Most working people’s time is spent at their place of work and because of this it is imperative that the work environment forms part of one’s general well-being. Although in this day and age anyone would be happy to just be employed, individuals who do not have a positive work environment will display lowered levels of general well-being which may affect their work. In essence subjective experiences of individuals’ work environments have an impact on the general wellness of the organisation. This is problematic for organisations as it means their employees may not be reaching their full potential and consequently affecting productivity. Author of What the Most Successful People Do at Work, Laura Vanderkam posits that employees become less engaged when they have a sense of fear and mistrust toward their work environment. Issues of autonomy and belonging are also significant elements that contribute feelings of alignment with one’s work environment. It is therefore a valuable point for organisations to start establishing where their employees are at and how that has an impact on what the organisation does. With this awareness there can be action toward remediating areas of concern.
One way to do this is using the NBI® Organisational Wellness Instrument. The Organisational Wellness Instrument (OWI) is part of the Neethling Brain Instruments (NBI®). It provides one with up-to-date and easy-to-read measures of the current situation or “state of play” in an organisation or any part of it. It is quick to complete and very responsive in reporting results. Unlike conventional organisational climate surveys, which are expensive, time-consuming and rarely current, the OWI produces comprehensive reports within minutes of one’s employees completing the questionnaire online. The OWI measures Ten Success Factors listed below:
- Trust
- Learning
- Gratification
- Language
- Ownership
- Energy
- Change
- Interaction
- Creativity and Innovation
- Communication
Each of the ten factors is plotted as “above the line” (positive) or “below the line” (negative). Above the line factors contribute to the wellness and creative environment. Below the line factors destroy the organisation if left unchecked.
Should you be interested in using this tool to measure your team’s engagement and then design a coaching programme to positively develop and influence your team, please contact Rienie Bezuidenhout (rienie@iegroup.co.za) or Gail Cameron (gail@iegroup.co.za) or 011 781 1444.
