How continuous development contributes to good mental health and productivity

Chances are you have seen a fair number of articles over the years arguing that businesses must continuously develop their employees’ skill sets. Typically, these articles point out that in a time of massive technological change, businesses cannot hope to stay competitive unless they constantly upskill their employees. They also often point out that prospective job candidates are aware of how rapidly things are changing and see career development programmes as non-negotiables. 

However, those are not the only reasons why companies should invest in continuous growth and learning. Doing so can also be incredibly beneficial to the mental health and productivity of a company’s employees. That, in turn, can have positive impacts on the company. 

For starters, research shows that employees who are given opportunities to advance themselves are more likely to stay at a company. Some 22% of workers, for instance, report that not having opportunities for career advancement is a reason to quit a job. Additionally, employees are three times more likely to look for work elsewhere if they don’t feel supported. 

As three senior associates at CMS South Africa point out, there is so much more to continuous development than career development and company loyalty. It is also important, they note, to view employees as whole and complete people and help them develop every aspect of themselves as individuals. 

Behind this sentiment, the three associates recently attended a CMS Africa Academy programme held in Maputo, Mozambique (“the academy”).  The Academy has been set up by the firm to provide a range of opportunities for CMS people to learn and practise soft skills that are vital to a lawyer’s work. It delivers a wide range of training and coaching programmes, seminars and webinars on soft skills.

According to Nomfundo Mkatshwa-Jackson, who specialises in dispute resolution, the academy has been particularly helpful in solidifying the importance of mental health and productivity in the workplace. 

“One exercise I really enjoyed involved asking participants to think about our lifelines,” she says. “As the facilitator explained, this was an opportunity to think about past events (good and/or bad) from our lives and how these impacted our lives and feed into the workplace.” 

“There are a couple of reasons why I enjoyed that session in particular,” she adds. “One is because it’s not very common, especially in corporate spaces, to deal with and untangle those emotions. But it also made me realise how similar we all are and that, no matter how alone you feel in a particular situation in the workplace, you probably aren’t.” 

Thulaganyo Selokela, who specialises in tax and exchange control, has meanwhile realised that this kind of holistic approach to mental health can also help prevent burnout. 

“What was common in the discussions I had is that we all feel like we’re on the hamster wheel, where we are chasing the next thing,” she says. “Even when it comes to our accomplishments, we tend to talk about career milestones over other achievements that have brought us joy and fulfilment.” 

“I think the other issue is that people expect you to be strong,” she adds. ” People just expect you to get on with it. But I’m not a machine. Sure, I’m great at what I do but that’s a part of me, not the complete me.”

For Diann Bishunath, who specialises in corporate, commercial and mergers and acquisitions  (M&A), it’s also important that companies constantly remind employees about the support available to them and that they can lean on their colleagues for subject matter support. 

“I think when you’re sitting in your local office, you don’t think about the resources that are available,” she says. “You also don’t realise that your peers have the same issues you have and that your problem probably isn’t a new one, meaning that there are proven and successful ways of dealing with it.”

She also points out, however, that we should not discount the positive mental health impact that career-focused development initiatives can have. She points to a session on law firm economics during the academy programme as an example of this kind of development.

“As a lawyer, you need to understand the business of law, not just how you do your day-to-day work,” she says. “You have to understand how a law firm works. And it’s something that nobody really tells you. And I believe that as you become more senior, you need to start exploring and understanding those elements. Because at the end of the day, to be a successful lawyer, you need to bring in business and in doing so make profits for your firm.” 

It’s also something, she adds, which contributes to a feeling of belonging, because you know how what you do contributes to a greater whole. 

Ultimately then, it should be clear that investments in the continuous development of employees should not simply be undertaken with the intention of developing more highly skilled and productive employees. While this kind of development is undoubtedly important, especially in a constantly changing business environment, the real results come when the focus is shifted to the whole person. 

That helps create employees who understand themselves and their colleagues, who feel comfortable turning to each other for assistance, and who know why they are important to the organisation. And that kind of expertise cannot be bought!