From lunchtime yoga to mental health awareness training, wellbeing initiatives are on the rise in the private sector, says Jade Ecobichon-Gray, founder of Mindset Matters. But where does ‘mindset’ fit in, and how important is it for businesses to focus on mindset when tackling wellbeing?
Mindset is fundamental to a strategic and proactive wellbeing strategy, but it is very often overlooked by businesses. Workplace wellbeing initiatives are too often rushed through to implementation under the false belief that they will work as a sort of cure-all for an increasingly exhausted and stressed-out workforce.
Alternatively, businesses take a reactive, individualised approach to wellbeing, with support being provided only to those employees who are simply no longer able to keep trucking on.
It is fair to say that neither approach is working as imagined, with just under a third of private sector employers reporting that their initiatives have resulted in lower sickness absence, and only one in five saying it has increased staff productivity. (Health and Wellbeing at Work survey, 2019, Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development).
Mindset matters
So where do we go from here? Now is not the time to throw out the baby with the bathwater and limit workplace wellbeing initiatives. On the contrary, now is the time to invest further. However, there is a caveat here. Further investment needs to be evidence based.
It requires authentic buy-in from senior management, an ability to evaluate its effectiveness, and it is as much about the wellbeing of the business as it is about the wellbeing of staff. This is where mindset becomes so important in the creation of a strategy that is not only proactive, but also provides a return on investment.
It is crucially important that employers support colleagues who are experiencing mental ill health. But very often, doing just that and little else does nothing to support the larger proportion of the workforce in building a positive mindset as a protective factor against experiencing mental ill health.
Wellbeing interventions that seek to increase personal resilience, a sense of gratitude, positive self-talk and an investment in mindfulness, result in employees developing sustainable coping mechanisms against life stressors and a greater internal locus of control.
This shift in mindset moves individuals away from attributing negative thoughts, feelings and situations to external forces that are beyond their control. Rather, they feel more confident in their own ability to overcome stressors, to face the challenges and to thrive both personally and professionally.
A blended approach
Wellbeing should not be just a top-down approach, neither should it be just bottom-up. The responsibility for improved organisational wellbeing cannot and should not sit solely with employees. Creating a blended approach that also tackles the mindset of the business is key to establishing a successful strategy that benefits both employees and the business itself.
Businesses should be encouraged and supported to undertake work focusing on the business mindset they wish to foster and promote – and be encouraged to see this as a constantly evolving thing. Growth mindset businesses welcome and encourage change, see opportunity in grey areas and do not view employees as having fixed skills in relation to the work they undertake.
This supports employee wellbeing through an understanding of the Broaden and Build theory (Frederickson, 1998), whereby employees who are encouraged to collaborate, innovate and accumulate knowledge in a variety of different areas broaden their awareness and change their overall mindset.
Supporting businesses to see wellbeing as intimately linked to a growth mindset is a crucial factor in supporting employees to become more resilient, adaptable, positive and, most importantly, well.