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Talking Points

The Book

• In the aftermath of the global pandemic, employees are burned out, unfulfilled, and disconnected leading to millions of people packing up and quitting their jobs.
• As employers step up their efforts to address workplace culture and double down on employee well-being in the fight for top talent, it’s time to invest in an approach that is grounded in science, steeped in ancient wisdom practices, and tested in leading organizations.
• Decades of research support the importance of addressing spirituality as part of an effective approach to whole-person well-being
• Reimagining Workplace Well-being integrates proven best practices from workplace well-being research with decades of management science research on workplace spirituality.
• This new book (released May 2022) focuses specifically on fostering workplace cultures that promote:
  • More meaning and purpose in one’s work
  • Higher quality connections with coworkers
  • A connection to something bigger than themselves
• Book Press Release

 

A Next Generation Approach to Employee Well-being

• Recent surveys show a toxic workplace culture is a significant factor in the wave of resignations that swept the country in 2021. Those trends continue into 2022, with quit rates at near-record highs.
• When asked what they are looking for their next job, employees say they want to work for a company that cares about their well-being. They want a more flexible schedule. They are also looking for more meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in their work. They want to feel more valued, respected, and included by their peers.
• Next generation well-being initiatives must go beyond traditional approaches to employee wellness in two fundamental ways:
  • The first is to move beyond offering only individual programs and resources. A next generation approach to workplace well-being addresses environment and culture as well as offers individual programs to help employee thrive in their work. A next generation approach addresses the root causes of employee burnout and turnover.
  • The second way is to move beyond only addressing basic physical and mental health needs. This includes a more holistic approach that addresses emotional and spiritual well-being, which means helping employees find more meaning and purpose in their work, cultivate higher quality social connections with coworkers, and connect to something bigger than themselves.

 

What is Workplace Spirituality and Why Is It Important for Business?

• According to a Fetzer Institute study in 2021, 86% of working adults consider themselves to be spiritual to some extent. There is an increasing openness to spiritual well-being practices within the workplace and the pandemic has increased that openness.
• There is no consensus definition of workplace spirituality but across most research studies, three elements are most frequently mentioned:
  • A sense of meaning and purpose in one’s work
  • A sense of connection and belonging
  • A connection to something bigger than oneself

• Many organizations have realized the business value of creating a culture that fosters authenticity and vulnerability. This includes inviting employees to present their “true selves,” more fully share their life experiences with one another, and bring their “whole self” to work. Research shows that when employees are able to express their true selves at work, it is linked with their engagement, job satisfaction, and job performance.
• Employers are looking for new ways to engage employees and to help them to be their best selves. They want to attract and retain top talent. They want workers to feel engaged and to promote thriving, and they want the increased productivity and performance that comes from that.
• Workplace spirituality research is linked to higher levels of employee physical and mental well-being as well as higher levels of employee engagement in their work and job performance, as well as to lower turnover rates and reduced absence.

 

Engaging Employees in Their Health and Well-being

• Though most employers offer a wide array of health and well-being programs and resources for employees, only about 25% to 35% tend to participate in them. Rates are even lower when more robust measures of employee engagement in their well-being are considered.
• Participation and engagement represent different levels of exposure and interaction with health and well-being offerings. There is no consensus definition or way to measure engagement in well-being.
• Though substantial research supports the use of financial incentives for relatively simple utilization of well-being programs and services, there is very little research supporting the effectiveness of incentives on sustained behavior change and health outcomes.
• Research shows that financial incentives work best when they are supported by organizational commitment to a culture of health. This includes senior leadership support for employee well-being efforts, use of comprehensive communications that underscore the organization’s commitment to employee well-being, having a written strategic plan for one’s well-being efforts, and establishing written measurable objectives for health and well-being initiatives. • Intrinsic motivation strategies are an important complement to financial incentives. This includes helping employees to link healthy behaviors to their deeper values and purpose in life, which may include their highest priority relationships and life roles.

 

5 Key Influences for Employee Well-being

Effective workplace well-being initiatives address employee well-being across four levels of influence including individual, interpersonal, organizational, and social. They also pay special attention to the role of leaders at all levels because they operate at all four levels of influence.

• Individual-level influences address the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, skills, and behaviors that support spiritual well-being. Individual-level interventions often include assessment, educational resources, skill development & training, and individual coaching.
• Interpersonal level approaches address relational dynamics, communication patterns, perceived norms, and skills that support healthy interpersonal interactions and behaviors. Interpersonal-level interventions may include group/team assessments, team trainings or workshops, team skill development, team or group coaching, mentorship programs, and leadership training.
• Organizational-level approaches address workplace policies, practices, processes, structures, and reward systems that influence cultural norms and behaviors. Organizational-level interventions include physical or structural changes to the workplace environment as well as changes to documented policies, practices, and procedures governing how work gets done.
• Societal-level approaches leverage organizational resources and influence to benefit the broader community or world. Potential actions may include establishing a foundation to invest organizational resources into community well-being initiatives, creating policies that encourage and support employee volunteerism in the community, participating in employer-community partnerships, and establishing metrics that evaluate the organization’s influence on community well-being.
• Leaders operate at all four levels of influence. At the individual level, leaders at all levels in the organization must learn how to cultivate well-being for themselves and serve as role models to prioritize their own well-being. They must also receive training on how to appropriately support team members in their well-being. Organizations can also create special leadership roles to support the development of a culture that fosters employee well-being.

Media Contacts

For media inquires, please contact me at press@jessicagrossmeier.com