Employee wellbeing is one of the most important topics to focus on in the workplace today. In order to foster a happy workforce, it’s crucial for company leaders to make sure your employees have the resources they need for their overall wellbeing. Wellbeing does not just refer to physical health, it equally refers to mental health, too.
The impacts of focusing on your employee’s wellbeing are massive. By taking better care of your employees, your organization will see more successful results for a few reasons. Offering health and wellness services such as Occupational Health Services and Telehealth with the combination of flexible work arrangements and PTO will create higher employee morale, which will lead to better retention rates and recruitment efficiency. In fact, statistics show that about 9 in 10 employees say they feel more motivated at their jobs if their leaders support wellbeing efforts. who have strong overall wellbeing are 6x more likely to be engaged at work and are 32% more likely to stay with a company.
Read on to find out how you can increase wellbeing in the workplace.
Offer a Wide-Spread Wellness Program
Over the past two decades, the trend for worksite wellness has shifted away from facility-based fitness centers to a more holistic approach encompassing a broader array of informational, educational and motivational programs and activities. This approach is designed to promote the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of a person’s health. Other offerings you may see in a wellness program include financial wellness seminars, virtual fitness subscriptions, health tracking programs and activities such as yoga and meditation.
Today’s wellness programming efforts rely on both a combination of low-tech and high-tech delivery systems and on-site wellness activities. Your organization can curate wellness strategies through the use of professional wellness coordinators, health coaches or fitness centers. As a best practice, however, you should consider offering some on-site wellness resources to engage more employees so they don't have to go out of their way to participate in the activities you're providing.
Have an Occupational Health Program in Place
Additionally, having a workplace Occupational Health Service will give employees rapid access to professional specialists which will help protect, maintain and support everyone's mental health in the workplace. The ultimate goal of an Occupational Health Program is to help maintain a healthy workforce. Occupational Health covers a variety of activities while also ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.
A program like this will typically offer pre-employment health assessments and provide screening to identify where health issues might occur and proactively develop solutions to make sure that your employees aren’t forced to leave work due to health challenges. An Occupational Health Program will also take organization-wide steps to reduce absences related to health issues.
Create a Flexible Work Environment
In today’s world, candidates are looking for a work environment that’s going to be flexible to reasonably support their lifestyle. This could mean a few things, such as:
- A hybrid workplace schedule
- Flexible working hours; some people may find it easier to work 10 to 6 or others, 7 to 3, depending on what hours they feel the most productive or have other responsibilities they'd like to attend to.
- A fully remote option; the world of work has changed forever. Many people are now used to working from home and may find that they feel more productive without the worry of a commute or going into an office.
- Unlimited PTO that they can reasonably use as needed
Offering these flexible aspects and focusing on your employee’s wellbeing will benefit them and your organization in many ways. It will foster long-term retention rates that will benefit your business and help you meet your strategic business goals.
