Four Myths around Diversity (Part 4)

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Many HR professionals strongly believe that #diversity - of workforce, locations, opportunities and interventions - could be the magic formula for an organizational success.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Not the #diversity alone.

Having that in mind, this is how I would tackle another (the last in my serie) common myth around the #diversity:

Myth 4:

More wellness programs will bring greater employee engagement.

There is no doubt that well-being programs in any organization are generally welcomed and appreciated by its employees. The breadth of choice, having multiple wellness opportunities within the reach, is key. Companies around the world spent billions on wellness interventions, and that contribution is projected to increase in the coming years.

Wellness programs are on the rise. Masses love them.

The more leaders speak and live up to the importance of personal self-care, the better for any ordinary employees.

The problem is that most workplace wellbeing interventions cost money and take up time, but have little or no impact on genuine employee wellbeing. In some cases, they may actually undermine workplace wellbeing. In a toxic environment, they may rise sarcasm or cynicism.

Basic self-care is not the remedy for burnout, rather for an acute, short-term stress.

“You cannot yoga-out your way out of burnout” – I dare to quote Connie Noonan Hadley in her recent Thinkers50 LinkedIn LIVE.

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Other editors and educators suggest that “the most effective way to improve employee mental health is by reducing the primary stress, rather than adding new ways to cope with it” **. This is true, but extremely challenging to execute when the actual source of stress in not adequately understood in a context.

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What creates the distortion and negative perceptions of these interventions is lack of ability to read what are the true needs of the given population.

This is where the Maslow’s Pyramid kicks in.

Our human needs are universal, yet they are not always explicit. Sometimes they are not even understood by ourselves.

The moments that matter for us are unique and fluid. Our human needs are expressed at different times and in the very specific role we adopt.

These needs vary also depending on the level within an organizational pyramid we are part of.

Let's have a closer look into the reality of middle managers – those who are exposed to the masses. In most cases, basic needs of those managers – food, safety and the access to health basics - are already met. Their purchasing power (i.e. salary) allows them to secure a fruit a day (if they agree to its importance) as well as to access a gym.

That way they become resistant to the incentive factor behind such wellness programs - their personal value becomes minimal.

What matters for an overall organizational health – and the bottom line well-being of employees and associates – is the narrative behind managerial actions – not only on a usual day but, especially, in a crisis. This narrative highly depends on whether not only basic but also the higher level needs are met. These are social (ie. belonging to a trusted circle and feeling genuinely accepted) and self-actualization (ie. development and self-esteem).

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Behavioral science explains that when the needs important to us remain unmet, we struggle.? Either we are comfortable to ask for them – i.e. apply a functional approach - or we suppress them - act dysfunctional. If the feeling of unmet needs gets suppressed, the effort devoted to suppressing it depletes us furthermore. It depletes our willpower**.

It not only becomes the source of a stress, but eventually it resurfaces in the moment of stress or a crisis. It blows out when our rational brain gets tired, and the instinctive autopilot kicks-in.

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Nevertheless, exactly these stressful moments are the moments when managers and leaders are tested for their authenticity and alignment with their core values. These are the moments when average employees decide on their engagement.

Unfortunately, these are the moments of weakness – which sometimes result with dismissive narratives – are interpreted for their misalignment with core values.?

It becomes the toll of not addressing the higher level needs – with the #belonging being at its forefront - which oftentimes remains unspoken or even a tabu on the organizational level.

This is why our needs matter. This why we have to be open to talk about them.

This is why #belongingmatters .

* Quotation of Connie Noonan Hadley - in her Thinkers50 LinkedIn LIVE talk broadcasted on February 7th, 2024.

** Article by?André Spicer (link to article in "The Guardian").

** Willpower depletion refers to a common finding that after exerting effort on one self-control task, people show impaired performance on a subsequent self-control task. The initial emphasis on selfcontrol has been extended to effortful decision making, planning, and initiative. First researched under the lead of @RoyBaumeister (reference link)