Studies have found that exposure to the outdoors during the workday increases focus and decreases ... [+]
The amount of research on employee well-being increased in 2019. More workplaces are paying attention to psychological wellness, particularly as it relates to decreasing bullying and sexual harassment. The following are a few of the more significant workplace findings, ranging from the importance of exposure to the outdoors during work hours to the impact of sexual harassment on adolescent employees.
Isolation Negatively Impacts Workplace Creativity
The concept that social pressure or isolation increases creativity is changing. Being socially excluded or ostracized at work negatively affects employee creativity and creative self-efficacy. This is especially the case when the workplace environment is more collectivist than individualist. This means that an employee’s creativity is even more affected when the culture of the workplace is one where interpersonal connection is valued, and the needs of the group are placed before the needs of the individual.
It may be that ostracized employees feel that their ideas may be stifled in a hostile workplace. Another theory is that being ostracized decreases a person’s ability to feel control over their environment, a prerequisite for creativity. Employees may not only feel isolated from peers but also from workplace resources for creativity. When an employee is ostracized, it impacts self-esteem, which in turn impacts the ability to produce and trust one’s ideas.
A Positive Attitude Does Not Decrease Workplace Bullying
Sometimes an employer’s solution to an employee reporting bullying is to erroneously tell the employee that maybe the employee needs to just view the behavior differently. However, research has shown that having a more “positive attitude” does not decrease the chances of an employee being bullied. Employees who tend to have a positive or “silver lining” view of life are just as susceptible to workplace bullying. The idea that people with positive attitudes experience less stress and view people in a more positive light does not apply when they are bullied at work. So what does increase bullying in the workplace? Having conflicting expectations from employers, in such a way that the employee cannot possibly meet what the employee demands of them. Having this type of role conflict usually points towards ineffective leadership and communication from management.
Mindfulness Training Programs at Work Reduce Employee Stress
Mindfulness meditation has been a hot topic in recent years, especially when looking at its impact on the workplace. Mindfulness is a process of fully attending to one’s environment and feelings, whether it is through diaphragmatic breathing or performing a mental exercise to increase focus. When a six-week mindfulness training in the workplace is compared to a single-day mindfulness training, the six-week training had a greater reduction in employees’ perceived stress levels. The six-week training was also more likely to result in a mitigating effect against negative emotions and poor coping skills. Holding a multi-week mindfulness meditation training at your workplace can help your organization run more efficiently and have a greater positive impact on employees’ well-being.
Adolescents Are Being Sexually Harassed in the Workplace
While most stories on workplace sexual harassment have focused on adults, there is a significant amount of sexual harassment where the victims are adolescent employees. Out of adolescent male employees, 45% report at least one incident of workplace sexual harassment. Out of adolescent female employees, 24% report at least one incident of workplace sexual harassment. Both male and female adolescents reported a higher rate of depression and anxiety correlated with workplace sexual harassment. Adolescent males had a higher rate of depression and anxiety correlated to societal pressure that they should “enjoy” sexual advances at work. Adolescent females also had depression and anxiety correlated to workplace sexual harassment, coupled with a higher expectation than adolescent males that they would be sexually harassed at work.
Natural Lighting at Work Increases Job Satisfaction
Employees who work outside or are indirectly exposed to the outdoors during the workday report more job satisfaction and psychological well-being than people who are confined to working indoors. In addition, exposure to the outdoors during the workday also can increase employees’ attention and decrease employees’ perceived level of stress.
