What Does Workplace Wellbeing Really Mean?
This week, I’m talking about the Global Workplace Well-Being Inventory, which is conducted annually by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator organization.
The survey is based on research conducted between 2016 and 2024 that shows that workplace well-being is comprised of six factors:
1. Positive emotions—frequent feelings of happiness, contentment, pleasure
2. Relationships—mutual feelings of caring, support, satisfaction
3. Engagement—deep psychological connection and absorption in an activity or cause
4. Meaning—a sense of purpose and direction
5. Accomplishment—success or mastery for its own sake
6. Negative emotions—low levels of anxiety, pessimism, depression
This model of workplace well-being is known as PREMAN.
I don’t want to get too far into the weeds with methodology or measurements, but rather focus on what this survey tells organizational leadership about their employees and how to maximize their well-being in the workplace. I will note that it is a global survey that accounts for ranges in age, gender, and personality type of the respondent.
I also don’t want to get into detail about the four preference pairs of the MBTI, other than what is necessary to convey these results to you. In my other podcast, The Exclusive Career Coach, I did multiple episodes in a series going through the four preference pairs.
Overall, there has been a trend to more positive well-being since the lowest ratings in 2021 – but in 2024, measures were lower than the years prior to COVID.
This suggests that for many people, their workplace well-being may not have returned to pre-pandemic levels. There was also a slight increase in people reporting more negative emotions in 2024 compared to 2023 and 2022. While it is possible this difference is due to potentially different samples each year, it is also possible the well-being results reflect changes in people’s work environments or potentially the wider society, which may be contributing to more negative experiences at work.
Here are the recommendations to enhance well-being at the organizational level:
• Treat workplace well-being as a long-term organizational strategy, not a one-off initiative. Findings highlight that well-being can and should be monitored over time to detect important changes in the well-being of staff that are likely to affect organizational performance and reputation.
• Incorporate workplace well-being metrics into regular performance reviews and organizational dashboards. Share findings with management and executives so they can be involved in addressing factors impeding their workforce’s well-being.
• Support emotional intelligence (EQ) development across the workforce including delivering EQ training focused on self-awareness, self-regulation, and interpersonal skills.
• Include tailored development based on personality type (e.g., supporting Introverts with energy management and reflection; helping Extraverts to tune into emotional nuance).
• Personalize well-being support using personality insights.
• Use personality type tools (such as the MBTI assessment) to help managers and teams better understand and support each other’s well-being in ways that meet the needs of personality preferences.
• Tailor well-being interventions to different types (e.g., autonomy for Perceiving types, structure for Judging types, etc.).
• Strengthen self-management capability through leadership development, coaching, and programs.
• Offer access to coaching or leadership workshops focused on self-regulation and stress management.
• Foster positive interpersonal relationships at work
• Encourage leaders to recognize and respond to employee emotional cues (particularly important for people with a Feeling preference on the MBTI) while also demonstrating the benefits of considering how emotions contribute to objective outcomes for those with a Thinking preference.
Individual employee strategies to enhance well-being:
• Develop self-awareness and monitor emotional triggers.
• Use self-assessment tools (e.g., MBTI personality type, emotional intelligence assessments) to understand individual emotional responses that help or hinder performance and well-being.
• Use proven methods for monitoring and managing strong emotional responses, such as keeping a reflective journal to track patterns in mood and energy or using “third person” self-coaching.
• Apply evidence-based techniques such as mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal (changing the way you think about a situation to change how you feel about that situation), or strategic emotional distraction (redirecting a negative reaction to a neutral or positive reaction) to manage stress.
• Use time-blocking and workload planning to reduce emotional overload, especially for Introverts or Judging types.
• Strengthen emotional intelligence in daily interactions.
• Practice active listening and perspective-taking to improve emotional understanding of others.
• Seek feedback from coworkers about your interpersonal impact and adjust behaviors accordingly.
• Create routines that support mental and physical energy.
• Establish boundaries between work and rest, particularly in hybrid or remote work environments.
• Ensure regular breaks, movement, and non-work social connections.
• Seek tailored support aligned with personality strengths and vulnerabilities.
• For Introverts: Schedule downtime after high-interaction periods.
• For Feeling types: Ensure alignment with personal values in work tasks or projects.
• For Perceiving types: Allow flexibility in how goals are achieved to avoid unnecessary stress.