WORKPLACE EMPOWERMENT

Employee wellbeing is critical – Jeffrey Pfeffer and Dr. Muneer Muhamed

Studies show that nearly half the employees in the private sector suffer from depression, anxiety and stress. This number may have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Demanding work schedules, high pressure on KPIs that are linked to higher perquisites and always having to be available on the mobile phone are the main culprits.

We questioned the ranking method that determines the best places to work to find out if it’s truly reflective of employee wellbeing. And we also raised flags about the serious bias being displayed by the agencies that compile these ratings. All categories of employees across the world agreed with our conclusion, which is based on solid research data.

And we found that these lists contain some highly ranked companies that implemented rather toxic management practices, which were detrimental to the health and wellbeing of their employees.

So we advocated for the inclusion of two aspects to the ranking methodology – health related data and nonprofit agencies. The latter will shift the orientation of the rating agencies and remove serious bias.

We then endeavoured to find a way for the companies on these lists to become truly great. Our research found that two crucial elements can help build a healthy workplace – job control or autonomy and social support. There’s overwhelming evidence to support this finding.

Most enterprises understand the cost of employee turnover and absence due to sickness. They also know the importance of discretionary effort and many conduct surveys to measure employee engagement.

But employer efforts to build more enticing workplaces generally focus on the wrong things such as trinkets and perks, which are rewards that can be quickly implemented. However, the more important issues to address are the actual conditions of work.

People aren’t that easily seduced by mere trinkets such as sleep pods, free food and ‘bring your dog to work days’ because these ‘rewards’ can’t compensate for stressful work environments.

If employers want to increase employee engagement and productivity – and more importantly, staff health – the work environment and the work itself are areas that should matter. The health hazards of workplace bullying and incivility have also been well documented.

Most people want to make decisions and use their experience and skills at work. When they aren’t allowed to make decisions and don’t have sufficient control over their work, they’re stressed and suffer ill health. Extensive evidence shows that the levels of anxiety and depression in workers drop when they have more control over their work.

Corporations are promoting people based not on their ability to manage the workforce but on skills such as budget or project management. Because many managers can’t manage, in the sense of coaching others to do their jobs better, one of the worst mistakes they make is to micromanage. When that occurs, subordinates lose their autonomy and sense of control.


There needs to be more autonomy and control afforded to employees to increase their motivation, job satisfaction, performance and health.

Some employers have managed to do so by trying what we call ‘management by absence.’ This affords more independence to employees and creates a flatter organisation. It also eliminates micromanagement and empowers teams by teaching managers to be more supportive.

As for social support, evidence suggests that having family and friends, and close relationships, have a direct impact on health because they help buffer the effects of various psychosocial stresses. People who were less socially integrated had higher mortality rates and incidents
of cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.

Changing the environment to make things better is not that hard. Employers simply need
to stop doing things that create toxic work environments.

Get rid of forced ranking such as the ‘grading on the bell curve’ performance review process made famous by GE. Don’t pit people against each other under the guise of internal competition that results in a rat race where people work crazy hours and travel excessively.

Invest in management processes where senior managers can mentor juniors, and stop the transactional approach to employees by not viewing them as factors of production and trading.

Companies that seek to build a culture of community and social support often implement programmes that do two things – viz. provide support to employees and let people engage in activities that foster mutual caring. Birthday parties and events that celebrate shared successes such as product launches or project completion contribute to building a sense of shared identity and belonging.

The bottom line is that you don’t need to be listed as a great workplace to be to be truly great. For instance, even though Southwest Airlines and Google aren’t on any of these lists, they are truly great places to work.