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Below you'll find a brief summary of our conversation with Geert Serneels. You can listen to the full episode via Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
About Geert Serneels (and Marc Vande Gucht)
Geert and Marc are co-authors of the book 'Collega in hoofd en hart, waarderend leidinggeven op de werkvloer' ('Colleague in mind and heart, appreciative leadership in the workplace'). A book about mental wellbeing in the workplace, offering managers practical, concrete tools to build a good relationship with their employees and, in doing so, create a positive work environment.
Geert is the managing director of Case by Case and has worked for years as a consultant for small and larger companies, both nationally and internationally. He strongly believes that everyone has multiple strengths to draw on.
Marc Vande Gucht is the founder of the fund 'Ga voor Geluk' ('Go for Happiness'), a fund for parents who have lost their child to suicide. Unfortunately, Marc has first-hand experience in this area, as he himself lost his daughter to suicide about fifteen years ago. This partly formed the basis of the book, since Marc has focused strongly on people's mental wellbeing ever since losing his daughter.
Marc was unable to attend at the time of the podcast, and Geert was kind enough to speak with us on behalf of both of them.
Take charge of your own career and wellbeing
We already talked about this earlier with Lesley Arens from #ZigZagHR in our seventh podcast that employees are responsible for their own careers. Geert and Marc also state in their book that everyone is the architect of their own career. The responsibility around mental wellbeing is a shared responsibility of both the employee and the manager.
But a manager, at any level, does have a huge impact on how people feel, how people behave in the workplace, and on the mental wellbeing of employees.
People need to go looking for their talents and for what gives them energy, and in doing so, search for their own happiness at work. Too often, people stay stuck in a job that no longer gives them energy. They've often lost their drive, but remain stuck in their job because of the security or sense of control it gives them. Stepping away from that is sometimes easier said than done; employees' obligations and specific situations often make it hard to take matters into their own hands.
Fortunately, there are loads of options nowadays for employees to get support from professionals (such as career coaches) who work with employees to look at their talents, their possibilities, what gives them energy, and so on, so they can pursue that much-needed workplace happiness.
The "lost generation"
In many companies, you'll find people who still have around 5 to 10 years to go until retirement. They have to do their job, but they haven't kept pace with the changes coming their way. They hold on to the past and aren't willing to go along with these changes. This generation could also be called the "lost generation", partly because higher sick leave rates are often seen among them. It's not easy for companies to deal with people with this mindset, but it's the joint task of the manager and the employee to build awareness around this and work together on adapting to the changing situation.
A manager actually has a threefold role:
- The leader: working with employees based on a strategy and a vision
- The operational manager: keeping an eye on numbers and results and making sure everything runs as it should
- The people manager: coach, motivator and inspirer of people
It's hugely important to actively engage with people, even though the people management side isn't obvious to everyone.
A really important tip here is to look at who the person behind the employee is! Ask yourself: who are my employees, what do they do, what drives them, what can trigger them?
A goal of a manager should be to bring all employees to professionals who are all competent and highly engaged. In principle, this is an unachievable goal, because the company changes, society changes, and people come and go.
Even so, the goal should be to guide people through this as well as possible.
Employee engagement
Studies show that the percentage of employees who feel engaged is genuinely very low. Despite the fact that more and more initiatives around well-being, creating a pleasant work environment, and opportunities to relax keep popping up, this unfortunately isn't enough.Â
It's really important that people have a good working atmosphere experienced between colleagues, but also the direct contact with the manager is hugely important. People usually don't leave companies; they leave a manager.
The manager has an important role in getting workplace wellbeing right and must take responsibility by actively engaging with employees and listening attentively.
Due to the Covid-19 situation, we're working from home en masse, which makes it incredibly difficult for managers to maintain that connection with their employees. That's why virtual meetings, but especially e-drinks and informal face-to-face contact, are essential to reconnect. Not just to discuss operational matters, but above all to have a good chat and truly listen to how employees are experiencing the whole situation.
It's a real challenge for companies to be creative in finding ways to (keep) connecting with their employees and build a positive culture. A good way to do this is through genuine positive feedback, ideally continuously throughout the year and not limited to two formal evaluation moments per year.Â
A genuine compliment often achieves far more than any incentive. JustBite, too, focuses strongly on that connection during informal moments, among other things by encouraging people to share positivity through feedback cards during healthier snack moments.Â
Mens sana in corpore sano
The ancient Greeks already knew that a healthy mind and a healthy body are inseparably linked. Companies that value their employees' mental wellbeing often also offer nutritious food and healthier snacks to their employees.Â
A proverbial apple won't be the deciding factor in mental wellbeing, but it can give that extra boost.
When people feel good in their own skin, thanks to nutritious food and other tools for their wellbeing such as mindfulness at work, this only contributes to their productivity and workplace happiness. Someone who feels physically good will also feel mentally much stronger, bringing far greater value to their organisation.
Conclusion
As a manager, take responsibility and think of the person behind the employee. Start collaborating, make sure they feel happy, satisfied, and able to make their active contribution.
As an employee, dare to take a critical look at yourself in the mirror. Decide for yourself whether you're still happy today, whether you still get energy from the things you have to do, and if not, it's time for action!