Career well-being is not often discussed, but it's crucial for the overall wellness of your staff and business. After all, it's been tied to numerous health, social, family, job, and economic benefits! Boosting career well-being is an initiative that takes time and effort, but it ultimately helps your staff thrive by making work (and progression) something they're excited to do.
Career well-being is a bit of a challenge in any workplace, and it can be surprisingly tricky even when you're working with an in-office workforce. After all, factors like commutes, closed office plans, and a lack of work-life balance can make feeling holistically "well" at work an uphill battle. Take a look at some of our top tips to boost the career well-being of your remote employees.
1. Get To Know Everyone
Part of creating a positive culture and work environment that your staff wants to be part of is getting to know each person individually. Factors like empathy and communication are drastically affected by your connection with your staff and their connections with each other.
"Facilitating conversations and casual meetings where your staff gets to know each other can boost the career well-being of your employees. It means you're creating a workplace where they feel safe and cared for," says Andrew Meyer, CEO of Arbor. "Get creative with icebreakers or have people send funny pictures of their pets to get the conversation flowing."
While individual connection is a bit trickier between lower-level employees and higher-ups, building personal relationships is still a vital part of boosting the career well-being of your entire workforce.
2. Help Them Identify Strengths
Pay attention to your staff and let them know you see the things they're doing well. Strengths should be valued in the workplace and can benefit your staff's progress if they're aware of them.
"Our aim is to foster an environment that respects, nurtures, and empowers our employees in every aspect of their lives, enabling them to reach their highest potential personally and professionally," says Allan Winters, Chief People Person at Teleperformance.
Just because someone has a certain talent doesn't mean they view it as a professional strength for their career path. Help them see the value in their knowledge and abilities while encouraging them in the process.
3. Assist Staff With Defining Goals
Goal-setting can be a challenge. Your employees need to know how to set goals with short- and long-term aspirations. Offering your assistance can encourage them to explore professional development options to reach their goals while doing their best for your business.
"Setting goals is easier for some staff than others," says Datha Santomieri, Co-Founder and Vice-President of Steadily, a company that specializes in landlord insurance. "It can be hard to have these conversations because many staff members fear sharing lofty goals with their employers."
There's a misconception that if you tell your employer you have goals or dreams outside of the organization, you'll lose your job, but that's not the case. If your employer reacts poorly to your goals, that's typically a sign you're not at the right organization.
4. Promote Work-Life Integration
Work-life balance has always been a hot topic, but in the current age, the concept of work-life integration is gaining traction. It's about merging work and personal life in ways that allow them to complement, rather than compete with, each other.
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, once said, "It's not about the balance of work and life; it's about the integration."
By encouraging employees to blend their personal passions with their professional lives, employers can cultivate a more satisfied and motivated workforce. A seamless integration can lead to a richer life experience, where work and personal passions feed off each other.
5. Provide Professional Development Opportunities
Professional development is an opportunity for you to help your employees feel like their career well-being is a priority for you. This development can take on a variety of appearances depending on your staff and the type of professional or occupational development you want to offer.
"Professional development covers a wide range of opportunities," says Marcus Hutsen, Business Development Manager of Patriot Coolers. "You could have someone join a virtual meeting to share their expertise and wisdom with your staff, or you could allow for professional development days where your staff complete courses or programs to earn certificates and qualifications."
Exploring the options of professional development and how it relates to your staff's goals can help you make the decision about where and how to invest in this opportunity.
6. Look for Internal Advancement Options
As you get to know your staff more, you'll likely see some employees start to grow in their positions so much that they're going to run out of room for advancement in their current roles. In this case, you can look for internal advancement or promotion opportunities. Often, hiring and promoting internally is much easier than hiring someone from the outside.
"Advancing your current staff can help promote the idea of growth and payoff for hard work in your company," says Suze Dowling, Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Onsen, a company known for their luxurious Waffle Towel. "Creating a company culture with a growth mindset can boost your employees' career well-being by helping them set goals and work toward them to move up the ladder."
Advance your current staff whenever possible by providing opportunities for skill growth in current positions.
7. Provide Mental Health Resources
Many employers forget about the mental health of their staff. One of the downsides of closed office floor plans or cubicles is the fact that you don't always see your employees face-to-face except in meetings or passing greetings, so you may not notice when someone is struggling. Putting on a happy face for a 30-minute meeting is easier than an eight-hour workday.
"Providing mental health resources and encouraging your staff to take advantage of them can tremendously improve their career well-being," says Cody Candee, Founder and CEO of Bounce. "Mental well-being goes hand in hand with career well-being because it directly affects the attitude and motivation of your staff."
Even in the office, work can be isolating—check in with your staff regularly and remind them to take care of themselves outside of work.
8. Promote Physical Wellness
Like mental health, physical wellness is another important factor in boosting the career well-being of your employees. Because many employees commute long distances and may have little free time during the week, there's a chance they're not prioritizing their physical well-being. From eating to exercising, many habits change when you work in-office.
"There are so many physical wellness programs for workplaces to participate in," says Shaunak Amin, CEO and Co-Founder of SnackMagic. "While you can't force people to join, it's an opportunity to encourage your staff to prioritize their physical wellness by providing opportunities to exercise within their existing working schedules."
Additionally, it's wise to remind your staff to maintain their annual wellness exams and screenings, which is another way to show that you care.
9. Encourage and Appreciate
Encouraging and appreciating your staff can take many different forms. Knowing your staff well can help you do better at providing encouragement to each individual on your team.
"Shooting a quick email of appreciation, mentioning someone's progress in a meeting, or sending an e-gift card can be effective and well-received tokens of appreciation," says Jessica Nosike, Director of Marketing at Black Girl Vitamins. "Especially at larger companies, employees often feel disconnected and unappreciated because they only interact with a small number of people within a much larger pond."
Bridge this gap by making appreciation and encouragement a regular part of your routine.
10. Give Leadership Opportunities
Leadership greatly helps with career advancement and individual confidence. Giving your employees leadership opportunities can be a fantastic way to boost the career well-being of your employees by giving them an outlet to exercise a skill area they don't often utilize.
"Leadership opportunities can look different for each workplace, but the goal is the same," says Greg Hannley, Founder and CEO of Soba Texas. "You want to give your staff a growth opportunity to extend their wings and try something new."
Leadership could involve leading others, self-leadership practice, or a combination of the two.
11. Find Ways To Make Work Fun
Learning what excites your staff about their job can help you make their job something they're excited to do each and every day. While everyone has a few things about their job that they could live without, if there is at least one exciting thing for your staff to look forward to doing each day, that can help boost their overall career well-being.
"While working in-office is great, it can become monotonous due to the nature of staying at your desk all day," says Maria Shriver, CEO of MOSH. "Try to incorporate fun projects or work in areas of interest for your staff."
Getting to know your staff's personalities and aspirations can help you boost their career well-being and result in great work because your staff is excited to be working on a project that aligns with their interests.
12. Encourage Continuous Learning
In a rapidly changing world, employees often find fulfillment in continuous learning, keeping up with trends and advancements. This not only promotes personal growth but also ensures that your workforce remains competitive.
As Alvin Toffler, the renowned author and futurist, once observed, "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
Encouraging courses, webinars, or workshops related to their fields can significantly bolster career well-being. It fosters a culture of innovation and adaptation, ensuring that employees not only survive but thrive in their respective roles.
Inspire Your Workforce
Boosting the career well-being of your employees is vital for workplaces. Because getting to know your staff is more difficult, this process must be highly intentional.
Learning to lead intentionally toward career well-being can benefit your workplace culture and the overall well-being of everyone involved with your company. These tips and tricks can help boost the career well-being of your employees and inspire you to make changes to better your virtual workplace.
