How to manage the well-being of your company and encourage a positive culture

Tia Graham is an international speaker, author, and consultant on positive psychology. She has worked with dozens of global companies, such as Goldman Sachs, Hilton Hotels, and Hewlett Packard, to elevate employee engagement and drive bottom-line results. Prior to founding her company, Arrive at Happy, she led teams at luxury hotels in the United States and Europe for brands such as W Hotels, Westin, and The London. With multiple certifications in neuroscience, positive psychology, employee retention, and over 14 years of leadership experience, business leaders widely regard Tia. Her insights have been featured in major media, such as CNN, Forbes, and Fast Company, to name a few. Her new book, Be a Happy Leader, teaches her proprietary 8-step methodology on driving productivity and business growth through a culture of happiness.

Employee Well-Being 

"Your energy is contagious."

In the constantly evolving world of work, employees have different expectations; therefore, prioritizing and focusing on well-being is essential. According to Graham, “From my point of view, employees, as well as executives and organizations responsibility to manage well-being. “It’s not the role of HR to only care about how people are doing. It is the all-c-suite executive’s job to see that all of these factors remain top of mind,” notes Graham. 

Leader Well-Being 

“The world of leadership is undergoing a seismic shift, but there are important strategies and tactics to boost and maintain employee happiness, as well as how it can be taught.” According to Graham, it’s imperative that leaders learn and invest in this area if they want to reduce or avoid unwanted turnover with high engagement and productivity. 

Being a leader can be overwhelming, but there are some key ways to stop being overwhelmed. Such as:

• Getting enough sleep, at least seven hours at night. 
• Exercising at least four times a week.
• Eating healthy foods.
• Having proactive stress-managing strategies, which can also look like:
  • Having a meditation practice
  • Spending time in nature
  • Detoxing from technology 
  • Having an active present strategy
  • Volunteering or helping others
  • Taking five to ten-minute breaks throughout the day or in between meetings. 

Practicing these strategies helps calm your nervous system and remain steady throughout the day. 

Umbrella of Well-Being 

Graham emphasizes that well-being has a multi-prong approach, which executives need to consider when looking into the well-being of their company. 

• Financial well-being, which makes sure employees are paid well and have the opportunity to pay their bills. 
• Emotional well-being makes sure there are more positive emotions at work versus not. 
• Intellectual well-being ensures that people can learn and grow to advance in their careers. 
• Relational well-being indicates positive and caring relationships with managers, executives, and coworkers.