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Enhancing the Wellness
OF YOUR ORGANIZATION
Does your company or organization want to operate as effectively as possible? Because it all comes down to the people.
There is a practical, easy-to-implement way to develop people more efficiently, prevent personnel and leadership issues that hurt productivity and the bottom line, increase morale and retention, and deliver a strong ROI—all at the same time!
By developing their people’s wellness-based life skills, organizations not only enhance their professional and personal lives and prevent behavioral health problems but increase the effectiveness and wellness of the overall organization.
“Life Enhancement and Prevention (LEAP)” is the next generation of organizational wellness, and it’s easy and cost-effective for companies to provide a LEAP Content Portal with flexible resources to help their people live and work more effectively.
getting started
This Online Toolkit will outline challenges affecting companies, organizations, and employees, and it will show how they can enhance the well-being and productivity of their people and help the business become more effective—at the same time!
Start with the Quick Assessment below. For each lesson, watch the short overview video, then listen to or read the material. Notice the links to additional articles to go deeper. Use the key points and planning questions to select the actions to take.
At the end, think about what changes you or your organization should consider. Then, start by taking the next right steps …
quick Assessment
Start by taking a quick inventory of the wellness approach of your company or organization now:
1. From 1-to-10 (10 being High), how much specific emphasis does your organization place on employee well-being?
2. From 1-to-10, how much focus is placed on helping employees prevent mental health and substance use issues?
3. What education does your organization offer to enhance resilience, promote wellness, and teach holistic life skills?
4. In what ways is it a good business decision to invest in the wellness, development, and productivity of your people?
5. How can online resources help enhance employee care, prevent issues, and increase productivity and effectiveness?
THRIVING IN A VUCA WORLD
Understanding the harmful stresses that affect companies and employees.
Key Points:
The word “VUCA” is an acronym that represents the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity of conditions and situations. In this article, it is used to describe the business and personal environment of our hectic modern era.
At its extreme, VUCA for workers feels like debilitating stress, lack of engagement in their jobs, harmful habits and addictions, and decreased productivity at work. Problems at home often add to the issues people face at work.
Proactive investment in the development and well-being of employees is the best strategy for operating effectively in a VUCA environment. Enhancing the lives of workers will also help prevent costly problems before they come about.
There are positive personal attributes which can be learned that prepare workers for thriving in a VUCA world. Those attributes include: awareness and resilience, connection and purpose, and intentionality and self-improvement.
Planning Questions:
1. What are the top pressures your organization is facing that affect the effectiveness and well-being of the people?
2. Do you feel stress, lack of engagement, harmful habits such as substance use, and productivity affect the people?
3. How do you feel your organization’s effectiveness is affected when your people are struggling (at work or home)?
BECOMING GREAT AT THE PEOPLE BUSINESS
Seeing people as a critical asset that affects every part of the company.
Key Points:
Peter Drucker originated the view of the company as a human community built on trust and respect for the worker and not just a profit-making machine. He recognized the importance of people.
There is compelling business rationale for companies to invest in their people, and pragmatic development and wellness programs can produce a great ROI by increasing productivity and preventing costly issues and problems. But there is an even more important reason why they should care for employee well-being: it’s simply the right thing to do.
All companies are in the people business, but there is a wide range in how they handle that responsibility. Great companies clearly understand the value of investing in their people.
Planning Questions:
1. Peter Drucker emphasized the importance of people. Which of his points from the material struck you the most?
2. Rate your organization as Meets Minimum, Average, Good, or Great in the four areas as outlined in the material.
3. How do you see the level of commitment your organization has to the development and well-being of its people?
WHAT’S MISSING FROM WELLNESS
Recognizing the gaps in wellness, development, and benefits programs.
Key Points:
Current approaches to business and personal wellness tend to overlook the issue that is the most dangerous, most widespread, most ignored, and most preventable which is behavioral health (substance abuse and mental health).
About 75% of people with addiction work full-time and virtually all companies are affected. The good news is that addiction is not only treatable, it is preventable! Why don’t businesses do more to help their people? Good question.
There are skills and knowledge that can make employees better at work and which can enhance their lives and prevent behavioral health issues. What’s missing from wellness can be addressed by: understanding addiction and mental health, developing resilience, learning life enhancement skills, and developing a foundation of wellness.
By filling in what’s missing from wellness, life is much better. People and companies can get there one step at a time.
Planning Questions:
1. What do you think about the quote from the National Wellness Institute that gives a definition for “wellness?”
2. Does your organization address the biggest health care issues for companies: substance abuse and mental health?
3. Does your organization proactively develop: addiction prevention, resilience, life enhancement skills, and wellness?.
The NEXT GENERATION of wellness: "Life Enhancement & Prevention"
Using wellness, development, and benefits to differentiate the company.
Key Points:
Based on the tragic impact addiction continues to have, it is clear that we need to do something different than what we have been doing. Prevention is the answer, and it is a key part of the next generation of addiction treatment.
Prevention programs help people live in a purposeful manner, increase their resilience, and address factors that can lead them toward addiction before they reach the crisis stage. This benefits them, their families, and their companies.
We can have an impact on addiction by focusing on 5 key phases: (1) Preparation: integrated wellness-based lifestyle; (2) Awareness: taking preventative action early; (3) Connection: informed support and help; (4) Education: teaching practical “how to” methodologies; and (5) Steps: purposeful life planning and proactive prevention.
Planning Questions:
1. What do you see as the most important points about prevention that we can learn from the world of healthcare?
2. Which of the phases of prevention (Preparation, Awareness, Connection, Education, Steps) could help your group?
3. What is the one most important thing your organization should change based on the material in this lesson?
Dealing with workplace stress
improving wellness, morale, and productivity through stress training.
Key Points:
Tens of millions of people in the U.S. suffer from stress, and many of them don’t know what to do to get better. Gallup News reported that almost 8 in 10 Americans are stressed at times, and 44% feel stress frequently.
Many studies have pointed out that one of the biggest culprits creating more stress in our lives is work!
Dealing with workplace stress can include steps of: (1) Preparation (Enhanced Lifestyle); (2) Awareness (Emotional Well-Being); (3) Connection (Positive Relationships); (4) Education (Stress Management); and (5) Steps (Purpose and Plan).
Dealing with stress calls for an approach that is proactive rather than reactive that offers a way of living that helps us address the root causes of anxiety and lead a more balanced and enjoyable lifestyle.
Planning Questions:
1. What percentage of people in your organization do you feel are sometimes adversely affected by stress?
2. Do you feel your organization and its people would benefit from proactive education on stress management?
3. Since online resources are easy to implement for organizations, why don’t more of them offer them to employees?
THE BUSINESS IMPACT OF ALCOHOL ABUSE
It’s likely that 15% of your employees struggle with alcohol—you can help.
Key Points:
We all have compulsive habits that create negative consequences in our lives. Some addictions are more socially acceptable such as control, workaholism, or pride, so we tend to ignore them. The others we just keep hidden.
Since more than 75 percent of people with alcohol issues are employed full-time, the modern workforce obviously includes a great number of alcoholics. And it’s not just low performers who are affected. In fact, quite the opposite.
If you are a leader, manage a team, or want to be a good coworker, you are in position to make a difference in the lives of people in your organization. You are around them often, and you can have a positive influence over them.
To minimize the impact of alcohol problems: (1) Set clear policies and enforce them with compassion; (2) Understand that alcoholism is a disease; (3) Provide programs to prevent alcohol abuse; and (4) Be proactive getting involved.
Planning Questions:
1. Do you agree that virtually everyone has some negative habits that affect their well-being and productivity at work?
2. Does your organization deal with people struggling with substances or mental health with grace and compassion?
3. Do your leaders want to help improve the lives of employees and their families, especially if they are hurting?
THE BUSINESS IMPACT OF ALCOHOL ABUSE (PART 2)
Alcohol and drug abuse cannot be ignored because of their impact on ROI.
Key Points:
Alcohol problems are among the most common and costly health conditions affecting Americans, and the impact to the nation’s economy is estimated at $185 billion yearly, yet many businesses have not examined those costs.
Studies show that workers dealing with substance abuse issues are 33 percent less productive than coworkers, make up nearly half of all workers’ compensation claims, and are 3 times more likely to use medical benefits.
Companies can address these issues by: (1) Set clear policies and enforce them with compassion; (2) Understand that alcoholism is a disease and treat is as such; (3) Provide wellness=based lifestyle and prevention education programs; and (4) Build a leadership culture that includes getting involved to help but not enabling inappropriate behavior.
Planning Questions:
1. Do you believe failure of companies to deal effectively with alcohol abuse affects productivity and the bottom line?
2. To what degree do you agree with each of the benefits of alcohol awareness programs listed in the lesson material?
3. The Key Points above list ways companies can address these issues; should your organization take those actions?
Life Enhancement and Prevention Program for Organizational Wellness
easy-to-implement online resources enhance lives and prevent problems.
Key Points:
If your company has 100 employees, there are likely 8 or 9 alcoholic, almost as many people with depression, and several who are worried about one of their kids using substances. And others with sexual compulsions, gambling issues, over-eating problems, or anxiety. And more struggling with a longer list of compulsive behavior issues.
Many wellness program only deal with issues after someone has crashed and don’t address many aspects of the problem, but a more complete program would be holistic in nature and include a proactive focus on prevention.
Two of the most effective and easy-to-implement ways organizations can help their people are to provide ongoing communications to all employees and a variety of online material to go deeper on issues relevant to their situation.
Planning Questions:
1. Do you feel organizations should seek to enhance the lives of their people and help them prevent problems earlier?
2. Do you feel that leaders, managers, and employees can all make a positive difference in the lives of their coworkers?
3. Should virtually every organization at least offer easy-to-use online resources to equip, help, and serve their people?
Taking THE NEXT Right Steps to Organizational WELLNESS
Increasing the wellness of people makes organizations more effective.
Key Points:
Good companies should care about their people and care for them as well. This includes providing education to enhance employees’ well-being. This is an act of responsibility that is good for both the business and their people.
A Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation survey found that two-thirds of human resource professionals believe that substance abuse is one of the most serious issues among the workforce.
The good news is that there is an approach that can help employers address this problem which is to use the proven principles of recovery to augment their training and coaching programs for employees.
One company at a time, executives can lead the way into the next wave of business wellness. One person at a time, they can help address the epidemic of addiction.
Planning Questions:
1. Do you agree with the statement: “Good companies should care about their people and care for them as well?”
2. Read the section on: “What’s holding companies back?” Do you agree those obstacles can be clearly addressed?
3. What would be the positive impact if all organizations implemented life enhancement and prevention programs?
To see all the steps for how to enhance your organizational wellness and how they work together ...
use these convenient summary resources