Building a mental well-being company culture

If there is one thing to keep in mind it is that a company always has a culture. Whether it is one that was carefully curated or one that was born out of the absence of care for the topic, a culture will appear. Probably not a great one though.

It may seem a bit flimsy at first to worry about culture in the workplace. But history has shown us repeatedly how powerful culture can be.

What Do We Mean By Work Culture?

Culture in general is defined as the way of life, the general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people at a particular time.

When we apply it to the business world, the group of people is usually the employees of a company or a specific team within a large company which can each have their own culture.

Work culture can include the way people communicate, what is celebrated and how, how people feedback …

What Do We Mean By Well-Being Culture?

Many of those decisions, on how things are done, will impact employees’ well-being.

The World Health Organization breaks down Well being into four sections:

– Emotional
– Social
– Financial
– Physical

All of these are in a small or big way affected by the workplace.

Implementing a well-being culture is acknowledging that how work is done and how teams interact have an impact on people’s general mental health, as much as their physical health.

How Do You Create a Culture?

As we mentioned above, Culture will create itself if you do not spend time on it.
That is why it is something to start working on from day one. In order to avoid bad habits from taking root.

Some of our favorite pointers are:

1. Assess how things currently are. What is the culture like today? Observe but also talk to your team.
2. Set (realistic) goals – What Culture do you wish your company to have? What do you want your employees to feel like? Make sure those are achievable and can easily be followed by everyone
3. Remember Culture is a conversation, not a monologue. Include your team in the change. Listen. Act upon feedback
4. Make space for it – Accept change – Be open to try new ways
5. Plan training – Make Managers lead by example
6. Assess progress – Plan milestones
7. Be patient. Iterate.

And finally, how do you create a culture of well-being?

Make even more space, for well-being this time.

Mental health and well-being is a constant work in progress. Make sure to include those topics as integral parts of your company’s DNA. Make well-being part of the conversation: include it in the regular agenda, introduce it as a KPI…

Acknowledge your team is made of individuals with their talents and challenges. One size cannot fit all and it is important to embrace everyone’s individuality to best nurture their very own skills and creativity.

A healthy team is one in which everyone feels free and safe to engage and participate. Make sure to hold space for all team members to speak up, bring ideas, and suggest solutions.

When people feel safe they dare more. To create that safety, show that trial and error are celebrated just like wins. Remember to always praise in public and criticize in private.
This will encourage more thinking outside the box, creativity, and engagement.

Finally, always welcome feedback and make sure to act upon them, even if it is to say that it will not work.

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The best leaders are those who recognize their team’s talents and nurture a culture of authenticity, communication, collaboration, and growth.

Knowing how to do just that is not necessarily something that we’re born with, but it is something we can learn along the way and definitely something that can be facilitated through the use of tools and platforms such as Siffi’s.