The emotional well-being of employees should be an aspect that all companies work on as the state of mind of the employee affects their productivity and it affects the performance of the entire organization. Implementing a strategic design for employee emotional well-being has such positive consequences as increasing the value of benefits, enhancing employee productivity and engagement, and building a meaningful employee experience.
In the work of fully improve employee well-being, probably the most difficult factors to manage are emotional stability and stress managementas they not only directly affect other elements of well-being, but also They also impact how they operate at an individual level and affect the performance of the entire organization..
In addition to stress and anxiety, emotional stress can lead to physical problems, such as fatigue or difficulty resting, problems behavioralsuch as mismanagement of anger, depression, or substance abuse, and Social problems, such as isolation and problems with relationships or teamwork. Moreover, emotional well-being directly interferes with people’s stability, regardless of the critical moment the employee is in.
Stress and anxiety are commonEvery day-to-day situation can evoke these emotions that have a direct impact on people’s well-being and affect the relationship with the company and productivity.
Becky Smith, Senior Practice Lead for Healthcare Management and Solutions at Willis Towers Watson’s Personal Care Management Unit, explained that “while some groups suffer more than others, stress and a lack of emotional well-being affect virtually all employees“, And added”Developing a strong emotional wellness program for employees is key to improving productivity of a multigenerational and diverse workforce ”.
Strategic design of emotional well-being
Each employee’s personal situation is completely different, so everyone’s emotional needs are not the same. Because of this, In order to properly design the emotional well-being strategy, we must start by analyzing and segmenting the types of employees on the payroll and mapping out their emotional path within the company. This journey of emotional well-being helps us to know when someone needs or asks for help and how to provide emotional support without being stigmatized.
Satisfied employees at work.
The second step when designing this strategy It would be to know what benefits the company offers to improve the emotional well-being of the employees. That is, research possible solutions aimed at mental health and stress management. After the tools we have analyzed, it is necessary to explore the market to know what other benefits can be added to the emotional package. Today, technology, artificial intelligence and telemedicine have multiplied the possibilities.
The importance of data
Many times the information processed by the company can give us the keys to identify employees’ emotional needs and we just need to know how to see it. For example, studying absenteeism rates, knowing the incidents that may be related to problems, or analyzing the prevalence of conditions such as anxiety or depression among employees is very important to identify hidden trends. Thanks to a good analysis of the data allows us to discover problems that have remained hidden and develop solutions that promote a healthy working environment.
A corporate culture focused on emotional well-being
It is needed promote one corporate culture that takes the emotional well-being of employees seriously. To achieve this, training programs and counseling and support actions can be offered to students managers and managers identify the emotional needs of their teams, are committed to inclusion and diversity, or establish mechanisms to identify sources of work-related stress or anxiety.
Companies must ask themselves: what is the impact of the organization on improving the lives of its employees? ¿What is the company’s true contribution to helping employees manage stress and emotional support?
According to Becky Smith “The general approach to value proposition and employee benefits is no longer valid. Personalized wellness solutions are excitingl, designed to meet the specific needs of each person, are essential to increase the value of benefits, enhance productivity and employee engagement, and build a meaningful employee experience”.