How to help your team thrive in 2021

The past year has been challenging – no question. But one of the management trends that has emerged from this difficult time, and we hope is here to stay, is the focus on softer, human skills. Empathy. Kindness. Active listening. By making sure our staff feel supported, heard, and valued, we’ll see a positive impact on wellbeing all round – which is vital as the world continues its fight against Covid-19.

And the proof is in the numbers. In November 2020, CMI polled managers on their workplace happiness; respondents received a score across 100 for the “six steps” created by WorkL, with 100 being positive and 0 being negative. Overall, it seems, workplace happiness is unchanged since August 2020 with a score of 69 in November 2020 and the lowest scoring of the WorkL “six steps” was for wellbeing (64). What’s particularly striking is that where organisations offered mental health support, respondent’s wellbeing numbers rose accordingly.

Shouldn’t we all want our employers to feel hopeful and psychologically safe, especially after a stressful year?

With all this in mind, CMI has created a wellbeing toolkit, which is a content playlist located in our online resource portal, ManagementDirect. It’s loaded full of practical information tips and checklists that will support you with:

• What issues may be affecting your team right now and how they manifest?
• Strategies for overcoming issues
• Tips and insight on how to promote positive mental and physical health
• Spotting mental health difficulties. It can be hard to know if colleagues or team members are experiencing mental health and wellbeing issues, but there are some signs you may be able to look out for, such as: Absenteeism, where employees take shorter-term absences more frequently to avoid a difficult conversation about mental health or other health issues
• Low engagement and productivity, as those experiencing poor mental health may appear tired and struggle to start or finish tasks

Support strategies

A few things can help, such as: creating a safe and open environment for your team and others; opening up honest conversations about mental health to dispel stigma; and staying connected, as those going through a tough time may struggle to reach out.

Promoting positive mental and physical health?

Facilitating a healthy work/life balance is key here. The Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the adoption of flexible working. There are real, tangible benefits for wellbeing when a culture of flexible working is promoted – one study found that 85% of individuals felt that their wellbeing was improved when flexible working was adopted in the workplace. Yet it can be difficult to strike a balance between work life and home life. The pandemic has forced a lot of us into this environment – possibly for the first time – so it is important you can support others to ensure that they can “switch off”. Having a clear strategy for promoting work-life balance can boost engagement, and reduce the risk of illness and absenteeism.

This is just a taste of some of the topics we explore, as inside the toolkit you’ll find practical tips and case studies to help you boost wellbeing in your team and your organisation.

Find out more today. If you know someone who could find this useful, forward it on – by signing up they’ll benefit from access to the Wellbeing toolkit plus ManagementDirect for four weeks free of charge.