I am becoming increasingly frustrated about the discourse around wellbeing. Having spent many years working to improve wellbeing within voluntary sector organisations, COVID has at last brought a welcome new emphasis on staff welfare, although mostly on an individual level. It is however, painfully clear that those who have suffered the most during the pandemic are the poorest, those with unstable working patterns, ethnic minorities, and those on the lowest wages. Whilst a massive amount of money has been thrown at protecting businesses, very little extra is being done to eradicate the causes of this inequality.
Through lockdown pretty much everyone has experienced poor wellbeing at some point, due to the dramatic changes in working life, isolation, unemployment, furlough and illness. These and other wellbeing issues have been brought to the fore by COVID, but are not new. Organisations are lining up to talk about how they are putting staff health and wellbeing first, and this is to be welcomed. However after the pandemic (and it will come at some point), will we continue to put wellbeing first, both in the workplace, and more crucially install it as a central priority for government policy?
We tend to talk about wellbeing as though it is a personal journey, fundamentally within the control of an individual. Whilst individual self-care skills need to be taught and available to all, without an understanding of power there is a limit to the amount of change that an individual can make. Whilst we have responsibility for our own wellbeing, employers also have responsibility for the wellbeing of those who work for them. I have previously talked about the role that employers play, and the importance of supporting employee wellbeing through workplace structures and culture (see my blog about defining wellbeing at work). I talk about the functional ways you can design the structures and build the culture of your organisation to increase engagement, efficiency, autonomy, sense of purpose and environment, to dramatically increase a sense of wellbeing. However, none of this makes a meaningful impact unless senior staff are leading by example. Saying that you value staff wellbeing is all but useless if you yourself are constantly stressed and overworked.
Personal and organisational approaches to supporting wellbeing are of course important, but there are societal forces which can work against those efforts, and can affect how we are made to feel, for example by advertising and social media which either depress us with an onslaught of negative news or make us feel inadequate by making it appear that other people are living amazing lives full of home baking, beautifully clean houses or the latest gadgets. These forces are pervasive yet it is possible to take a radical stand against them, and many voluntary and community sector groups are part of this movement of giving rather than taking, and focusing on positive change.
There is another level of influence on our wellbeing, and it is related to structural power. Personal and organisational approaches are hampered when a person or group of people experience discrimination or poverty, that they are unable to solve themselves. Inequality breeds poor wellbeing. Even if we acknowledge these factors it will not have a positive impact on our wellbeing if there is nothing we can do about them. It is not possible for one person on their own to solve inequality for example, so how can a consideration of these factors help boost wellbeing? Many charities and community organisations already know part of the answer to this, because their core goals are often to increase equality and social inclusion, so their work really does make a difference. We might expect levels of wellbeing therefore to be higher in these organisations, but unsustainable workloads and lack of funding almost certainly counter against this affect. This is something that needs to change. We cannot help others unless we look after our own wellbeing.
Wellbeing is political, not purely personal. If we believe that wellbeing is entirely within the power of an individual then the root causes of inequality may not be addressed. Charities and voluntary groups are in a good position to do something about this, yet unless work practices become more sustainable they cannot be fully effective. So, what can we do to address the situation practically:
- Employers can develop workplace culture and organisational structures to support employee wellbeing. They should regularly monitor wellbeing and have a written plan to support it. Organisations should be clear about their objectives and the impact of their work and recognise that good staff wellbeing is vital to achieving their goals.
- Senior managers and leaders can honestly appraise their own working life to ensure they are modelling the kind of behaviour that supports wellbeing. Say no to extra work. Delegate where possible. Trust your staff.
- Trustees should take the lead in asking about wellbeing, by having a wellbeing champion on the board and by ensuring that senior staff are working in a sustainable way.
- Funders also have a role in unpicking this unsustainable situation. We've known for a long time that applying for funding comes with its own cost in energy and time, and there are many grants made with completely disproportionate monitoring criteria. Longer-term core grants help organisations to become more sustainable and reduce the amount of time scrabbling around for small pots of money.
