Workplace Design Is a Big Contributor to Worker Wellbeing

The useful part

THE causes of job strain, burnout, and poor mental health at work are well understood — and so are the solutions. Organizations that fail to design for good work will pay for it in absenteeism, turnover and disengagement. If organizations are serious about sustainable performance, they need to design for it.

How it works

• That means pacing workloads instead of treating every week like quarter-end.
• Designing roles that are sustainable, setting realistic expectations, and creating cultures where people feel safe and valued are central to worker's mental health and sustainable high performance.
• The pathway for enabling a fully functioning and committed workforce is through designing the way that people work.
• Which means harm to our workers isn't inevitable — it's a design choice.
• Research by organizational psychologist Arnold Bakker shows that when employees have structural resources (such as autonomy), social resources (such as support), and challenging demands (such as growth...

What to take from it

Every role has an architecture — the tasks, responsibilities, and demands that make up a day.

Details worth keeping

Jobs can be designed with autonomy and voice. Leaders can be trained to create psychological safety. People don't thrive when they're confused, unsupported, or underused.