Ever since I learnt the word ‘Eudaimonia’ (decades ago) I’ve been obsessed with how to achieve it and how to enable others to achieve it. 

Eudemonia is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of 'good spirit', and which is commonly translated as 'happiness' or 'welfare'. I like to think of Eudemonia as human flourishing, the ultimate state of thriving.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been reading a lot of evidence-based reports that outline how to increase work wellbeing and have written seven posts on LinkedIn sharing what I’ve learnt.  

I believe work wellbeing is the future of work. This article explains why it’s so important and how we can increase employee wellbeing.

This article is a mashup of the series of LinkedIn posts I wrote over the months of July and August 2024. I've pulled them together to make it easier for interested parties to read, learn and hopefully share the data on work wellbeing and why we should all be prioritising it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the below, so please comment and let me know what you think.

Executive Summary 

Part 1

⚠️ We're facing a global workforce health crisis.

⚠️ The employed majority are experiencing inappropriately high levels of stress.

⚠️ I've named this era #PraeSanus, ‘work before health’ because the current state doesn't have a name, and we need one if we wish to address it. 

Part 2

⚠️ BMP (bad management practices) are a key driver fuelling workplace stress.

⚠️ The Gallup report references ‘The Oxford Study’ suggesting it offers research proven stress-reduction solutions but doesn't go into any useful detail.

⚠️ I found the study and read it. Part three summarises what I learnt. 

Part 3

⚠️ Oxford University's Wellbeing Research Centre has published an evidence-based article outlining what does and importantly does not positively impact workplace wellbeing. 

⚠️ The author's (Dr W J Fleming) analysis of Britain's Healthiest Workplace (BHW) Survey data (46,336 UK employees and 233 orgs) found individual-level wellbeing interventions ineffective.

⚠️ Fleming concluded “organisation-level interventions such as changes to scheduling, management practices, staff resources, performance review or job design appear more beneficial for improving wellbeing.” Unfortunately, these recommendations are high level, making execution difficult.

⚠️ In my attempt to find something more useful I discovered and read a playbook. Part four to seven outlines what I learnt from this resource. 

Part 4

⚠️ Established in 2022 the World Wellbeing Movement (WWM) published their first ‘Work Wellbeing Playbook’ five months ago.

⚠️ The WWM found a “1% increase in employee happiness results in a 12% increase in productivity.” 

⚠️ If we are to move from #praesanus (work before health) to #salusprima (wellbeing first) all companies must start measuring employee wellbeing. 

Part 5

⚠️ The WWM ‘Work Wellbeing Playbook’ outlines four key measures organisations must track to understand HOW their employees are feeling, and 12 drivers that identify WHY employees are feeling the way they are feeling.

⚠️The four key ‘how’ work wellbeing measures are: 1. Job Satisfaction, 2. Stress levels, 3. Sense of purpose, 4. Happiness at work.

⚠️The 12 drivers of work wellbeing are: 1. Achievement, 2. Appreciation, 3. Belonging, 4. Energy, 5. Fair pay, 6. Flexibility, 7. Inclusion, 8. Learning Opportunities, 9. Manager Support, 10. Stress, 11. Support, and 12. Trust. 

Part 6

⚠️ Gallup and EmploymentHero surveys found almost half of us are under stress half of the time! 

⚠️ The workplace needs stress intervention because if we enable and allow ongoing stress, cortisol and adrenaline continue to be produced and it is these ‘stress hormones’ in the human body that cause significant health issues, both physically and mentally.

⚠️ There is a wide range of observable symptoms humans exhibit when they are exposed to high levels of stress. One of the main ones to watch for is weight gain, it’s a good clue of a human under stress. In 2021 34% of NZ adults (15YO and up) were overweight, that's 1/3 of NZ's workforce. 

Part 7

⚠️ It's undeniable our context is #PraeSanus (work before health). Every employer should be focused on proven, org-level, stress reduction interventions like the ones below. 

✅ Identify Stressors – utilise the UK Government’s free stress indicator tool or the stress evaluation tool (ASSET) to collect data on how stressed your organisation is and why.

✅ Involve employees in workplace decision-making

✅ Customise jobs through crafting

✅ Redesign jobs

✅ Give Employees flexibility and schedule control

✅ Take care of your leaders

✅ Practice relaxation – but note this one only works as part of a multi-faceted approach that combines various interventions.  

⚠️ Remember, “treating stress as an individual problem and not getting to the root cause is doomed to fail. Collecting data on your workplace can ensure you can target your interventions” and make real, positive change. 

Part One – Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report 

Humanity's mental state is the focus of Jon Clifton's (Gallup's CEO) intro to this year's report. Specifically, the dangerous levels of stress caused by today's workplace.  

41% of employees are feeling stress 'all the time" and 66% of leaders are stressed some of the time, with 25% feeling burnt out "all of the time". Folks! That's a hell of a lot of people walking around stressed out - the majority of which are leaders. Anyone else putting two and two together here? Leaders have it seriously tough right now.  

Yes, yes…. they get paid more. However, the data suggests that this additional pay is an ‘off-the-record’ hardship allowance. And I'm not sure it's worth it? Considering high levels of stress are proven to impact human health and lead to premature death. 

Could leadership be a death wish? What an odd concept, and yet… the current system values work before health.  

It seems to me the current state of leadership roles is basically ‘health prostitution’. Although that term isn't completely accurate for obvious and not so obvious reasons:  

Prostitution relates to the conscious practice of offering sexual services for money and I'm not sure there is complete awareness yet that leaders are offering their health in exchange for work (and in turn money). But that doesn’t negate the fact that health, specifically mental health is indeed the price being paid.  

Not surprisingly, there isn't a term in the English language to define the current status quo of ‘work before health’ but there should be because that's the crisis we're facing, and how can we address it, when it doesn’t even have a name? 

With a little help from Bing's free Copilot AI, I've coined a new term to help us continue this important discussion and label the challenge to be solved. 

‘Prae-sanus’ or ‘before health’ is the term I suggest we start using. ‘Prae’ is Latin for ‘before’ and ‘sanus’, for ‘health’. Prae-sanus defines our current state: putting work before human flourishing. Convalesce or recovery will be the transitional phase (the first stage in solving the issue). With our future state being ‘Salus-Prima’ meaning safety, salvation and wellbeing first. 

1. #Praesanus - current state 

2. #Convalescence - transitional healing  

3. #SalusPrima - wellbeing first 

The rest of Jon's intro maintains an uncheerful but required vibe quoting United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterrez: “Our world is becoming unhinged.” Leaders are attempting to influence and coach in this unhinged world, while also hitting ‘The number’. It’s the perfect storm to create an avalanche of stress. “Georgetown professor Christine Porath finds that rising stress is causing a rapid increase in incivility at work.” This circular equation can only be manifesting more stress for both employees and leaders.  

We find ourselves in an unsustainable era of work, something must change. 

Part 2 - Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2024 report.

Gallup's intro ends by highlighting a key driver of our predicament:

“Those who work in companies with bad management practices are nearly 60% more likely to be stressed than people working in environments with good management practices.”   

Eureka! I thought, on reading page one of 150. Gallup (a global thought leader in workplace dynamics) had highlighted the importance of good systems to reduce workplace induced stress. Alas! I exclaimed, on completion of the 148th page, after realising the forward was the first and last mention of the words ‘bad management practices’ (BMP) or any reference to systemic improvement. Oh well, it’s a start. All revolutions must begin somewhere. Ok, what do we know so far? Most workplace stress is due to how the workplace is managed. But what does this actually mean? Who do we think is actually managing our workplace? One would hope, leaders have the power to affect change on the workplace. But how many leaders can you point to who are actually doing this? Leaders are swimming in the same, overwhelmingly strong current as everyone else. They're as ‘nose-to-the-grindstone’ as you are, perhaps even more so! Leaders are focused on getting their own work done, as well as getting additional work done through others. Leader's sheer workload alone ensures they cannot focus on improving the workplace - the system through which all work is done.  

Maybe this is why leaders are so stressed out. Anyone else see the gap? There's an entire team missing in today’s stressed-out organisations - the Workplace Improvement (WI) team. And here's the good news, Gallup CEO's forward outlines the WI team's initial focus as three “organisation-level initiatives” found to reduce stress inducing work environments. Research suggests improvements in the below all assist in reducing workplace stress:   

1. Scheduling change

2. Management practices

3. Staff resources or tailored job design.   

Unfortunately, the report doesn't delve into these three extremely broad topics in any useful detail and the source of these proven initiatives is only referenced as “The Oxford Study”. The cynic in me assumes the lack of detail is intentional - Gallup probably has a scalable product ready and waiting to sell. But don't worry, 'ya gal' Sasha has found and has read ‘The Oxford Study’ source and will endeavour to offer up some useful insight into what each of these ‘Good Management Practice’ (GMP) salvations entail and how each might be executed in the complex organisations we all exist within.   

Part 3 - Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2024 report.

I believe ‘The Oxford Study’ referenced by Gallup's CEO in this year's ‘Global Workplace Report’ is an article written by Dr William J Fleming from the Wellbeing Research Centre, Oxford University. Entitled ‘Employee well-being outcomes from individual-level mental health interventions: Cross-sectional evidence from the United Kingdom’, the article refers to similar org-level initiatives that Gallup's CEO highlights as our work wellbeing salvation:

“Changes to:

1. scheduling*

2. management practices

3. staff resources

4. performance review* or job design.”   

All of the above “appear more beneficial for improving wellbeing” than the current, widely adopted individual-level mental health interventions, which may actually cause harm.

The “article poses a challenge to the popularity and legitimacy of individual‐level mental wellbeing interventions like mindfulness, resilience and stress management, relaxation classes and well‐being apps.” And suggests the controversial strategy of “change the worker, not the workplace” needs a fundamental rethink.   

*I've noted disparity between the terms used by Gallup's CEO and the referenced article. Gallup recommends improvements to "scheduling change". The article recommends "changes to scheduling". 'Scheduling change' relates to how change is managed within an organisation. 'Changes to scheduling' suggests optimising calendar management; % of time spent in meetings vs uninterrupted time to focus on deep work.    

The latter, I recommend wholeheartedly. Organisations can analyse and solve for this widespread stress inducer starting today! Especially considering the article found that employees, who report experiencing unrealistic time pressures will not experience a reduction in workplace stress through individual-level mental health interventions. No amount of time management training is going to solve a situation where a three-day task is allocated one day!    Gallup's CEO has curiously chosen to exclude the article's 'changes to performance reviews’ reference - a practice increasingly debated for its negative impact on employee wellbeing. Unfortunately, still widely used, but I digress.  

UPDATE – CORRECTION

Please note I made a mistake in the above statement.  

After re-reading 'The Oxford Study' article, I have found two separate instances of the word 'scheduling'. This means Gallup's CEO did not leave out or change elements of the Oxford's Study article as per what I wrote above - instead the CEO chose to reference the first instance and not the second. I still think my call out is useful because the second instance sits under the study's conclusion. The first instance refers to 'improvements in scheduling change' and is accurately quoted by Gallup's CEO in the report forward. 'Improvements in scheduling change' is referenced in the Oxford study under the heading '3 - Existing Evidence Base'. The second instance is what I referenced and is why I noted a disparity between the study's recommendations and the Gallup report intro. 'Changes to scheduling' is referenced under the heading '7 - Conclusion'.

CORRECTION ENDS

The article analyses data from the BHW survey of 46,336 UK workers and 233 orgs and convincingly finds individual-level inventions ineffective at positively impacting mental-health in the workplace. “Results show that those who participate in individual‐level interventions have the same levels of mental well‐being as those who do not.”    Unfortunately, the article does not provide any additional detail on the org-level initiatives recommended to assist with the global workplace mental health crisis.

Happily, my investigations did uncover another document that does seek to offer clear, actionable recommendations on how to positively impact employee wellbeing. I'm reading this playbook now and will share what I learn. 

Part 4 - Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2024 report. 

Two things happened in 2022. The first was: Gallup reported 77% of the world's employees were disengaged. Before we get on to the second thing that happened, let's unpack 'disengagement'. 

We need to change our perspective on disengagement. Leadership's focus on the mitigation of reduced productivity due to employee disengagement must change. A mutually beneficial outcome can occur if leadership teams refocus their attention from the negative impact disengagement has on employees to the positive impact increasing employee wellbeing can have on productivity. Seeking to remedy employees experience will increase productivity. 

“Work takes up a large portion of our lives and therefore represents a tremendous opportunity for wellbeing improvement.” Especially when you consider disengaged employees are negatively impacted in all facets of their whole life when they are unhappy at work. 

Disengagement is all encompassing for employees, unlike its singular bottom-line impact for organisations. Did you know a 1% increase in employee happiness results in a 12% increase in productivity. 

The second thing that happened in 2022 was the establishment of the World Wellbeing Movement (WWM). The WWM is “a not-for-profit social impact organisation working at the intersection between academic experts, and decision-makers in both business and policy to translate evidence-informed wellbeing insights into real-world impact.” “A coalition of global leaders from business, civil society, and academia that have come together to put wellbeing at the heart of decision-making both in business, and public policy.” 

Published only 5 months ago 'The Work Wellbeing Playbook’ was cowritten by Dr Fleming (the ‘Oxford Study’ author Gallup’s forward references) and other WWM experts. This evidence-based business tool was designed to enable the execution of beneficial workplace wellbeing interventions.  

Lesson one:

“It's vitally important that all companies start by measuring employee wellbeing”, because you cannot manage what you do not measure. 

Execute measurement in a transparent way, explain the research findings, explain the intent is to increase employee wellbeing.

Do not brand your organisation's wellbeing focus as an ‘Engagement Survey’.

I mean, come on! Think about it!

Engagement is what the business wants. Happiness is what employees want.

Am I the only one who thinks the ‘Engagement Survey’ is so blatantly and obviously wrong? Why on earth are we using leadership terminology in employee communications? The comms should focus on the potential benefits for the audience not the org! This is 101 stuff team. 

It's important to note, rolling out an employee-centric wellbeing programme requires a fundamental prerequisite: the board and entire leadership team must believe in the benefits of increasing employee wellbeing. Without this commonly held belief at the top levels there is no point executing an employee focused wellbeing programme. 

Part 5 - Work Wellbeing Movement's (WWM) 2024 ‘Work Wellbeing Playbook’. 

What can we do to address the unsustainable ‘work before health’ #PraeSanus era we find ourselves in?  

How do we address the inappropriately high levels of stress the large majority of the world's employees are currently experiencing? 

Step 1 - Start measuring employee wellbeing.  

But what should we measure and how? 

The WWM ‘Work Wellbeing Playbook’ outlines 4 key measures orgs must track to understand HOW their employees are feeling, and 12 drivers that identify WHY employees are feeling the way they are feeling. 

The 4 key work wellbeing measures are: 

1. Job Satisfaction 

2. Stress levels 

3. Sense of purpose 

4. Happiness at work. 

The 12 drivers of work wellbeing are:  

1. Achievement 

2. Appreciation 

3. Belonging 

4. Energy 

5. Fair pay 

6. Flexibility 

7. Inclusion 

8. Learning Opportunities 

9. Manager Support 

10. Stress 

11. Support 

12. Trust 

 “How we feel at work impacts how we perform there.”

These drivers offer the actionable insights businesses can then prioritise to increase employee wellbeing. The playbook offers definitions of all measures and offers evidence-based interventions for each. WWM has partnered with Indeed.com who have come up with the “Work Wellbeing Score” because “how we feel at work impacts how we perform there.” The score is generated with data from Indeed's Work Wellbeing online survey - the survey is available to everyone and is anonymous.  

Organisations need to realise an org-level, always on, appropriately funded wellbeing program that focuses solely on increasing employee wellbeing is The Key to increasing productivity and attracting and retaining talent. 

Step 1 - requires the org to resource-up around an org-level, data-led, wellbeing programme.  

This means all leaders must subscribe to the fact that research has found a 1% increase in employee happiness results in a 12% increase in productivity. 

Step 2. Launch the shift to employee wellbeing as The Key employee focus. Collect data to obtain your org's benchmark 'work wellbeing score' 

Indeed.com offers a survey platform and partners with proactive wellbeing centric employers who are actively working on increasing their employee's work wellbeing.  

The early adopter employers will win the war on talent and productivity. 

Step 3. Analyse the work wellbeing data from the org's employees and identify which of the 12 wellbeing drivers need improvement. 

Step 4. Identify the org-level interventions that focus on the drivers your org needs support with, in the WWM 2024 'Work Wellbeing Playbook'. 

Step 5. Execute the interventions with excellence and track the outcome of each with regular data collection - including listening to employees to understand their individual work experience. 

Since most of the Global workforce is experiencing inappropriately high levels of stress, part 6 will focus on what stress is.  

Part 6 - Stress.  

We feel it, right? But do we really know what it is and how to spot it in others? 

EmploymentHero's May 2024 ‘Wellness at Work’ survey of 1,002 Kiwis found 83% of us feel stressed at least a few times a month, with 43% feeling stressed a few days a week. That's almost half of us, under stress half of the time! It's pretty apparent the workplace needs stress intervention, but before we get into that (Part 7), what exactly is stress? 

Adrenaline and Cortisol (AKA ‘the stress hormone’) are two hormones we produce during stressful situations.  

Adrenaline helps our bodies prepare for ‘fight or flight’ - to face a stressful challenge or run from it. Also known as epinephrine - yes, the same drug used in the Pulp Fiction movie, ‘syringe to the heart’ scene. I know, I know! No sane human would want that stuff swirling around in their body all the time! In healthy doses it increases our heart rate, widens our air passages, releases sugar from the liver to our muscles, improves our mental focus and reduces our pain perceptions. 

Cortisol increases sugar in our bloodstream, keeps us in high-alert mode, and converts fat, protein and carbs to fuel our body so it can physically navigate through a stressful situation. 

In cases of ongoing stress, cortisol and adrenaline continue to be produced and this is what significantly affects our health, physically and mentally. 

But what does that look like?  

How do dangerous levels of stress hormones show up in our workplace?  

What can we observe to identify someone who is experiencing unhealthy levels of stress? 

Below is a list of some symptoms caused by elevated stress hormones: 

⚠️Weight gain 

⚠️Headaches 

⚠️Inflammation and weakened immune system - this is why ongoing stress causes increased sick leave 

⚠️Sleep problems 

⚠️Rapid heartbeat and palpitations  

⚠️High blood pressure/sugar 

⚠️Anxiety (i.e., uncontrollable worry, difficulty concentrating, disrupted sleep) 

⚠️Excessive sweating 

⚠️Digestive issues 

⚠️Depression (i.e. low mood and energy, sadness, tearfulness, hopelessness, helpless, low or no motivation, difficulty making decisions, moving or speaking more slowly than usual, changes in weight, constipation, unexplained aches and pains.) 

⚠️Irritability  

⚠️Substance (drugs, alcohol) abuse  

⚠️Not feeling hungry in the morning. 

⚠️Fatty deposits around the shoulder blades 

⚠️Hypertension (which can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney damage and vision loss!) 

⚠️Diabetes - because prolonged high cortisol levels can cause your body’s cells to become less responsive to insulin, as well reduce the function of your pancreas and also increase appetite - all of which can lead to diabetes. 

⚠️Excessive hair growth in females. 

⚠️Wide purple stretch marks on the abdomen 

⚠️Muscle weakness in the upper arms and thighs 

⚠️Osteoporosis and fractures 

 

So, weight gain is an observable clue of a human under stress. In 2021 34% of NZ adults (15YO and up) were overweight, that's 1/3 of NZ's workforce. 

Part 7 - The World Wellbeing Movement's Work Wellbeing Playbook - Stress Interventions. 

Gallup's 2024 ‘State of the Global Workplace’ report found 41% of the 128,278 respondents are experiencing “a lot of stress”. EmploymentHero’s NZ 2024 ‘Wellness at Work’ report found 83% of Kiwis are stressed out, with 61% burned out because of work. It's undeniable our context is #PraeSanus (work before health).

Every employer should be focused on proven, org-level, stress reduction interventions. 

So, what does the WWM playbook recommend? 

1. IDENTIFY STRESSORS 

A no brainer, right? But is your employer doing this? “There are many free tools to help identify the causes of stress, such as a stress audit or stress risk assessment”

• UK Government's free Stress Indicator Tool
• ASSET - Organisational Stress Screening Tool

2. INVOLVE EMPLOYEES IN WORKPLACE DECISION-MAKING 

If you want to increase your employees stress levels implement interventions and change on them, instead of with them. It's not rocket science, is it? Who likes being completely out of control of their job, environment, calendar and way of working? Nobody, that's who! 

3. CUSTOMISE JOBS THROUGH CRAFTING 

Identifying the conditions that are hindering employee wellbeing or productivity and make adjustments to reduce or eliminate them. 

4. REDESIGN JOBS 

Break down jobs with employees and collaboratively develop solutions to the main problems. 

5. GIVE EMPLOYEES FLEXIBILITY and SCHEDULE CONTROL 

Allow employees to alter how, when and where they work on a temporary or permanent basis. This approach when coupled with managerial support fosters greater work-life balance, reduces stress and increases job satisfaction. 

6. TAKE CARE OF YOUR LEADERS 

The wellbeing and behaviours of leaders are linked to employee wellbeing, absenteeism and job satisfaction. Reduce leaders stress and reduce the stress their direct reports feel. 

7. PROMOTE RELAXATION 

However, the WWM is quick to point out that employers “should not rely on this approach alone” due to adherence being the key to success with relaxation practices which is difficult to maintain in periods of stress. It's best to use No. 7 in combination with other interventions. 

Remember, “treating stress as an individual problem and not getting to the root cause is doomed to fail. Collecting data on your workplace can ensure you can target your interventions” and make real, positive change. 

“Interventions that help organisations identify and mitigate the main sources of stress are vital to achieving greater workplace wellbeing.” 

Step 1 - Acknowledge your workplace is causing stress. Ascertain your org's stress levels by rolling out the Work Wellbeing Survey. 

Focusing your org's efforts on increasing work wellbeing instead of ‘engagement’ - this is the future of work. 

Step 2 - Seek to reduce the org's stress score by using a stress assessment tool to understand why employees are stressed by identifying your org's specific stress drivers. 

Step 3 - Involve employees in work wellbeing intervention decision making.

References

• What started my journey to understanding Workplace Wellbeing --> 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report - Gallup
• The 'Oxford Study' referenced by Gallup's CEO in the above report's intro --> Employee well‐being outcomes from individual‐level mental health interventions: Cross‐sectional evidence from the United Kingdom - Fleming - 2024 - Industrial Relations Journal - Wiley Online Library (10 Jan 2024)
• Later I found a NZ survey on wellbeing at work --> Wellness at Work 2024 Report [NZ] | Employment Hero
• The World Wellbeing Movement --> How’s Life? - World Wellbeing Movement (Established 2022)
• The Work Wellbeing Playbook --> Workplace wellbeing - World Wellbeing Movement (March 2024)
• Indeed Work Wellbeing Score --> Indeed Work Wellbeing Score | Indeed for Employers
• Indeed Free Work Wellbeing Survey -->Please help answer these questions about your employer (indeed.com)

Stress Assessment Tools:

• Free --> Stress Indicator Tool (SIT) (hse.gov.uk)
• A shortened stress evaluation tool (ASSET) - Faragher - 2004 - Stress and Health - Wiley Online Library