The other day my nephew was showing me videos of this thing called a “demogorgon” on either TikTok or YouTube (he was scrolling so fast, it was impossible to tell). I’m not usually squeamish, but I found myself having a visceral reaction to it. Of course, he didn’t even notice, as he kept joyfully chatting away about how the slimy being he was showing me was actually a hybrid predatory creature from the Upside Down.
The stranger thing to me was how one word, “hybrid,” can have such different meanings.
For those of us who are out in the world adulting every day, the word “hybrid” induces a vision much more pleasing than the Venus flytrap-looking thing my nephew was showing me. In fact, “hybrid” has come to be associated with one of the greatest outcomes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic…
A flexible workplace that empowers employees and fosters mental health.
In addition to learning how a hybrid working environment benefits employees’ wellness, as a leader you can kickstart this initiative by bringing in a mental health motivational speaker for your next corporate event.
How Fostering a Hybrid Working Environment Benefits Employees’ Mental Health
During the pandemic we discovered that doing things the way they’ve always been done isn’t always optimal. Through innovation born out of necessity, we learned that creating a hybrid workplace is not only possible, it is beneficial. Leaders now have the opportunity to implement a workplace culture that fosters mental health and increases employee well-being.
There are many advantages of a hybrid working environment, and each one contributes in its own unique way toward increasing employees’ mental health in the workplace. By implementing the hybrid workforce ideas outlined below, you can demonstrate to your employees that their well-being matters to you.
Increased Productivity
Many businesses are adopting remote working in this post-pandemic culture, and while there are advantages to this, it can also lead to isolation and increased stress levels.
A great way to combat these issues is to instead foster a hybrid workforce that encourages interaction and collaboration between your team members, both in-person and virtually. One of the many benefits of hybrid working is increased employee productivity and mental well-being.
Nobody likes to feel alone.
When your employees have reasons to interact with colleagues on a daily basis, it builds relationships and trust, which are essential toward creating a productive work environment. This also leads to employees feeling supported, which in turn enhances motivation and engagement in their work. Encouraging regular face-to-face interactions can also reduce stress levels and promote a healthy work-life balance.
As you consider how to implement a hybrid working environment, you may want to hire a mental health motivational speaker to guide and support you and your team throughout the process. They can also elevate awareness of the importance of corporate mental health and provide practical tips for managing stress and building employee resilience.
Investing in the well-being and mental health of your employees shows them that they matter and creates a happier, healthier and more productive workforce.
Increased Self-Growth and Networking Opportunities
Another key advantage of hybrid working is how well it helps motivate employees. When your team is empowered to structure their days in a way that best meets their needs while still completing their tasks, they are much more likely to be productive and engaged in their work and less likely to get burned out by the same daily routine. I am still in awe at how much I can accomplish in the first few hours of the morning that used to be spent getting ready and commuting to work. It was a literal wake-up call to how productive I can be when I am empowered to maximize my time.
Another advantage of hybrid working is how it organically nurtures networking opportunities. We are no longer limited by geography when meeting new people and forging professional relationships. The possibilities opened up to us in a virtual world are boundless.
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to creating a work culture, the benefits of embracing a hybrid working environment are limitless. With the increased flexibility, your team can achieve harmony in their work-life balance, which will ultimately elevate the growth and success of your organization.
Reduced Stress Levels
Unless your job is to battle those creepy demogorgons my nephew terrifyingly imprinted forever into my mind, nobody needs to always feel stressed at work. As the leader, creating a flexible work schedule for your team gives them the freedom to build time for themselves into their day outside of work hours, leading to a healthy work-life balance.
To further enhance the benefits of hybrid working, you may want to consider offering stress management resources to your employees, such as on-site meditation or yoga classes or mental health assistance programs.
When you create a culture that supports employees’ mental health in the workplace, you are essentially helping to reduce your team’s stress levels and cultivate productivity and positivity.
Increased Work-Life Balance
Having a healthy work-life balance is vital to our overall well-being. If we begin to feel out of balance, or upside down, it’s time to evaluate if we have a healthy split between our work and personal lives. If the two aren’t perfectly in sync, it can lead to issues such as burnout, anxiety and even depression.
A wonderful way to create work-life balance in your organization is to establish a hybrid working environment. In this well-balanced environment, work and personal lives are not seen as separate entities, but rather a continuous flow. When work and personal life are intertwined, it is much easier to bring them into perfect alignment.
Some organizations have begun to allow employees to bring their beloved pets to work or set up childcare onsite so that they can interact with their children throughout the day. Others offer flexible work hours or allow employees to work from home on occasion. As you determine what approach works best for your team and organization, keep in mind that your goal should be to create an environment that is nurturing and supportive of your employees’ whole lives, not just their work life.
Improved Employee Satisfaction
When we are happy, it makes everything in life easier to manage. As a leader, you can cultivate this joy by ensuring your employees feel supported and comfortable at work. By establishing an environment where they feel safe to be themselves, share ideas and collaborate with colleagues, you are facilitating a culture of positive corporate mental health.
Implementing a hybrid workforce goes a long way toward nurturing happiness in your team. It allows your employees to fluctuate smoothly between the social interaction of working in the office surrounded by their colleagues and taking time to work remotely in order to focus on projects with limited distractions. Receiving the gift of freedom to work in the way that suits them best is incredibly rewarding for employees.
A hybrid work culture lends itself to improved communication and collaboration.
By bringing together employees from various locations, departments and backgrounds, you are fostering a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Sharing these different perspectives leads to elevated creativity and innovation, as well as improved problem-solving skills. Ultimately, creating a happy workplace has a remarkable impact on the overall positivity, productivity, engagement and well-being of your employees. This leads to decreased turnover and increased growth and success for your organization.
Improved Team Resilience
Resilience is the ability of individuals or systems to recover from, or adjust easily to, difficult conditions. It’s what enables us to “bounce forward” after a setback, and it is key to creating a workplace with happy, engaged and productive employees.
Creating resilience in the workplace allows teams to not only survive, but to thrive.
With a foundation of resilience to build from, employees can handle whatever comes their way. While there are many methods to instilling resilience in employees, one of the most important is work culture. A hybrid workplace — one that combines the best of both in-person and remote opportunities — will help teams be more resilient. Giving your employees flexibility allows them to feel less stressed and more ready to tackle challenges head on.
Additionally, a hybrid work culture can negate many of the environmental stressors and distractions we used to have no choice but to endure prior to the pandemic. Removing these obstacles will enable your team to have greater focus and be more productive.
Elevate the Benefits of Hybrid Working by Engaging a Mental Health Keynote Speaker
Show your team that their mental health is important to you, and that their well-being, both at work and at home, matters by hiring a mental health speaker to maximize the benefits of your hybrid workplace.
Right your employees’ upside down worlds and leave the stranger things behind by focusing on the incredible opportunities that arose out of the pandemic. Your employees (and their mental health) will be better because of it.
