Why employee well-being is no longer enough to engage employees
Employee well-being has never been so prominent. Today, companies are expected to offer their employees gyms, nap rooms, mindfulness programs, comfortable seating, flexible vacation time, massages or osteopathy sessions, and positive psychology workshops to help them feel better. They're even appointing Chief Happiness Officers. All these initiatives modify certain aspects of employees' lives, but the changes for the company itself aren't profound. Life satisfaction and job satisfaction are slightly affected, but can sometimes even lead to disengagement from work due to excessive enjoyment elsewhere.
How can we take action? Amidst all these topics and all this enthusiasm, where do I, as an HR professional, even begin? And perhaps most importantly, can someone help me understand if I'm acting to develop the well-being of my employees? Their engagement? Their performance?
Gaucher (2016) began to answer these questions. He aimed to demonstrate that well-being influences performance, but in fact, this link is not so clearly established. Another factor then emerged: employee engagement.
And to help us understand, the doctors and researchers Ilona Boniwell And Evgeny Osin (2017) have established a new model that includes all these confusing interweavings of performance indicators.
By pooling different research findings, they were able to show that the commitment is the keystone that would explain a significant increase in performance (a mix of self-efficacy, effectiveness assessed by supervisors and by quantified performance indicators, KPIs).
It is this performance that would then have an impact on employee well-being (emotions, life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and work-life balance). And this well-being then has an impact on strengthening engagement. Therefore, it is not the primary objective to pursue.
We then understand that companies, like consulting firms, have an interest in proposing actions aimed at engagement in order to also improve performance and well-being.
Engagement is an interplay of motivation, involvement, dedication, enjoyment, and interest. The scientific UWES scale allows us to measure it. It is the main predictor of performance, which in turn influences well-being.
Is that clearer? Okay, but how exactly do I go about improving this engagement?
Three performance levers have been identified.
Organizational resources, individual resources, and lived experience at work.
And for each of these challenges, a multitude of best practices can be implemented. I suggest you consider a few of them:
1. Organizational resources
Interest may be focused on the salary and profits employees (note that removing bonuses or salary is a major factor in disengagement, while offering human experiences strengthens engagement). We can work on strengthening a climate of trust (by allowing for mistakes and by allowing transparency with colleagues).
THE managerial support is also very important (indeed, it is the factor that most explains employee departures, and any demonstration of trust and recognition with the work of positive and negative feedback are interesting levers for action).
THE working conditions Studies conducted by the biochemical design movement show, for example, that the colors blue, green, brown, and yellow can improve performance. Light, greenery, water, and views of the outdoors are also important factors to consider.
Social importance Engagement is also an organizational factor. It involves developing in individuals a sense of pride in belonging and a social purpose related to their work. This can be reinforced, for example, by positive customer feedback explaining how the work done is useful to them, or by developing the company's socially responsible activities.
2. Individual resources
Developing one's energy capital is essential, for example, with physical activity. cognitive flexibility Working with resilience and neuropsychological techniques also plays an important role. Emotional agility It can also strengthen commitment. Based on the theory of emotional intelligence, it is developed using meditative techniques, among others. Positive Action Cards They offer activities to help manage emotions. efficient time management is another key factor: you need to ban sandwiches at the office and take real breaks from work to be more productive (Zimbardo gives you a brief overview of the psychology of time) . There self-confidence working with the forces and with a better understanding of his work (job crafting).
3. Experiences at work
It consists of what the individual thinks about their work and what motivates them in it. Note that all these factors follow a specific model (Warr, 1994, Vitamin Model). Indeed, each factor should be improved, but be careful: if a factor is pushed to the extreme, it will have detrimental effects on performance.
It then becomes clear that liberated companies based on these factors can be true models to follow, or resounding failures. Among these factors, we find autonomyIt can be promoted through techniques such as choosing vacation time and allocating time to work to perform tasks of our choice, but it can lead to disengagement if the individual is too cut off from their company and the people who make it up.
There mastery It's about developing your skills. You have to take the time and be efficient. The company can give its employee the opportunity to develop and achieve success, as with...Appreciative Inquiry For example. Be careful, taken to extremes, this factor can lead to boredom or a loss of confidence if the learning objective is too high. Motivational factors are essential; they bring meaning to work and allow for self-motivation, independent of external factors. (Dan Pink reflects on motivation).
There variety Task variety and work are also valuable. Changing leaders, discovering each other's jobs, and learning from one's works council are ways to develop this variety of tasks. However, if over-encouraged, this factor can lead to distraction. structure must be maintained so that everyone understands their role and the purpose of their activity. It can be stifling or, conversely, lead to burnout.
THE workplace relationships These are the final crucial factor in engagement. Indeed, team breakfasts, team-building outings, and strong relationships at work significantly boost engagement and the resulting well-being. It's important to foster these connections without compromising task completion through excessive human interaction.
Are the pieces of the puzzle falling into place? Are you able to see things more clearly?
Many activities are then possible at home depending on what you want to see change.
Listen to what your employees have to say and innovate!
In fact, some solutions are already in place in your company: take note of them!
Remember that for any relevant advice, you need a serious diagnosis to identify the real needs of a company (a qualitative and quantitative mix is ideal).
Professor Ilona Boniwell and Doctor Evgeny Osin created it. This first positive diagnostic, the Positive Organizational Profile or POP, is available as a group diagnostic to understand how your team is doing and how it functions, but also individually if you simply want to understand yourself and learn more about your 3 performance levers.
It was launched nationally and internationally, and now serves as a benchmark for engagement in companies of today and tomorrow!
Discover our diagnostic services:
Digital Organizational Diagnosis - POP: Measuring the Functioning of My Team
Individual Digital Assessment - POP: Identifying my strengths to develop better
We have also developed POP Pulse, which aims to provide real long-term monitoring of teams with evolving questionnaires according to your company's needs and to measure their performance over a longer period.
- Written by Justine Chabane, Occupational Psychologist since 2016
Bibliographical references:
Bernaud, J-L., Desrumeaux, P., Guedon, D. (2016). Psychology of professional well-being – Concept, models and toolsParis: Dunod
Bernaud, J-L. (2015). Psychology of support: concepts and tools for developing meaning in life and workParis: Dunod
Boniwell, I. (2012). Introduction to positive psychology. Paris: Payot Publishing.
Boniwell, I., & Chabanne, J. (2017). Positive psychology applied to work. The Journal of Psychologists, (4), 33-36.
Gaucher, R. (2016). Happiness and performance in the workplace. The keys to success. Amazon ISBN: 978-1539122130
Martin-Krumm, C. and Tarquinio, C. (2013). Positive psychology in the workplace. Paris: De Boeck
Lecomte, J. (2016). Humanistic businesses. Paris: The Arenas
Marquis, S(June 2016) We're doomed, we think too much! Presentation given at the University of Nantes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzvF3OVWgZM
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