By Hannah Jameson & Evelyn Jackson (CEO)

The latest thinking on wellbeing and how it impacts your ability to create a high performing team.

Part one.

Why is it that all of a sudden wellbeing is at the forefront of every employer, recruiter and leader's mind? It might be because they understand the importance of human needs and how addressing them in the employee experience translates into a high-performing workplace.

Wellbeing is more than just a buzzword. It's more than offering yoga at lunchtime or a discounted gym membership. It runs deeper and applies to all employees. From basic needs such as health for survival and stretching to our contribution to the greater good, our needs in the workplace are broad and impactful. Focusing on wellbeing within your organisation is key to having your people thrive.

We’re diving deep into wellbeing with our recent launch of our Wellbeing Workplace Assessment, a topic our organisation has been discussing openly and honestly. Inspired by this, we’ve created a two-part series to uncover the Seven Levels of Consciousness© and offer practical solutions that you can utilise within your workplace and improve employee wellbeing.

The Seven Levels of Consciousness©

The Barrett Values Centres wellbeing model is based on the Seven Levels of Consciousness© model. The model reflects the fundamental needs within an organisation. Regardless of size or industry, these demands are in all organisations. They reflect human needs and what employees search for to perform at a high level.

The Shift From ‘Me’ To ‘We’

The model is split into seven levels, with the first three focus on 'me' and levels four to seven shifting into 'we'.

'Me' levels are about how each employee feels if they feel safe and secure in their environment. Whereas 'we' shift towards the bigger picture. The impact and experience of the group. Employees and the organisation contributing to something bigger.

Understanding this shift here is key. Today we're focusing on the first three levels. To reach the higher levels in the model, you must first create a solid foundation in levels one to three. While these are basic needs, an organisation can only function highly with these being met.

The seven levels of human needs and how they impact wellbeing is directly linked to how employees feel as a result of their needs being met or not by the workplace and the employee experience they are part of.

1. Physical

At the most basic level is physical wellbeing. It's the feeling of being secure within the workplace. This can translate to areas of the employee experience such as salary and benefits. How secure employees feel within their organisation, providing employees with enough resources to complete their work.

This is a basic fundamental need that makes employees feel more comfortable and confident in their every day. Basic needs such as these must be met and tend to apply to most people. Not having these basic needs met impacts your employee’s ability to feel positive about the workplace and can negatively impact their wellbeing.

2. Relationship

Feeling supported in a workplace is how positive relationships are formed. As humans, we rely on creating meaningful connections with others. If these relationships and connections are ignored, we can feel isolated. These relationships can be with colleagues, supervisors, or just having a general supporting work environment. Not having this need met can impact how we view our workplace. Negatively, this could be seen as having a hostile work environment, which in turn can lead to employees shutting off. Feeling mistreated and unsupported has a major impact on our wellbeing in the workplace.

3. Competence

Competence is all about how well an organisation can succeed with the tools,processes and procedures it has available. Building from physical and relationship levels, this is where employees' confidence should start to bloom. This can be done by having clear goals outlined to ensure employees are aware of what’s expected of them. Allowing them to be empowered to complete their work effectively. And recognising when good work has been done with relevant and impactful recognition programs. Ignoring this can lead to feelings of overwhelm, frustration and confusion.

How to identify a lack of levels one to three within your organisation?

These human needs are simple and can seem obvious when blatantly laid out in front of you. But, when looking inwards at your organisation, you can be overwhelmed with blind spots. While these needs are basic, oftentimes they can be ignored. The critical element is to discover how your employees are feeling. What feelings (positive and negative) exist within the organisation and how are they evident? Listed below are a few examples of some of these feelings can be evident in the workplace.

Tiredness
Lack of motivation
Hostile work environment
Feeling unsupported and unheard
Lack of effective and positive communication

How Corporate Crayon Can Help

Having an external source uncovering negative traits allows you to take a step back and absorb new information. Although these levels exist around human emotion, their data-driven insights fuel these Seven Levels of Consciousness©. It's what can reveal the actuality behind the lack of motivation within the workplace. Corporate Crayon provides an Employee Workplace Wellbeing Assessment to discover blind spots and give you all of the actionable insights to create a high-performing organisation.

We are an action-orientated agency that will provide insights, recommendations and solutions to increase wellbeing in your organisation and support you to build a high-performing culture.

At Corporate Crayon, we work with organisations to inspire work that matters. To discover how we achieve this, contact us today.

What are the 7 needs of employee wellbeing? (Part One)