Yoga classes, mindfulness apps, free fruit, employee assistance programmes - all these things are wonderful benefits to offer employees but, whilst they may address some of the symptoms of wellbeing issues, they don't address the root cause.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot is an expert on the link between empowerment/ control and both physical and mental wellbeing. He explains that work itself, or more specifically the reality of having to deliver work within disempowering organizational hierarchies, is usually the root cause of stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, hernias etc.
As humans we can face can face significant challenges, so long as we feel in control, but a lack of control, or a feeling of helplessness, is at the root of Trauma (with a capital T). Trauma typically occurs when we face an existential threat and feel unable to help ourselves. Similarly, trauma (small t) can occur when we face less existential challenges but still feel that sense of helplessness. Small-t-trauma can be cumulative.
Within workplaces, employees typically feel unable to resolve the problems they see. Often they don't feel psychologically safe to raise them, fearing repercussions if they do. In other situations, they simply just don't believe that they have the mandate to do so. They typically feel they have two options: to leave, or to put-up with the problems. Consequently they not only feel the stress of the problems themselves, but also the impact of feeling helpless to resolve them.
The good news is that empowering employees to resolve the issues that they see is not just good for them, it is also good for the organisation's performance as it eliminates performance drag, and it is good for the leaders as it reduces their accountability burden.
Empowering teams to self-optimise might sound hard, but with Perspective it couldn't be easier. Get in touch to find out more.
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