5 Reasons Why You Should Offer Life Coaching To Your Employees

Remember Peter Gibbons, the main character from cult 90s movie Office Space? When discussing his lack of motivation at work to external consultants known as The Bobs, he explains, “It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.”

According to a 2018 Gallup poll, 53% of American workers are “not engaged” in their job, and an additional 13% are “actively disengaged”.  Although these figures are at their lowest level since the survey began in 2000, it still means there’s huge potential and capacity for improvement within many businesses to address the participation needs of their employees.

There’s been a growing emphasis worldwide on workplace wellbeing, and now in the midst of a global pandemic and recession, it may be more important than ever to ensure your people have the resilience and confidence to maintain productivity and to balance their work and home life. Big multinationals such as LinkedIn and Facebook are already offering their workers free life coaching as part of their wellbeing programs. So, can life coaching for your employees benefit the business, and if so, how?

1.     A more productive, motivated and engaged workforce

Unlike traditional employee coaching, personal life coaching deals with the individual as a whole, not just in the context of the workplace. Some workers may have underlying personal issues they would never disclose to a manager, but may be detrimentally affecting their performance.

Coach-client confidentiality is an important component of effective coaching. It’s vital that the client feels free to open up about matters of concern to them, and to do so without judgement or fear of reprimand. It’s also imperative that the client knows the coach is on their side, and any plans that are put in place are for their personal benefit.

The foundations of the coaching process usually begin with clarity around the client’s values and priorities. When you know what these are, it’s easier to align them with what you truly want. This means being more motivated and engaged in what you’re doing, because it fits with your purpose.

An International Coach Federation (ICF) Global Coaching Client Study conducted independently by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that “80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills.”

2.     Increased individual responsibility and accountability

Life coaching encourages you to take responsibility for your own life, and to be accountable for your actions and behaviours. A good coach is able to impart practical skills around setting goals and building sustainable systems. Coaches don’t tend to “give advice” to their clients, but rather create plans together that move the client towards what they want in life and work.

Coaches work with clients on an individual basis, so are able to identify and target specific areas of self-development such as communication skills, emotional intelligence, leadership, conflict resolution, confidence and time management. Initially, the client is accountable to the coach, as there’ll be agreed actions to complete or homework to do on a regular basis. But the ultimate aim of coaching is for the client to be accountable to themselves, and to embed a greater sense of focus and direction in their life.

3.     Less absenteeism

If you’re in a low physical or mental state, you tend to take more days off. On the other hand, if you’re feeling generally healthy and energized, you’re much more likely to go to work.

Life coaching can involve looking at your overall lifestyle, and creating systems that optimize your health and wellbeing on a long-term basis. This may include discussion around factors such as eating and drinking habits, exercise, play, hobbies and relationships. A good coach can help you to understand that self-care is a priority if you want to be successful and effective in your life and career. If you’re generally happy, healthy and have a good life balance, you tend to be more resilient and less prone to illness.

4.     Greater workplace harmony

Coaches can help to address issues around work relationships too. Without getting involved in office politics or interfering with reporting structures, they can help their clients to improve their communication skills to enhance workplace harmony.

This may consist of working on such things as active listening, speaking with confidence, body language, building empathy or improving social skills.

Open and honest communication between colleagues builds trust, leads to greater understanding, and a pleasant working environment.

5.     Bigger profits

All these benefits are wonderful to have, but for many business owners, it’s profit that really counts. With that in mind, will offering life coaching services to your workers have a positive effect on the bottom line? The answer? Probably.

The ICF/PwC study concluded that 86% of companies surveyed reported that they at least recouped their coaching investment and more.

In addition, a 2019 LSE Business Review meta-analysis of 339 studies accumulated by Gallup involving over 1.8 million people and 82,000 business units, found that higher employee wellbeing is associated with higher productivity and company performance. In the concluding remarks it was noted that although there is a need for more research in order to make a clear business case, the study “is suggestive of a strong, positive correlation between employee wellbeing, productivity and firm performance.”

Conclusion

Providing life coaching for employees can be a powerful and cost-effective way to help your business thrive through increased engagement, motivation and productivity, in addition to building a more harmonious work culture. Give your workers a reason to care – and watch your business flourish.