3 Ways to Put People & Performance at the Heart of Workplace Strategy in the New World of Work

The Covid pandemic provided the best workplace experiment never designed. Having ‘trialled’ remote working we now have some understanding of its impact on employee wellbeing, mental health, connectedness and productivity. During enforced working from home, 63% of employees felt more productive and 50% expressed a preference of a 50:50 hybrid working 1. Workers now recognise the benefits of working from home, including increased time spent with family, no commute, and more time for exercise.

Many organisations now face the challenge of managing hybrid and remote working. For some, this means how to attract employees back to the office; for others, it’s about developing new ways of working. It is alarming that some companies that have failed to encourage their people back to office working, plan on reducing pay or benefits for home workers 2. A changing workplace requires coordination and compromise – but all too often coordination means staff need to go in to the office, and compromise means it’s not on a day that suits them. When presented with two similar job offers, 4 out of 5 employees turn down the one that doesn’t allow for flexible working 3.

The impact of this is seen in the rising rates of ‘quiet quitting’ and the ‘great resignation’. And this hurts organisations through loss of knowledge, experience and talent.

So, what’s the solution?

At The Wellbeing Advantage our roots are in high-performance sport and so we focus on what it takes to be our best, and what it takes to perform at our best. Putting people first is what we do, because happy, healthy, motivated employees make good business sense.

?Here are 3 ways to put people at the heart of workplace strategy in the new world of work:

1.??????Understand your people and their work

Only by understanding the unique demands of different work tasks can we identify the best way and best place in which to get the work done. Deep focus, problem-solving and creativity all require different types of cognitive function, environments and interaction with colleagues.

And different people work better under different conditions. Many recent surveys have reported wellbeing and productivity in the office compared to home working, but these typically only report the average – but we’re not all the same and there’s no one size fits all solution. We must listen to, or better still, analyse peoples’ energy and stress in different conditions. Using wearable technology, we recently identified that in those who reported greater perceived productivity in the office, this came at the cost of higher stress and reduced sleep the following night.

?2.?????????Energise the workplace

Many organisations are struggling to achieve their goal of a full or partial return to the office. Employees are asking why should I return when I am just as (or more) productive working from home? Workplaces need to attract and energise people. They must enable employees to do their best work, with the best people. Otherwise, what’s in it for employees?

If people are energised by their place of work, they will want to return. The workplace will enhance their wellbeing, engagement and performance. This requires clear purpose, a physical environment and culture that promote productivity, and engaging workspaces that enable people to be at their best.

3.?????????Embed wellbeing and performance behaviours

Wellbeing is the foundation for performance and productivity. Not only is health important in reducing sickness absenteeism, but employee wellbeing enhances their energy and resilience, and thereby sustains performance.

And this starts with organisational culture and leadership. Too often wellbeing initiatives deliver little or no impact, despite significant financial investment. Employees can’t be expected to bring their best selves to work if wellbeing and performance behaviours aren’t role modelled, recognised and reinforced throughout the organisation. Wellbeing must be a key element of organisational culture and workplace strategy, from organisational values to the day-to-day processes.

?Putting people first is key to an effective workplace strategy. Understanding the demands of work and enabling employees to build energy and resilience for performance makes good business sense and should underpin all aspects of workplace strategy. And enabling people to perform at their best will deliver business results.

Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you put your people at the heart of your workplace strategy and maximise the potential of your workforce.?