14.11.2022

3 ways you can promote a culture of openness at work

By Matt Ephgrave, Managing Director at Just Eat for Business

Stress at work is no new phenomenon. In fact, almost one in seven Brits experience anxiety about the work-week ahead, with work stress being its most common trigger.

There are many opportunities in the year to raise awareness, including Stress Awareness and Movember this month, which businesses can integrate into their annual workplace calendars. With this in mind, it’s now more important than ever to ensure that leadership teams and HR teams are ensuring that they are creating a comfortable, open and safe environment for their employees, to know they can reach out should they need support.

So, what more can employers do to encourage their team to be open about feelings of stress?

Lead by example

Our own ‘Stress at Work’ survey tells us that employees often find it difficult to confide with one another, with one third of respondents stating they wouldn’t feel comfortable voicing feelings of stress at work. Those who quietly suffer from stress may choose to do so for a number of reasons. One may be the thought of raising notice of how they feel to their employer and colleagues. Raising the conversation can be intimidating, and they may become apprehensive about how they will be perceived. Employers - you now need to lead by example. Show your team that your working environment is as much theirs as yours. Kick off talking sessions that allow open dialogue - with line managers and peers away from the desk. Although it will take time, this will set the precedent for openness amongst work colleagues, and provide comfort to employees to know that they have a support network should they need it.

Introducing an internal support network gives employees a clear method to share with their team. The biggest thing for those suffering to remember, is that employers will be happier knowing that their employees are happy. Someone dealing with personal challenges is likely to not be producing their best work - so in order to increase employee happiness and productivity - the answer is to create a place where they can feel most comfortable.

Work on your culture

We also found that 1 in 5 wouldn’t know how to identify a colleague going through a stressful situation, a particularly prominent figure considering the amount of time we spend day in day out with our colleagues. In order to open up conversation amongst colleagues, business leaders need to prioritise creating an optimum company culture. Culture isn’t just all about socials and activities, it’s about creating an atmosphere that workers can thrive - whether that be professionally in their career development or opening up to colleagues about any issues that they may be facing in or out of the office.

Take time to listen to what your staff want. Create ongoing staff surveys and feedback forms for staff to voice what they want to see from their business. By conducting these surveys and keeping them anonymous, staff will feel empowered to share their thoughts and feelings honestly, with no fear of repercussions. Then, take this into account and implement - whether that be through creating increased breakout spaces to socialise or increased office lunches so that people can allocate a time in their day to take a screen break and socialise properly without feeling pressured.

Enabling flexible working

The term ‘flexible working’ was floating around way before the pandemic began, yet it seems that 2020 fully cemented it into our lives. We since became accustomed to home working, and then suddenly catapulted in some capacity back to the office. This may have left some feeling unable to grasp a healthy and balanced working pattern. In fact, one third of participants in our research labelled ‘maintaining a work/life balance’ as the most stressful thing about work. It’s evident from this that workers long for a more flexible pattern in which they lead their lives.

Leaders - flexibility and productivity don’t have to be exclusive terms. In fact, both, working together in harmony can be even more beneficial. Some businesses follow this by experimenting with shorter working days, altered timetables and core hours to see where the most productivity lies - you never know - it may not be what you initially thought.

As a leader, you have to establish a line of communication with your team, making it clear that you are willing to listen and understand any concerns that they may have, both in a personal and professional capacity. Developing this relationship with your colleagues will allow them to flourish and grow their self-confidence. As a result, staff will see the office as a place that they look forward to going to, and in turn contribute their most productive and creative work.

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