5 Tips for Ensuring Healthy Employee Performance
The organisational drive to “do more with less” has often led to a culture of burnout rather than productivity. This approach, while seemingly efficient, can undermine employee wellbeing and overall performance. The solution lies in fostering sustainable performance. By unlocking a team’s potential with a focus on balanced workloads and supportive strategies, leaders can cultivate engaged and motivated teams who are aligned with organisational goals. This article explores five essential strategies for nurturing a healthy, high-performing workforce.
The High Cost of Workplace Stress
Work-related stress has significant financial implications for Australian businesses. According to Safe Work Australia, work-related stress claims account for an estimated $543 million in workers’ compensation costs annually, with the average cost of a mental stress claim being $33,600 [1]. Additionally, the Productivity Commission reported that mental ill-health, including work-related stress, costs the Australian economy up to $60 billion per year, including direct costs like healthcare and indirect costs such as lost productivity and absenteeism [2].
These statistics underscore the significant financial impact of work-related stress and the importance of implementing effective management strategies to mitigate stress and enhance productivity.
5 Tips for Ensuring Healthy Employee Performance
Prioritising healthy performance practices helps create a culture of sustained excellence and resilience, leading to long-term success and enhanced employee satisfaction. When incorporating these five strategies into leadership practices, it’s essential to work with team members on an individual level, ensuring they have input in their performance goals and processes.
1. Provide Role Clarity
Employees perform optimally when they have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and objectives. Engaging in open discussions about the nature, significance, and timelines of their tasks helps them recognise the importance of their role and how it relates to the organisation’s strategy and purpose. According to SEEK, 70% of Australian employees feel more motivated and productive when their job roles are clearly defined [3].
How Leaders Can Provide Role Clarity:
* Develop detailed job descriptions outlining key responsibilities and expectations.
* Communicate these descriptions clearly during onboarding and regular check-ins.
* Encourage open communication about job design, ensuring employees can ask questions and provide input.
2. Identify Employee Strengths
Engaging in meaningful conversations about employees’ strengths within their roles is vital for creating healthy work performance. Empower team members by helping them recognise and cultivate their strengths. Gallup’s research shows that employees who use their strengths daily are six times more likely to be engaged at work and exhibit 8% greater productivity [4].
How Leaders Can Identify and Utilise Strengths:
* Conduct regular assessments to identify individual strengths and areas of expertise.
* Assign tasks and projects that align with these strengths.
* Provide opportunities for skill development and training to enhance these capabilities further.
This approach boosts engagement and enhances their likelihood of remaining with the organisation for the long term, thereby reducing turnover.
3. Recognise Employees’ Optimal Pressure-Performance Balance
Understanding the pressure-performance curve is crucial for striking the right balance between challenging employees and avoiding overburden. Too much pressure can lead to burnout, while too little can result in disengagement. Beyond Blue reports that workplace stress is a significant issue in Australia, with one in five Australians taking time off work due to mental health concerns.
How Leaders Can Achieve Optimal Pressure-Performance Balance:
* Monitor workloads and adjust them to prevent excessive stress.
* Encourage regular breaks and promote a healthy work-life balance.
* Create a supportive environment where employees feel comfortable discussing stress levels and mental health concerns.
Engaging in discussions about the pressure-performance curve with employees helps determine the optimal stress level for facilitating peak performance. Understanding this dynamic enables leaders to manage workloads effectively, provide resources and support when needed, and set appropriate performance expectations.
4. Offer Timely Recognition and Feedback
Timely recognition and feedback are powerful motivators. According to the Australian HR Institute, 75% of employees feel more valued and motivated when they receive timely recognition from their managers [5].
How Leaders Can Offer Timely Recognition:
* Establish a system for regular feedback and recognition, both formal and informal.
* Celebrate achievements through team meetings, emails, or company newsletters.
* Provide constructive feedback that helps employees grow and improve.
Offering timely feedback while employees are engaged in their work or as soon as possible significantly boosts their performance. When suggesting improvements, ensure they are actionable and can be implemented immediately without any form of criticism or devaluation.
5. Provide Agency and Control
Empowering employees with a sense of agency and control over their work can lead to significant improvements in performance and job satisfaction. The University of Melbourne found that employees with high levels of job control were more satisfied with their jobs and exhibited better mental health [6].
How Leaders Can Provide Agency and Control:
* Encourage employees to take ownership of their tasks and projects.
* Involve employees in decision-making processes related to their work.
* Offer flexible work arrangements to accommodate individual needs and preferences.
* Foster a culture of trust where employees feel confident in taking initiative.
Providing employees with a degree of control and agency helps buffer the impact of work demands, encourages curiosity, independent thinking, and fosters innovation. The degree and type of agency will vary based on job role but may include control over how a project or task is completed, where and when tasks are undertaken, or providing opportunities to inform new ways of doing things.
Implementing effective management strategies is crucial for optimising employee performance and driving organisational success. Providing role clarity, identifying employee strengths, recognising optimal pressure-performance balance, offering timely recognition, and providing agency and control are essential strategies. These approaches boost productivity, enhance job satisfaction, and improve overall workplace wellbeing.
At Aspect Group, we understand the importance of effective management in enhancing productivity and employee satisfaction. Our leadership development programs and psychosocial risk management support equip managers with the tools and knowledge needed to implement these strategies successfully.