Who doesn’t enjoy freedom? Who doesn’t enjoy psychological safety at work? Autonomy is present when employees have the independence to make decisions and are provided with opportunities to take the lead. According to the Mind Celebrations report https://mindcelebrations.com/emotional-fitness/, 42% of employees find it difficult to express themselves freely, impacting business results. https://mindcelebrations.com/energy-amplifier/ 50% of people are disengaged as they don’t do things that make them happy. Having autonomy at the workplace benefits the organization, but most importantly, it is highly beneficial to the employees. Autonomy and psychological safety at the workplace give employees independence, boosting their confidence and productivity, resulting in increased engagement and motivation at work. This has a direct positive impact on their mental health. We at Mind Celebrations prioritize Proactive Mental Health and curate the Employee Assistance Program for our clients, keeping in mind their needs and purpose. If you are a part of an organization ask yourself how does my organization function? Is there any autonomy at my workplace? Am I getting benefited from my workplace? As we go ahead, we get a clear picture of what a healthy organization with good autonomy looks like. At Mind Celebrations, we have curated “LEAD,” a framework for your organizational growth in attaining autonomy and psychological safety at work.
“LEAD” stands for:
L- Leverage Resources and Support
E- Empower Flexibility
A- Administer Assessments
D- Decision Making
L – Leverage Resources and Support
Providing necessary tools and training to the employees for their and the organization’s betterment is a crucial step towards attaining autonomy. Encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing opportunities in the work culture. Conduct workshops and training programs for their skills enhancement and boosting productivity. We at Mind Celebrations curate an Employee Assistance Program as per the needs of our clients. Our Emotional Safety Solutions help in robust organizational growth, cohesive team formation, and higher work satisfaction among the employees, fostering positive mental health. Helps in building the Trilogy of Emotional Safety to know more about it read our blog on Understanding Mental Health Assessment *link for the blog*
E – Empower Flexibility
Allowing flexible schedules in work culture allows the employees to equally contribute to each aspect of their lives, achieving work-life balance. Flexibility in work also leads to gaining employees’ trust and creating a psychologically safe workplace.
A – Administer Assessments
The most important but unfortunately avoided step by many organizations is administering assessments for your employees to know where they stand at the workplace. It is avoided by most organizations because of cost-cutting but doesn’t realize the silent loss to the organization is the cost of presenteeism and absenteeism. Mind Celebrations has solved this problem for you. Visit our website now and learn more about our services tailored just for you. *link for our website*
D – Decision Making
Informed decision-making and problem-solving, giving opportunities to make individual decisions to the employees makes them take accountability for their work, leading to higher job satisfaction.
Here are 5 Benefits of building Autonomy and Psychological Safety in the Workplace:
- Creates a sense of Accountability
An organization with good autonomy and psychological safety at work allows the employees to take charge of their work, hence an increased sense of accountability. Such a workplace nurtures good leaders; it also allows them to use and enhance their skills at the same time. A sense of accountability can be incorporated at the workplace by giving your employees an open space to indulge in work and keeping room for errors.
- Boosts Productivity
44% of employees come to work feeling guilty which drops productivity. Our Emotional Fitness program helps incorporate mental hygiene routines into the company’s work culture. We teach emotional first aid methods to foster positive emotions and channel them to scale up individual and collective performance goals. Autonomy in the workplace builds a sense of motivation, which keeps the employees engaged. It, in turn, boosts the productivity of employees and develops a high sense of self, giving better outcomes at work. Productivity within an organization helps the organization function smoothly and keeps the employees satisfied. Take our Emotional Fitness Assessment and know your scores now. *link for the assessment*. This Mental Health Assessment gives you a clear picture of where your mental health stands, whether you are emotionally dependent or emotionally independent giving you a unique detailed report creating awareness and taking further steps.
- Builds Cohesiveness
Good autonomy at the workplace is reflected in the team’s communication. A team with transparency and a good flow of communication performs better and promotes a safe space in an organization, which allows employees to freely share their ideas and their problems. We at Mind Celebrations make it easier for organizations to connect with their employees through workshops and the Employee Assistance Program. If you want to flourish your organization, get started now!
- Flourishes Creative thinking
A unique flow of ideas and divergent thinking occurs only when the organization engages in autonomy and psychological safety at the workplace. It takes into consideration every team member’s opinions and creates a space where team members think beyond their assigned roles. Leading to greater job satisfaction and fostering positive mental health. It helps organizations in multiple ways to figure out what suits them the best and how the organization can reach close to their success. To think clearly and reach the full potential one needs to have the right energy levels. 97% of employees are at risk of at least one factor of workplace fatigue. This, along with negative thoughts, causes hindrance in attaining divergent thinking. Take our Energy Amplifier Assessment *link for the assessment* and know your energy builders and energy leaks. This Mental Health Assessment and our Energy Amplifier program help inculcate rituals to boost and sustain energy levels, manage and cultivate personal energy builders, and plug energy leakages and negative thoughts, preventing fatigue and burnout.
- Attracts a good set of Employees
With attrition being the biggest reason behind organizations’ downfall, how can the same organization attract good employees? By clearly defining the goals and objectives. Maintaining transparency among the team members helps employees make righteous decisions. Everyone wishes to have some autonomy while working on their tasks. If an organization has good autonomy within the team for years it builds a positive reputation amongst the employees. Fostering a culture of trust and accountability indirectly builds a psychologically safe workplace. This ultimately benefits organizational growth and employees maintaining a healthy work-life balance, fostering positive mental health and mental hygiene with the employees.
Building autonomy is not a one-time thing, but consistent efforts towards your team and persistence will result in building a positive environment and a psychologically safe workplace. Giving equal opportunities to the employees and a space for their growth will enhance productivity within the organization and help build autonomy. We at Mind Celebrations extensively work on building Proactive Mental Health through our Employee Assistance Program curated with utmost care and research. To know more get in touch with us at reach@mindcelebrations.com or visit us at www.mindcelebrations.com
Authors are co-founders of Mind Celebrations – the first preventive Mental Healthcare initiative for organizations and employees.
Keywords:
Mental hygiene and mental health
Negative thoughts
Psychological Safety at the workplace
Mental Health Assessment
Employee Assistance Program in India
FAQs:
How to attain autonomy in the workplace?
LEAD” stands for:
L- Leverage Resources and Support
E- Empower Flexibility
A- Administer Assessments
D- Decision Making
How do we attain psychological safety in the workplace?
Take our Energy Amplifier Assessment *link for the assessment* and know your energy builders and energy leaks. This Mental Health Assessment and our Energy Amplifier program help inculcate rituals to boost and sustain energy levels, manage and cultivate personal energy builders, and plug energy leakages and negative thoughts, preventing fatigue and burnout.
What are the barriers to psychological safety at the workplace?
According to the Mind Celebrations report https://mindcelebrations.com/emotional-fitness/, 42% of employees find it difficult to express themselves freely, impacting business results. https://mindcelebrations.com/energy-amplifier/ 50% of people are disengaged as they don’t do things that make them happy. Having autonomy at the workplace benefits the organization, but most importantly, it is highly beneficial to the employees.
