In recent years, the corporate world has significantly prioritised mental health and wellbeing. Once a taboo topic, mental health is now a key focus for many organisations. While this change is a welcome departure from a time when employees would suffer in silence, it raises an important question: Does attending to employees’ needs come at the cost of delivering results?

Global trends reveal that UK organisations lag behind other regions in prioritising wellbeing, with only 29% citing it as fully integrated into their business and talent strategy, compared to 41% globally. The primary reasons for this gap are that UK leaders have other focuses and haven’t considered wellbeing, or they prioritise other areas such as attracting and retaining talent, profits and financial margins. These results suggest a potential perception in the workplace that prioritising wellbeing comes at the cost of other priorities such as productivity.

In cases where businesses are making strides in prioritising wellbeing, it is clear that there are barriers to overcome if productivity isn’t to be sacrificed. Recent findings reveal that 65% of HR directors believe performance management has been sidelined, with a noticeable decline in performance-related discussions. This shift comes at a time when driving productivity in challenging markets is more critical than ever. Employers frequently encounter barriers when addressing performance, particularly when wellbeing or mental health issues are at play. Many managers avoid these conversations or feel ill-equipped to handle mental health concerns effectively, resulting in productivity not being questioned.

Managers often feel caught in the middle, having to compromise between achieving performance targets and attending to employee wellbeing. In response to rising stress and burnout rates, organisations come under increasing pressure to offer work adjustments to support individual needs. Balancing these demands is increasingly complex, as leaders must navigate pressures from both top-down expectations and bottom-up needs. While short-term adjustments may be necessary to address immediate health concerns or high-stress periods, research shows interesting findings that eliminating stress can also have a negative impact on health, wellbeing and performance. While some stress can improve alertness and efficiency, too much stress results in anxiety and decreased performance. Conversely, too little stress leads to boredom, depression, and a lack of motivation.
There are optimal ‘stress zones’ that are achieved through supporting staff improve professional and personal performance that doesn’t lead to overwhelm making wellbeing and performance integral to good health and productivity.

So how can businesses support wellbeing without sacrificing productivity?

Companies with ‘wellbeing cultures’ making the health and wellbeing of their staff a priority were linked to higher engagement and increased company performance.  With 81,396 hours of our lives spent working, workplaces integrating wellbeing into your organisation is not just good for staff, it’s central to the bottom line.  WellBe Link introduce the ARM framework: Assess, Respond, and Maintain. This proactive strategy ensures a comprehensive approach to employee health and wellbeing helping you to enhance performance. 

Assess:

Employee Surveys: Gather anonymous feedback from employees to gauge their overall wellbeing, identify stressors, and understand their needs and concerns. Conducting company-wide surveys offers a broad view.

Risk Assessments: Conduct risk assessments or stress audits to identify stress hazards within the organisation, ensuring alignment with the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) management standards for effective mitigation. This evidences your compliance with HSE guidelines and provides baseline results to measure the effectiveness of wellbeing initiatives on performance, clearly showing the before and after impact.

Focus Groups: Facilitate discussions among employees to gain deeper insights into specific wellbeing issues and gather suggestions for improvement. Include a wide range of employee representatives to effectively identify issues from various perspectives. To keep discussions focused, create an agenda that includes presenting survey results, identifying key stressors, innovating solutions, and setting action plans.

Respond:

Tailored Interventions: After identifying key themes, the next step is to create tailored interventions to address specific needs. Initially, this process seems overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. Re-engage your focus group to collaboratively develop solutions. Here are some practical steps:

1. Form a Wellbeing Committee: Ask for volunteers from different departments to join a Wellbeing Committee. This group will bring diverse perspectives, generate broad ideas, and share the workload. Projects that people are interested in and connected to a greater purpose have been shown to develop skills, boost engagement and productivity.
2. Utilise Online Resources: If staffing is an issue, leverage online resources and external support options. Websites like Mind and Mental Health Foundation offer useful tools and guidance.
3. Share Updates: Keep employees informed by sharing survey results and progress updates. This demonstrates your commitment to their wellbeing and leading to staff feeling valued also shown to enhance employee engagement.

Maintain:

Support Systems: Establish robust support mechanisms that promote health, wellbeing, and performance. Depending on your budget, consider these options:

1. Comprehensive Programs: Invest in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), mental health apps like Headspace or Calm, and counselling services.
2. Local Services: Research local services and make connections. Inviting service providers to offer on-site activities such as yoga classes, nutrition workshops, or hobby clubs can often be arranged at low or no cost in exchange for opportunities to promote their health and wellbeing businesses, enhancing employee engagement and wellbeing.
3. Resource Sharing: Create a resource library with access to wellbeing books, articles, and online courses. Add links to local resources in the community to email strips. The Hub of Hope is a directory of local services offering a range of health and wellbeing support.

Training and Development: Equip managers and employees with the skills and knowledge to effectively address mental health issues.

1. Training Programs: Offer mental health first aid training and workshops on improving performance through stress management and resilience.
2. Manager Support: Provide managers with the tools and confidence to respond to and signpost employees to the right resources.
3. Mental Health First Aiders: Allow employees to volunteer for training in mental health support roles. This helps align skills and passions to the role of support. By implementing these practical steps, you can create a supportive and proactive environment that promotes both wellbeing and performance.