What is (workplace) well-being?

As the world has developed and welfare societies have emerged, attitudes to work have changed. Whereas the sole purpose of working used to be to earn a living, the need to have a good time while working has become more important. Most people spend a third of their day at work, so it makes a difference in what kind of environment and with what kind of people (and how much money) they do it.

Well-being at work is difficult to define because it cannot be separated from individual characteristics and expectations. Everyone feels perfect in a different way, everyone has distinct limits. It is worth considering the nature and impact of well-being at work on an individual employee from the point at which the organisation can provide a living wage. To put it simply: it's no use having a fruit day and free coffee if you can't pay the gas bill.

Well-being is feeling good where and how I am, feeling generally well physically, emotionally and mentally, functioning well, feeling healthy, accepting myself, having constructive relationships and a purpose in life. At an individual level, the balance between psychological and material factors may shift or may even have a strong influence on one's mental state. But it can be said that well-being is related to the elements of Maslow's pyramid - well-being is said to be achieved when at least physiological needs, security and social needs are all met.

These are also the elements of well-being at work, but the two top elements of the pyramid - self-esteem and self-actualisation - are more prominent.

The impact of lack of well-being on work

A lack of well-being in the workplace affects workers both mentally and physically. High levels of stress and constant overwork can lead to long-term ill health. Chronic conditions can develop that make it difficult to work, reduce work capacity or cause colleagues to miss work and take long periods of sick leave.

Mental fatigue or burnout can lead to a loss of interest in one's work, and a lack of pleasure in what one does, which indirectly leads to a decline in performance and slower work. In extreme cases, a person suffering from a lack of well-being may be prone to aggression (especially verbal aggression - shouting management, and abusive co-workers) and destruction. An exhausted person may at best just neglect or do their work at a lower quality or slower pace, at worst, they may actively harm the company or community; they may cause harm by withholding information or deliberately crossing with colleagues.

The employer therefore has a legitimate interest in creating well-being within the company. Yet many employers do not consider it important to support and help their employees in any way other than through pay.

This is a difficult issue because well-being as a generic term includes not only physical health but also mental and spiritual stability, but the latter still carries stigmas that require openness, education and sensitisation to overcome. Organisations operate based on principles that are embraced by their leaders, so it is primarily their development that is worth starting to address corporate wellbeing.

Mental well-being

Mental well-being in the workplace starts first and foremost with achieving a work-life balance. This mustn't be only the employer's role, but also the employees! Many people have access to company email on their private devices and can't stop looking at it while on holiday. This should never be an expectation of the company, nor should it be an expectation that a colleague should be available during holidays or vacations, even if only by phone.

In a committed organisation, overtime can sometimes be an issue, and can even have a small motivational and community-building effect (for example, when several people working on a project work together overtime to meet a deadline). In the longer term, however, it can be very demotivating, and tiring and lead to burnout. If someone is working a lot of overtime, the manager needs to recognise the reason for this: they may not be working efficiently and therefore not be able to complete their tasks on time, but they may have more responsibility and workload than they can realistically be expected to do. In either case, intervention is needed before there are longer-term consequences of continued overwork.

In terms of mental wellbeing, the direct manager has a huge role to play. It is essential to choose people for these positions who are highly emotionally intelligent, sensitive and humane, who can honestly voice concerns and take them seriously.

If, on the other hand, we detect actors in the organisation who are poisoning the atmosphere, and who are hurting the mental health of other colleagues, they must be removed, because unfortunately it only takes one toxic factor to damage the whole organisation in the long term.

We can do a lot for mental well-being at a company level through a forward-looking, positive and constructive company culture, which is best established through good communication. If honesty, acknowledging good conflicts and regular communication (feedback) are part of our daily operations, we can prevent many difficulties and misunderstandings that would cause mental strain.

Physical well-being

The most basic and obvious element of physical well-being at work is a comfortable, ergonomic workstation. Many managers don't realise how much a chair that supports the spine properly, or an adjustable monitor that doesn't leave the worker's neck at an unnatural angle all day, can increase efficiency. These items will increase the budget for such things, but their demonstrable benefits will be reflected in productivity.

If the employer can afford it and can afford it, it is worthwhile to provide a variety of mobility opportunities for colleagues. Whether it's gym passes or company sports events, they all serve the purpose of enabling colleagues to maintain or improve their physical fitness, which is also good for the activity of even more intellectual workers.

Stress management

Nowadays, we tend to treat stress as a moderately unpleasant everyday factor, like a headache. Always, everyone is stressed, it has become the norm. If someone isn't and is balanced at work, that's suspicious. Could it be that you are underworked?

Stress is a physiological, emotional and cognitive pattern that occurs as a reaction to stressful components of work behaviour, organisation or work environment, and these reactions occur when there is an excessive workload, and the employee has no control over their working conditions.

However, it is important to distinguish between positive and negative stress. According to János Selye, eustress is the stress of self-fulfilment, in which we experience positive experiences.  For example, a task at work that is difficult at first, which naturally causes stress at first, until when it is completed and we experience a sense of achievement, it has a longer-term positive effect. So, the infrequent and short-lived stress associated with a challenge can be beneficial at work, stimulating creativity and providing extra motivation.

However, problems that cause distress can lead to anxiety and incapacitation, which can damage self-image and self-esteem, and in the long term lead to illnesses. These stressors are something that people try to eliminate from their lives through their efforts, so as employees, a situation that persists for longer than is tolerable can lead to dismissal.

If employers not only reduce the number of stress factors but also communicate openly about the symptoms and causes of stress, they can help their employees dare to take responsibility if they feel that stress is affecting their work.

Once identified and communicated, employers may also want to provide opportunities to cope with stress (at ProDSP we have introduced the Employee Assistance Programme, where all our colleagues can access free psychological counselling) or, if stress is caused by increased workload, to detect the need to recruit a new colleague.

What does the employer gain?

The pursuit of well-being is good for the employee, of course, but it is equally beneficial for the employer, which is why it is worth investing money and energy in corporate well-being.

If we create well-being, our employees will be more balanced and healthier. They can perform more consistently, and get sick less often, which means less valuable working time is lost. If they feel good about their day-to-day work at the company, their loyalty will be high: they will be less open to change and will strengthen our team for longer. They will be more committed to their work and the company; their performance will increase and so will the quality of their work.

Along with well-being, corporate culture also evolves in a positive direction, as only balanced people can build a supportive and prosperous community.

And the employer brand that is so important in today's world should not be left out of the equation. At ProDSP, we come from the engineering world, where specialist engineers are a rare commodity and as such, very difficult to find and acquire. The labour market is constantly striving for equilibrium, but in recent years we found that as a company we must put a lot on the table if we want a candidate to choose ProDSP over the competition. When the salaries and benefits are competitive, factors like employer branding come into the decision in the candidate's mind; how much can they identify with what the company stands for, and what does the place offer them over another? And once you've got them, their well-being at work helps you keep them.

Summary

In today's world, wages are no longer enough for workers. They want something more, something different: to feel valued and appreciated. If they feel that their employer cares about them not only as employees but also as people, they are much more likely to stay with the company in the long term.

And employers have an interest in employing engaged, motivated people if they want to achieve their long-term strategic goals. Don't fall into the trap of letting someone upstairs figure out what the benefits should be without asking anyone what they would like.

The big advantage of ProDSP in this way, which also contributes to corporate well-being, is the community. There are few of us, everyone knows everyone else, and you can talk to anyone in the kitchen. We are honest, we work towards a common goal, and everyone feels like we are in the same boat by internalising our values, we do our best to achieve the goals we set.

As an HR leader, my goal is for colleagues to love coming into the office, to be proud to work in the colours of ProDSP, to be committed to the company and to ‘give us the performance of a lifetime’. To achieve this, well-being at work is inevitable.

Emese Birta

HR manager