The top 3 trending topics at the Workplace Wellness Festival 2022
Groov recently wrapped up an epic two days as title sponsor at the Workplace Wellness Festival in Sydney. Read on for some highlights and key insights from the event.
Day one, let’s Groov! Our team at the festival in Sydney.
Groov was thrilled to be title sponsor of the Workplace Wellness Festival last month. The festival was a huge success with 2,500 delegates, over 60 exhibitors, and a talented line-up of presenters and panelists.
Our Co-founder Sir John Kirwan was keynote speaker and, in true Groov style, had everyone up and dancing during his speech. The energy at the Groov stand was also infectious, with free coffee and plenty of groovy swag up for grabs. Our Employee Retention Guide was a massive hit and we almost ran out of copies on the first day!
The challenges facing workplaces in 2022 are significant, but the energy at the festival was incredibly inspiring and solutions-driven, says Groov Market Development Manager Raquel Chavez-Nguyen.
“For many, this was the first in-person conference in years, and the gratitude and excitement of being together with like-minded individuals was infectious,” says Raquel. “Whether it was a manager, HR professional, or a service partner, we were all there to learn and share insights on wellbeing within the workplace.”
Groov’s CEO, Adam Clark, agrees: “The energy was outstanding. There was loads of interest and people feeling the Groov. People were really curious about what we do and the impact we achieve.”
The eight Groovers at the event enjoyed hundreds of conversations with people about all things workplace wellbeing. Given the events of the past few years, there was plenty to discuss, but we noticed that three topics kept coming up again and again.
The top 3 trending topics:
Burnout. People are exhausted and struggling to cope with work-related stress. Burnout is particularly prevalent among leaders and top performers.
Employee retention. People are looking for workplaces that care about their wellbeing. Workplaces without genuine wellbeing cultures are at high risk of losing top talent.
Psychological safety. People want to feel safe to be themselves at work. If they can’t show up authentically, they’re heading out the door.
Burnout is on the rise
Groov Account Executive Tuanui Tipene says “burnout was the number one topic for each organisation” he interacted with at the festival.
Given recent survey data from Groov, this is unsurprising. Groov found that 1 in 3 workers are at high risk of burning out.
Why is this happening? And what can workplaces do to help prevent burnout among their people?
According to Suzi McAlpine, leadership coach and author of Beyond Burnout, there are six main causes of burnout at work: overwork, lack of control, isolation, values conflict, absence of fairness, and insufficient reward.
The silver lining is burnout is getting more attention from leaders and researchers alike, says Suzi.
“Organisations are waking up to the fact that wellbeing is not some light and fluffy ‘nice to do’. Wellbeing is taking its rightful place in most organisations’ strategic imperatives.”
Learn more: Burnout – What’s the latest and what’s working?
Employee retention is an ongoing challenge
A close second to burnout, employee retention was the focus of hundreds of conversations at the Groov stand.
As borders reopen and people begin to adjust to the ‘new normal’ of post-pandemic life, it’s proving hard for employers to hold on to top talent. People have choices and are looking for workplaces that offer more than just a pay cheque.
“Money is an important factor, but what we now know is that people want to feel valued, cared for, and treated with dignity,” says Groov CEO and Co-founder Adam Clark. “If workplaces don’t provide this, then they are losing people, and it is the top performers and high potentials that leave first.”
Groov’s research found that one in three workers consider quitting their job weekly, while 36% consider quitting most days. On top of that, one in five workers don’t feel their employer supports their wellbeing and only 6% feel supported at work.
Workplace wellbeing is a large part of the solution.
“The link is clear. If you take the time to properly bake wellbeing into the workplace, the current issues around talent retention, recruitment, stress, and burnout will largely disappear,” says Groov Co-founder Sir John Kirwan.
Learn more: Get the employee retention guide
Psychological safety is a must
The third most-trending topic at the Workplace Wellness Festival was psychological safety.
“Modern workplaces understand that psychological safety underpins culture and that without it, people do not feel valued for who they are and do not bring their full authentic selves to work,” says Groov Australia Country Manager Matt Clarke. “It’s a no-brainer to prioritise psychological safety in your workplace to attract, retain and empower talent.”
A psychologically safe environment is one where it’s safe to:
Speak up
Make a mistake
Be ourselves
Psychological safety at work reduces risk of accidents and errors, increases productivity, innovation, and growth, and improves trust, belonging, and job satisfaction.
More than that, it’s the right thing to do. It’s good for people and it’s good for business.
How to create psychological safety at work:
Frame mistakes as opportunities to learn.
Eliminate blame and shame and move to ‘what can we do to improve and innovate?’.
Create guidelines and forums for candid and constructive feedback.
Provide safe spaces to ask questions and offer ideas.
Be open to hearing contrary opinions and different points of view.
Take opportunities to know workmates as individuals (their stories, values, and interests).
Recognise and celebrate others’ differences and strengths.
Understand and accommodate different styles of communication.
Learn more: Explore our Psychological Safety offering for your workplace
Thanks for having us, WWF!
We look forward to building on the connections we made at the festival and we’re already excited for next year. Thanks for kicking off so many amazing, thoughtful conversations about workplace wellbeing.
