Meet The Man Striving To Make Employees Happier, More Engaged And More Productive

Few areas of life have been left untouched by the effects of the pandemic, but few have been revolutionized to the extent that our working lives have. COVID-19 has accelerated the shift towards remote and hybrid working models, while simultaneously instigating an unprecedented 'Great Resignation' across the US, which saw almost 50 million workers leaving their jobs in 2021.

The increased amount of time spent at home during lockdowns forced employees to reflect on their work-life balance. For years, stress, burn-out and disengagement have seemingly been treated as unfortunate but inevitable offshoots of a successful career. 83% of US workers report suffering from work-related stress, while over half of these underline that this has a direct impact on their home lives and personal relationships.

This paints a picture of far-reaching complacency with regard to workplace mental wellbeing, one that is immediately darkened by the knowledge that work-related stress causes 120,000 deaths and leads to almost $200 billion in healthcare costs each year. It was hoped that working from the comfort of home would present a possible solution, but the continuation of the Great Resignation suggests otherwise.

While many companies have been left scratching their heads as to why employee disengagement and stress have not been solved by remote working, organizational coaching consultant and speaker, John Le Drew, is not surprised. After more than ten years of being drafted in to shift company cultures and instill widespread re-engagement across workforces, Le Drew has seen that letting people work from a more physically comfortable space is not the answer. Rather, the solution is to bring people to psychological safety.

"Companies often overlook the link between psychological safety, workplace stress and employee engagement. My role is to create a workspace culture where each team member feels psychologically safe enough to voice their opinions, actively collaborate and have the freedom to perform to their potential," Le Drew highlights.

The results that Le Drew consistently sees from his consultancy work are two-fold. On a personal level, it becomes easier to foster good mental health among employees, and on a corporate level, it produces far greater ROI and productivity.

Globally, only 20% of workers are engaged in their work, while 15% are deemed to be actively disengaged. Almost three-quarters of employees are actively seeking new jobs or keeping an eye out for openings. Employee engagement has time and again been shown to be a crucial factor in company success. Organizations with high levels of engagement report a 22% greater rate of productivity, while FTSE 100 firms that prioritize employee engagement and wellbeing outperform the rest by 10%. When a worker feels engaged, it leads to an 81% decrease in absenteeism, along with a 41% improvement in the quality of their work.

The importance of engagement has been clear for some time, but what has been less apparent is the best way to activate this in employees. Le Drew's unique strategy anchors engagement to psychological safety, thereby creating a culture that is free from fear.

"When any coach is trying to instigate a cultural change in the workplace, the initial response from a psychologically unsafe environment will always be one of fear and resistance. By first cultivating a psychologically safe and accepting workspace, it then becomes easier to integrate positive changes that enhance engagement, productivity and workplace happiness," Le Drew underlines.

The keystone in John Le Drew's coaching process, which he developed after transitioning from a two-decade-long career in software engineering to consultancy, consists of an appreciation of the relationship between workflow and team responses to this. Le Drew helps organizations to align these more closely, rather than relying solely on top-down changes imposed by a C-suite that fails to understand the needs of its ground-level workforce.

Le Drew underlines that psychological safety is not only crucial for the sake of employee wellbeing, but also for company economics. A high degree of psychological safety at work has been shown to produce 76% more engagement, 50% greater productivity, 74% less stress and 27% reduction in employee turnover. A recent study also showed that almost two-thirds of employees would feel significantly more motivated at work if their employer took steps to support their wellbeing.

While organizations continue to plaster over the cracks of disengagement and psychologically unsafe working environments, John Le Drew is both exposing and tackling the root causes of these issues. Rather than accepting stress, poor mental health and workplace disengagement as part and parcel of working life, Le Drew is leading a cultural transformation that could help to stem the flow of the Great Resignation.