Social and emotional wellness in the workplace
We can't truly achieve social and emotional wellness without thinking about the workplace. Here are some tips that organisations can follow to foster an healthy and positive environment for employees.
Your social and emotional wellbeing is crucial for your ability to manage your emotions, maintain meaningful relationships and make responsible decisions. This impacts all aspects of life, including the workplace.
Social and emotional practices in the workplace can play a significant role in improving employee well-being, promoting positive workplace culture, and supporting personal growth. This listicle provides practical tips that organisations can follow to promote social and emotional wellness among employees:
Structure all workloads. An increased workload can cause stress, lead to burnout, poor mental and physical health, and reduced job performance. But when our workload is too low, boredom takes over, which then negatively affects job satisfaction and mental wellbeing. So, it is important to have the right balance. Setting clear goals for every employee, having structures in place for reviews and pathways for feedback, promoting autonomy in the workplace, and regularly checking in with employees to ensure workload satisfaction can help find the right balance.
Encourage open communication. Feeling comfortable and respected is essential when looking to create a positive work environment. And the key way to achieve this dynamic is through effective communication. Having clear communication guidelines and processes everyone can access and follow, can allow this. Employees can role model transparent communication by sharing real-time updates and remembering to give clear and detailed explanations and feedback.
Promote work-life balance. Although the meaning of work-life balance differs from employee to employee, there are many things companies can do to help employees find and maintain a work-life balance that’s right for them. Focusing on productivity rather than hours, encouraging breaks, encouraging employees to use their vacation days/leaves, offering adequate support to employees who are parents, and offering flexible and remote working options are steps that organisations can take to support better balance.
Promote a culture of belonging. Because we spend a great proportion of our time working, the relationships with the people we work with is one of the key aspects of how we perceive our work environment. To achieve a strong workforce, organisations need to promote a culture of respect and kindness to enable better relationships and support among coworkers. Regular one-on-one check-ins, feedback sessions, and chats are great ways to learn about employees’ expectations and needs. Creating channels to allow for deeper conversations and connections to take place among different teams is a good idea. Another way to promote a sense of belonging across the organisation is to organise informal gatherings, team-building events, and retreats.
Incorparating social and emotional wellness practices in the workplace can help build company culture, allow employees to feel more fulfilled at work, and increase organisational success.
Social and emotional wellness plays an important role in the way we function in the world, personally and professionally. By implementing these social and emotional wellness practices in the workplace, organisations can create a supportive and inclusive environment that promotes emotional intelligence and well-being among employees.
At The Apprentice Project, we believe that social and emotional wellness is a crucial element in the lives we live. It is what allows individuals to be successful in all aspects of life. We believe that all students - regardless of their backgrounds - should have an equal opportunity to hone social and emotional skills. By developing these skills in school, students can be better prepared for success in their future careers.