In today’s rapidly changing and increasingly demanding work environment, the need for a strategic approach to sustainable wellbeing and performance has become more urgent than ever.
As leaders confront the complexities of organisational change, mounting workloads, and the pressures of managing overload, prioritising both personal and team wellbeing and performance is not just beneficial—it is vital.
The Symbiosis of Sustainable Wellbeing and Performance
Wellbeing and performance are deeply interdependent, forming the foundation of a healthy and productive workplace. Research, and our data at Benny Button, consistently demonstrates that employees with high levels of wellbeing are more engaged, motivated, and capable of sustained high performance. Conversely, when wellbeing is compromised, the resulting impact on performance can be severe, leading to burnout, disengagement, employee turnover, and a significant decline in overall organisational effectiveness.
For leaders, understanding this symbiotic relationship between wellbeing and performance is essential. Organisations across all sectors face immense pressure to deliver results, often with limited resources and under tight deadlines. In such a high-stakes environment, the ability to maintain work fulfilment and productivity while ensuring the sustainable wellbeing of employees is not just desirable—it is imperative. This includes fostering a supportive and positive work culture, which is the foundation for sustaining high performance and ensuring that employees feel engaged and valued.
The High Cost of Neglecting Sustainable Wellbeing
Overlooking the importance of wellbeing can have profound and far-reaching consequences.
Burnout—recognised by the World Health Organisation as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress—has become an increasingly prevalent issue in many organisations. In recent times, the percentage of employees feeling burnt out by their work has sat in the range of 30% to 40%.
The consequences of burnout extend beyond the individual, leading to decreased productivity, higher absenteeism, presenteeism, and increased turnover—factors that place significant strain on an organisation’s ability to meet its goals. Neglecting wellbeing undermines the very fabric of a positive work culture and diminishes the effectiveness of empowerment and autonomy strategies that are crucial for maintaining high levels of employee engagement and mental health.
Moreover, the ripple effects of burnout can spread throughout the organisation, undermining the quality of work, eroding trust, and ultimately affecting the organisation’s financial performance and reputation.
Sustainable Wellbeing and Performance: A Strategic Imperative
Addressing these challenges requires a shift in organisational mindset and priorities. Sustainable wellbeing and performance must be elevated to a strategic imperative, embedded into the core of organisational culture and leadership practices. This approach goes beyond implementing wellness programmes or offering flexible working arrangements—it demands a comprehensive, integrated strategy that places sustainable wellbeing and performance at the heart of the organisation.
The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model provides a powerful framework for achieving this integration. By balancing the demands placed on employees with the resources available to meet those demands, leaders can create an environment where sustainable wellbeing and performance are mutually reinforcing. This involves identifying and mitigating "hindrance demands"—such as excessive workloads or role ambiguity—while enhancing "challenge demands" that motivate and engage employees. This balance is essential to ensuring work-life balance and flexibility, which are consistently high priorities for maintaining overall wellbeing and performance.
Equally important is the proactive development of resources. These resources can range from social support and professional development opportunities to fostering a sense of autonomy and purpose in one’s work. When employees are supported and equipped with the necessary resources, they are more likely to remain determined, even when faced with challenging circumstances.
Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory; Bakker, Demerouti
To further enhance this balance, leaders can adopt work design strategies like job crafting. Job crafting allows employees to reshape their roles to better fit their strengths and interests, whether through adjusting their tasks, strengthening their relationships at work, or rethinking how they view their job.
By encouraging job crafting, leaders can foster a greater sense of ownership and engagement, helping employees and teams align their work with both personal and organisational goals. This not only boosts individual satisfaction and resilience but also drives overall organisational performance by ensuring that employees are positioned to contribute their best efforts.
The Crucial Role of Leadership in Fostering Sustainable Wellbeing and Performance
Leadership is the cornerstone of sustainable wellbeing and performance within organisations. Leaders set the tone for organisational culture and play a pivotal role in creating an environment where wellbeing is not just valued but prioritised. This involves modelling healthy behaviours and practices, as well as cultivating a climate of psychological safety—where employees feel secure enough to speak up, take risks, and seek help without fear of negative repercussions.
Senior leadership support, particularly at the board and executive levels, is critical to the success of any sustainable wellbeing initiative. It is essential that senior leaders are not only champions of sustainable wellbeing and performance but are also conscious and aware of the risks of overloading people leaders, and employees. When people are overwhelmed, it can negatively impact the psychosocial climate of the entire organisation, leading to increased stress, reduced morale, and diminished performance across teams.
By being conscious and vigilant about these risks, senior leaders can ensure that people leaders are supported and resourced appropriately, enabling them to foster a positive, safe, and productive work environment. Their commitment ensures that sustainable wellbeing and performance is integrated into the organisational strategy, with appropriate resources allocated to support demands. This top-down support creates a culture where effective ways of working are embedded in the fabric of the organisation, leading to more sustainable outcomes for both employees and the business.
A Leadership Call to Action
The pursuit of sustainable wellbeing and performance is not a one-time initiative but an ongoing commitment that requires vision, creativity, innovation, and collaboration. For leaders, the stakes are high, and the challenges are substantial. However, the rewards of prioritising sustainable wellbeing and performance—both for individuals and the organisation as a whole—are immeasurable.
By embedding the principles of sustainability into the fabric of leadership, organisations can create environments where employees are not only able to perform at their best but are also supported in leading healthy, fulfilling lives. This, in turn, enhances the organisation’s capacity to achieve its strategic goals with excellence and integrity.
As we look to the future, it is imperative to recognise that sustainable wellbeing and performance is not merely a human resources issue—it is an organisational mandate. It’s now time to take bold and decisive action, integrating sustainable wellbeing and performance into the core of workplace strategies, for the benefit of people, teams, organisations, and the broader community.
Benny Button provides digital tools, learning & development, and strategic guidance to organisations across various industries.
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