Taking Action on the Impact of Covid on Health and Wellbeing at Work

The UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) conducts an annual ‘Health and Wellbeing at Work’ Survey.  The Report from the 2021 survey has highlighted that the Covid pandemic has had “a dramatic impact on organisations, prompting them to transform their working practices on an unprecedented scale to look after people’s health, safety and wellbeing”. 

The Report notes that “Enforced homeworking during the pandemic has led to tensions between work and family responsibilities. Remote working can also exacerbate feelings of isolation and contribute to a deterioration in work–life balance”.  It notes that “organisations need to put in place a systematic framework, with tools to assess the main physical and psychological risks to people’s health, so that they can target their activity where it’s needed”.

^{Now, more than ever, we need leaders who show compassion and actively foster a culture that engenders trust and kindness.} 

The report emphasises that “now, more than ever, we need leaders who show compassion and actively foster a culture that engenders trust and kindness”. Whilst acknowledging that there is evidence of more focus on health and wellbeing, it notes that “there are still far too few organisations equipping line managers with the knowledge and skills to support people’s health effectively” and that “to perform their role effectively, managers need the behaviours, education and capability they will only gain from receiving the right training, support and expert guidance”.

^{What can Functional Fluency do for leaders?}

Functional Fluency is an invaluable model for leaders to enhance awareness and understanding of themselves and their impact on others, helping to better balance positive guiding and directing and responding to people’s needs.  The Functional Fluency model provides a practical framework for changing how we behave – to use less energy on what doesn’t work for us, and more energy on  what works well.

The most potent way to use the Functional Fluency model effectively is by undertaking a TIFF^© personal development profile.  TIFF^© is the international award-winning, personal development tool based on the Functional Fluency model.  It is used by trained, licensed Providers worldwide.

Through a greater understanding of themselves and how their behaviour impacts on others, TIFF^© enables leaders to:

• Listen actively and articulate needs considerately, so avoiding misunderstandings.
• Support and empower others.
• Care without becoming worn out.
• Become more objective, confident and relaxed as a manager.

TIFF^© also brings great benefits to whole groups and teams.  It offers:

• A common language to enable challenging conversations.
• An atmosphere of trust and cooperation that optimises individual and team strengths.
• A positive group process for the development of high performing, can-do teams.
• Enhanced morale, bringing greater commitment and loyalty to the organisation.

Jane Hicks (2021)