Just as yoga classes do not solve the mental health crisis, you cannot simply get long-term sick employees back to work with reintegration projects. People return only when they are sure that the environment they step back into truly shows that they are welcome.
Over the past ten years, employers have invested heavily in the mental health and well-being of their employees. Companies have massively implemented wellness programmes and “compensation & benefits”, hoping to create stronger connections between employees and the organisation. Fruit at work, yoga classes, ping-pong tables, padel — the list is endless.
But such measures merely treat the symptoms. Companies overestimate the impact of these initiatives and must look for the real cause.
“Someone once told me: ‘The fish rots from the head.’ Everything starts with moral leadership.”
When employees are asked what most undermines their mental health and well-being at work, very different issues surface: the feeling of always having to be available, being treated unfairly, unreasonable workloads, limited autonomy, a lack of social support, and especially feeling insufficiently seen, heard, and valued (research by McKinsey among 15,000 employees in 15 countries).
In addition, people do not feel genuinely connected to the organisation, despite attractive salary packages and cafeteria plans.
Something deeper is going on. Everything is linked to the work environment — call it the corporate culture — and to the tolerance of toxic behaviour. In the old way of thinking, a company had a good culture if employees scored high on so-called engagement surveys.
That vision is outdated. You need to create environments in which people feel valued and experience their work as meaningful. That is achieved through a positive culture. As American psychologist Adam Grant put it: “When people don’t feel cared for, they eventually stop caring.”
Toxic
Addressing toxic behaviour — and therefore a toxic culture — is difficult because the cause lies much deeper. Someone once told me: “The fish rots from the head.” Everything begins with moral leadership. As an employer, you cannot yoga your way out of these challenges. Employers who try to fix burnout without addressing toxic behaviour will almost certainly fail.
We are not only facing a burnout or “quiet quitting” crisis; we are also experiencing a crisis of “purpose and meaning”. In recent years, study after study has confirmed the old wisdom that having a clear purpose and feeling deeply connected to others contributes significantly to physical and mental well-being.
“We are not only in a burnout or quiet quitting crisis; we are also in a crisis of purpose and meaning.”
If we lack purpose, if we do not feel connected to the organisation’s vision, mission, and values, we become weaker and eventually disengage. A sense of purpose — feeling connected to a moral mission — is in fact an antidote to burnout.
This is especially true for the younger generation. Generation Z wants to contribute to a better world. Forty-six percent choose a new employer based on whether they feel a cultural connection with the organisation.
Management System
Great leaders intuitively understand that the key to good leadership — and thus to a positive culture — does not lie in “compliance”, merely following processes or measuring key performance indicators (KPIs).
Leaders who use culture as a management system focus on designing meaning, on creating the right moral compass. They focus on shaping beliefs and ways of thinking, articulating principles that create clarity, and inspiring and encouraging people to think beyond the task at hand.
Never before have organisations worldwide invested so much attention and capital into improving employees’ mental health and well-being. It is regrettable that these investments do not always yield strong returns or improved results.
Employers who take the time to understand the problem and adopt a preventive, systemic approach — one that addresses root causes rather than symptoms — should see significant improvements in results and be better able to attract and retain valuable talent.
By building a positive corporate culture and leading by example, employers and their managers can make a meaningful difference in the lives of their employees and in the communities in which they live.
(This article previously appeared in De Tijd — 11 October 2022)
