Is Wellness REALLY a Leader's Responsibility?
Leaders ask me how far their responsibility goes in terms of their employees’ wellness.
My answer is that like everything else in life, we should focus on what we can control.
Leaders aren’t able to control what happens outside of the office when their people go home. If there are non-work factors contributing to poor performance and negative attitude that are outside of your control, as a compassionate leader you check in to see what’s going on. You let them know you care. You see if there is anything you or your company can do to support them.
During work hours, you do have foundational responsibilities when it comes to the wellness of your people: Mental and physical safety, inclusion, and diversity. If you’re a compassionate leader then you also include clarity about expectations, consistent communication, development, and accountability as part of your responsibilities. All those factors contribute to overall wellness and decrease stress in the workplace.
The best leaders care about and notice whether their people are engaged at work. If their engagement and wellness isn’t a priority for you, it shows up in their work, in the company’s results, and in their home lives.
You are in control of the overall environment of your organization. Ask yourself the following questions to get a baseline on where you’re at:
How do you hold your people accountable to the Values and behavioural expectations of the company?
How do you encourage healthy conflict within your teams?
What do you do to prevent office gossip and silos?
How do you ensure that employees have clarity around the purpose, short-term and long-term goals of the company?
How often do you communicate with staff? How effective are your communications?
How efficient are your meetings?
These questions are a good start when it comes to creating a healthy organization. If this is where your focus is when it comes to people, then you’re doing your part to ensure their wellness.
So to answer the original question – it’s really up to you how much you invest in the wellness of your people. But if you choose to care and focus on the areas mentioned above, you’ll see both personal and business rewards.