Employee motivation is closely related to their well-being. To make sure your team is enthusiastic and committed, it is essential to know which holistic healthcare-based initiatives help build a stimulating work environment. Keep reading to find out more!
First, it is important to identify the two types of work motivation that exist. On the one hand, we have intrinsic motivation –the source of which is personal satisfaction– and it is associated with a person’s ability to perform a task successfully. On the other hand, we have extrinsic motivation, which is based on external recognition.
To understand the mechanisms that boost motivation in both cases, companies must adopt a holistic perspective that considers every aspect of employees’ well-being. This will make it easier to understand how and why they set objectives, why they strive to reach certain milestones or in which situations they experience negative emotions such as fear and stress.
This approach provides a deeper understanding of employees’ concerns and needs, which are key aspects when building a health and wellness plan that boosts team satisfaction and motivation. It is particularly relevant against the current backdrop, as today, 58% of employees say they are less productive than before the pandemic, according to our Cigna Covid-19 Global Impact Study.1 This is partly because workers’ lives are now more complicated, with new concerns that affect their daily work.
In light of this situation, promoting employees’ holistic health and well-being is a good starting point for achieving maximum motivation. But which initiatives help to create a work environment that is conducive to this? At Cigna, we have a few suggestions:
- Be transparent when revealing the company’s roadmap and its new objectives
Motivation is a vital resource that allows us to adapt, function productively and maintain our well-being. To increase motivation in uncertain times, it is important to place employee well-being at the centre of your business purpose and send out a message of assurance and stability. It is essential to prepare a long-term plan to define the pillars of the company’s transformation. Employees can then visualise which steps the company is going to take to achieve stability. This type of initiative helps assure employees and prevent common problems in such circumstances, like stress or anxiety.
- Focus on the team’s mental healthcare
The uncertainty surrounding the current situation has a direct impact on employees’ mental health. Investing in tools at a corporate level that provide support in this area, both for staff and their families, is a great idea. Providing employees with access to Global Telehealth solutions, such as the Cigna Wellbeing App™, could be instrumental, as they bridge the gap between employees and health professionals who can help resolve any problems. They also encourage employees to adopt healthy habits that are based on good emotional management. Having control over their health, anytime and anywhere, helps improve employee satisfaction and well-being.
It is important to remember that one of the main advantages of Global Telehealth solutions is their flexibility to overcome health issues anytime and anywhere, awarding employees greater control and autonomy over their health. It is also easy to extend this service to employees’ family members to look after their family’s health and enjoy greater peace of mind.
- Defining a business culture based on trust and communication
According to the Workplace practices unlocking employee potential report by Eurofound2, autonomy and problem-solving help enhance employee motivation. This publication considers autonomy as the freedom an employee has when deciding when to initiate tasks, the order of tasks, the tools to use and how to use them.
Combining autonomy with the ability to solve problems –which relates to how employees find effective solutions to worked-related challenges– improves job satisfaction and, by extension, their well-being and motivation.
This flexibility is possible when managers trust that staff have the information, knowledge and know-how to make decisions and act in the company’s best interest. That is why it is crucial to promote two-way communication within the company. In doing so, everyone will see their voice heard, and the company can clearly convey what it is going to do to improve employees’ quality of life.
- Strengthening employees’ emotional connection with the company
In an increasingly remote and virtual environment, leaders must take responsibility for business results and their employees’ energy and mood. It is, therefore, vital to know how to transmit values, such as the company’s firm commitment to its employees’ physical, mental and emotional well-being. This perspective will promote a sense of belonging among staff at a time when the risk of isolation and loneliness remains high, which can result in a lack of motivation.
Every day, companies like Cigna are working to help businesses of all sizes invest in wellness as a key aspect of their corporate culture. As the pandemic continues to play a major role in the population’s well-being, Cigna has adapted its health solutions throughout Europe to new expectations and current needs using a holistic approach (Whole Health). The objective is to provide businesses with all the tools they need to make their employees’ experience great, helping them adapt to change and boosting motivation and job satisfaction to achieve improved well-being.
For more information on Whole Health and everything that Cigna can do to look after you and your employees’ health, please visit our Whole Health Hub.
Sources:
1 Cigna COVID-19 Global Impact Study. Positivity around Vaccine Roll-Out and Anticipated Approval Leads Improved Perceptions on Whole Health. Link
2 Eurofound. Workplace practices unlocking employee potential. Link
