A company’s greatest asset is its people!
Your employees bring to the table a wealth of knowledge, expertise, experience, and relationships (with suppliers and customers) that are invaluable to your organisation and hard to replace.
In my previous blog, I highlighted the seven key benefits that career development can bring to an organisation. In this article, I’d like to build on this further by looking at why it’s important for companies to focus on employee wellbeing. You will see some areas of overlap, so I thought it would be a great topic to explore together.
Improving mental health awareness
Awareness of mental ill health has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, but many people still feel a stigma around opening up to others about their feelings and experiences.
Wellbeing practices aren’t a ‘nice to have’ or something that only larger organisations can implement. It’s important that appropriate strategies to improve and maintain employee wellbeing are a priority in every company and at ALL levels of the organisation.
Implementing a wellbeing strategy
Embedding wellbeing throughout an organisation can reap many benefits, including:
- Reduced absenteeism
- Reduced staff turnover
- Improved engagement, productivity, and morale
- Improved collaboration and teamwork
All of these contribute to an increase in the bottom line and make an organisation more attractive to new talent.
Wellbeing encompasses many areas of our lives and can mean different things to different people. Generally, it can be broken down into the following areas:
- Physical health: Getting enough sleep, eating a varied, healthy diet, exercising, and engaging in daily activities.
- Stress management. A suitable work-life balance, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, targets, a manageable workload, and opportunities to relax and participate in hobbies.
- Financial wellbeing. Financial education, suitable renumeration, fair pay, access to economic benefits and financial planning.
- Social wellbeing. Building and maintaining healthy relationships, meaningful interactions, and work-life balance to pursue social interactions.
- Professional development. Learning new skills, meeting new people, and career advancement.
Three key areas for wellbeing focus
Environment
We spend a lot of time at work, and our environment can have an enormous impact on our thoughts and feelings.
Make sure your workplace environments are accessible, well-maintained, comfortable, well-lit and can be adjusted to meet the needs of individuals.
Are the necessary tools and equipment available for employees to perform their duties easily? Ensure these are regularly maintained and have clear procedures for what to do if things break or go missing.
Look at reasonable adjustments that employees may require, including quiet areas for those with neurodiversity, or adjustments that can be made for employees experiencing menopause symptoms, such as a relaxed uniform policy and temperature controls.
Management
Managers who are engaged and focused on employee wellbeing are more likely to be able to spot the early signs of emotional distress in their employees, such as increased absenteeism, a drop in productivity, or less enthusiasm and engagement with colleagues.
If managers take time to get to know their staff and work on building meaningful relationships, wellbeing can be monitored, and employees will feel more comfortable talking to their line manager about any issues they may have.
Regular one-on-one conversations with employees enable a two-way conversation that can help set and maintain manageable workloads, provide opportunities for praise and recognition, and discuss employee development.
Encourage physical wellbeing in the workplace by ensuring employees have time to take regular breaks to eat well and encourage fresh air and exercise. Are any of your employees qualified to teach yoga or mindfulness which could be provided for colleagues at lunchtime?
Since the pandemic, there’s been a shift towards more homeworking, and the line between work and home has become increasingly blurred. People may also feel isolated from colleagues now that there is more physical separation. Managers can help to arrange social events (a simple coffee and a chat on your online meeting platform) and team-building exercises, which can bring people together and help them feel less detached from their colleagues.
Other areas for managers to consider regarding employee wellbeing are:
- Sharing information and communicating with staff effectively
- Effective change management
- Dealing with harassment and bullying
- Allowing employees to be autonomous and delegating accordingly
Signpost employees to the resources available to help support their mental wellbeing, such as an occupational health department, peer support groups, employee assistance programmes, and online resources. I’ve included some for you at the end of this blog.
Culture
We spend a huge proportion of our time at work, so it’s no surprise that a toxic workplace can have a detrimental effect on our mental health and overall wellbeing.
Think about creating a culture where people WANT to come to work rather than feel they have to do it to support themselves and their families.
If you don’t already have your mission and underpinning values set out for you, assemble your team to create a shared vision everyone can feel part of and contribute to. This helps to foster a sense of belonging and gives people clear direction.
In a larger organisation where this has already been cascaded from higher management, you can still explore behaviours and attitudes with your team and how these can contribute to shared success and a culture that everyone feels proud to work in.
Everyone wants to feel valued, listened to, and respected. Create an inclusive culture, respect everyone’s unique personalities and ideas, and enable opportunities for employees to advance and grow in an organisation.
Helpful online resources
Here’s a list of some online resources that you might find helpful when it comes to employee wellbeing.
https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-your-staff/useful-resources/
https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/lifes-challenges/work-related-stress/
Are you interested in learning more about how employee wellbeing can benefit your company?
Let’s have a chat and discuss how we can work together on this. You can book your free virtual coffee and chat here.
It would also be great to connect with you on Facebook and LinkedIn!
