Emotional Well-being — Solution to Burnout and Turnover

Emotional well-being is described as the overall good state of one’s feelings and outlook. Similar to one’s physical well-being, emotional well-being is affected by various factors, such as one’s present situation, economic standing, personal relationships, and the like.

Emotions can intersect with mental health issues such as anxiety, stress, and depression, resulting in low emotional well-being. Emotional well-being can then affect one’s physical health: we know how feelings of stress and anxiety can cause migraines, abdominal cramps, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and lethargy.

On the other hand, a strengthened emotional well-being can cause one to have increased self-esteem, improved interpersonal relationships, elevated performance, and heightened productivity. Consequently, good emotional well-being and mental health can result in great physical health.

Possessing a positive outlook towards life, can greatly help in having increased immunity against diseases, as well as faster regeneration, healing and recovery. Practicing constructive traits and optimism can help to cultivate and maintain a good emotional well-being. Negative emotions, meanwhile, should be avoided or reduced since these can be harmful, toxic, and can weigh one’s spirits down.

Prioritising emotional wellness can aid in preventing burnout and turnover in an organisation. Putting emotional well-being first is like building up immunity against a disease. Strengthening it can help prepare during times of challenges or adversity. Being able to manage emotions and put in the proper perspective will allow one to regulate reactions and understand situations.

Emotional well-being should be taken care of similar to how we pay close attention to and invest in good physical health. Hence, arranging initiatives to address burnout and turnover reduction will be critical for an organisation. Here are some ways to promote emotional well-being in the workplace:

Encourage employees to take regular little breaks in between work.

There is a popular way to manage time and breaks by using the ‘Pomodoro’ technique. This technique encourages taking a 5-minute break for every 25 minutes of work. This affords concentrating on a specific task by drowning out interruptions for the next 25 minutes. Thus, it will prevent multi-tasking which essentially is counterproductive. For every four Pomodoros (after the 4th 25-minutes), one can take longer breaks of 20 or 30 minutes: take the time to grab coffee, rest, and refresh the mind.

Promote small exercises while on the desk.

There are mini exercises to invigorate those muscles, even while working. Take at least 15 minutes to do stretches, lunges, and movements. Since most have been on ‘work-from-home’ or working remotely and thus travel to and from work are no longer needed, the more that these ‘desk exercises’ should be done. Exercises release the happy hormones, thus resulting in better mood and disposition.

Create a ‘safe space’.

Organisations should afford their employees a venue for them to talk freely about their thoughts and feelings. Whether it is the leaders leading by example on creating a safe space where they can share their ideas or frustrations freely without fear of reprisal, or installing a dedicated and secured mental health hotline, these can greatly impress the belief that the organisation sincerely cares for its precious resources. During the Covid-19 pandemic and the teams working online, there should be a provision for including an online ‘safe place’ as well through private online communications.

Recognise small and great wins.

Consistently appreciating efforts and accomplishments, whether these are small victories or major progress, will give a sense of pride to the employees. This will elevate their self-confidence and self-esteem, thus resulting in improved productivity and performance. There can never be enough appreciation, thus it is important to be generous in genuinely giving it.

Taking good care of and making your employees’ emotional well-being a priority will surely create a warm and pleasant working atmosphere, thus guaranteeing reduced burnout and lessen turnover rates. Our employees are the organisation’s greatest assets.

Carrie Benedet can provide coaching on how to promote emotional well-being in your organisation. Send Carrie a message today.