A sense of inner peace is an area of wellbeing that is associated with the private rather than professional sphere. Increasingly, however, it is difficult to separate the two worlds. In such realities, an organisation that takes care of the inner peace of its employees can reap real benefits and strengthen its position in the market.
Inner peace as an area of wellbeing
The issue of complexity of wellbeing was addressed in a study conducted by Benefit Systems in cooperation with Natalia Hatalska’s infuture.institute. Wellbeing consists of two areas – internal and external, which are divided into six more elements. Inner peace, along with physical and mental health, falls under the first area and includes living in harmony with one’s beliefs, pursuing passions and a sense of meaning in life.
It is important to remember that all elements of wellbeing intertwine and influence each other. The same is true of inner peace, which permeates both the sphere of personal and professional life. In the latter case, an extremely important issue is the extent to which work is in line with personal values, allows you to develop and provides opportunities for self-fulfilment. The scale of needs in this area can be examined using the Wellbeing Score, a tool for measuring wellbeing.
How to foster inner peace?
In the report summarising “The Wellbeing of Poles” survey, five profiles were distinguished, depending on the approach to taking care of wellbeing. One of them are the Introspective, who focus primarily on taking care of the elements that make up the inner wellbeing area, including inner peace. Experts stressed that Introspective people shape their wellbeing “by taking care of the physical, mental and spiritual dimensions and themselves as individuals”.
As a result, the level of wellbeing of the Introspective (6.9) is significantly higher than the national average (4.9). This is also the highest score among all the profiles distinguished in the survey. This shows how striving to foster inner peace increases the level of wellbeing and satisfaction with life. In turn, the fact that inner peace also translates into issues directly related to work means that companies have a compelling reason to take greater care of this area of wellbeing.
Inner peace – real benefits for the company
In companies where employees feel that their work is meaningful, greater commitment and attachment to the organisation is observed [1]. Employees’ sense of purpose and self-fulfilment also translates into better team atmosphere and, ultimately, into efficiency. Inner peace also affects physical and mental health, which is reflected in the quality of work and lower absenteeism, among other things. Importantly, organisations have a considerable number of tools at their disposal to shape their teams’ sense of inner peace.
How can a company build employees’ inner peace?
1. Building a sense of meaningful work
Employees should be shown the cause-and-effect relationship between their tasks and the company’s success [2]. This element can be included during assessment interviews, but excellent results will be ensured by providing this type of information on an ongoing basis. Communication should be focused on specifics, pointing out how individual actions have translated into results achieved by the company. On the one hand, this will bolster the sense of empowerment, and on the other, it will make the employee strongly identify with the company and its mission. For building a sense of meaningful work, it is also important to show the company’s initiatives in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR), such as green activities.
2. Appreciation of commitment
An undervalued employee will not build a sense of inner peace. To make matters worse, such an employee will also be afraid to talk to the leader, so the company may miss out on valuable knowledge and creative suggestions that it could use to strengthen its position in the market [2]. The employer is helped here, for example, by the intranet, where they can appreciate the employee with tools such as the so-called kudos (available, for instance, with MyBenefit). Such information can also be provided via instant messaging and e-mail.
3. Joint team activities
Inner peace, based on values, is not only about the employee’s own goals. It is also about actions for the benefit of others, in which we find meaning as a social species [1]. That is why it is a good idea to involve employees in charity events and volunteering, among other things. It is worth betting not only on fundraising, but also on real activities, such as renovating apartments for the needy or planting forests through volunteer work [3]. Helping together will also make employees better able to achieve strictly work-related goals and tasks.
4. Participation in the decision-making process
Influencing how a company operates is a very important element to build motivation [4] and foster a sense that work is in line with individual values. An ideal solution is employee surveys (available, for example, on the MyBenefit platform), which allow you to efficiently collect the opinions of a large number of people, for instance on the company’s offerings. It is also useful to give the team space to communicate ideas for improving company operations or new projects. This builds a sense of empowerment among employees by having a real impact on the organisation, and makes it easier for the organisation itself to source innovative ideas.
5. Space for rest and balance
An increasing number of companies are creating rest, nap or gaming rooms in office spaces where employees can comfortably and quickly regenerate [5]. In the short term, such solutions help increase work efficiency, while in the long term, they make employees feel respected and appreciated, which supports them in achieving balance and inner peace. Rest measures can also include promoting holiday leave and shortening working hours on certain days, such as Children’s Day.
6. Knowledge for development
It is a good idea to bring up the issue of development with your team on a regular basis, exploring whether employees would like to develop specific capabilities or work on other projects. Collecting such information will enable the organisation to offer useful training, which, on the one hand, will expand the team’s competencies and, on the other, improve its wellbeing [2].
However, it is worth remembering not to focus only on issues that are important to the company, but also on things that are of real interest to the employee, will help them pursue passions and achieve a sense of fulfilment. Implementing such training does not have to be expensive or logistically challenging. There are platforms available, such as MultiLife, which allow you to use a variety of webinars, apps or e-books to support development in a particular field.
7. A break for “creative boredom”
Although it sounds surprising from a business perspective, time spent unproductively can ultimately result in... productivity. How come? Because the moments during which we do not carry out business duties are conducive to tranquillity. In the report “Wellbeing of Poles”, experts emphasise that the results can include increased attentiveness, greater understanding of oneself and one’s needs, and the development of creativity. So the employer can set aside special breaks for “creative boredom” and incorporate them into the schedule. They will not only result in greater inner peace, but can also translate into increased innovation within the company.
An organisational culture that fosters balance
Building inner peace, including the ability to pursue passions and self-development, requires adequate amount of time. An employee overloaded with duties and overtime will not be able to achieve this. Experts also emphasise that a leader who wants to build inner peace of their team must be supported by the right organisational culture [6]. With such support, they will be able to offer employees, for example, work in a hybrid model. This is one of the solutions to support employee wellbeing, as confirmed by the “The Wellbeing of Poles” report. It shows that – in terms of the work model – it is the hybrid workers who enjoy the highest level of wellbeing (52% of responses).
References:
[1] https://www.ican.pl/b/jak-podtrzymywac-poczucie-sensu-pracy/Pn84sSHiU
[2] https://www.michaelpage.pl/advice/porady-dla-pracodawc%C3%B3w/budowanie-zaanga%C5%BCowania/5-sposob%C3%B3w-na-zwi%C4%99kszenie-zaanga%C5%BCowania
[3] https://web.swps.pl/strefa-zarzadzania/artykuly/23282-jak-zadbac-o-najwazniejsze-potrzeby-pracownikow
[4] https://web.swps.pl/strefa-zarzadzania/artykuly/23282-jak-zadbac-o-najwazniejsze-potrzeby-pracownikow
[5] https://porady.pracuj.pl/zycie-zawodowe/idealne-warunki-w-biurze-czyli-jakie/
[6] https://www.kozminski.edu.pl/pl/review/jak-dbac-o-work-life-balance-w-firmie
