Behavioural change expert discusses the importance of an effective approach to employee wellbeing
This article was produced in partnership with Groov
Over the last three years, workplace wellbeing has hit the spotlight like never before – but according to new research, employers still have some way to go in providing the right support.
A recent study done by workplace wellbeing platform Groov showed that one in five (20%) employees do not feel that their employer supports their wellbeing. This had a stark effect on employee retention, with over a third (37%) of employees thinking of leaving their job at least once a week. The figure rose even further among those who felt unsupported, with 55% considering leaving their company several times a week.
According to Dr Fiona Crichton, a behavioural change expert who leads the Groov clinical team, addressing workplace wellbeing needs to be a simple and gradual process. Rather than bringing in large-scale, time consuming programmes, employers should instead focus on small day-to-day actions that are tailored to each employee’s strengths and needs.
“Our approach to organisational change and wellbeing is to get people to perform small daily actions in order to create change,” Dr Crichton tells HRD.
“People can always tell us what’s wrong, and there will be a dozen papers and think pieces on the various issues people are facing. And while that’s great, what I’m really interested in is how to get people to actually do the things that will help them.”
“We aim to understand what each individual person needs to incentivise them to do small, incremental things for their wellbeing,” she explains.
“You can’t apply the same actions to every individual. You might need to learn what you need to do to stand down your amygdala, for example, if you’re someone who’s very hypervigilant because of your background or wiring. That might be something physical, because confronting your thoughts might create more anxiety for you. You might be the person who goes for a run, does the deep breathing, or just gets out and does things because you’re an active relaxer.
“If we can get people to understand who they are as individuals, then we can figure out what actions will be achievable and effective for them.”
Dr Crichton notes that while most employers have brought in a wellbeing programme in some form, they often take a ‘one size fits all’ approach. This can be problematic, as while something like mindfulness might work for one person, another might find it exacerbates their anxiety – particularly if it isn’t taught correctly. This is why taking a multi-disciplinary approach becomes much more effective for employee wellbeing, as it takes into account every employee’s personality, strengths, weaknesses and needs.
“It’s all about understanding the facilitators and barriers to behaviour change, and then interweaving it in a way that allows people to do things in a scalable way,” Dr Crichton says.
“We have tools around personality and what actions people are already taking, so that we understand where the gaps are. We also look at what people care about, what they’re interested in, and what they’re good at. It’s very strength-based, because we know that if we play to strengths, people are more likely to do it.”
“Research shows that if we look after our wellbeing now, it’s predictive of our future mental health,” she adds.
“When life comes at you, it’s important to have some strategies that you know work for you.”
“We can help employers bring wellbeing into the workday in small steps,” Dr Crichton concludes.
“They need to be small, because if it’s time consuming, hard or clunky, then people won’t do it. We also recognise that leaders aren’t psychologists, and we help them to better understand their role in promoting wellbeing. It’s all action-based, and it helps you quickly identify where your gaps are and what kind of approach works for you. It’s also entirely evidence based, and designed in a way that is very doable.”
To find out more about Groov, click here.
Groov is a leading workplace wellbeing platform that makes mental wellbeing easy to consume and deliver across an organisation. The focus is on feeling good and functioning well to help the organisation, leaders and workers move into the ways of wellbeing, and then understand how to keep wellbeing going.
Groov was founded in 2018 by global mental health advocate Sir John Kirwan and serial tech entrepreneur Adam Clark.
Leading companies including Goodman Property Services, Fletcher Building Australia, Cisco, AIA and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons partner with Groov to support their strengths, identify where they can improve, and quickly move them, their leaders and their people to positive action.
Dr Fiona Crichton
Dr Fiona Crichton is a health psychology specialist with hands-on experience designing effective programmes to improve health behaviour and well-being in the community. Fiona’s experimental research into the nocebo and placebo effect has also been published in a range of high impact, peer-reviewed medical and academic journals. Combined with a legal career incorporating roles as a litigation lawyer and a legal writer, Fiona’s work in health psychology has provided her a breadth of knowledge about the factors influencing psychological well-being and adaptive behaviour change. Fiona brings these skills to the table in her work with Groov, as well as a passionate commitment to effecting sustained improvement in mental health.
