Before Covid-19 the world was already focusing on employee engagement. The data told us that engaged employees performed better than disengaged employees. Some leaders made engagement a priority. Others were resisting or doing the bare minimum. The pandemic ripped up the rule book and showed many leaders that flexibility, autonomy and trust could be given with no adverse results as people worked from home.

Now we look ahead at a post-covid world, learning the lessons from the experience and also understanding what really makes a difference to people now and what will make them perform.

I recently saw Reward Gateway describe engagement as a bridge.

The bottom structures are the supporting structures on which everything else stands. If you have done the other courses, you will understand why the bridge elements are important. The supporting pillars of Workplace and Wellbeing have now become central and primary supporting structures post 2020. Why? well before, many leaders considered the workplace in terms of culture and design. There may have been some basic hygiene factors to consider, but largely is was simply a place to work. Now, post 2020, the workplace needs to be more.

WORKPLACE

More inviting. If you want your people to be thrilled about leaving home and joining the commute, the workplace needs to be more inviting. The design needs to be conducive to work. The decor needs to inspire and engage - no more greys and beige (unless they are your brand colours of course). It must feel like a place where people can do their best work and best thinking.

Better culture. The workspace must reflect the culture and the culture reflect the workspace. If you value collaboration, then create spaces where people can collaborate. Remove walls, create round tables, breakout areas with whiteboards, kit areas out with screens where remote clients or workers can dial in. Make it easy to connect. If innovation is key for you, create spaces that ignite innovation. Plain white walls and cubical desk lay outs aren't going to make it work. If flexibility is a value, then create spaces for concentrated work, others for on the spot phone calls, team working, informal chats and private meeting spaces. Mix teams up through hot desking and create eating or relaxing areas where people can come together or be alone. The workspace dictates the culture and the culture dictates the space. And don't forget, if you are remote or hybrid working, the home space needs as much thinking, so give your people the help and budget to create it.

Reflect brand and belonging. The workspace needs to reflect your brand. Design it so people feel a sense of belonging when they walk in. Equally, when clients zoom in or walk through the door, they will get a sense of who you are and what you stand for. Impress them. Wow them.

Enable Success. Define what success is and then create an environment to make it happen. Make it flow, easy, accommodating and accessible. Don't make a building a place to block success. It's more than a few inspirational quotes on the wall. It feels like a place you can do business. To think. To create. To belong. To thrive. It might be the furniture, plants, colours, lighting and total design.

Flexible space. Many organisations are revamping and rethinking the space. If you are shifting to hybrid style spaces, think about how the space will be used when people come in. What tasks, activities or gatherings will take place. Will people come in all day, or pop in for a few hours? Will they need to sit close to their team or can they mix with other functions? What kind of meetings or gatherings will take place and how will the space magnify the outcomes of those gatherings? It is time to start thinking about how the space will be used and rebuilding.

Inclusive. This goes beyond putting wheel chair ramps or lifts in. It means creating spaces that are inclusive to all. People have different personalities, some like buzz, others like quiet. Some people like to socialise, others prefer reflective time. Some people prefer to pop in unannounced, others like to be planned and organised. Some will want to be in everyday and others only when needed. Do you have desks and seating that are centred around a screen so the remote workers feel included. Perhaps some furniture is on wheels so you can move it round and create the perfect space for the group or individual. The key is to think about how inclusive your workspace is if you really want people to be welcome, engaged and like they matter.

Wellbeing

How are your people really doing?  The wellbeing supporting structure is focused on the how your people are feeling. You are actively trying to create working environments where people can do their best work and best thinking. That doesn't mean injecting fun and social activities into the workplace, but it means taking away the stressors that detract from wellbeing.

It is important to note that you are not responsible for the wellbeing of others. You are responsible for promoting positive work experience and to actively not add do negative wellbeing. 

Wellbeing is essentially how someone feels about various aspects of their life – their home life, their health, their relationships with others, their job and other activities. It’s about whether they feel well and happy. And we know that happy people perform better.

Health and safety at work are the basics. Are people safe in this work environment? It is your moral and legal responsibility to limit and address health and safety concerns related to injuries or health problems caused by the workplace.

In the new era of work, wellbeing is much broader. It’s about improving the health levels of employees. Your people expect you to be aware of mental health problems and respond with care and support. Pre-pandemic, 1 in 4 people experienced mental health problems. This figure rose to 2 in 3 people during the pandemic. This includes stress, anxiety, burnout, low mood, depression and other mental health problems. We recommend key figures in the business undertake some form of mental health first aid in the very least. 

Employers who take the wellbeing of their workforce seriously try to make their work environments healthy. This might include the job itself – does the employee have clarity in the role, the skills and support to do it? Do their working hours give them sufficient rest or flexibility?

Other factors include the workplace environment, culture, HR policies, management styles, and relationships with colleagues. We all know how stressful it is to work in toxic teams or for volatile bosses. Your people need to feel safe at work on an emotional level. 

Get involved in wellbeing programmes so your support others choices. Forward-thinking workplaces implement initiatives to improve the health and happiness of employees even outside the workplace. You might invite health specialists to come in monthly and run a yoga session, massages, meditation or encourage walking or running groups. You might start a quit smoking group, encourage healthy diets or ask everyone to do walking meetings outdoors. How about offering a cycle to work scheme with rewards to encourage more journeys in a health and environmentally friendly manner. 

How you do wellbeing is personal to your organisation, the people in it and the kind of work you do. However, what is clear, unless you make it a supporting structure, the leadership, processes, purpose, pay and benefits, policies - well they just won't cut it in the future. 

Happy, well and healthy employees create happy, healthy and thriving organisations that deliver results.