Business climate and organizational well-being

Business climate, organizational and individual well-being and employee commitment are related to important organizational results, such as productivity, health and employee commitment.

These elements are complementary and mutually influential.

Work plays a key role in the health and well-being of employees and it is important to know the negative impact on organizational well-being and, consequently, on employees.

Instability and insecurity in today’s work environment demand the promotion of sound organizations and activities as part of a primary prevention approach.

In healthy organizations, culture, business climate and good practices create an environment that promotes employee health and safety and organizational effectiveness.

A healthy organization promotes healthy and successful business, thus emphasizing the strong link between organizational profitability and employee well-being.

As organizations grow, both in terms of number of employees and in quality and complexity of service, the human component has become a primary competitive advantage in the market.

Therefore, many organizations are competing heavily for talented, educated, creative and dedicated employees (this article on talent management may come in handy for you).

This is how the business climate and organizational well-being become a priority in the market.

Why is organizational well-being important?

Let’s get this straight: an active adult spends at least a third of his day at his workplace.

Therefore, a large part of an individual’s satisfaction depends directly on their working conditions and the climate in which they work.

Naturally, the same theory applies in the opposite direction: the more unhappy and frustrated one is at work, the more the quality of life decreases by a considerable amount.

Studies also show that individual well-being is able to produce long-term beneficial effects on the organization due to the increased commitment of employees in the workplace. We have already talked about how to make the work environment more pleasant to improve team efficiency.

Those individuals who work in a supportive business climate tend to see their workplace as positive, productive and engaging.

Furthermore, managers will benefit from investments in well-being in terms of an open organizational culture that challenges and engages employees and will certainly keep them loyal to their company.

Here are the 5 elements of organizational well-being that transcend countries, cultures and sectors.

Each of these elements can be considered universal and can be applied to any organization.

Professional well-being: how to spend your time and how much you enjoy your work

To make sure that most employees enjoy their work, it is important that they remain aware and informed of the impact their work has on the whole mechanism: from the company to the customer to the rest of the team.

It is not unusual to find out how some employees may desire different tasks or positions, so it is the project manager’s job to keep an open discussion and hear whatever messages they may have.

Afterwards, if the proposal is successful, they can be moved to different roles or even departments within the organization, ensuring that talent is retained within the organization.

Social well-being: strong and healthy relationships in employees’ lives

Although it may seem that this chapter focuses solely on the personal lives of employees, a large part of the satisfaction that comes from healthy relationships also comes from positive relationships with co-workers.

Every positive interaction with others is beneficial to the quality of the workplace and a chance to reduce conflicts at the company level.

Here the options are plenty and varied: informal hang outs, themed evenings in the office, professional team building programs, lunch breaks, etc.

The relationship with your immediate supervisor or project manager is also of fundamental importance for employee loyalty and satisfaction.

A relationship is not a one-way process, but depends on the “work” that both parties are willing to perform.

The employee may therefore be inclined to have a good relationship with their manager, but the supervisor must do the same.

Financial well-being: managing the economic profile of employees effectively

The starting point for this discussion is a paycheck that the employee considers to be fair and satisfactory in return for their work.

An increasing number of organizations are tackling this and, indeed, have started to offer side benefits in order to create consent and certainty among their employees, such as medical and life insurance, private provision, etc.

Training and awareness of issues such as personal financial management, investments, credits and personal savings could be of great help to employees, especially younger or newly hired employees.

Physical well being: good health and the energy needed to tackle everyday activities

As previously noted, there are organizations that care about employees’ health and offer them healthcare and medical insurance.

Sometimes they even offer gym subscriptions or yoga classes.

Likewise, just as it is important that a company takes care of the physical well-being of its employees, it is equally important that it takes care of the psychological well-being.

There are countless cases of burnout, depression, extreme frustration in the workplace that remain unnoticed.

The project manager and the closest colleagues have the opportunity to notice more easily when a member of the group is struggling and therefore immediately offer assistance and support.

Community well-being – a sense of commitment to the environment

A standard custom for organizations is to participate in social awareness campaigns: charity, support to NGOs, ecological activities, volunteering opportunities for employees, etc.

Whatever action is taken towards the community increases employees’ pride and sense of belonging, giving them the opportunity to be emotionally involved in the organization’s businesses.

 

Ultimately, the vast majority of studies show that a workplace where well-being is a priority is beneficial for all: for management and management, in terms of profit, productivity and employee loyalty, and for employees in terms of quality of life in general, loyalty and personal satisfaction at work.