As I was scoring the applications for our Training APEX Awards last year, I noticed an ongoing theme: an increasing focus on employee wellness and mental health. These organizations with best-in-class training and development realize that employee well-being is a critical factor in company culture and business success.
This is especially true as we are experiencing a tsunami of psychological maladies such as stress, burnout, depression, and other mental health issues resulting from the isolation, uncertainty, and disruptions caused by COVID-19.
In response, organizations are turning to their Learning and Development (L&D) teams to provide life preservers in the form of training programs and resources to employees who are floundering in these turbulent waters. But that’s not enough. Leaders themselves need to be trained to both understand and help employees cope with the mental health issues they are dealing with.
Our cover story, “Leading the Way to Wellness,” features programs and best practices developed by four Training APEX Awards winners, who note how important it is for leaders to practice self-care and role-model wellness behaviors.
I dove into this topic further as a recent guest on “Z-isms” author Matt Zinman’s Insights to Live By podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-101-guest-a-new-era-of-talent/id1523879759?i=1000609573482). In addition to talking about wellness and leadership development, we touched on the importance of recognition. In that vein, I hope you will apply for one (or all!) of our awards programs: Training APEX Awards, Emerging Training Leaders Awards, and Training Magazine Network Choice Awards. Find out more at: https://trainingmag.com/awardprograms/
As I always say: A little recognition goes a long way!
