In today’s fast-paced business environment, the synergy between employee well-being and decent work conditions is more critical than ever. As a leader, your role extends beyond achieving financial goals to fostering a culture that prioritizes the holistic well-being of your team. This approach not only drives high performance, but also ensures sustainable success. At the heart of this transformation lies your leadership mindset, which if developed towards the right direction, can become a powerful catalyst for creating a workplace where both well-being and decent work thrive.
Well-being in the workplace encompasses physical, mental, and emotional health. It involves creating an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated. Decent work, as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO), includes opportunities for productive and fulfilling work, fair income, and security in the workplace. It also means offering prospects for personal development and ensuring equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. And as a survey by Pew Research Center (2018) revealed, 89% of participants say it is essential for today’s business leaders to create a safe and respectful workplace.
A leadership mindset is a framework of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that guide how leaders think, act, and influence others. This mindset is crucial in shaping organizational culture and driving the integration of well-being and decent work into everyday business practices. Leaders with a progressive mindset understand that employee well-being and decent work are not just ethical imperatives, but also strategic advantages.
To develop an effective leadership mindset that will achieve high levels of employee well-being and create the experience of working in an environment that supports and provides decent work conditions, you should focus as a leader on two pillars: self-awareness and alignment with your authentic self.
1. Self-awareness: As a leader, you must understand your own motivations, strengths, and areas for development. This self-awareness allows for more empathetic and effective leadership, fostering an environment where employees feel understood and valued. And at the same time, you’re able to understand your own fears and insecurities and handle them in such a fruitful way that will lead in growing yourself, instead of acting as elements of toxic leadership towards your team members.
2. Authentic leadership: Authenticity in leadership builds trust and respect. When leaders are genuine, they inspire the same authenticity in their teams, creating a culture of openness and mutual respect.
Strategies for integrating well-being and decent work
1. Promote healthy collaboration conditions: Recognize and respect your team members uniqueness and that each one of them are different personalities with different needs and motives. They are not you and they shouldn’t be. Be open to different perspectives and inputs and treat them with respect and empathy. Also, understand and accept that they also have responsibilities and interests outside of work and that is totally healthy and normal, even if you don’t have one. So, respect the boundaries between work hours and time off work.
2. Foster a supportive environment: Create a workplace culture where mental health or challenges at work are openly discussed, and support systems are in place. Offer resources such as counseling services and stress management programs, but also be there for your team members to practice genuine active listening and commit in taking action, wherever your role is involved in the solution.
3. Ensure fair compensation: Fair and transparent compensation practices are essential. Regularly review and adjust salaries to reflect the cost of living and the value employees bring to the organization. Don’t treat your team members as if they owe you, because they have a job. You owe them as well, for making goals happen, which would be impossible without them. So, appreciate their contribution.
4. Invest in professional development: Provide opportunities for continuous learning and career advancement.
This not only enhances employee skills, but also demonstrates a commitment to their long-term success. Studies show that learning is an activity which enhances well-being and leads to self-actualization, the highest need in an individual’s core needs. Self-actualization guides individuals in finding meaning and happiness, which leads to positive well-being.
5. Encourage employee participation: Involve employees in decision-making processes, especially those that affect their work conditions. This inclusion fosters a sense of ownership and engagement. On the other hand, most leaders fear employee participation, in case it might seem as being their own weakness to making decisions or having the best solutions. That is why, in many cases, triggered by their fear of status loss, they attack their team members verbally, directly or indirectly, using belittling or sarcastic wording, which actually is totally contradictory to the sense of decent work and respect. Being aware of your own triggers and insecurities, can prevent such reactions and protect the relationship with your team members from being broken, but also abusive.
Leaders who prioritize well-being set the stage for a more engaged, productive, and loyal workforce. When employees feel supported and valued, their motivation and performance naturally increase. This positive cycle drives business success and fosters a resilient organizational culture.
Integrating well-being into the organizational fabric is not a one-time initiative but an ongoing commitment.
As a leader, your mindset shapes your actions and the environment you create for your team. By embracing a leadership mindset that prioritizes employee well-being and decent work, and focusing on working on your cognitive and behavioral blind spots and saboteurs you can drive sustainable success and create a workplace where everyone thrives.