4 ways to weave mental wellbeing into employee motivation

Without mental wellbeing, motivating employees becomes a job for a superhero

Motivation inspires and energises. Whatever the industry or project, motivated workers are the difference between acceptable and exceptional results.

Designed to build long-term engagement and productivity, employee motivation programmes are intended to optimise employee performance through rewards and recognition.

But without mental wellbeing, motivating employees, whatever the compensation, becomes a tall mountain to climb.

This is because the link between motivation and mental health goes both ways. Motivation can foster positive mental wellbeing for your employees as they find purpose and energy in their work. And positive mental health can make it easier for workers to feel positive and motivated about their work.

This is equally true when things aren’t so positive. Low mood and poor wellbeing can zap motivation and damage performance, and a lack of motivation and low performance can lead to discontent and poor mental wellbeing at work.

The bottom line

Simply put: both mental wellbeing and motivation have been shown to impact employee and organisational performance and with it, the bottom line.

Workers who feel supported at work are 64% more energised and 41% more motivated to stay at their jobs. Incorporating mental health into an employee motivation programme factors in how employees’ mental wellbeing, not just externally motivating factors (bonuses, promotions and recognition), affects their ability to do their best work.

Because, while rewards can boost employee morale, they cannot compensate for poor mental wellbeing. More employers are coming around to the idea that there is no motivating a workforce without first supporting their mental health and wellbeing.

Like any other change, centring employee wellbeing and mental health in employee motivation initiatives will take time and dedicated action. Here are a few ideas for integrating mental wellbeing into your employee motivation programme:

1. Create a safe space

Creating a psychologically safe environment is essential for both motivation and mental health. Employees who feel comfortable being their authentic selves at work are more interested in excellence, learning and connecting than looking good (ie, putting on a show). When workers are more open, it’s also easier for employers to get more precise insights into how best to motivate and support them. Leaders can pave the way by sharing about their own struggles and directing employees towards available resources.

2. Make mental wellbeing a company-wide goal

Make it clear that mental health is a priority at your company by developing a mental health goal for the whole company that supports mental wellness and rewards your entire team for any progress. Your goal could be linked to encouraging take-up for a mental wellbeing tool you currently offer, completing mental health training or promoting positive mental health behaviours.

3. Keep any competition (for rewards) healthy

While rewards and recognition can be very motivating to many employees, to others, motivational programmes that include reward schemes may feel stressful, especially if they feel like they’re competing against their colleagues for limited rewards. While some competition can be healthy, be sure to discourage winner-takes-all behaviour and deliver words of praise and rewards equitably across your team.

4. Add accessible and inclusive support

Make it easy for employees to proactively take care of their mental wellbeing and build better mental health habits that will serve them on good days and bad. Offer practical, easy-to-use tools that are helpful and safe across the full continuum of mental health from mentally well to mentally ill. Organisations can encourage take-up by keeping employees up-to-date about what resources are available and why and how they expect workers to use them. For example, it may be helpful to encourage staff to do activities together during meetings or team activities, or even on their own to help reduce stress or improve focus throughout the workday.

Find out more about why mental health is essential not just to motivation, but to the employee experience and your business goals in our free whitepaper Mental health and the employee experience: The business case.