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The impact of unhealthy workplace environments
People are the heart of your success
In any workplace where pressure, stress or negativity shape the culture it’s inevitable that the wellbeing and health of the people working there suffers. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, what external factors might be impacting people, or how much experience someone has – a toxic or unhealthy working environment can damage the mental and physical health of those working in it, and on the organisation’s performance.
We have a team of fantastic business psychologists, who shape much of the work we do designing and implementing learning programmes for our clients and partners. Programmes which will support not only the growth goals of an organisation, but of every person within it who will be expected to deliver on those goals.
It’s your people who will determine every success – and failure – in your business.
Your people should always be at the core of every decision you make as leaders: celebrating and supporting your people is the only certain path to success. If you berate, dominate and make unrealistic or overwhelming demands of your people, you won’t get more from them, or even get the best from what they do achieve…you will, however, harm them. This kind of high-pressure, stressful environment doesn’t inspire greatness from talented employees – it causes burnout, and serious (sometimes even fatal) long-term health issues.
If, however, you make the happiness and success of your people the first priority of your Leaders and Managers, and invest in their individual goals and development, as well as those of the organisation more widely, you also invest in the future success of your entire business, in ways that far outweigh any financial goals.
What you get in return – if you show your people that you care about their ambitions, and celebrate their successes – is their commitment, their passion, their skills and dedication, and a cohesive team who want the business to do well. A team of happy, confident people who are personally invested in your organisation’s strategic journey.
Not because they have to be, and not from a fear of repercussion for any failures – but because the ethos and culture in the organisation offers them all freedom to evolve, to question, to push, and to grow.
That kind of culture is what most Leaders and Managers want – but, if it isn’t how they’ve been taught to lead, it can be difficult to turn that ambition into reality. That kind of culture, and people who behave and perform at their best, entirely depend on the environment for success being smooth sailing. On honest, open communication, on a supportive workplace culture with supportive leadership and peers, and on your entire leadership team committing their own energy to the needs of your people.
We recognise that some things are beyond your control...but what you can control is how YOU communicate and react to stress
Model the culture you want to see
The right kind of culture comes from the top: every individual working for you brings different experience, knowledge and personality traits to their role, which means that any development or training must align with who it’s for. The right programme – one which gives your people the right tools to be their best – needs to meet them where they’re at. Much like the difference between an off-the-rack suit from a high street store and a bespoke suit, tailored and fitted to the individual, great development is tailored to the people the programme is for…which is why every programme we design at ASK begins with who you are, and the outcomes you want.
This bespoke learning – from the right questions to ask initially, how to implement and embed behaviours that will support a healthy workplace culture, and the tools to develop every individual in ways that benefit the whole – shapes every programme we run.
For over thirty years ASK have guided a great many organisations, in both public and private sector industries, through the equally varied challenges they have faced. Through difficult transitions, global political and economical impacts, pandemics, technological developments, and generational shifts, we’ve been behind Leaders who steer their people forward. Equally challenging for successful business, maintaining your productive culture, and supporting the needs of an expanding workforce when times are good, requires a conscious effort from your Leaders and Managers.
Implementing changes in any organisation can have a huge impact on the happiness, and thus the performance, of your team. Many of those changes come from small behavioural adaptions, and from the conscious decisions you make to lead effectively.
These are hard times for many organisations, which make leadership more challenging than ever before.
Not only do you need to manage the goals and plans of your business, and take steps to protect the future of the company, you also have to manage the individual needs of every person working with and for you. Some difficult choices may need to be made, some challenging changes put into action, and some drastic plans that will probably impact everyone. Some of your people will cope well, through these changes – others will be struggling, and that will impact their focus, their wellbeing, their performance and the team around them.
Leadership is the natural ambition of many professionals – and success in a leadership role is a goal many people dream of. This dream includes the successes, accolades, and recognition of their achievements – but the reality of leadership brings so much more than reward. Successful leadership means having to have difficult conversations, make tough decisions and communicate the reasoning for them. Guiding your team through those changes and challenges, and taking on the burden of protecting the overreaching goals when those changes impact your team in significant ways – whether that’s reassigning people to new teams, or needing to downsize your workforce to protect others.
As we move through 2025 and beyond we see mental health awareness being more openly discussed, and workplace culture at the heart of many of those conversations. Nobody can ignore the impact that long-term anxiety has on your employees, and on your leadership team. Concerns and stress around the uncertainties we are bombarded by in every media feed is carried with people, even if work is going well right now. The way we all work or communicate with our teams, so different since the global pandemic of 2020 and the world wide cultural shift that brought, is still a factor impacting lives both in and out of work, and the looming threat of political change, AI, and economic crisis hangs over everyone’s head.
There are processes for every Leader and Manager to support and manage a team member who isn’t meeting their expected workload – but how do you cope if it’s your whole team?
With help from experts.
ASK – with a team of Business Psychologists, Coaches and development experts – are incredibly proud of the impact clients see from our programmes. Every intervention is built around the specific and unique needs of your people, identifying their strengths and where development can expand those skills, in order to offer impactful, effective learning and development. We work with global clients, both in person and via virtual and digital platforms, with classroom learning and self-led e-learning, bringing blended development that really changes how you work and lead.
One key aspect of Leadership development is a range of content highlighting and engaging learners with the importance of a healthy, productive workplace culture. One which prioritises your people, protecting their mental health in the workplace, supporting the needs of an anxious workforce through any challenges they face, and having difficult conversations with kindness, professionalism and consistent processes. If Leadership requires making those hard calls, a consistent and compassionate process makes it easier for all parties to process what is being discussed, why changes need to happen, and get the clarity they need on what steps everyone involved needs to take.
Don’t let hard times destroy the future of your people, your leaders, or your organisation. We can help. Just ASK how.
Difficult times don’t need to derail the plans you had – for the future of your business, or the personal ambitions of every individual in your teams.
Together, with a genuine commitment to people, to growth, and to sustainable progress, we can help every person in your organisation to thrive, and to embrace whatever tomorrow brings.
Call us today on 01234 757575; we can guide you through these challenges.
Just ASK.
Complete our contact form to request a brochure or call from our experts to discuss how we can help.