There are many facets to employee wellbeing, from physical fitness to nutrition to mental resilience. When it comes to mental fitness, there is an important link with productivity. The research tells us that “happy” employees are more productive. But at beproductive.ie we flip that around because we know first-hand, that employees who are productive in their roles, are happier and less stressed. And this contributes to overall mental wellbeing and work life balance. A Productive Culture improves Employee Wellbeing
Stressful Work Environments
In a productive culture, people can get their work done in normal work hours and then switch off afterwards. Being productive brings a sense of achievement and satisfaction as people feel good about their contribution.
But in today’s busy work environment, people find it hard to be productive. Even if they have the skills and tools, they can’t do it on their own. The company culture must promote and enable it. A productive environment has to be developed and nurtured as so many things can block it.
There are many competing demands for people’s time and prioritising the right work can be hard to do. There can be a lot of pressure to be available to multiple stakeholders. Planned work often gets dropped, even if it is a higher priority.
When this happens, work can pile up, and employees don’t feel they are making progress. This causes frustration and stress and they may work extra hours to get everything done. If it happens too often, it can lead to anxiety and worry that people may carry into their private lives.
Create a Productive Culture
Every company wants their people to be well, be happy and be productive. So, let’s look at how an organisation can achieve this by creating an enabling culture.
First, it’s important to know what are the barriers to productivity. Here are some of the key issues people share with us:
- “I have too many meetings.”
- “I spend most of the day on email.”
- “Plans change all the time.”
- “I get lots of urgent requests from others.”
Time is at a premium in most busy roles, so it is important to help people take control. It is important to allow time for planned work as well as being available to others. It is important to reduce time in meetings and make sure they are productive.
Unless this happens, people won’t be able to meet important deadlines and targets.
Promote Productivity
Managers and Team Leaders have a key role in enabling productivity. Many of the barriers can be reduced or removed by good communications, clarity and allowing people protect time for their priority work.
Here are 5 ways to help people win back time in their schedule:
- Reduce Meeting discussions and improve decisions, actions and follow up
- Put a Smart Email practice in place so less time is spent on email each day
- Agree Team and Individual Priorities and Plans on a weekly basis
- Identify Distractions with the team and work to reduce them
- Minimise time spent on Low Value Activities
Encourage managers to work with their team to identify any productivity barriers and stress factors. Help them implement their action plan for improvement with changes to promote wellbeing on the ground. At beproductive.ie we run workshops to help teams identify changes, called Being Productive Together.
Promote Wellbeing
A Productive culture can contribute to your Wellbeing programme by reducing stress, boosting performance and overall work life balance. By prioritising wellbeing and productivity as key targets for your management teams, you can develop an engaged, happy and high performing workforce.
In-House Mind Fitness Talks
If you would like to include a talk on Mind Fitness Tips for Workplace Wellbeing Day 2024 in your plan this April, contact Moira here. She also speaks on a range of other topics that promote Employee Wellbeing. You can see the full list of Motivational Talks here.
Employee Wellbeing Programme
Why not launch your own Employee Wellbeing programme this year on National Workplace Wellbeing Day? We designed our Programme so that organisations can help their employees boost their wellbeing with practical tips. This programme also gives leaders and managers the chance to identify how they can enable productivity and wellbeing within their teams.
Moira delivers a series of Wellbeing & Productivity Talks over a period of time. This allows participants time to reflect on their own work life balance. She shares tips and ideas to help people make small practical changes to their lives.
The standard programme includes 3 Employee Wellbeing Talks. These sessions are delivered on a weekly or monthly basis. We provide a menu of topics so that each organisation can customise their own programme.
The programme can also be extended to 6-parts to suit your Employee Wellbeing goals and requirements. For all the details, click here.
Being Productive
Mind Fitness helps mental wellbeing and productivity. And being productive allows people achieve more in their roles, with less stress. People can get their work done in normal work hours and then switch off afterwards. This brings a feeling of satisfaction and helps overall work life balance.
You can read more about the link between Wellbeing and Productivity in our latest blog here.
Check out our full list of Productivity and Wellbeing Training Courses here.
