Help employees thrive with strengths

Do you prioritize mental health in your total talent strategy? Here’s why you should.

Updates to WHS laws mean Australian employers are now required to foster positive mental health and design workplaces that support individual flourishing. This update is crucial, especially considering Mckinsey Health Institute (2022) revealed that half the population faces heightened mental health challenges.

The impact of mental health on workplaces is substantial. Individuals facing mental health challenges are more likely to leave their jobs and a staggering one in five Australian workers take time off due to mental health concerns, resulting in at least 2.7 million sick days. The Australian Productivity Commission estimate the impact on the Australian economy is between $12.2 to 22.5 billion annually.

While many organisations offer individual mental health resources such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), the impact remains limited. Studies show that real change requires transforming the workplace environment. Just as plants need the right conditions to thrive, humans are profoundly influenced by their work environment. Research shows a toxic culture can lead to burnout and attrition, while a supportive and inclusive culture can yield substantial benefits, including financial success and higher engagement levels.

How does this relate to Talent Strategy?

You might think there’s limited impact in Talent Acquisition or Learning and Development, but research and our experience suggest otherwise. Cappfinity has been helping organisations leverage strengths throughout the talent lifecycle, from pre-recruitment to redeployment, for the past two decades to help people thrive at work.

In the Cappfinity definition, a strength isn’t just something you’re good at; it also gives you energy when performing it. This has numerous benefits, including higher self-confidence, more energy, and increased happiness. Companies implementing strengths-based practices see significant improvements in sales, profit, customer engagement, turnover, employee engagement, and safety.

The biggest impacts are seen in organisations with a strengths-based culture, where strengths are woven into day-to-day activities. By integrating mental health considerations and strengths-based strategies into the whole talent management cycle, organisations can create workplaces that attract and retain talent while contributing to the well-being and success of their employees.

Consider some practical examples to connect strengths and well-being

Recruitment

Ensure a strong link between a candidate’s strengths and the role’s requirements for long-term success. Understanding nuances can significantly impact productivity, performance, and well-being.

Team Working

Foster understanding of strengths to improve interpersonal relationships and transform team dynamics. Applying strengths to challenges also enhances team development and cohesion.

Strengths-based Leadership

Help leaders acknowledge and use their strengths, enhancing leadership capabilities, diversity, and inclusion practices.

Use a strengths approach in your talent strategy

Recruiting for strengths is the difference between someone not just performing but thriving
Appreciating everyone’s unique strengths in a team can cultivate collaboration and cohesion
Strengths based leadership can drive diversity of thought, inclusive practices and a strengths-based culture

Resources

Whitepaper

Strengths Profile Whitepaper 2024

Podcast

Building positive organizations and their...

Study

An integrated model of work-study conflict...