Wellbeing at Work: How to Transform the Worst Part of the Day
“Spending time with their manager is the worst part of the day for employees, according to an approach called National Time Accounting that asks people detailed questions about their time use throughout the day.” (Harter & Clifton in Wellbeing at Work)
It doesn’t have to be that way. But what are the five factors of wellbeing at work?
The five factors of wellbeing at work*:
- Career wellbeing: You like what you do every day.
- Social wellbeing: You have meaningful friendships in your life.
- Financial wellbeing: You manager your money well.
- Physical wellbeing: You have energy to get things done.
- Community wellbeing: You like where you live.
“Gallup finds that the most important element – and the foundation for the other four – is career wellbeing.”
Career wellbeing:
Lousy managers are likely to have employees who don’t like coming to work. Good managers have employees who are more likely to experience career wellbeing.
People don’t leave bad jobs. They leave bad bosses. (Gallup) Managers are the key factor in job satisfaction. How might managers improve career wellbeing?
“[Organizations] can dramatically improve their employees’ daily experience by upskilling managers to become highly effective coaches.” Clifton & Harter
Boss to coach:
Raise your hand if you love being bossed? No high performer wants a bossy boss. But a coaching manager is likely to bring out your best. Jim offered some suggestions for managers who want to move from boss to coach.
- Involve people in setting their own goals. Autonomy elevates engagement.
- Deliver frequent feedback. Let people know you see their strengths and help them improve their performance.
- Provide accountability so people can know when they shine.
A simple coaching pattern: The Simplest Coaching Pattern Imaginable | Leadership Freak
Jim Harter in his own words: https://youtu.be/J7mINQRNEWk
What does career wellbeing look like to you?
What do you look for in a manager who coaches rather than bosses?
(This post is based on my conversation with Jim Harter, Chief Scientist of Workplace Management and Wellbeing at Gallup.)
Follow Jim Harter on Linkedin.
*Purchase Wellbeing at Work on Amazon.
What does career wellbeing look like to you? For me there is no greater feeling when you do what you enjoy, often times we hear “my jobs sucks”, and the individuals don’t seek the cause of their disgruntlement and fix the issues. Comes down to what we control and how we control it. Surely if you are not happy in what your doing, you need to make a change, sometimes easier said than done. If I look back on life’s opportunities i would say “within the organizations I worked for they all had opportunities” whether we chose the path is on us. Our well being is controlled by us, if your not happy fix it!
What do you look for in a manager who coaches rather than bosses? Their intentions are to build up the members so they can learn to think on their own and be self sufficient, the Bossy types often live by “Do as I say, not as I do” on the Ego side of things. Granted the Boss is appointed there for a reason, they tend to be overpowering because the are pushed to be “Drivers and Pounders” as compared to Coaches and Mentors. Goes back to control, what we control and how we control them. Kind of like “the Herd syndrome”, some times we have to stray away and find our own path and be a little different, or be a lot different.
Thanks Tim. I was thinking the other day that other people are NOT responsible for my happiness. A life that makes others responsible for your happiness is filled with manipulation and disappointment.
I think everyone would prefer a manager who has positive intentions toward them. 🙂 Sadly, some managers don’t get this.
I found the five factors of wellbeing interesting, especially in light of this past year. I definitely saw folks whose work wellbeing suffered because they didn’t have social wellbing because everyone was working remotely. In fact, we are now suffering from what I am calling “covid fatigue”. It is too overwhelming to call, text or email your colleagues every time you have a question, so you just do your work in isolation. In turn, that affects both the efficiency and effectivenss of the work and also their overall work wellbeing. And now I have a framework to help folks with that..
Thanks Jennifer. I’m with you. I enjoy the 5 factors of wellbeing. I told Jim that I love the simplicity of each one. It seems like covid fatigue is a leadership opportunity.
Each one of the five factors feeds into one another and it makes it very easy to understand. Not having one of them could effect the others in your daily work life. I do agree with the part about leaving bad bosses. A lot of people who dislike their work life complain about the person who is overseeing them not that the job is actually terrible on a daily basis. I know I have move on from positions because of a bad boss.
Thanks Adam. You notice something that Jim mentioned during our conversation. The five items are ranked in order and do interact with each other. At first, I was surprised that having a job you enjoy was such a big factor to wellbeing. But after some recollecting, I’d have to say it’s true.