Building Workplace Wellness
Why is a Wellness Culture Important in the Workplace?
Why is a wellness culture Important in the workplace?
Every workplace has a culture. Culture is influenced by many factors including the norms, values, meanings, beliefs, and policies of management, employees, and the organization. We know that:
- Workplace culture influences employee satisfaction, engagement, productivity, and retention
- A wellness culture helps employees feel more comfortable about disclosing a health concern
- A wellness culture benefits all employees, not just those with arthritis or other health concerns
The four other website topics (1) Education about arthritis, joint pain, and back pain, (2) Workplace processes, (3) Accommodations, and (4) Communication, are all elements that contribute to a wellness culture. In addition, if the culture does not support wellness, then actions trying to support the other four themes will not be successful. Instead they will likely seem superficial or insincere.
What are the benefits for you and your employees?
A wellness culture makes a difference for employees:
Lower workplace stress
Employees with chronic conditions usually experience higher workplace stress. By minimizing workplace stress, a wellness culture translates into increased productivity, fewer days missed, and reduced risk of workplace disability.
More flexibility for employees with special needs
A wellness culture means that people with arthritis, joint pain, and back pain feel less singled out. If resources are seen as acceptable and available to everybody, including those with health concerns, children, or a family member they are caring for, all employees will feel supported to come forward and access the resources available.
Increased disclosure
Employees are more likely to disclose about arthritis, joint pain, and back pain if other employees are seen being accommodated successfully. If employees can see that their colleagues with special considerations are supported, then they will likely be more open about their own health condition at work.
Increased employee loyalty and satisfaction
When you invest in your employees, they feel invested in their workplace. In general, employees with arthritis, joint pain, and back pain want to work, if you make it easier for them to stay and manage their condition at work, it will likely increase their loyalty and job satisfaction. Further, overall team morale can be boosted if colleagues are seen as being treated fairly.
What difference does it make for you? (What’s in it for you?):
The culture affects you too
Managers and bosses benefit from workplace cultures that support wellness as well. We’re all human after all, and affected by those around us.
Better outcomes
Having a focus on wellness in your workplace can also help with metrics that are important to you as an employer. These could include:
- increased productivity
- increased employee satisfaction, loyalty, and engagement
- reduced absenteeism and presenteeism
- reduced turnover
Stress and the work environment
Developing and maintaining a wellness culture is not just about what you bring to the workplace, it is also about the quality of the work environment in general.
A stressful workplace, either because of the work, the environment, or personal stress, has a negative impact on all employees and is a leading cause of worker burnout. Stress has a particularly negative impact on employees with arthritis, joint pain, and back pain, who have a higher baseline of stress because they manage (and possibly hide) their condition at work. Stress has been known to cause flare-ups in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and can worsen symptoms for employees with other kinds of arthritis and pain. Some people have even noted that their RA first started at a time of extreme stress.
The workplace culture can have a significant impact on employee stress. While the culture cannot eliminate stress, there are things that you can do to help foster a supportive culture that minimizes workplace stress.
Employee Responsibility
The workplace culture is influenced by both leaders and employees. Here are some ways that employees can contribute to and support a wellness culture:
Be Engaged
Involve your employees in identifying the workplace culture and identifying what kind of culture they would like in the workplace.
Use education and resources provided
Give your employees the tools they need to be involved.
Contribute
Encourage employees to use the resources available to them (e.g., accommodations) and support their colleagues to do the same.
If employees are reluctant to be involved in your efforts to improve the workplace culture take a look at why they aren’t involved. Is it time? Capacity? Interest? Understanding why they are not involved can give you powerful insight into the workplace culture and give ideas of what areas to focus on.
Psychological Health and Safety
Discussion about a wellness culture also includes psychological health and safety. Organizational culture is one of the 13 factors that contribute to psychological health and safety in the workplace.
So, what is psychological health and safety?
“A workplace that promotes workers’ psychological well-being and actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health, including in negligent, reckless or intentional ways.”
Supporting mental health in the workplace
While the primary focus of psychological safety addresses mental health in the workplace, having a workplace culture that is psychologically safe is one that also supports the wellness of its employees.
Supporting mental health also supports employees with arthritis
People with arthritis, joint pain, and back pain have a higher likelihood of having a comorbid (co-occurring) condition along with their arthritis.
- People diagnosed with arthritis, joint pain, and back pain are more likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety.
- A diagnosis of a chronic condition such as RA, lupus, or fibromyalgia may produce a profound sense of loss or despair and concern about their condition and anxiety in managing it.