding themselves facing new challenges resulting from a changing relationship with our work, staff burnout, leaner teams, retention issues, and managing an ‘anywhere’ workforce.

As we forge ahead into the future of work, there's one challenge that subsequently continues to loom large on the horizon: employee wellbeing. But here's the catch: building a wellbeing-focused culture requires strategic leadership. It also necessitates leaders optimising their own personal wellbeing to lead effectively and sustainably.

When an organisation’s leaders are healthy and thriving, the organisation will take on the same traits. There are fewer sick days, higher staff morale, reduced churn rates and increased productivity. Employees are also 2.87 times more likely to participate in wellness offerings if they perceive it is expected by their manager (Source: Rongen et al, 2014).

Leaders subsequently serve as the barometer of an organisation. So how do we leverage leaders as change agents for fostering a wellbeing culture? 

In our Academy training programs, we focus on the 4E’s for the role of leaders:

• Enable – through building internal capability to a create a holistic and results-oriented wellbeing strategy which mitigates physical, psychological and environmental risks, and supports business goals.
• Embed – through integrating wellbeing into ‘business as usual’ at an individual, team and organisational level. For example, as part of the employee life cycle, workplace design or organisational KPIs.
• Engage – individuals, teams and managers in day-to-day wellbeing conversations, which builds a culture of support, inclusion and psychological safety.
• Embody – through leaders role modelling, promoting and practicing self-care, and encouraging their teams to do the same.

Ultimately, adoption of these 4Es will provide a critical competitive edge for thriving in a complex world, both for the organisations in which individuals lead, and in their personal careers. 

Ready to further build your wellbeing leadership capability? Find out more about Wellness Designs Academy training and skills-based Masterclasses here, and upcoming events here.