Employees and leaders who are ‘well’ are able to perform in a more consistent and productive manner every day. Its 2018, now is the time to proactively invest in a strategy to make sure your workforce is psychologically well.

How are you investing in energising your workforce + unleashing their potential?

Wellbeing programs are not only a risk-mitigation measure, but a way to help each individual go from good to great. A recent Deloitte report stated that at any one time, 84% of employees are experiencing physical, psychological or behavioural symptoms of poor mental health. Career & Leadership development can be integrated with personalised wellbeing goals to support a positive work environment full of engaged and thriving individuals.

Our predicted workplace wellbeing trends for 2018

People & Culture teams recognise that wellbeing initiatives are the key to high performance. These initiatives focus on improving productivity, reducing cognitive overload and reminding people to practice healthy lifestyle habits. Wellbeing initiatives can also be a good talent attraction and retention tool as employees are becoming increasingly attracted to workplaces that show care for the individual above and beyond their KPI’s.

1. The use of technology

   Technology will be increasingly utilised to gather data and inform insights to customise wellbeing programs and bring together individuals with similar goals. Data from mobile devices, fit bits and desktop programs will help determine learning engagements and increase adoption rates.

2. A personalised approach

   Employers are increasingly focused on addressing the needs of “the whole employee” by integrating emotional, financial, social and career well-being with physical health. We foresee organisations introducing tailored content rather than an ‘off-the-shelf’ products to address employee needs.

3. #Trending sleep education

   Australia is in the grip of a sleep deprivation epidemic that is dragging down the nation’s productivity, risking safety and damaging mental health. Research by the Sleep Health Foundation has found 33 to 45 per cent of adults sleep either poorly or not long enough most nights, leaving them to face the new day with fatigue, irritability and other side effects of sleep deprivation. If you get the right amount of sleep you’re more accurate, productive and motivated, you’re also more likely to be in a better mood and less susceptible to illness. Sleep awareness and education programs, as well as incentivised courses that track employees’ sleep and provide points towards rewards for achieving set sleep goals will become a big thing in 2018.

4. Building a resilience toolkit 

   The World Health Organization (WHO) has noted stress as the health epidemic of the 21st century. In response, many organisation have invested in mindfulness and meditation training for their employees. They’ve found mindfulness can boost creativity and sharpen focus—two things that are critical in the modern work environment. However, the focus in 2018 will shift to education about disputing thoughts which cause stress + anxiety and proactively managing self to avoid compassion/empathy fatigue for those in ‘caring’ roles.

5. A focus on leaders.

   70% of organisational culture comes from it’s leaders. If your team is over-stressed and over-tired, as a manager, that is a reflection on your leadership skills. We predict that wellbeing programs will be targeted at senior leaders to ensure they are modelling positive wellbeing practices in the workplace. There is enough evidence to show that working crazy hours consistently doesn’t equate to high performance and it’s up to leaders to drive a wellbeing focus to lead well.

If you would like to learn more about helping leaders lead well or facilitation of wellbeing programs, please contact a PeopleScape consultant today.