Sarah Evans MA, FHEA’s Post

“Wellbeing perks don’t work”. So says Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People in this article from HR magazine (link in comments). This is something I’ve thought for a long time. I think it became really clear to me when the free counselling sessions I’d been ‘gifted’ by HR as a way to cope with a toxic work situation were coming to an end… My feelings had been validated by the counsellor in session one. After that, we mostly discussed Brexit. You see, no amount of counselling sessions were ever going to change the toxic leadership we were all experiencing. Or the increase in workload without explanation. Or the bullying tendencies of a colleague. You get the idea… As Paul Devoy says, ignoring the fundamentals that are causing the problems and offering yoga lunches instead, is only storing up trouble for the organisation in future. As well as eroding the trust and the wellbeing of employees. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping leaders develop the personal awareness and necessary skills to deal with the fundamentals. With confidence and direction. So they can take care of their own wellbeing, as well as their employees. Would love to know your thoughts on the article… #personaldevelopment #leadership #values https://lnkd.in/e2wAG9y6

What are you doing in June? Join us straight from Your desktop! Texas Bay Area SHRM June meeting! #meetmethere Meador Staffing Services Thursday, June 13th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Please Note: This is a VIRTUAL EVENT ONLY. We will not be meeting at Bay Oaks Country Club this month. A link to the Zoom event sign-up will be included in registration confirmation email. The Topic Employee Happiness: The Key to Engagement, Resilience, and Retention Employee engagement is at an all-time low and burnout and employee wellness problems are hitting new highs. Traditional HR solutions are failing to solve the problem. Rob’s transformational talk focuses on the science of human happiness, getting to the heart of what really works to increase engagement, promote wellness, and reduce burnout. Happy employees have better work lives, better home lives, and generate increased profits. This presentation is both informational and motivational, delivering actionable strategies so the audience leaves with skills to increase their own happiness and help others find happier lives as well. Learning Objectives Understanding the real reason employees are disengaged or leaving, why traditional HR measures are failing, and what DOES work to increase engagement and reduce resignations Learn why happiness training improves everything from bad bosses to toxic corporate culture, along with statistics and strategies to get C-Suite buy-in by showing how Happiness is Profitable Actionable strategies to make the audience members happier starting today Meeting Agenda 12:00-1:00 Speaker Presentation, followed by Q&A Re-certification credits are available for this event (1 SHRM PDC; 1 hour HRCI) and will be shared with attendees within two weeks after the event. Registration Guests are always welcome and encouraged to attend our meetings! $18 TXBA SHRM Member $28 Non-Member / Guest $10 Student Member Speaker Information Rob Dubin is a serial entrepreneur who has created multiple seven-figure businesses. For 20 years he was an award winning film director who traveled the world making television programs and TV commercials for Fortune 500 clients and others. As you will hear, Rob has lived a unique and extraordinary life. At the age of 42, Rob and his wife sold their home, moved onto a 40’ sailboat, and spent the next 17 years sailing around the world. Rob spent 25 years studying human happiness in over 100 countries. Rob now gives back by teaching courses on employee happiness and the science behind human wellbeing. Rob has spoken on the science of human happiness at Harvard and his TEDx talk on Happiness has been watched over 250,000 times. He is a contributing author on an Amazon #1 bestselling book about employee engagement, and he is a frequent speaker at HR events throughout the country. Rob interweaves lessons learned while sailing with the science of human happiness.

So your teams are burned to a crisp AND you want to drive employee engagement? 👉 Help your employees find ✨meaning at work✨. Meaning at work is about how an individual FEELS about their job and the personal satisfaction they derive from it. It can be cultivated by aligning work with: 1️⃣ Values: Do you know your values and do they match your workplace values? Understanding and aligning personal values with organizational values can create a deeper sense of purpose and connection. Values is one of the 6 burnout drivers - a mismatch in values can lead to dissatisfaction, low engagement and high burnout. ✅ Employees: Do the work to find alignment or understand why there is a misalignment. (Jeddy Wellness can help!) 💪🏽 HR, managers, leaders: Review this as a team and identify areas where values may be misaligned. Facilitate discussions and initiatives to bridge these gaps, ensuring that organizational values are clearly communicated and embodied in daily operations. 2️⃣ Recognizing and appreciating contributions: Do you feel your contributions are recognized and appreciated? Regular acknowledgment of efforts and achievements can enhance the sense of meaning and value in your work. ✅Employees: Actively seek feedback and communicate your achievements. What was the best part of my day? What was neutral? What did not go so well? 💪🏽HR, managers, leaders: Implement recognition programs and make appreciation a regular part of your management practices. I know University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is already doing this. Kudos! 👏 3️⃣ Connecting daily tasks to the bigger picture: Do you see how your daily tasks contribute to the larger goals of the organization? Understanding the impact of your work on the overall mission can increase your sense of purpose and fulfillment. ✅Employees: Seek clarity on how your role fits into the broader organizational goals. Where are you using your strengths? When are you in flow? (Jeddy Wellness can help!) 💪🏽HR, managers, leaders: Communicate the organization's vision and mission clearly. Regularly connect individual and team contributions to these larger goals through meetings, updates, and storytelling. This week we had the honor to return to New England! We spent the day at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth as we reach the end of our 12 month staff wellness program. It was weird with the students all gone, but it was abundantly clear that the staff in academia never stop working. Meaning at work is a powerful buffer against burnout. It is resource that is available to ALL workplaces! cc: Michael Ralph, PIDP Follow me for a fresh evidence-based workplace strategy every Wednesday! 🥼(other insights and inspirations throughout the week). ··········································· 🔸 Are you facing low retention, high burnout, or resource challenges at your workplace? Let's connect! 🔗 Discover how Jeddy Wellness creates engaging research, sticky learning, and active wellness.

Super excited to announce last night at the 2024 WorkWell Leaders Awards and Gala Dinner that a new national benchmark will be established later this year to demonstrate the intersection of business risks associated with mental health, the influence of leadership and culture and the resulting impact on business outcomes and stakeholder value. This benchmark has been on the Board agenda since we formalised in 2021 - and in her heart for much longer. A very complex study but we are now braver and ready to embark on this after a treasure trove of honest conversations that we’ve had with over 500 CEOs and leaders who have attended our learning sessions and dialogues as well as the 80 one-to-one CEO catch ups that I’ve had so far. While existing global and local benchmarks for workplace mental health primarily focus on perceptions of individual employee support, the WorkWell Leaders benchmark will focus on the status of organisation-wide transformation aimed at enhancing worker wellbeing, organisational performance, and long-term stakeholder value. In other words, we will look at the impact of individual interventions on overall wellbeing versus organisation-wide transformation of culture, including behaviours, workload and work design, team collaboration and a sense of belonging, amongst others. But we can’t and mustn’t do this adaptive work alone, no one is smarter than all of us. Quantification of organisational change is extremely complex and setting a relatable framework for outcomes will take some deliberation from the different stakeholders on the research design. We have convened a working group of local and global experts as well as relevant stakeholders from the corporate and government sectors to co-create this benchmark to help boards and CEOs chart their own strategic growth roadmaps. Beyond daunting but perhaps we have been assigned this 'mountain' to show others it can be moved? "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" - Ralph Waldo Emerson Grateful to Krist Boo of The Straits Times, Lindsay Wong of The Business Times, Renald Loh of CNA/TODAY for covering the Awards and the benchmark announcement. https://lnkd.in/dSVAkSDb https://lnkd.in/dy6xec8t https://lnkd.in/drXWf4Rr Kok Weng SAM Stephane de Montlivault Kelvin Ho Khai Yang Koh Kwang Cheak Tan Peta Latimer Chartered FCIPD Bob Grove Joey Chung Annika Mock Nur Fuanni Binte Adnan #WWLAwards2024 #BeWellLeadWell #leadershipmovement

Lately, my inbox has been flooded with requests asking me to pen down my thoughts on employee wellbeing for certain forums post the unfortunate death of a young CA professional. After some hesitation (and a lot of avoidance), I decided, "Why not share my thoughts, not as an 'expert,'(barely one), but as an employee who's navigated the same daily grind?" And here’s what I’ve come to realize: The Uncontrollable Factor: No matter what job you do, you’ll always face the same culprits—stressful work, unnecessary tasks (you know, the ones that make you wonder if they even matter), weekend work, the ever-demanding business goals, client pressure, and of course, the occasional toxic teammate or manager. These are the things we can't really control. They’re like bad traffic on a Monday morning—inevitable and frustrating, but part of the ride. The Controllable (or at least the Manageable) Factor: Here’s where things get a bit more hopeful. Creating a psychologically safe environment for employees is something we can manage, and it’s a team effort. But the brunt of the responsibility (say 3/4th) lies with the employer. What can companies do to make things better? I have a few thoughts: Psychological Safety: Employees need to feel safe expressing concerns without fear of backlash. Wellbeing Resources & Policies: A company's wellbeing program should actually benefit employees, not just exist for show. Dedicated Teams: Make sure there’s a team safeguarding these policies so they’re not just empty promises. Awareness: People can’t use resources they don’t know about! Manager Training: Empathy in leadership isn’t optional. It’s the difference between thriving teams and burnt-out ones. Now, about that last 1/4th of responsibility—yeah, that’s on us, the employees. We need to learn how to leverage these benefits and stop putting half hearted efforts to be a part of the initiatives. At the end of the day, your work-life balance is your responsibility too. While I share this, I want to make one thing loud and clear: I've been fortunate enough to work in organizations where the culture and support allowed me to even articulate these thoughts. Of course, I've put in some effort too—it’s a collaboration, after all! So, let’s not just talk about wellbeing—let’s actually work on it. #EmployeeWellbeing #WorkLifeBalance #MentalHealthAtWork #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #WellbeingMatters #PsychologicalSafety #EmployeeEngagement #EmpathyInLeadership #WorkplaceWellness

Let's face it: in the world of HR, employee wellbeing has become quite the buzzword. But while free yoga classes and meditation apps are nice, they're band-aids on a much bigger issue. Today, let's cut through the fluff and talk about what really moves the needle on employee wellbeing. First, let's identify the real culprits behind employee burnout: 1. Workload Imbalance: When "do more with less" becomes the unofficial company motto. 2. Lack of Autonomy: Micromanagement is so last century, yet here we are. 3. Skill-Job Mismatch: Square pegs, round holes - you know the drill. 4. Unclear Expectations: When the goal posts keep moving, it's hard to score. Now, let's talk solutions - and I mean real, systemic changes, not just feel-good initiatives: 1. Restructure Work Processes:   - Audit workflows to eliminate redundancies   - Implement technology that actually helps, not just adds to the digital noise   - Regularly reassess priorities and be willing to let go of non-essential tasks 2. Embrace True Flexibility:   - Move beyond "you can work from home" to "work when and where you're most productive"   - Focus on outcomes, not hours logged   - Trust your employees (revolutionary, I know) 3. Invest in Career Development:   - Create clear career pathways   - Offer substantial learning opportunities aligned with both company needs and employee aspirations   - Encourage internal mobility to keep things fresh 4. Foster Open Communication:   - Train managers in active listening and empathy (yes, these can be learned)   - Implement regular check-ins that go beyond status updates   - Create safe spaces for employees to voice concerns without fear of repercussion Leadership plays a crucial role here. It's time for leaders to:   - Walk the talk on work-life integration   - Learn to recognize early signs of burnout in their teams   - Make wellbeing a key part of their strategy, not just an HR initiative Now, let's talk metrics. Engagement surveys are nice, but let's dig deeper:   - Measure productivity alongside wellbeing initiatives   - Track retention rates and reasons for leaving   - Assess the correlation between wellbeing programs and business outcomes Long-term, we need to think bigger:   - Embed wellbeing into every aspect of operations, from job design to performance evaluations   - Align wellbeing initiatives with overall business strategy   - Create a culture where taking care of oneself is seen as a strength, not a weakness Here's the bottom line: Real employee wellbeing isn't about perks. It's about creating an environment where people can do their best work without burning out. It's about treating employees like humans, not resources. So, fellow HR pros, I ask you: What bold moves are you making to address wellbeing at its core? How are you pushing back against short-term thinking to create lasting change? Let's share ideas, because this isn't just about making our workplaces better - it's about reshaping how we think about work itself!

🤔 LEADERS: would you try this 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 way to demonstrate you take employee wellbeing seriously? Yesterday I was invited to speak at an All-Staff meeting for the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. The theme was the meeting was wellness and I was one of a few speakers on this topic, speaking on how to build stress resilience. As part of the introduction, Chairperson Michelaine L. informed the staff of a brand-new initiative they were starting. They would receive a calendar invite from her for a recurring meeting every Wednesday from 1:00-1:30pm. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡! It's not actually a meeting! It's a block in everyone's calendar where they are meant to take that time and do something for their own personal wellbeing. What they do is up to them, but what they 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘰 is work. 😲 Can you imagine how excited I was when I heard this ⁉️ What a great way to demonstrate that the leadership takes wellness seriously. Enough that the Chairperson is blocking time in your calendar and wants you to use that time for your wellbeing. 👏 Of course, 30 minutes once a week isn't solving the systemic issues (she mentioned they are working on some of that) and isn't a magic cure that will make people instantly healthy. But it's a start of a culture shift and I'm here for that. Too often leaders say one thing and either do another or expect something that isn't actually what they're saying. Naturally, as soon as I got on stage I had to say something about this announcement and I encouraged the team to keep each other accountable and gentle call a colleague out if they noticed them working during this period. I also reminded them that this wasn't their lunch break, which they should still take. Further in the workshop when we were discussing ways to get more movement in our day someone suggested a dance party during one of the Wellness Wednesday blocks. 💃 🕺 YES!!! I'm very curious about your thoughts on this initiative. Would you/could you do something similar for your team? Have you done something similar? If so, what were the results? Other suggestions for leaders to show they are taking wellbeing seriously? #WorkplaceWellness #WorkplaceWellbeing #Leadership

Employee wellness and mental health are imperative for leaders to prioritize. It doesn't matter what industry you're in, one thing is universal -- the wellness of our teams is important. How we set examples for work-life balance and how we treat them is critical for their wellbeing. Burnout is all too real and common and often is due to overwork. We can mitigate this by encouraging rest and health on a daily basis and making it part of our company culture. Leaders should be advocates for their employees wellness, not standing in the way of it. #EmployeeWellness #MentalHealth #Leadership

🌟 Exciting News Alert! 🌟 When you've got a powerhouse speaker line-up like this for a webinar, it's a can't-miss opportunity - especially when registration is free! From overcoming challenges to nurturing a culture of wellness, Rachel Austen from Austen Advisory, Louise Hill from Mind, Maria Mander from Mander Wellbeing, and Natasia Hieber MA Chartered MCIPD PGCE are primed to set your journey towards a more fulfilling work life ablaze. 🔥 Register for our upcoming webinar as we dive deep into the heartbeat of modern work dynamics with insights from these industry leaders. 💼💫 Meet our stellar line-up: 🔹 Rachel Austen, the powerhouse behind Austen Advisory, brings over 18 years of expertise in leadership assessment and talent management. Get ready for some eye-opening insights as she shares proactive strategies to tackle burnout head-on, straight from the UK workplace trenches. 🔹 Louise Hill, a seasoned HR professional with two decades in the hospitality industry, is on a mission to transform workplace wellbeing. With her wealth of experience, she'll show you how to navigate stress and cultivate a supportive environment that nurtures both individuals and organisations. 🔹 Maria Mander, the visionary founder of Mander Wellbeing, is here to craft transformative strategies that elevate workplace health, engagement, and productivity. Brace yourself for a holistic approach that tackles current issues, resilience-building, and creating role model leaders. 🔹 Natasia Hieber MA Chartered MCIPD PGCE, an esteemed member of the HR community since 2007, brings over 17 years of experience as a HR Generalist with a focus on Recruitment and Learning and Development. With a wealth of knowledge from teaching on the CIPD and HR Apprenticeship Programme, Natasia is set to enrich our discussion with her expertise in human resources and education. Get ready to uncover valuable insights and actionable resources that will pave the way for a resilient, healthier, and more fulfilling life. Whether you're seeking personal growth or aiming to support others, this webinar promises to be a game-changer. 💪✨ 👉 https://lnkd.in/dNbyXJw2 #WorkplaceWellness #Wellbeing #CIPD #WeareHR #EmployeeWellbeing #Resilience #Webinar

Your mental health matters! Join us and @wearehruk for this free webinar on the 30th May and listen to a power house speaker line-up discussing overcoming challenges and how to nurture a culture of wellness and wellbeing in the work place and beyond. #NoMindLeftBehind #MHAW2024 #MomentsForMovement #WorkplaceWellness #Wellbeing #CIPD #WeareHR #EmployeeWellbeing #Resilience #Webinar