The evidence demonstrates that the overall psychological wellbeing of employees has a direct link with the overall engagement and productivity of the company. Moreover, psychological wellbeing has a stronger link with performance than physical wellbeing. It is a simple philosophy – the good of the employee and the good of organisations are in tandem. If you elevate the wellbeing of the workforce, everybody wins!
PCI Consulting
The economy is in recovery but the positive effects of improved cash flow have not yet filtered down to the general population. The Irish workforce is still facing financial strains. Moreover the corporate sector has become an increasingly pressurised environment, leading to some employees finding it difficult to cope. The focus on cost reduction and cost control within the employment landscape has resulted in a reduction in trust between management and staff; low morale; change exhaustion; and presenteeism. Moreover, the drive for improving workforce performance, with employees working harder for less perceived benefit, leads to high levels of stress, employee burn-out and long-term sick leave. In addition, organisations that are focused on process or product innovation push for new ideas and thinking from their workforce, resulting in pressure on teams and individuals to generate creative and innovative ideas when in reality many employees are operating in ‘survival mode’. Employees may burnout to keep abreast and ahead of trends and development and the frenetic pace of change leads to employee adaptation challenges.
In short, the recession has created a stretched workforce, where demands are high, poor performance is not tolerated, job security is no longer a given and the drive for productivity is a key strategic objective.
This is all happening in an environment where mental health and wellbeing is topical and people have a genuine interest in finding out more. There are a plethora of organisations focusing on the mental health agenda (e.g. Mental Health Ireland, GROW) and there is increased public awareness of the need for positive mental health. There is a domestic appetite for the improvement of mental health services and for a shift in its associated stigma. Organisations need to be responsible and sustainable. A healthy workforce is key to this.
Psychological Wellbeing must be part of today’s business agenda – it improves productivity as well as being socially responsible and business effective; in other words – “the right thing to do”. However, employee mental health and wellbeing is not on the corporate agenda as might be expected given that it is embedded in organisational issues and dilemmas. Mental stress, mental illness and substance abuse are much more common and costly to employers than most realise. The rising tide of Depression and Anxiety is being mirrored in the labour market and in turn within the corporate sector. Most organisations are reactive rather than proactive. Mental health issues tend to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Employers not only need mentally fit, resilient employees but also have duty of care. The evidence demonstrates that the overall psychological wellbeing of employees has a direct link with the overall engagement and productivity of the company. Moreover, psychological wellbeing has a stronger link with performance than physical wellbeing. It is a simple philosophy – the good of the employee and the good of organisations are in tandem. If you elevate the wellbeing of the workforce, everybody wins!
PCI College – our academic arm – are experts in creating, delivering and improving psychological wellbeing in individuals. With this in mind, we endeavoured to research the corporate market and investigate whether our unique skillset and experience may be valuable in a workplace setting. The project has been an exciting one – bringing together our internal psychological experts with professionals from the corporate sector to first evaluate current business issues and then create robust, evidence-based, positive behaviour change programmes that can be tailored to clients’ needs. Our programmes and measurements are also linked to the organisation’s key performance indicators so that results and benefits can be clearly seen and evaluated. We have developed a diverse team of multi-disciplinary experts – members of our team come not only from senior management backgrounds in the corporate world, but also from a range of complementary disciplines: psychology, counselling & psychotherapy, training and recruitment, diagnostics and coaching. Our academic credentials provide a sound basis for our expertise. What’s more, our diverse team are constantly researching and developing new ideas to keep us at the forefront of the industry.
We are continually learning and adapting from our consultation and work with corporate organisations, much like from the clients in the counselling room. Each organisation is different but we always meet at a human level and at the heart of each one is the aim to align business objectives with employee wellbeing and create a competitive advantage. We believe that our unique person centred and business-focused approach allows us to understand both sides of the coin and develop initiatives that empower the employee and in turn drive the business objectives and targets. This ensures that we achieve two main objectives – improve the individual wellbeing of employees within organisations – and advance the overall engagement, productivity and profitability of our clients. Moreover, we link with our clients strategic objectives to provide both effective programmes and a committed long-term relationship. We can work with your organisation to create a completely tailored solution to suit your business and your needs.
PCI Consulting combines talented, committed people with highly effective products and solutions. Moreover, we really believe in what we do. We are 100% focused on moving psychological wellbeing up the corporate agenda, while enabling clients to release the potential of their employees and link this with their strategic objectives.
We hope that you will join us on this journey. We look forward to the opportunity to consult with you, understand your specific challenges and priorities and work with you to create a robust, evidenced-based and sustainable solution for your business and your employees.
Maria McGrath
PCI Consulting Business Development Manager
