Get a life or risk burnout

Productivity, engagement, wellbeing and work-life balance - just some of the topical points I covered with +Cary Cooper.

Does improved productivity bring about increased wellbeing?
CC: Actually you need to create a wellbeing environment first so that employees enjoy working with their colleagues, are allowed to work flexibly and treated with respect. Then you’ll get productivity. This is an area that needs addressing.   

Define employee engagement and explain what it should achieve. 
CC: It means different things to different people, but is only one aspect of a wellbeing strategy. Employees need to be given greater control and autonomy and be kept informed as to what’s happening within an organisation. Then they’ll feel more engaged. 

Let’s look at workplace stress/mental health. Are organisations doing enough to ensure the wellbeing of their staff? 
CC: Some organisations are doing better than others at the moment but most aren’t doing what they should. Paradoxically, City firms and companies in sectors such as banking are leading the way, focusing on retention and attraction, concerned with ‘regrettable turnover’, so they’re introducing wellbeing strategies following their ‘meaner and leaner’ stripped down structures that resulted from the economic crisis, which has highlighted the issue of talent management. 

And what should we as employees be doing to address our work-life balance?
CC: In the end you’ll be judged on how you perform, not on whether you clock out at 8pm. You may think that that’s what others are expecting, but it’s a recipe for burnout. So it’s back to having a life outside, so you can go to work refreshed and come back energised. You should also work as a team player rather than compete with your fellow colleagues, so avoid office politics and one-upmanship. Stay positive and supportive of your colleagues!

Give one piece of advice to the UK workforce, to managers and to employers in 2014.
CC: If you’re an employer or manager, allow people autonomy and control. Trust and value them, and you’ll reap the dividends in performance and loyalty.  

And what’s the best piece of career/life advice that anyone has given you?
CC: As you move up the organisational ladder, make sure you help people along the way. Value and support them, even if they are competitor colleagues for promotion. In the end, you will be able to draw on them for help and support when you need it.

Cary Cooper is Distinguished Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School. He has written over 150 books on a range of topics, including stress and wellbeing at work. You can follow Cary @ProfCaryCooper.