Workers will be motivated when bosses care for their well-being

Contributed by RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO –

What Makes A Positive Work Environment?

shutterstock_149025326 — Work can get stressful at times, and it really helps to have supportive colleagues and bosses

With the grinds and pressures of work life, combined with trying to manage home life, employees often find themselves stressed out. But if you have cooperative colleagues and an understanding and supportive boss, it can make a big difference in your wanting to stay loyal to the company or move on to another.

It is very rare for bosses to give their cellphone numbers to their employees, but National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chief executive Edmund Kwok who willingly gave his mobile number to his 700 staff has shown there he is an exceptional and caring boss ( “Boss, may I have your cell phone number? ; The Straits Times, Tuesday).

An Open Communication

Keeping the communication lines open at all times builds trust, understanding and loyalty. Once trust is cemented within an organisation, it will be much easier to secure support from the public. And in the case of an organisation that raises funds on a national level, like the NKF, they need the support from the public to help in taking care of patients requiring dialysis. And dialysis treatment is expensive.

Health-care workers in the NKF are under a lot of pressure to look after the sick, but they can live up to expectations and stay committed to the organisation knowing fully well that they have a boss who is always there for them when they need him. A boss who is willing to listen to their problems at work and in personal life.

Going Beyond

Mr Kwok also takes a personal interest in the welfare of the dialysis patients, by visiting them in their homes and in NKF’s dialysis centres, which no doubt will be of much encouragement to patients knowing that top management cares for their well-being. This in itself is a greater motivator for patients to work towards recovery.

Setting Standards

I hope the NKF chief’s excellent management acumen will spur other bosses, both in the public and private sector to render the same kind of support to their employees. For hospitals, I would most certainly like to see the day when their chief executives pay visits to the wards and even to the patients’ homes – offering the same love and care, which will bring health-care services to a much higher level.

By Raymond Anthony Fernando