I wrote last week about a presentation I saw that stressed the need for high-performing companies to focus on employee well being, even going beyond just physical and mental health.
An important question to ask: Is that the role of the company? In other words, if you make and sell widgets, shouldn't the focus be on that and not something as large and difficult as employee well being?
The answer: yes, the company should be focused on employee well being, even if it can't focus on all the areas.
This goes back quite simply to the 2 goals of every manager: To get results and build great teams. The goals don't have any qualifiers like "as long as it only focuses on business related items" or "as long as it isn't too difficult" or even "as long as it is done in the same way we did it 30 years ago because it worked then".
When a manager focuses on employee well being, you increase engagement, which has been proven to help you get better results. When you focus on well being, you get the best out of your employees and the best employees will want to work for you.
It would be a lot easier to say "I know you want career development, but you'll have to find that on your own in your non-working time". But easier doesn't mean effective. If you don't start focusing on these things, starting in small ways if you have to, you will not be able to meet your 2 manager goals consistently.