(PR in) HR Pulse | HR New Round-up: 11th November
Photo by NMG Network on Unsplash
Strong Corporate Cultures See a Rise in Financial and Environmental Performance
New research from Durham University Business School led by Dr Mabel Costa with Dr Solomon Opare of Massey University, reveals that a strong culture can boost environmental performance, plus there are with financial advantages to be gained.
Dr Costa explains “A report published by The Lancet Planetary Health cites that air, water and toxic chemical pollution causes up to nine million premature deaths every year,” highlighting the importance for companies to be more ethically responsible.
The study, published in the Journal of Business Ethics, shows that the link between culture and performance is driven by two factors:
1. Managers that make a conscious effort to reduce their environmental impact through greener ways of operation, often garnering a strong culture and staff engagement.
2. Investment in environmentally friendly technologies and promoting ethical business processes often encourages investment from stakeholders. Businesses on the other end of the spectrum, creating environmental harm come under greater scrutiny costing them investment alongside financial fines and reputational damage.
The most effective mechanisms for improving environmental performance were innovation, quality and teamwork. Organisations fostering these values stand to make the most gains.
Alongside these values, managerial competence helps to amplify and reinforce the positive impacts beyond mere compliance.
“Our results reveal that firms with strong corporate cultures and leadership endorse ethical behaviour, and as a result exert greater efforts to reduce both the expected and excess toxic chemical release, thereby improving both overall environmental and financial performance,” says Dr Costa.
MAD World shows the importance of collaboration between employers, employees and sector providers
As a long term participant in the wellbeing, employee benefit and HR sector, Kay was asked by the editor of MAD World to write about her perspective of the October conference. Here’s her view:
Is burnout an employee’s responsibility?
A It was a point, interestingly made, from a member of the audience at a MAD World panel session about meeting the increasing need for personalised mental support. The suggestion was that burnout could be supported with a combination of time management, workload and efficiency. So, would helping employees to work more efficiently be a good use of HR time?
A poll in the room showed ‘workload’ was a major concern when it comes to effectively managing mental health problems at work.
Shamira Graham, Chief Commercial Officer and Principal CBT Therapist at corporate mental health provider Onebright said:
“If someone’s mental health isn’t good, or is getting worse, then their cognitive ability will reduce. Their attention will diminish, as will their concentration and productivity. A task that could take three hours to complete will take longer if mental health is compromised”.
Employers are rightly in the spotlight when it comes to burnout, and employees have their role to play too, but what about vendors and suppliers to the sector?
Another panel discussion, on creating informed and effective wellbeing strategies, highlighted the support available to buyers, with clear messages for the providers too.
The upshot, in my book, is was that providers need to be true partners to employers and need to be willing to work with the organisation to evaluate their impact on outcomes, and on top of that, have a willingness to adapt their offerings to fit organisational needs and a diverse workforce.
This partnership boils down to flexibility, a collaborative approach to support an organisation’s wellbeing goals, along with sector knowledge, rather than just showing up as vendors trying to make a sale.
These all go some way to build trust, at a time when trust has never been needed more.
Unhealthy Workplaces - Should employers be fined?
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a think-tank, believes regulatory action should be taken against firms that fail to provide healthy working conditions.
It has recommended businesses support their employees to lead healthier lifestyles though the provision of subsidised nutritious food and that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) hold employers accountable if they have low levels of workforce attrition due to employee ill-health.
The idea behind these changes is to help reduce the rising levels of obesity, anxiety and depression amongst the UK workforce.
Two experts, Cary Cooper and Tracey Paxton, argue the suggestions made by the IPPR:
Cary Cooper, Professor of organisational psychology and health at Manchester Business School, is in favour of incentivising organisations to invest in healthy workplaces.
There are currently 2.8 million people in the UK that are off work with long-term sickness, and 53% of these are suffering from stress, anxiety and depression.
With a duty of care to employees, Cooper believes more training for managers to promote healthy living will reduce the number of people getting ill.
Cooper agrees nutrition is a difficult area to control. Organisations can create a healthy food environment by altering their on-site offering, but ultimately, it’s a personal issue and you cannot force people to eat healthily.
Cooper says “Business leaders should remember that looking after employee health and wellbeing will improve productivity in the long run.” Ultimately, it’s a bottom-line issue for businesses.
Tracey Paxton, Clinical Director at Perkbox Vivup (one of PR in HR's clients), doesn’t believe fines for unhealthy workplaces should be introduced as wellbeing could become a tick-box exercise. She believes “focusing on education and awareness, rather than fines, is a more proactive and preventative approach.”
With high-levels of poor mental-health and inadequate physical environments, fining employers for systemic factors contributing to these, could make the situation worse by adding to the already heavy workloads.
She says “Providing employers with resources, training and assistance, such as collaborative initiatives or partnerships with health professionals, would be a more effective way to improve workplace health in the long term.”
Paxton suggests some good ideas to help workplaces, such as expanding the role of the HSE, using comprehensive awareness campaigns, using supportive audits or working with regulatory bodies to advocate for mental health and wellbeing programmes in order to “foster a cooperative relationship and ensure sustainable, long-term improvements in employee health and productivity.”