In this fast-paced world, employees are in a rat race to outperform their peers. This competition not only limits itself to professional performance but quickly translates to personal life and achievements. 

Employee engagement is necessary, with management emphasizing on strategies and policies to improve productivity levels and boost the output of the employees. The emphasis on enhancing employee engagement is creating workplaces where employees are ruthlessly working to create new benchmarks. 

There is a fine line of difference between employee engagement and psychological burnout. Additionally, excessive engagement also results in increased expectations and a significant decrease in innovation and critical thinking. 

In this article, we will break down the bridge and analyze the relationship that exists between engaged employees and their well-being. We will look for efficient strategies that will help in building efficient strategies for engagement as well as well-being. 

What is Employee engagement and wellbeing?

Before getting into the nitty-gritty details of employee engagement and well-being, let’s understand these terms technically. 

Employee Engagement

The level of enthusiasm and dedication of a worker towards their job is known as employee engagement. Engaged employees generally care about their work and its contribution to the overall growth of the company. In fact, highly engaged employees would not stay just for the paycheck but consider themselves the main instruments in the overall success of the company.

Employee wellbeing

Employee well-being is a combination of multiple factors that impact the overall health and happiness of the employees. It cannot be defined in terms of money, title, or bonuses, but it is a combination of multiple factors. 

Challenges that affect employee well-being

Ensuring employee well-being is essential not only for the overall output for the company but also for the personal growth and development of the company. Let’s briefly discuss the challenges that affect employee well-being.

Employee engagement

The primary reason that pops out is employee engagement. Although employee engagement is necessary for motivating employees to work productively, however, this could result in a highly stressed environment. With more and more emphasis on engagement, employees are always under the pump to perform better.

Transparency in communication

Communication is generally a one-way traffic. It is essential for the employees to be able to openly discuss issues with the management. This will contribute to building an inclusive workspace. Eliminating one-way channels and encouraging critical thinking helps in improving the overall performance of the employees. 

Repetitiveness

Every employee comes in with a different mindset, therefore the management cannot build a single unified plan for improving the overall well-being. It is essential to take into consideration different employees and their mindsets in order to build an effective plan for the overall well-being of employees.

Ineffective leadership

Leaders have to lead from the front. All talk and no walk does not get the ball rolling. It is necessary for leaders to take action instead of only planning. Employees prefer working in an environment where they are treated equally and fairly. 

Effective and in-depth analysis

Analyzing the performance of various team members helps in understanding their strengths and identifying areas where improvements are necessary. Most businesses do not spend sufficient time on such analysis, thereby, not able to assess their employees effectively. 

No active listening

The major problem that businesses face suddenly is silent quitting. This problem starts when the management is not keen to listen to their employees. This results in employees just not feeling properly valued to stay back in the organization for a long duration. 

Factors connecting employee engagement and well-being

In this section, we will discuss the key identifiers that build an effective relationship between employee engagement and well-being.

Leadership and management styles

The key link between employee engagement and well-being lies completely at the disposal of the management. When the leaders and other people with management responsibilities put in effort to work together with the team, employees feel motivated and work with enhanced productivity. 

Businesses with autocratic leadership typically contribute to the overall stress in the workforce, resulting in lower morale of the employees. As a result of working in stressed environments, the overall productivity of the employees is lower. 

Workload and job demands

Workload plays a key factor in the well-being of the employees. Together with employee engagement, the management should know how to allocate resources and ensure that employees are not overburdened with tasks.

This could result in a disruption in the work-life balance thereby, affecting the overall well-being and personal life of the employee. Additionally, employees love taking up challenges, but that does not mean they should be filled up with challenges they are unable to solve. 

Job demands set the boundaries when it comes to delegating tasks. Setting realistic expectations is essential to ensure that employees get tasks they are able to complete within the stipulated time. 

Organizational culture and values

An efficient organizational culture is essential for maintaining employee well-being. It is essential for the management to be inclusive, fair, and respectful of each other to promote positive engagement and well-being. 

Management should take up necessary steps to eliminate unethical behaviour, harassment, and discrimination. Creating a positive work culture that includes employee recognition programs, diversity, inclusion, and leadership practices.

This will help you in aligning the personal values of the employees with the overall vision of the company. Therefore, they will start working with an improved interest for the overall benefit of the company. 

Opportunities for growth and development

The management is responsible for identifying stagnant paths for effectively engaging employees and providing the necessary motivation and training to the employees. Training programs and mentorship plans help in developing career transformation plans. 

Declining employee engagement indicates a stagnant career path. It is at this juncture that management should encourage employees to align the development process with the overall productivity aspirations. 

All these factors together build an intricate and thin bridge that gently connects employee engagement and employee well-being. 

Strategies for developing an effective bridge between engagement and well-being

Now that we have understood the factors affecting engagement and well-being, let’s build an effective bridge that will efficiently link the two entities. 

Inclusiveness

Engaging employees is essential, but ensuring that you effectively include all the employees right from the decision-making process to different activities is essential for connecting employees with their skills. 

This process can be smoothened with regular and timely feedback, surveys, and other analytics. This will help you to identify the pain points and develop employee satisfaction. 

An inclusive policy will send out a positive message that will help improve the overall performance of the employees and their contribution for the overall growth of the company. 

Establish a culture

Establishing a culture involves taking care of the physical, mental, and emotional health of the employees. This is possible when the management sets up an organizational value. 

Lower stress and promote mindfulness by encouraging your employees to take short breaks and practice meditation and yoga. Educate your employees to practice healthy living and indulge in healthy eating habits. 

Balancing work-life

Management should encourage employees to be mindful of their personal growth and achievement as well. This is essential for the overall success of the organization. 

By building a balanced work-life situation, employees are able to work with enhanced concentration and complete tasks with precision and accuracy. This helps in ensuring that none of the employees in your organization suffer in their personal lives. 

Additionally, employees are able to work in a safe environment with sufficient mental support from family and well-wishers. 

Bottom Line

When it comes to building an effective balance between employee engagement and employee well-being, it becomes essential for the entire organization to be involved in the process. 

It is not possible for the employees to be only engaged and not consider their wellbeing. As a business owner when you take care of the well-being of your employees, the overall productivity of your company goes up. This is a win-win situation for both the management and the employees. 

Further Reading

Manipulative Insincerity – What Is It & How It Impacts Organizations?
Dealing with Transgender Imposter Syndrome in the Workplace
Strategic HR Planning for Larger Businesses: The Intersection of Technology and Responsible AI