When the pressure comes on, employees, managers and leaders’ well being is affected negatively. This hits the bottom line of any company, so the need to create high performance is critical for positive business outcomes. 

In a survey completed in the last week of March 2020 of the US working population over the age of 18, compared to a survey completed in the first half of October 2020. Gallup found the following from a sample that are working full time.

• Employees are Thriving 7% less and Struggling 8% more. 

When asked what they were mostly feeling yesterday…

• Enjoyment was down from 81% to 60%, a drop of -21%
• Worry was up from 37% to 60%, an increase of 23%
• Stress was up from 48% to 65%, an increase of 17% 

It is leadership that is going to turn these numbers around by taking care of the financial and physical well being of their people. The most urgent discovery of Gallups that Leadership needs to know right now is that the world is demanding that institutions and leadership lead with…

1. Trust 
2. Stability
3. Compassion
4. Hope

The 4 Critical Things Within The Organisations

This can be driven by leadership making sure the following 4 critical things are in place within their organisations.

Have a Clear Plan of Action – Over the month of March US employees have registered that this metric has increased from 37% to 52% that they strongly agree. There is still a lot of room for improvement in the US. How clear is your plan?

Prepare your Employees – Half of US employees strongly agree they are well prepared (54%) to do their work. The key is to train your managers to take care of your employees well. Make sure people in their teams are playing to their strengths, these are identified through the Fingerprint for Success predictive analytics online platform. That expectations are set, that they have the tools to succeed, and that managers and great coaches helping them to see how their role fits into the big picture. 

Frontline Communication – Managers’ communication to their teams and informing the organisation’s response clearly on the frontline is critical. Managers must have the power to make decisions in the moment, align expectations and coach people holding them highly accountable for top performance. The metric that US employees strongly agree has increased from 47% to 54% over the month of March.

Leaders care for employees Well Being – Now that people are working from home and their private and professional lives are on top of each other more than ever before it is creating high levels of stress, negatively affecting employee Well Being. Gallup suggests there are 5 elements of Well Being the companies can act on. I will address these in a future vlog or blog. The bottom line is this metric peaked at 52% in the middle of March and is currently at 49.1% that US employees strongly agree that their organisation is taking care of their Well Being. 

How are you handling these key metrics to establish yourself as a leader that is driving the values that matter most to employees in times of crisis?