Do we have a Choice?

Mukta Arya Chief Human Resources Officer, Societe Generale

In the busy corporate life, several things take a back seat and only become a “highlight” when there’s a crisis. Well- being of employees is one such topic.

It started as a “nice to have” and now with multiple generations at the workplace, crises, and mini-crises on a regular basis, new ways of working, and just plain uncertainty; it has become a topic for every organization to take care of, as a top priority.

I remember when I started working in 1997, the employee well-being with staff clubs; celebrations, family day, medical benefits, picnics, etc. were really “nice to have” and created a nice bonding environment in the organization. Since then, some of them became part and parcel of daily life in corporates, without anyone noticing. Now, with different generations of employees, the resilience of employees is being tested, because of uncertain environment and information overload. This topic has become a necessity, with direct and indirect impact on the productivity of employees. Physical well-being has been taken care of by organizations for some time and now with clubs for sports, yoga, Zumba, medical facilities, check-ups, extra-curricular activities for stress relief, and education seminars for the physical, mental and financial well-being, etc, mental well-being is gaining importance. Several organizations are grappling with it, as the current pandemic has exposed this “Achilles heel” with employees juggling homeschooling, home management, and work, with a limited outlet for stress relief.

“Physically and mentally healthy employees are more engaged and enhance productivity”

There are numerous instances of employees who have been living on their own and not able to meet their families in other locations, employees burning out because of fatigue from online meetings, and the stress of managing multiple chores which stretches “multi-tasking” to a very different level. Of course, different employees handle it in different ways and the resilience levels differ. The fact is that the onus of making sure that employees feel stress-free lies on the organization.

It’s not always easy to manage, as it means additional responsibility on managers, and let’s not forget that managers are employees too. However, managers at every level play an extremely critical role in making sure the mental health of the employees and organization-wide is taken care of. The best that organizations can do is provide awareness (through sessions on tips and tools to handle stress, manage situations, manage employees who respond differently to situations), support (Employee Assistance programmes, training for managers and employees, and the likes), and forums (online platform, sessions to discuss issues, meetings with managers, skip level managers, etc.)  and make the environment at work(even if it is remote), inclusive for employees to voice out their concerns and suggestions. Sometimes, it’s just listening that is required. The “sounding boards” are now critical in an organization, and can help mitigate stressful situations and help with a positive mindset.

The fact that physically and mentally healthy employees are more engaged and enhance productivity has never been so true, as now. Even though we have the technology to support our work environment, it is extremely critical to be more “humane” and be in touch with employees, for the well-being of the employees and in turn the organization. We really don’t have a choice.

Financial

Sports