The Role of Communication in Workplace Well-Being

                                    

Communication is a key factor for employees well-being inside an organization. Positive & healthy communication promotes a stress-free and well-balanced work environment for the employees at all levels of an organization. This helps boosts morale, and enhances productivity & output.

 Employees that maintain healthy & positive communication with their co-workers, managers and customers are always makes a positive impact on the organization growth & environment. Healthy & positive communication reduces lack of communication, miscommunication incidences, misunderstandings, and conflicts between employees. These kinds of employees who able to maintain healthy & positive communication, are valuable assets for the organization and it is a skill which demanding a competition when applying for jobs.

Lack of Trust , High work Pressure, Poor Leadership and Management Styles, Lack of communication, Unclear Expectations, Workplace Gossip and Rumors, Cultural Barriers can lead to a Negative & unhealthy communication inside the organization. This will lead to stressed, unmotivated, lazy staff that may cause negative impact on customer relationships & organization’s productivity(Types of communication styles and how to identify them, 2023).

Healthy & positive communication will help individuals with Develop and deliver your message clearly, Avoid or prevent conflicts, Achieve your goals, Build successful relationships.

What Does a Positive Communication  Work Environment Look Like?

Employees who maintain positive & healthy communication may work in a happy, energetic, self-motivated manner inside the organization. Also, the energy & positivity spread with coworkers which boosts productivity.

An employee with positive & healthy communication will look like to have Open, respectful and honest communication with others. It builds trust between coworkers, so they express their opinions, concerns, and ideas with others in a very effective, transparent manner. They can say both yes & no answers to others without causing any conflicts using their communication skills & experiences.

Also, they have the skill of maintaining clear communication between coworkers by raising questions if anything is unclear, receiving feedback and brainstorming ideas with coworkers. Clear communication inside an organization helps to grow professional relationships and improves overall work quality, reducing redoing expenses.

Employees have good teamwork skills & take care of each other’s emotional & physical well-being with good communication. Most of the time with a stress-free work environment, they tend to plan entertainment events, keep themselves physically fit and be emotionally stable.

Employees with healthy & positive communication help to growth of the organization. Due to having good communication between employees, it’s possible to grab each & every one's ideas & take a better decision. Also less chance of causing conflicts through good communication.

With a stress-free workforce, the organization can achieve goals. So the management appreciates employees through rewards or bonuses. This causes a boost more productivity in future.

So positive & healthy communication is a key factor to stress-free working environment. In most organizations management level aims & studies what are possible arrangements for a stress-free working environment.

 

Impact of workplace stress on individuals - case study

Norman, a 22-year-old part-time receptionist and administrative assistant, had been working in his position for 10 months, putting in 7-hour days. On the day of the consultation, he was preparing to return to work after a month-long absence. Upon entering the department, it was noticeable that he had mobility challenges, displaying a pronounced, unsteady gait and impaired balance. Norman shared that he had been receiving treatment from his general practitioner for stress, anxiety, and depression.

He mentioned having experienced previous short-term absences, which he attributed to nausea and vomiting caused by his anxiety about going to work. Over the past five to six weeks, his symptoms had worsened to include trouble sleeping, restlessness, a lack of appetite, heart palpitations, and repetitive negative thoughts linked to low self-esteem. He acknowledged that rumination, a common negative effect of stress, had been affecting him. According to Genet and Siemer (2012), rumination can amplify the impact of negative daily experiences on one’s mood.

Norman felt anxious about returning to the same work environment and had started receiving counselling to manage his anxiety. Hunsley, Elliott, and Therrien (2014) propose that psychological therapies can be as effective as medication for treating common mental health conditions. Norman had been prescribed Venlafaxine at a daily dose of 75 mg, which had shown positive results. Venlafaxine, a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, is used to treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Additionally, his GP had prescribed 5 mg of Diazepam, a long-acting benzodiazepine, to be taken as needed. However, Norman had not used Diazepam recently, as he had been feeling better. (Workplace stress: an occupational health case study, 2020)

 

References

1.   Types of communication styles and how to identify them (2023). https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/liberal-arts/types-of-communication-styles#:~:text=Four%20types%20of%20communication%20styles,aggressive%20communication%20and%20assertive%20communication.&text=Communication%20allows%20us%20to%20express,and%20connect%20with%20other%20people.
2.    Genet, J.J. and Siemer, M. (2012) ‘Rumination moderates the effects of daily events on negative mood: results from a diary study’, Emotion, 12(6), pp. 1329-1339.
3.   Hunsley, J., Elliott, K., and Therrien, Z. (2014) ‘The efficacy and effectiveness of psychological treatments for mood, anxiety and related disorders’, Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 55(3), pp. 161-176.
4.   Workplace stress: an occupational health case study (2020). https://sdgresources.relx.com/articles-features/workplace-stress-occupational-health-case-study.