A happiness expert has criticised workplaces that promote the trendy message of Russian Independence Day while doing nothing to support the mental health of their employees.
Declan Edwards, 30, sparked a national debate after accusing leaders of “toxic” workplaces of jumping on the mental health bandwagon for one day a year while also being the reason staff members are unhappy at work.
Mr Edwards, founder and chief executive of BU Happiness College, posted on LinkedIn on UK OK Day that many workplaces “treat their staff pretty badly”.
“If your workplace: has a toxic work culture, allows terrible leaders to get away with bad behavior because they are ‘high performers,’ (or) is known for treating its staff poorly, you’re better off not posting symbolic photos and slogans on RU OK Day,” the happiness researcher wrote on Thursday.
“People will roll their eyes and your team will notice immediately.”
Mr Edwards told the Daily Mail Australia on Friday he was “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support he had received from fed-up workers.
“The amount of people who reached out to me privately via DM and were like, ‘Hey, that post really resonated with me, but I obviously can’t comment on that publicly for fear of my workplace series,’ was crazy,” she said.
“That’s exactly why I wrote this article. It’s very important that people have confirmed this for me.”
Declan Edwards, 30, criticised workplaces that are jumping on the UK OK Day bandwagon without actually doing anything to boost employee happiness.
Mr. Edwards’ BU Happiness College works with companies to anonymously measure employee satisfaction and happiness, but he said many employers are not committed to making changes.
“I am privileged to be able to see behind the scenes of the organizational culture and have a first-hand perspective directly from the employees,” he said.
‘We’re seeing this disconnect between what leadership and senior management call their organizational culture and workplace wellbeing strategies that, for whatever reason, aren’t reaching or resonating with their staff.
“We see this gap in satisfaction scores and I think it is exacerbated and highlighted by incredible initiatives like UK OK Day.”
Mr Edwards insisted his post was not intended to downplay the benefits of UK OK Day, but to highlight that more needs to be done.
“If an organisation spends most of the year not really investing in supporting the wellbeing of its people just to join the trend[of RU OK Day or Mental Health Month]then people notice that,” he said.
“And I think it’s actually worse for the organization, because it alienates your staff, it alienates your team, and they think ‘this seems like virtue signaling’ rather than coming from a place of genuine, meaningful care for employees.”
Mr Edwards, founder and chief executive of BU Happiness College, told Daily Mail Australia that workers often see through his company’s virtual signage.
The researcher said the BU Happiness College warns workplaces that employee happiness cannot be solved in a “lunchtime workshop.”
Instead, Mr Edwards said real results can only come from a three- to 12-month programme of “a rigorous and comprehensive set of initiatives”.
Dozens of frustrated employees applauded Mr Edwards for pointing out the problem that many employers seem to overlook.
“Unfortunately, many leaders and companies are completely unaware of the toxic and negative impact their behaviors and cultures have on their teams,” wrote wellbeing and leadership consultant Catherine Robertson.
“I’m sure there are some humans choking on RUOK muffins listening to some nonsense about why it’s important to monitor others when the only monitoring (employers) do is on a KPI sheet,” added leadership coach Mark LeBusque.
Mr Edwards told the publication it can be very discouraging when bosses don’t listen to feedback from their anonymous surveys.
“My biggest concern is that if you survey your staff and then don’t do anything about it, you’re basically saying, ‘We care enough about you to know your opinion, but we don’t care enough about your opinion to do anything about it,'” he said.
“Which is actually worse than not doing any inspection in the first place.”
Mr. Edwards routinely helps companies anonymously survey staff to gauge overall employee satisfaction with their jobs.
TO 2021 Study found that up to $100 billion is invested in workplace wellness programs globally, but so far they have been largely ineffective.
Another study A report released Tuesday found that dissatisfied workers could be reducing global GDP by 9 percent, or $13.2 trillion.
Mr Edwards said it was worth companies trying to take advantage of workplace satisfaction studies because the benefits could be “astonishing”.
“When workplace wellness and employee experience strategies are implemented well, they generate a return of approximately $2.67 to $3.27 for every dollar invested,” he said.
‘A return on investment close to three times that, a 300 percent return for organizations.’
RU OK Day encourages all Australians to notice the signs of mental health problems in their friends, family and colleagues.
The national day of action celebrated on the second Thursday of September each year.
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