I’m going to say something that will shock no one.
Wellbeing isn’t working.
Actually, let me say this differently. For most companies, wellbeing efforts aren’t working because other are too many other factors at play.
What’s Getting in the Way of Wellbeing Efforts?
Wellbeing efforts aren’t failing because there’s a lack of concern from leadership.
Two-thirds of employers surveyed say they’re actively worried about mental health for their employees, and they’re putting their money where their mouth is, investing a projected $80+ billion each year in these programs.
Why then are employees sicker and more stressed than they’ve ever been? Why are more than half of all employees feeling disengaged and unmotivated at work?
How Exhaustion Overwhelms Our Good Wellbeing Intentions
Wellbeing efforts fail and people burn out. It doesn’t happen because people don’t want to do good work. People WANT to work and make a difference. They want to put forth effort and see that it means something, that the time and energy they invest matters.
The problem is that change happens faster than we can adapt to it. Teams are overtaxed and most companies haven’t found a solution that helps them to deal with:
- Always-on culture and insufficient downtime: The egregious spread of technology means that even when people are away from the office, they’re never really away from work. When there’s no time to disconnect, there’s no opportunity to recharge and recover, which leads to physical, emotional, and mental depletion.
- Lack of clarity and continuity: Teams and priorities change. When they do, motivation can wane or projects can be reshuffled. A lack of continuity leads to confusion, rework, inevitable slowdowns and reactivity.
- Unrealistic expectations: The sky is the limit in today’s global economy. However, putting a lofty goal out there isn’t motivating for everyone. Sometimes aiming too high can make your people feel more hopeless and less motivated, especially when it comes to lack of clarity on the roadmap for what makes it possible.
- Increasing workload/do more with less mentality: The way we work and the constant drive to beat last year’s goals or to cut down on resources drains us and the people we work with.
How We Can Change It: Change the Goal – Move from Avoiding Burnout to Striving for Sustainable Performance
I’ve been consulting and teaching wellbeing and performance for over 15 years. I am a former senior exec at a global company. This is the core problem statement I hear from employees who are looking to create a workplace that works in the context of a life that works.
We want to keep up with and stay ahead of the pace of change in a boundary-less world, while also creating space and time for the people and things that matter most to us. We want meaningful wellbeing.
The individual and team challenges that stem from a multi-task, always-on, reactive work culture are just symptoms we continue to wrestle with when we as individuals, leaders, and organizations feel like we’re playing catch up.
Instead of striving to be on constantly or to add new levels of stress to our days, we can increase our ability to achieve wellbeing – for ourselves and for our teams – by aiming for sustainable performance. Here’s how to make it happen:
- Stop relying on “having enough time.”
Time is finite and as your list of demands grows, your time often yields diminishing returns. Research suggests that there’s no true benefit to choosing to work over choosing to get the appropriate amount of sleep. You may have more hours to put into your projects, but that doesn’t mean you’re able to put the same level of investment or energy into those hours.
- Find an alternate resource.
If investing more time doesn’t work, what does?
Energy is the X factor for creating sustainable high performance. Energy is the internal strength and vitality required for sustained physical, emotional and mental activity.
When we use energy as the resource that fuels our efforts, we can:
- Build and expand total capacity: You and your team members have the skills to do the job. However, if you’re running in survival or burnout mode, you may not have the capacity to put those skills to work. Greater energy means a greater capacity to work effectively and sustainably while infusing high, positive energy for others. Building capacity is as much a skill as developing competency-based skills. Regenerate energy: You create sustainable performance by incorporating periods of regeneration and recovery into your routines. Energy is a renewable resource, but it requires committing to the process of renewal, taking space for mindful recovery that contributes to wellbeing. We either choose recovery or we force burnout. When we power ourselves by renewing energy, we expand our reach and make it more likely that we and our teams are well-equipped to face the challenges that arise.
- Minimize energy depletion: Have you ever found yourself worrying about whether you’re feeling too worried? Sometimes we focus on the emotions and actions that drain our energy, perpetuating a cycle of stress that increases our time spent in survival state. You’ve heard about flow state and how getting into it can supercharge productivity. The energy renewal process works the same way. The more you invest in intentional recovery, the faster your recovery will be. You’ll truly come back stronger.
- Prevent acute stress from becoming chronic: Acute stress, which we sometimes call challenge stress, is invigorating. You can do your best work under the influence of short periods of challenge stress. When the stress becomes chronic, that’s when you’ll see negative effects on your health and wellbeing.
As you guide your team forward, you have an opportunity to make a difference for them. When you invest in their wellbeing through Energy-Inspired Leadership, you can change the way they show up for work.
In the process, you are also helping them change the ways they’re able to be their best in all aspects of life. Instead of allowing work to drain them and prevent them from caring for the things that matter to them, you give them an increased capacity for work and life, and the lasting tools to ensure wellbeing.
Committing to sustainable performance pays by ensuring your people are stronger, more committed, and more capable of achieving true wellbeing. Your team benefits from continuity in the ways you role model your own wellbeing and encourage theirs to unlock higher-level, more sustainable performance. And your organization succeeds because you’ve established a group of people who are ready to achieve, work toward a common goal, and fuel innovation.
