Research

• For every dollar spent by businesses on successful mental health programs, organisations can expect a return on investment of between $1 and $4 for an average return of $2.30.
• Only 31% of employees strongly agreed that their employers cared about them as individuals.
• 74% of employees said they would work longer hours for an empathetic employer and 83% would consider leaving their current organisation for a similar role at a more empathetic organisation.
• 79% of people who quit their jobs do so because of a lack of appreciation.
• 55% of employees rate opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work as a very important contributor to their job satisfaction.

Statement

Enhancers of this driver

• Viewing the employee as a whole person.
• A culture of appropriate recognition and appreciation.
• Managers who outline career opportunities and pathways.
• Dedicated training programs that are targeted at upskilling employees.

Detractors of this driver

• Managers who only see the employee as a cog-in-the wheel.
• High levels of workload and stress.
• Poor boundaries between work and home.
• Limited systems, resourcing, or workflow processes.

Individual

• Identify your workplace stressors. Help your leader understand and mitigate common work stressors such as high levels of pressure from workload, perceived low support from team members, ongoing organisational change, or challenging relationships at work. Aim to have regular conversations with your leader about these.
• Understand what your priorities are at work and outside of work. Look to draw up a quarterly plan that identifies the most critical priorities, and then consider how you will get these completed. With your work quarterly plan, seek agreement with your manager so that you can better defend your priorities when incoming requests come through.
• Be interested in the best outcomes for the people with whom you work. Allow time for people where they can have your full attention. Sometimes people just need a sounding board.

Leaders

• Make time to connect. Leaders have a lot of responsibilities, and it's easy to get caught up in your work without paying much attention to your team. But one of the best ways to show your employees you appreciate them is making the time to connect with them. Find out how they're doing–including their lives outside work.
• Model boundaries. Boundaries begin with leaders, and what they model gets replicated. For example, do you send emails after hours? Even though you might not expect your employees to respond, a staff member receiving emails late sees your messages as an invitation, or expectation, to continue working into the evening. Leaders need to have a balanced life so that their employees feel empowered to set their own boundaries.
• Invest in the whole person. The key to employee care is viewing your staff as people who have lives and concerns outside of work, just like you. Treat others as you'd like to be treated. Invest in the whole person, not just the employee. Help them reach their goals through professional development, and show a little grace when they bring home life to work. We could all use some extra care when uneasy or perplexed.
• To invest in the whole person, you need to invest time. While no one can be available all the time, make sure there are windows where your people can talk to you. When they do, they must have your full attention.

Organisation

• Tighten up risk controls and legislative obligations in the immediate future. First and foremost, businesses must understand their obligations and risks under workplace legislation to design and implement fit-for-purpose policies to control and mitigate critical risks. Then begins the work of understanding the nuances of your team and the challenges and needs that drive them.
• Review and reprioritise well-being investments, from Employee Assistance Programs to upskilling. Review whether your well-being strategy offers the right mix and provides the proper return on experience and value. Most organisations have an Employee Assistance Program, but are employees using it, did it help them, and does your organisation have visibility on its outcomes? It's also essential that organisations engage with well-being at every level. This means upskilling leaders, managers and teams.
• Social well-being. Many workers spend more time at work than with their families, so the company needs to invest in social well-being. Look for opportunities to develop social capital through team-building skills and other fun activities that add to the shared experience of the team and company.
• Make mentorship part of the culture. Some newer employees could benefit from being paired with an old hand in almost any organisation. Whether you establish a formal mentorship program or a more casual buddy system, there's no better way to transmit helpful information and give newbies a support system right from the start.

• Reflect on your contributions and value. Consider where your experiences are leading you.
• You must be able to see your path can continue within your organisation. A visual path will motivate you to strive for goals and see possibilities for personal growth. Sometimes, it's hard to remember which goals were set and on what timeline; so keep track by utilising a personal accomplishment journal tool.

• Create new opportunities. One of the best ways to win the hearts and minds of your employees is to give them as many opportunities as you can. Let them take on big challenges like a highly visible project or a new leadership role or pick up the cudos tab for a workshop or conference.
• Show you are invested in their success by giving them ownership. A surefire way to motivate people to bring their best is to hand them the keys to a project close to their expertise and interest. Let the project be based on the employee's ideas if possible. Not only will the employee be empowered to grow and succeed, but other employees will be inspired by seeing their colleague's creativity rewarded.

• Offer educational opportunities. Leaders who provide educational opportunities show employees that their goals and future at the company are important. Give employees a chance to perform at their highest quality and contribute to the company's betterment. Providing these opportunities will show them that the organisation is invested in their future.
• Educate your leaders to genuinely delegate by handing over key responsibilities to their crew when they are ready. While this can be challenging when the stakes are high, this kind of ownership and trust shows leaders are sincerely invested in the public success of their up-and-coming crew.
• Educate leaders to lead collaboratively. Working hand in hand with their people, leaders have authentic knowledge of their ups and downs and can pinpoint where their support is best placed.

• Practise intentional listening as a critical tool and signal of care. People feel a tremendous sense of value and worth (i.e. they feel genuinely cared for) when it is clear that someone is listening to them. Ask questions, and actively listen to your colleagues. Reflect the feelings you are noticing and, where possible, help your workmates explore their possibilities.
• Encourage (and demonstrate) peer-to-peer Care among employees. Why is this critical? Because peer-to-peer care is the purest and most genuine form of care. It creates a strong sense of community among employees and enhances the emotional connection between your employees and your organisation.

• Check-in, understand and recalibrate. It's critical to understand your people's emotional needs - as well as where they need support. Check-in and ask them directly, and complement what you hear with observable data. Then start planning how best to make those changes. One strategy is to keep records of their strengths and personality profiles to help highlight distinct characteristics, preferences and needs.
• Practise intentional listening as a critical tool and signal of care. People feel a tremendous sense of value and worth (i.e. they feel genuinely cared for) when it is clear that leadership is listening to them. Ask questions (beyond employee surveys) and actively listen to your people. Support them in realising their potential and working through their uncertainties. A clear sign of care is to take action based on what you hear directly from their perspective.
• Encourage employees to take time for breaks, especially those involving exercise. Relieve pressure by ensuring the organisation is adequately staffed and ensure that employees and leaders are on the same page about expectations of goals and hours worked. When emotionally drained or stressed, many will find it impossible to achieve our highest-quality work. Work-related stress is an enormous factor in mental well-being.
• Do little things that make a big difference. Appreciation doesn't require big extravagant gestures. Send a handwritten note of appreciation, write a quick email, make a call of encouragement. Even little gestures can make a big impression.
• Make it personal and specific. Be specific about your expressions of appreciation and recognition. Don't just say "good job"; give a bit of detail about what impressed you. For example, "Thanks for having the courage to speak up in the meeting. It made a big difference in breaking the ice when everyone else was too fearful of talking about the problem."
• Make the day-to-day work experience as hassle-free as possible. Find out what bugs employees or makes their jobs more difficult. Resolving even minor annoyances can have a significant impact. In addition, people will feel cared for and listened to when you make their lives easier, which goes a long way toward creating a culture of commitment rather than one of compliance.

• Recognise hard work. The overall outlook and attitude of employees has a trickle-down effect from leadership. The way leaders interact and acknowledge accomplishments affects the overall well-being of both employees and the company as a whole. Letting team members know management is aware of their achievements will promote a healthy and positive outlook throughout the organisation. Also, consider fostering opportunities for peer-to-peer recognition.
• Build skills and capacity in challenging conversations where emotions or conflict are heightened. Teach leaders to be honest and transparent while maintaining the psychological safety and personal esteem of all players. Honesty should be a given, but it's easier at some times than at others. For example, many people believe you shouldn't talk about the bad news; however, if delivered well, those conversations–challenging as they may be–prove you care enough to deliver even hard truths. Truthful and transparent feedback will gain your leader's trust and respect and garner the best possible results.