Are you factoring your workplace into well-being initiatives?

by Jul 14, 2022

Mental health and wellbeing is top of mind for employees and employers across the globe. You know this. 

What you may not know is that you could be tackling burnout from the wrong angles. 

According to McKinsey Health Institute, while many employers are offering a variety of benefits like well-being days, more flexible working hours, and meditation app subscriptions, these individual-level interventions don’t actually resolve the causes of employee burnout. 

That’s because, according to the article, the highest predictor of burnout is toxic behavior.

In other words, if you aren’t addressing burnout by addressing toxic behavior – your mental health and well-being initiatives are falling short.

 

Your initiatives focused on the individual aren’t enough – you’ve got to take a systemic approach.

Consider, for example, the other organizational factors that work against mental health and well-being, including (but certainly not limited to): having a sense of being on call at all hours, unreasonable workloads, feeling a lack of inclusion or psychological safety, lack of social support and/or connection, mistreatment from clients or customers, or ambiguous roles or responsibilities. 

All of these issues and more require leaders to address them head on, because no amount of yoga can. 

(Incidentally, that last item is one of the biggest predictors of engaging in toxic behavior. Just check out my interview with Ståle Einarsen, one of the founding fathers of the International Association on Workplace Bullying & Harassment and its conference, and 30 year researcher of toxic behavior.)

 

So now that you know your mental health and well-being initiatives should start by addressing toxic behavior, where do you go from here?

As one of the only consultants on this planet with special expertise in turning around toxic behavior and culture, we have some thoughts. 

Your first step is to conduct a climate assessment, if you haven’t already. To be clear, I’m not talking about an engagement survey, or a well-being survey, I’m talking about a climate assessment.

This is a snapshot of your culture in time. Our assessment asks about engagement, internal communication, relationships, inclusivity, and more. In other words, we look at all of the factors that we know can cause people to engage in bad behavior, feel burned out, or focus on leaving. 

Once we have the data, we assist our clients in developing and implementing a plan for positive change.

To address ambiguous roles or responsibilities, we might suggest a new or upgraded performance conversation. 

To address toxic behavior we may engage in company-wide training on respect and intervening when witnessing toxic behavior. Managers may also get training on coaching team members engaging in toxic behavior, in addition to coaching for performance improvement.

Of course, we also specialize in coaching those executives who may be engaging in toxic behavior themselves. 

These are just some of the ways in which we’ve had success turning around toxic cultures. (Case studies here.)

In the end, the one thing I know as sure as death and taxes – if you aren’t consistently focused on building a positive and respectful workplace, it’s not going to happen. Your supervisors and managers should be made aware of their responsibility to, and provided the tools to, proactively build a positive work culture. 

Take some time to review our short little assessment: Does your organization foster a culture of respect and inclusivity? The more “no’s” the more likely your mental health and well-being initiatives are falling flat, because the more likely your employees experience burnout due to workplace culture. 

 

Sincerely,

Catherine Mattice & the Civility Partners Team

 

P.S. Contact us if you’d like more information about our climate assessments and how we can help turn around your toxic workplace. 

P.P.S. If you want to learn more about resolving toxic workplaces and behaviors, I encourage you to join me at the International Association on Workplace Bullying & Harassment conference in Sept. In-person and virtual tickets are available. 

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

Navigating the Era of “Quiet DEI”

Companies across industries are changing how they talk about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Not too long ago, DEI was splashed across annual reports, websites, and conference stages. Now? The phrase itself has become a political lightning rod, and many...

3 Cultural Faux Pas You Might Not Realize You’re Making

Cultural missteps happen to everyone, even the most seasoned leaders and global brands.  Recently, American Eagle launched a campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes.” The pun on “jeans” was meant to be playful, but it...

HR, Are You Part of the Incivility Problem?

You already know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of workplace “drama.” Complaints about rudeness, tension between team members, and employees quietly disengaging are all part of the daily grind. You know it’s expensive. You know it’s draining for you to...

4 Strategies to Infiltrate Civility Into Your Global Organization

At its core, civility is the foundation of a thriving culture. It shapes how people communicate, lead, resolve tension, and show up, especially when challenges arise. Civility doesn’t look the same everywhere, however. What feels respectful in one culture might come...

Is It Okay To Bully AI?

According to a Pew Research Center study, 79% of Americans interact with artificial intelligence (AI) almost constantly or several times a day. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of enterprises will be using generative AI in some form. That means we’re not just...

What Exactly is Civility vs. Incivility?

August is National Civility Month! Civility has recently climbed to the top of search trends, and with SHRM’s #CivilityAtWork initiative, the conversation is gaining real traction. But here’s the question: do you truly understand what civility means in the workplace?...

Is your workforce survey measuring the right things?

Many HR leaders rely on employee surveys to gauge the health of the workplace culture, but not all surveys are created equal. Whether you're using an engagement survey, a Great Place to Work® survey, or another tool, the question is: Are you gathering the right data?...

Conscious Unbossing: Why Gen Z Is Saying “No Thanks” to Leadership Roles

According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2025, 80% of HR professionals lack confidence in their leadership pipelines. CEOs are just as concerned, ranking “developing the next generation of leaders” among their top four worries. Gen Z is shaking things up. They’re...

The Workplace Culture Model Every Leader Needs to Know

We all want a workplace where people feel seen, heard, and valued. But building that kind of culture takes more than good intentions and inspirational posters. It demands a clear-eyed look at how people behave, how leaders lead, and how the organization itself either...

From Desperation to Determination: Reflecting on 16 Years of Growth

I just got an email from a spammer offering SEO help for my very old website — www.NoWorkplaceBullies.com. I hadn’t thought about that site in ages, so I typed in the link... and there it was. The original website I built the day I started my business — though it...