What Leaders Get Wrong About Workplace Wellbeing

“Wellbeing” is one of the hottest words in business today as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus itself is an existential threat to people. What’s more, the mass shift to remote working that we’ve experienced over the past year or so, with the accompanying pressure to be “always on”, has fuelled what happiness expert Jennifer Moss has described as a “burnout epidemic”. 

Yet while many leaders are trying to prioritize wellbeing in the workplace – and will be especially keen to do so during this year’s World Wellbeing Week – they are not necessarily having the impact they desire. Here are four ways in which they are getting wellbeing wrong:

1.     Failing to show their own vulnerabilities

“Leaders who do not show their vulnerability, or are always ‘on their game’, give out the unconscious message that their staff and employees need to be the same as well,” says Dr Ajit Menon, a business psychologist, co-founder of Blacklight Advisory and co-author What Lies Beneath: How Organisations Really Work.

Since people look up to role models, they tend to think that if those role models behave in a certain way, then that’s the way they should behave as well. “This can become particularly toxic in change and crisis situations if spaces are not created for staff to get in touch with their anxieties and work through them,” explains Menon. “Vulnerability and humility are important leadership qualities in enabling wellbeing.”

He adds: “Wellbeing can be intrinsically linked to safety. When we feel safe, we are less anxious and less stressed. Leaders should spend time building cultures in their organizations where psychological safety is high.”

2.     Failing to really listen

“Workplace wellbeing is all about how people feel,” notes Janie Van Hool, a leadership communication expert and the author of The Listening Shift: Transform your organization by listening to your people and helping your people listen to you.

“We know that people want to feel cared about, that their contribution matters, that they’re part of something and for that, we don’t need anything new,” she explains. “We need leaders who ask great questions and give people the time and space they need to be listened to.”

The challenge here is that leaders often lack the empathy and skill to listen without becoming defensive and justifying own their actions, or judging the person expressing concern. “The risk of this reaction means people are reluctant to talk about their wellbeing and it’s easy to assume that the problem has gone away,” Van Hool concludes. “Leaders need to learn to listen, develop empathy, acknowledge and embrace emotion and become curious about people. Conversations that build connection and trust will, ultimately, enhance everyone’s wellbeing.”

3.     Failing to recognize that workplace wellbeing starts at home

“The most significant factor for wellbeing is the quality of our relationships, especially relationships within families,” says Sue Roffey, a psychologist and co-author of Creating the World We Want to Live In. “But are we making the links between gender, work and wellbeing?”

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