While doing some reading on mental health, I found out that Sigmund Freud was born on May 6th 1856 in the Moravian town of Freiberg, in the Austrian Empire, now the Czech Republic. Freud was of course the founding father of psychoanalysis, a method for treating mental illness and also a theory, which explains human behaviour among other things.
This made me think about well-being, which is essential to maintain our mental health. I wasn’t able to publish this blog post on May 6th, so here it is three weeks later.
You will find several definitions of well-being, but it is essentially the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. And since we spend about a third of our life at work, it is impossible to dissociate our personal well-being from our well-being at work. For some years now, people have been taking well-being at work more seriously; realising the benefits are not only for the employees, but also for the organisation as a whole.
We hear the expression ‘take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers’ often, but there is still a long way to go for some organisations, who focus on the numbers more than on their teams.
Team leaders need to manage their teams with empathy, dare I say love, to ensure their employees’ well-being. In
turn those employees will feel happier at work, and will be more engaged, less likely to go off sick and will be more motivated, resulting in higher performance, increased productivity and customer satisfaction. It’s a win-win situation. But in spite of the broader awareness and understanding, many businesses are yet to embrace the health and well-being agenda at work fully.
Evidence from research carried out by NEF (New Economics Foundation) 14 years ago, suggests 5 ways you can improve your mental health and well-being. This became even more relevant in recent times, and the Five Ways to Wellbeing was adapted in March 2020.
By promoting well-being at work team leaders can help prevent stress among their employees, and create a positive working environment, where individuals and the organisation can benefit.
The article talks about the Five Ways to Wellbeing in details [https://neweconomics.org/2020/03/five-ways-to-wellbeing-at-a-time-of-social-distancing] and I suggest you check it out.
It is also relevant in a work environment. My take out from this:
- Connecting with other people to build relationships; it will boost your self-confidence as well as help you achieve more.
- Being active. Whether your work is physical or stationary, staying active (walking part of your journey to work for instance), being active is not only good for your physical health and fitness, but also for your mental well-being.
- Learning new skills can increase your self-confidence and give you a sense of purpose.
- Mindfulness, being aware of your surroundings, reflecting and learning from your experiences can help you appreciate what really matters to you.
- Giving to others, and being kind to others. Helping other people can create positive feelings and a sense of reward and self-worth.
Team leaders have an essential role in creating a company culture conducive to well-being and actively promote it, engaging with everyone in the work place. They can demonstrate this by having a more empathetic approach to managing, being kind, genuinely listening to their teams and generally being more supportive.
If you would like to know how Valentines Learning can help you being a more supportive leader or would like to know more about our courses and workshop, do explore our website. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
