There are definitely positive and negative impacts on your wellbeing by becoming more productive. In a world of ‘busyness’, most people want more time and to be able to use it better. However, when facing this personally as a freelancer or small business owner, it’s a positive step but as an employee it can feel like a greater challenge or even a burden.
Often employees are expected to do more with less. In a bid to reduce overheads, employers don’t always rush to fill a vacancy nor are they comfortable with creating protected time for their employees to think, to plan and to consider strategy. Research has shown that only 30-40% of the working day is actually productive yet there doesn’t seem to be enough time for anything. So why is this?
Staff are measured on utilisation, billable hours or simply being in the office and at their desks instead of measuring outcomes. With social media browsing, reading the news online or searching for a new job taking on average over two hours of an employee’s day, it’s no wonder that tension exists in the workplace. Between the employers focusing on the bottom line and employees feeling disenfranchised, are these distractions a symptom or the cause?
There’s a marked difference between being busy and being productive. You may have heard people boast that they’re good at multi-tasking. It’s a myth – a common misconception that people can function like computers, where the term came from, yet they may wear their busyness like a badge of honour. ‘Burnout’ is a term which is becoming part of the workforce vernacular but it’s not OK – no job should cause this.
Mental health and wellbeing continues to be one of the most costly, difficult and complicated issues that employers face and is increasingly becoming a strategic priority. Leaders and managers have a duel responsibility for the wellbeing of their teams, whilst at the same time further pushing productivity to achieve the results and performance of organisations.
By building a culture of openness and transparency which must be led from the top, a business will be able to thrive healthily and operate with longevity. But only by working together to understand individual goals, ambitions, challenges and strengths can everyone benefit. When employees are supported and respected; a culture of empathy, trust and loyalty can be created.
On 10th October at MyHotel in Brighton Emma will be co-hosting a conference for World Mental Health Day with the proceeds going to Albion in the Community. The focus here is to take an in-depth look at mental health and wellbeing, identifying how productivity and results can be improved by focusing on employee wellbeing.
Fellow Chamber member and co-host, David Dand from Dand HR Associates is focusing on how to attract, select and onboard talent, prioritising cultural fit and the employee experience.
By looking at the employee journey throughout, the event has a great line up of speakers who will be tackling this from different angles; from recruitment to performance and including your legal obligations and responsibilities to ensure you are up to date on the law.
Emma from Mindsetup will also be running courses in October focusing on productivity and effectiveness. Do get in touch if you’d like to find out more emma@mindsetup.co.uk
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