The four pillars of workplace wellbeing

In the 20th century organisations had a much greater focus on the prevention and treatment of illness and injury.

Since the mid-noughties fixing illnesses has not been the only focus. We are learning through scientific discoveries and research that we can attain higher levels of performance and functioning.

These higher levels impact all areas of our lives and contribute towards preventing debilitating conditions such as stress and anxiety as well as others. In the workplace most of the focus has been on mental and physical wellbeing. Equally important is financial and environmental wellbeing.

Now – let’s consider each pillar in turn…

Mental Wellbeing

This includes our ability and willingness to connect and work with colleagues, and to maintain positive relationships with ourselves and others. Essential to this is understanding ourselves and having the resilience to cope with the challenges life can bring.

Delving more deeply into learning the impact and reasons behind destructive and addictive habits, such as tobacco, drugs, excessive sugar and alcohol intake, is just as important as understanding the impact of healthy habits, including exercise, routine check-ups, sleep, and nutrition.

Physical Wellbeing

The aim here is to have a healthy quality of life. The pressures of work and life in general mean we all need to learn how to prevent undue fatigue and stress by understanding how our behavioural choices impact us.

Financial Wellbeing:

This side of wellbeing is often overlooked, and it can be a sensitive subject for employers to approach.

It is, however, an important one since the UK government has found that those between the ages of 18 and 24 are the least likely to understand financial literature.

Financial security and stability is a key component of overall wellbeing, with clear links to mental and physical wellbeing, and productivity. So it should play an essential part in the wellbeing discussion.

Environmental Wellbeing

Certain types of work spaces can enhance attention to detail, others promote collaboration, and some encourage creativity. Then there are those which do none of those things despite the existence of research recognising a link between engagement, innovation and our surroundings.

Our work spaces deserve more consideration. From the air quality and furniture selection to the lighting and design, they directly impact our wellbeing and levels of productivity.

Workplace wellbeing should not be a binary conversation centred only on mental and physical health. It is more wide-ranging than that and it is important for companies and employees alike to understand this. Companies such as Pro-Recruitment will help job hunters find businesses which treat all of these areas as important.

Heeral Gudka is an executive coach at Convergent. Pro-Recruitment specialise in tax, finance, legal, and HR recruitment services.

To find out more, listen to the Four Pillars of Workplace Wellbeing webinar by registering.