Nowadays "work-life balance" is a concept for everyone. But what exactly is "Well-being" and why is it so important, especially for the generation Y? How can an employer or manager improve the well-being of his employees? What positive consequences result from the promotion of well-being on the company side?
Generation Y, i.e. all those born between 1980 and 1998, is characterised among other things by its strong tendency towards technology: Constant availability by e-mail, SMS, whatsapp or facebook - this also applies to messages that have to do with work. Exactly this continuous accessibility, which also extends to leisure time, characterizes the desire for a job that takes the well-being of the individual into account or promotes it. This makes it understandable why 6 out of 10 people of this generation state that "work-life balance" and "wellbeing" are very important to them.
The five elements of well-being
What does "well-being" mean? - Gallup and Healthways (2016) use a definition that includes five elements:
- "Purpose": Recognizing the meaning and purpose of your work, appreciating what you do and being motivated to achieve goals.
- "Social": Experiencing supportive relationships and love in life.
- "Financial": A clear and good economic situation that promotes stress reduction and the feeling of security.
- "Community": To feel comfortable and safe, how and where you live, and to be part of a group and be recognized by it.
- "Physical": A person's health and energy as a prerequisite for fulfilling daily tasks.
Figure 1: The five elements of "Well-being" (following Rigoni et al. 2016)
In each of these 5 elements, a person can succeed and flourish, so that this aspect of "well-bending" is fulfilled. Or fighting to achieve well-being in this area, although this does not (yet) work completely. Or suffering, which means that this component of "well-beings" is negatively pronounced or not fulfilled.
Looking at the characteristics of the individual elements, interdependencies can be identified with the working behavior of managers and employees.
When people feel fulfilled through their work, they have strong social ties, financial security and physical health, the well-being of these people has a significantly positive effect on their working behaviour. The promotion of well-being is reflected in performance and commitment.
The Positive Effects of Well-being
It is beneficial for both employees and the company to support "wellbeing" and to integrate appropriate principles into existing personnel strategies. This can improve the performance of the entire company, because employees whose well-being is highly developed are less absent, adapt more quickly to changes, stay longer in a company, etc. The number of improvements that go hand in hand with increased staff well-being is large.
For example: People of Generation Y strive more than others for physical well-being, i.e. health, but only fulfill ONE "wellbeing" element. In comparison, people who have high levels on all factors of "well-beings" are 81% less likely to look for a new job for the next year than the above-mentioned Generation Y people.
Lack of Well-being in Generation Y
As the Gallup and Healthway research has shown, ALL FIVE elements of "Well-beings" are most rarely fulfilled in Generation Y. Overall, this is only the case for 5%, while only ONE of the elements is fulfilled for just under 40%.
In order to improve well-being in general, it may therefore be useful for companies to get to know and understand the factors that cause this low well-being (although cause and effect are interrelated and not linear).
The decisive question is ultimately how a company or its managers can improve the well-being of Generation Y at all, since many elements are located in the personal area and thus often a taboo topic for managers.
However, an important component for employees is precisely the possibility of being able to hold discussions with their managers on topics that lie outside their area of work. These conversations can be about all sorts of things that are not directly related to work - be it family, sports, hobbies, finances or the like. If managers are open to such discussions, the likelihood of employees becoming more involved in their jobs can double. The problem is, however, that only a few (29%) of Generation Y feel comfortable discussing such issues with their leaders. So that is a dilemma.
However, if a trustful exchange is possible, the advantages can be great. For example, 59% of the people who hold such discussions with their managers are more committed in their work. In addition, a good relationship between management and employees is decisive for employees' plans for the future. If they can build a certain bond with the manager, 62% say they still want to work in the same company in a year's time.
How to create a good relationship between managers and their employees
Of course, it takes time to build the necessary trust for a good relationship. It takes time for employees to feel comfortable sharing personal aspects of their lives with their managers. And of course, this varies from person to person.
In addition, it is necessary for companies to familiarize executives with the appropriate skills needed to understand when to engage in meaningful conversations about personal well-being and the concerns associated with it. Managers need to get a sense of what elements of well-being they can talk about with their employees. In this way, the well-being of the employees can be promoted as well as possible and they can be encouraged to achieve their (personal) goals.
There is, however, a catch: conversations alone are not enough. It is particularly important to Generation Y that managers do not only talk to them because it is their job. They want to be appreciated as a person and therefore take care of their concerns. (This, in turn, is probably not only characteristic of Gen Y.) It is therefore beneficial to give a deeper meaning to the executive-employee relationship and to pass this feeling on to the employees accordingly. Only then can we assume that we will achieve sustainable commitment.
Conclusion
In order to increase the well-being of your employees, you should be prepared to hold open discussions with your employees - also about private matters. The basis for this are relationships at eye level and a community culture based on trust. Discussions between employees and managers are therefore only the result of holistic personnel and organisational development.
Personnel development concepts should also include every element of "well-bending". For example, you could support your employees' sporting activities financially within a certain framework, offer courses and lectures in personal financial management or attach importance to networking opportunities in all company activities and consciously promote them.
The most important thing, however, is that "wellbeing" in your company becomes part of your culture so that it is part of your HR strategy, and this is already emphasized in the search for and selection of personnel. In this culture, the promotion of "wellbeing" is an integral part of human resources management and is taken for granted.
Do you have further questions about the advancement of your managers and employees? Then please inform yourself about our offers on our website or simply contact us.
Literature:
Rigoni, B., Nelson, B., Witters, D.: Millenials Want Jobs That Promote Their Well-Being. In: Gallup. Under: http://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/196985/millennials-jobs-promote.aspx (published on 1.11.2016)