”There are a few hot topics in the organizational environment these days:

Resilience
Adapting to change
Wellbeing
Mental health
Neurosciences (of communication, relationships, any subject)
Agility

I will refer to one that has interested me more in recent months, that of well-being.
It seems to me that we talk a lot about this topic, but I don’t know how much we implement or if we are in the situation of doing some actions just to tick them off the list. If my fear is true, this approach comes with some risks: lack of results, not involving people, demotivation, money badly spent, less interest in such initiatives in the future, both from management and from the whole organization.
It is indeed a challenge, especially for HR people, not to stop at the surface of things, not to be satisfied with just planning some courses, especially when there are so many other topics and priorities that demand their attention and energy.
Several factors influence this well-being in organizations, such as:

Each individual’s level of resilience – some can cope more easily with stress, change, than others. Some have children, more difficult situations at home, maybe a mother is raising her child alone, maybe someone has a sick parent. The factors that affect our resilience can be multiple.

Value set – if people’s values are at odds with the organization’s values, if the values of people in a team are too diverse, if they don’t believe in what the company promises to customers, to all stakeholders, then it will be hard for them to work together. A level of congruence of values is necessary to create a good state of being.

HR policies – sure, the HR department is responsible for these. This is where rules and procedures are set, but it needs the support of the top management. Company performance is not only set at HR, all parties are involved.

Physical office environment – if I work in an open space and sometimes need quiet, can I easily find a place to go and be alone? Or, if I work from home sometimes, will I face rolling eyes, snide comments from my manager or colleagues?

Everyday experiences with colleagues and managers – these can make my well-being extremely affected. I’m not arguing here that anyone should be wrapped in cotton wool at work. But if I have colleagues who talk badly about me, to my face or behind my back, or put a stick up my back if the manager never takes a stand, never supports me, the likelihood is high that I won’t enjoy going to work. The same is true online. It’s obvious when, in an online meeting, two people look down (into their phone), smiling at the same time, out of sync with the conversation. Toxic relationships in the organization have a tremendous impact on people’s wellbeing, on their level of motivation, whether or not they are managers.

The goal and magnitude of the changes taking place in the organization. Of course, everything around us is changing, we ourselves better adapt. But let’s imagine we are driving down a road and suddenly the driver suddenly turns left. Everyone in the car is slammed against the doors, stunned. But if they are told that they are going to turn left soon because that road is under construction, and the left turn is made carefully, carefully, then the reactions will be different. In the organization, people need to know the ‘why of the change’, to take part in the change, to be informed as much as possible.
A lot of mistakes occur, a lot of stress is triggered when a manager makes changes but doesn’t communicate enough with the team, doesn’t announce why are they making the changes, what will happen next. We are very good at making various scenarios, each more negative when we don’t have enough information. Communication, as trivial as it may seem to us, is the key to avoiding scenarios-ache.

Here are a few ideas that can help us in our efforts to ensure well-being in organizations. Courses, webinars are a starting point, an application that can act as a personal mentor on the phone, support an individual. But let’s not forget that the environment, the context, that ‘smell of the place’ that Professor Sumantra Ghoshal of Insead and London Business School talked about, is at least as critical. Otherwise, it’s like when you bring a beautiful flower into a dark, pestilential environment – the flower will seek light for a while. If it doesn’t find it, if it doesn’t get air, it will turn into a shriveled, curling mess, trying to survive.

I’m thinking of the Bring Back Better World initiative proposed at the G7 summit. How about having a task force in companies that is diverse in age and concerns, called Bring Back Well-being at work? A place where people can come up with ideas, test them, decant them, then implement what’s left? Not a place of best practices, based on what has been tried, in the past, but one that gives way to innovation, to new ideas, that cares about the present and the future.”

via: Thrive Global