The Three Pillars of Workplace Well-Being

Now more than ever, organizations have a responsibility to support the well-being of their people. This starts with understanding what well-being is and how it is cultivated.

While wellness is defined as “the state of being in good health,” well-being is a whole-person approach to how we bring ourselves to work, and ultimately to the world. Study after study shows that employee engagement, an index of well-being, is not just a nice-to-have. It is a business necessity. 

Well-being is built upon three pillars. Without any one pillar, well-being would collapse. The first two pillars of well-being are mental health and physical health. We all know the implications of physical health on a workforce and I’ve been encouraged by how organizations are supporting the mental health of their employees through the pandemic. But there is a third critical component of workplace well-being that isn’t being talked about: relational health. 

Relational health is essential to well-being, yet it is often overlooked. It is also the pillar which the pandemic has hit directly, as we have had fewer opportunities to cultivate relational health with important stay at home protocols and physical distancing. Even mask wearing, a critical part of keeping us all safe, has created barriers to connection and communication since we are not able to read faces as readily.  

Relational health is the focus of my work as an organizational psychologist and Certified Gottman Therapist. It is my unwavering believe that you can’t have a healthy workforce without healthy workplace relationships.

Let’s take a closer look at the three pillars of workplace well-being.

Physical Health

This is health in the most traditional sense. People can’t bring the best of themselves to work when they’re sick. Organizations can support the physical health of their employees right now by offering the option to work remotely if possible, as well as by offering healthcare benefits and paid sick leave. If employees are coming into the office, employers can take extra precautions such as regularly sanitizing public surfaces, limiting the size of groups, and providing regular COVID-19 testing.

Mental Health

There’s no denying the fact the pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental and emotional health of employees. After months of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty, people are starting to hit a wall and, in some cases, feel walled in. Organizations need to go beyond just talking about practicing self-care. They need to enable their employees to do so. They can do this by offering mental health days and greater access to mental health benefits that cover things like virtual therapy, online courses, and apps.

Relational Health

Relational health is critical to workplace well-being. When there are dysfunctional relationships, poor communication, and competing agendas, the company can’t grow and it can’t survive. Organizations can support the relational health of their employees by offering relationship skills training and adding a Chief Relationship Officer to their leadership team.

As you can see, these three pillars of workplace well-being do not exist independently from one another. Dozens of studies have shown that people who have social support are happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer. Published as part of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch, one study on over 300,000 people found that lack of strong relationships increased the risk of premature death from all causes by 50%—an effect roughly comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and greater than obesity and physical inactivity.

On the other hand, poor relational health can lead to disrupted sleep patterns, elevated blood pressure, and increased cortisol (a stress hormone). It can affect your immune system and decrease your overall sense of contentment. Loneliness is also a risk factor for antisocial behavior, depression, and suicide. 

Without relational health and overall workplace well-being organizations are not only not optimizing productivity, but this lack of attention is directly contributing to increased absenteeism and decreased retention rates – a loss for the individual and the organization. 

Indeed, relationship health is a key pillar in and of itself, but it’s also where solutions can be found to help both physical and mental health. Just like the mind-body connection where our mental health affects our physical health and our physical health affects our mental health, so too does relational health impact both physical health and mental health. 

Whether onsite or remote, we often spend more time with our colleagues than we do with our own families—so isn’t it time that we intentionally cultivate these relationships, too?