I hear it all the time. We all see it all the time.
“The work you do is important. It’s important to work hard. It’s important to meet goals.”
In today’s highly competitive environment, it’s easy to fall into the trap of measuring success solely by achievements. While accomplishments are important indicators of progress and excellence, they should not be the only criteria for valuing our workforce. A narrow focus on accomplishments can lead to an environment where individuals are driven solely by the need to achieve, often at the expense of collaboration, creativity, and well-being. While this drive for achievement may boost short-term results, it can ultimately cost you valuable talent and harm your company’s reputation. It creates employees who become chained to the idea that they are only as good as what they produce at work.
And when you create employees who think their work is their worth, they unconsciously create team cultures that value the same – and before you know it, you have an entire company that has forgotten that tying their worth to work is incredibly restrictive. It limits people’s ability to have empathy, to stand firm in their values, and to feel like they can bring their authentic selves to work.
Everyone is Battling Something
Every single person on your team and in your company is battling something, whether or not you have experienced the same situations. It is unrealistic to pressure people to constantly perform at peak levels if you don’t understand what it feels like to carry these life struggles.
- You may have new employees recovering from the traumatic effects of being laid off.
- You may have employees caring not only for their children but also for other relatives.
- Some employees may struggle daily to feel adequate in the face of systemic racism, discrimination, and unconscious bias.
- Others may be fighting internal battles with mental health.
And the list goes on.
These ongoing life challenges will inevitably affect how people view their 9-5 jobs – because how could it not? Building a workforce driven by work accomplishments, is going to always create a culture that is NOT driven by the wellbeing of your employees. Unrealistic expectations, rigid structures, and the constant blowing of the horn of how many goals need to be met, is just a workforce driven by the bottom line.
What Type of Workforce Am I Advocating For?
I’m advocating for a workforce driven by well-being. When a company’s culture prioritizes well-being, it transforms how employees engage with their work and each other. Employees who feel valued and supported in all aspects of their lives bring their best selves to the workplace, and in turn, accomplish even more than they were asked to do. They show up with increased energy, enthusiasm, and commitment. This positive state of mind fosters creativity, collaboration, and resilience, creating a more dynamic and productive work environment.
How do you build a workforce driven by well-being you ask?
- Start your 1-1 meetings with your employees asking them how they are HONESTLY doing.
- Don’t expect your employees to work around the clock, and respect their boundaries when they are done for the day. This is a great opportunity to check your own biases around people having boundaries.
- Fight back the judgment that creeps in your mind when someone has to take a day off for mental health reasons, or when they simply want to take off work because they can.
- Respond with empathy instead of criticism when someone has to leave work early to pick their child up.
- Meet mistakes your employees make with grace.
- Don’t only applaud people for working “all the time”.
No matter how much pressure you may feel as a leader to achieve your goals, remember that if you take care of employees as humans, they will take care of their job.
Don’t let your commitment to work diminish you or your employees chances of building a fulfilling life outside of it. If you focus on everyone’s well being, the benefits you will reap will be ten-fold.
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