For employees and organisations to thrive, it’s crucial to understand the link between engagement and wellbeing. Where you have one, you’re much more likely to have the other, and both can have massive benefits for your business.
An engagement and wellbeing strategy that supports employees is a worthy investment. In fact, better wellbeing initiatives can reduce stress by almost 50%, improve productivity and contribute to a greater organisational culture overall.
What is employee engagement and why is it important?
Employee engagement is a way of looking at how invested, enthusiastic and passionate your employees are about their role in your company. High engagement tends to lead to higher-performing individuals, teams and organisations.
What is employee wellbeing and why does it matter?
Employee wellbeing can relate to a whole lot of different factors, but is essentially an amalgamation of individual’s overall mental, emotional, physical, and economic health both within and outside the organisation.
How does employee engagement contribute to wellbeing?
Employee engagement and employee wellbeing are more closely linked than you might imagine. People who are engaged tend to feel more satisfied and motivated, both of which can create a sense of purpose and a more positive mindset. And on the flipside, employees with high levels of wellbeing are more likely to have the capacity to be engaged and thriving in the workplace.
Gallup has some fascinating research about the link between wellbeing and engagement and found that employees who weren’t thriving in their life had a:
- 61% higher likelihood of burnout often or always
- 66% higher likelihood of daily worry
The areas you’re most likely to see the connection are in:
Work-life balance
A healthy work-life balance allows time for recuperation and reflection, which boosts wellbeing and means employees tend to be more highly engaged during the hours they are at work.
Meaningful relationships
We all know how much of a drag work can be when you don’t get on with your colleagues, but research from Gallup also found that people with a work best friend are seven times as likely to be engaged than people who don’t.
Motivation and job satisfaction
People who are engaged at work are generally more satisfied with their job and have higher levels of motivation, both things that can have a beneficial effect on wellbeing overall.
A sense of purpose
There are few things as good for cultivating a sense of wellbeing as having a strong sense of purpose. According to the Mayo clinic, it can help improve sleep, boost immune systems, lower stress levels and improve cognitive function.
Autonomy
While it’s great to feel guided and supported in the workplace, feelings of autonomy can help improve both engagement and wellbeing. Most people enjoy the ability to make their own choices and see the benefits of those for themselves.
Psychological safety and wellbeing
There’s also a strong link between feelings of wellbeing and a culture of psychological safety. Knowing that you are free to speak your mind and that your opinions and emotions will be respected can and does have a big impact on everyday health and happiness.
Everything You Need to Know About Employee Engagement
Get your complete guide on all things employee engagement
How to improve engagement and wellbeing
If you’re ready to start strengthening engagement and wellbeing, you need to start thinking about creating the kind of culture that makes space for both.
Conduct regular employee engagement surveys (and act on the results)
There’s no better way to know how your employees feel than to ask them. Regular employee engagement surveys can collect some very valuable data about what’s working and what isn’t. Just be sure to also act on the suggestions or patterns you see emerging.
Not only is failing to act meaning that your scores will never improve, it can also sap motivation over time and make it unlikely that employees will welcome or respond well to future surveys.
Improve communication and transparency
Communication is one of the first things to work on if you want happier and more engaged employees. Poor communication is the root of many misunderstandings and can result in frayed tempers and wasted efforts.
Transparency is also essential, as no one likes to feel as though key truths or decisions are being hidden from them. Leaders who’re able to communicate clearly and effectively create an environment that nurtures employees.
Make wellbeing a priority
To make it clear that wellbeing is a priority for your company and not just a buzzword, you need to put some firm policies in place.
- Strive to create healthy respect for a good work-life balance
- Embrace a human-centric leadership style
- Make lunch breaks mandatory
- Offer access to mental health resources
- Reward and recognise effort
Get some more help in our guide to wellbeing at work.
Give employees autonomy
Give people the ability and freedom to make their own choices – and to take responsibility for those choices – and you’re creating a place where employees are more invested in outcomes.
It can be tempting to over-manage teams or to protect individuals from the reality of an idea that doesn’t come to fruition or a plan that doesn’t work out well. But you’re much more likely to raise engagement and foster high-performing teams if you offer autonomy alongside support.
Give employees meaningful work
Avoid busywork or unnecessary bureaucracy and instead focus on ensuring that when your employees are working, they’re working at something with meaning. Why? Well, the results of studies are impressive – According to McKinsey, when employees find their work to be meaningful:
- Their performance improves by 33%
- They’re 75% more committed to their organisation
- They’re 49% less likely to leave
Provide development opportunities
Personal growth is a massive motivator for both engagement and wellbeing. Offering employee development allows people to plan for the future and set a series of achievable goals, both of which can be very beneficial when it comes to mental wellbeing.
Play an active and supportive role in upskilling your employees and not only will they be more motivated, they will continue to bring new talents and insights to your organisation.
Transform your culture with Mo
- Improve employee engagement scores
- Reduce employee churn
- Build a collaborative culture
Mo is a new kind of reward and recognition platform that makes it easy for busy managers to meaningfully recognise, engage and connect with their teams.
We equip managers with weekly suggestions to energise and connect with their people, help teams build habits of recognition into their day-to-day rhythms and go beyond simple rewards as a way to motivate staff.
Join companies like SHL, OVO Energy and William Hill in delivering meaningful improvement on engagement results with Mo. Book a free demo today!
