New research reveals over one-third of Brits perceive their well-being as a six or below out of ten.
According to a survey of 103 people by POINT3 Wellbeing, 34 percent of Brits are experiencing poor well-being at work. The data shows the number one reason impacting people’s well-being at work is feeling stressed and having poor mental health.
Of those experiencing poor well-being at work, almost two-thirds of individuals feel a work-life balance is less valued at their workplace, and over half feel less supported by their manager.
Commenting on the research, Sarah Mayo, co-founder of POINT3 Wellbeing said “We often see a correlation between those that report higher levels of wellbeing and other aspects in the workplace, such as engagement levels and feeling supported by their manager and organisation.
“When employees are facing lower well-being levels, we typically see actions such as quiet quitting. While people often see quiet quitting as a sign of laziness from employees, it in fact manifests when individuals are dissatisfied with their job but feel unable to speak up. As a result, employees stay in their role doing the bare minimum because they either feel unmotivated to make a change, for financial reasons or lack of opportunities elsewhere.”
Organisational Psychologist, Adam Grant, adds, “During The Great Resignation, many people quit toxic cultures but those who felt unable to quit turned to quiet quitting. Quiet quitting is a symptom of organisational dysfunction. Doing the bare minimum is a common response to abusive bosses, bullshit jobs, and poor pay. When they don’t feel cared about, people will eventually stop caring themselves.”
To help managers support their employees who may be experiencing poor well-being at work, and avoid quiet quitting, Sarah Mayo, Leadership Trainer and co-founder of POINT3 Wellbeing recommends:
Encouraging Psychological Safety and Vulnerability
Cultural change requires both a top-down and bottom-up approach to succeed. Everyone has a role to play, but it starts with leaders and managers leading by example and modelling the desired behaviours. The Culture Code’s Daniel Coyle reveals that Psychological safety is the #1 ingredient of a high-performance workplace culture – one where people feel comfortable contributing ideas, asking questions, and trying new things – without fear of being judged badly if they get things wrong. This then encourages a culture of vulnerability – the #2 ingredient to high performance – being honest and open, particularly when you get things wrong or don’t know the solution to a challenge. When vulnerability is recognised as data sharing, the team and business benefit.
Creating a culture of emotional intelligence
Remembering that burnout is often caused by a disconnect between the employee and their relationship with work/management, it starts with leaders/managers honing their emotional intelligence (EQ). The best leaders/managers possess high EQ and are passionate about developing their teams to fulfil their potential, knowing that their success will come by coaching others to succeed. Research shows that only 14 percent of employees feel comfortable speaking to their manager about their stress levels. That means 86 percent do not, demonstrating an excellent opportunity for organisations to close this gap. Upskill your managers in their EQ skills, and this will go a long way to solving your business challenges. The ripple effects will be felt far beyond your managers.
Clarity, Purpose and Community
When people feel connected to the overall mission and a community at work – they feel a sense of purpose and belonging. When they are clear about how their contribution ladders up to the overall mission, they understand their individual and team priorities, they feel valued and cared about and more in control. And when people have positive relationships with their team, they feel more supported and a sense of belonging. In response to the question “How well supported do you feel by your team?” the average score was 7.7 out of 10 with 59 percent giving a score of 8 or higher and 20 percent scoring 6 or below. This all contributes to preventing burnout, even when the perceived workload is too much.
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
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