Our survey says…

February 28, 2012

The ONS results of the national well-being survey come out today, reflecting responses given between April and September 2011. The released results include a focus on one particular domain that is being measured, in this case, relationships. Overall the findings were very positive, and on average people scored satisfaction with relationships with family, friends and colleagues at 8.3 out of 10.

We know that quality relationships are very important to well-being and vital for staving off the risks of loneliness. Drawing on social support is also one of four components of personal resilience, alongside adaptability, confidence and sense of purpose.

Interestingly, our own research has shown a correlation between age and the number of people who draw on social support as their primary source of resilience. The dependence on social support was higher among those born in the 1940s, fell during the subsequent three decades, then rose again for those born in the 1980s and 1990s.

Whether this is a linked to a rise in social networking, which allows – and to some extent, expects – us to stay in touch with people, remains to be proven. But I was glad to see the figures show that the number of people spending time with friends or family ‘every day or most days’ have both increased by 5% since 2007 – we are still meeting up in ‘real life’! Let’s hope these positive figures aren’t eroded by increasing workloads and job uncertainty, as employers recognise their responsibility for helping employees maintain a healthy work life balance for the sake of their personal relationships.

Click here to complete Robertson Cooper’s free i-resilience questionnaire – find out where you draw your natural resilience from and how to develop it.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Do leaders and managers care about the well-being of their team members?

February 24, 2012

Research by the British Heart Foundation this week reveals that one third of people think their bosses don’t care about their well-being. But as with so many of these surveys, the results leave me wanting to ask more questions! And the main one here is, what is the leader’s perspective on this? Do they really not care? I think there are a number of possibilities at play:

1. They really don’t care.
There are undoubtedly some nightmare bosses out there, those who think people should ‘just get on with it’, or who don’t understand anyone that works in a different style to themselves. But I’d like to think this isn’t the case for two thirds of people! What is possible is that they’re so busy struggling with their own demands they don’t see the impact they’re having on their teams. In these cases they just need more support themselves. And even if they really just ‘don’t care’, you can still appeal to the bottom line; improving well-being will help their team to perform better – which reflects well on them!

2. They don’t know how to care.
By this, I mean that they don’t realise what they can do to impact on employee well-being, or think it is just the responsibility of the employee themselves. Only one in three private sector organisations have a well-being strategy in place and although this rises to two in three for the public sector, it still suggests that the organisation are unlikely to be doing enough to support managers in this area. There are tools available which can uncover how a manager’s style affects their workgroup. It’s best to build this understanding around a framework such as the 6 Essentials of workplace well-being, which break down the areas of impact to make them more accessible.

3. They do care, but this isn’t well communicated to employees.
Employers can be doing a lot to try to improve employee well-being but if it’s not well communicated it will be impossible for the individual or the organisation to reap the rewards. Leaders and managers should seek to help this communication process, and employees need to take the opportunities up! And if the employees are right, and one in three leaders don’t care about well-being, then that still leaves two out of three that do. This success needs to be recognised and shared throughout the organisation and across to others in order to change the culture.

Finally, both employees and managers need to remember that achieving true well-being requires a balance of challenge and support – it’s not just about being ‘nice’ all the time!

To find out more about how managers and employees can take action to improve well-being, read this free chapter from the Business Well-Being Network annual report: ‘Robertson Cooper’s 6 Essentials of workplace well-being‘.

1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Guest blog spot – Nick Hayter

February 22, 2012

Recruiting for resilience

The stacks are set against any student considering an application to Ernst & Young (EY); they are one of over 18,000 applicants for just 1,500 graduate roles or internships. Needless to say, academic credentials are not enough to secure a job offer, because plenty of other candidates possess way more than the prerequisite exam results. So, what differentiates the best candidates? Interestingly, it’s not necessarily what the students themselves consider to be their strengths…

A recent study, led by the Centre of Applied Positive Psychology (Capp), asked over 1,000 UK university students to rate their strengths. Resilience was amongst the weakest. But, resilience is considered a crucial element for a successful placement at EY, so says Stephen Isherwood, head of graduate recruitment, “the candidates who end up with job offers also demonstrate determination and resilience, and are able to work hard and thrive in difficult situations.”

This situation is not limited to EY, or even to graduate recruitment – in the current job market, most adverts will be oversubscribed with candidates who meet the academic or technical requirements. Employers are therefore looking for people that have all-round skills and are able to demonstrate that they will face-up to the challenges of the role. The good news for employers is that resilience can be measured; and the good news for job applicants is that resilience can be developed.

Using i-resilience, we support organisations to measure state-based resilience as well as the natural strengths of candidates or employees. Individuals can also use this free tool to better understand what they naturally draw on to help them recover from setbacks or keep persevering in the face of tough challenges. Click here to use i-resilience, or for more information about using the tool when recruiting, email me at nick.hayter@robertsoncooper.com

1 Comment | Personal Resilience, Recruitment and Selection | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

It’s never too early to get engaged

February 17, 2012

Successful restaurant chain, Yo! Sushi, has ambitious plans to double their number of outlets over the next year. It’s great to hear about growth at a time when so many companies are struggling, and what’s really admirable about their approach is the recognition of the importance of employee engagement. 25% of their staff will be taking part in a three day consultation with the executive board on the company’s culture and how they can ‘wow’ customers. Yo! Sushi obviously identify with the ‘satisfaction mirror’ concept, and understand that this wow factor relies on a happy, healthy workforce.

Another thing I like about this story is that they are starting this from existing high levels of employee engagement. It’s not about an emergency response to a problem, but about maintaining these high levels and developing a firm cultural foundation from which to grow.

I’m not sure how many of the Sunday Times 100 fastest growing companies are taking this pro-active approach, but they’d do well to take note. It can be easy to just ‘muddle through’ when you’re dealing with rapid success and your priorities are (understandably) meeting commitments to existing clients while taking on new ones, ensuring cash flow, recruiting new staff and so on. But if you can take a step back you’re in a unique position to develop the culture you want right from the start. I’m sure there are many engagement and well-being specialists in large organisations who would love the chance to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch!

Click below to hear Jamie Mitchell, former MD of Innocent drinks, talking at the Business Well-Being Network Annual Conference about how they coped with their growth spurt.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Skills under-utilisation and missed opportunities

February 15, 2012

As unemployment continues to rise the need to reverse the trend becomes ever more pressing. For many, any job would be a welcome one, for financial reasons, but also to break a spell of long term unemployment which results in low levels of confidence.

But taking ‘any’ job increases the likelihood of skills under-utilisation; and according to a recent publication by The Work Foundation this is a particular problem in the UK, especially among low-wage workers.

The situation has developed as a result of both demand side factors (poor skills utilisation due to job design and corporate strategies) and the supply side issues (with skills gaps among the labour force) – but it’s the former that is the faster growing problem.

Although the short term benefits of finding a job are obvious and welcome, the long term implications of under-utilisation are a risk to the well-being of the individual, the performance of organisations and therefore the strength of the wider economy. For the individual, skills under-utilisation is often a result of organisational structure, with a sharp polarisation between high skilled and low skilled jobs. For the low skilled, this often manifests itself as a lack of autonomy and poor job conditions – two of the six key drivers of employee well-being.

At the higher level, better utilisation of skills could help to close the gap between the productivity levels of the UK and its competitor countries. Organisations that restrict an employee’s ability to utilise their full skill set are failing to take advantage of a considerable source of competitive advantage which already exists within the business.

In a month when firms like AstraZeneca and Nokia are announcing redundancies, and the likes of McDonalds and Starbucks are the ones increasing their workforces, this issue looks set to become increasingly relevant.

For a full exploration of the issues please see ‘The Skills Dilemma: Skills Under-Utilisation and Low-Wage Work’ produced for The Work Foundation by Jonny Wright and Paul Sissons.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Teaching failure

February 8, 2012

I read earlier this week that a top girls school is introducing a ‘failure week’, to help their pupils get used to the idea that it is normal to make mistakes and that some risks should be taken, with the aim of building resilience. This is a valuable lesson, particularly for those so used to succeeding that the prospect of failure can become quite scary.

The importance of this was also highlighted in another recent article, about American entrepreneurship. One of the reasons put forward for the US spirit of entrepreneurship is that this lesson is more easily learnt – that failure is deemed almost a necessary step on the path to success. I think this approach, and what the school is trying to teach, is much healthier than the alternative. It means people won’t hold back for fear of failure, nor is failure likely to feel as devastating. By experiencing only success even the thought of failure can cause disproportionate, and restrictive, panic.

Trying your very best and something not working out is obviously different to failure as a result of lack of effort! But schools and businesses should prepare their pupils and employees for the former if they want them to reach their potential.

For Guardian coverage of Robertson Cooper helped Winstanley College to develop resilient pupils, click here.

2 Comments | Personal Resilience, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Dying regrets

February 3, 2012

I’m afraid this blog may seem a little morbid for a Friday, but an article this week brought back to me how important getting the work-life balance right really is.  A palliative nurse has written a book which talks about the regrets she has discussed with those nearing the end of their lives.  Number two was ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’.

Of course people recognise that for most of us work is a necessary part of life – and several research projects have shown that it is better for our health than unemployment.  In the moment we justify that we have to work, for financial security, or we assume that ‘ambitious’ should be a permanent state.

The alternative does not have to be no work at all, or working only enough to maintain a ‘minimum’ living standard.  What we should be considering is not necessarily working less, but working better. This might mean flexible working to allow people to make parent’s evening, a special birthday, or just be home in time for dinner; offered within a culture where people feel able to take advantage.  Unfortunately, many organisations and individuals are not open enough to new ways of working, or cannot see the wood for the trees when mid-career.

There’s a second strand to this as well, and that’s about creating ‘good work’, work that is purposeful and that promotes a sense of achievement.  Yes, work might still get in the way of life, but if it also enriches us as individuals (as well as having positive knock on effects), it won’t feel so much like something that ‘got in the way’.

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the relationship between happiness and wealth, this kind of evidence suggests that we need to work on getting our priorities straight before it’s too late.

Leave a Comment » | job satisfaction, Uncategorized, Work-life balance | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.