People spend the majority of their waking time within the workplace, so there’s no doubt that things in work impact their personal life. Wellbeing within the workplace is a well-publicised topic and has quite rightly become a key focus for employers. It’s something that we hear a lot these days, but what does wellbeing really mean?
Wellbeing is essentially how someone feels about various aspects of their life – their home life, health, relationships with others, job and other activities. It’s about whether they feel well and happy. Positive wellbeing is important for employers and employees as it results in a happier and more productive workforce.
There are many things that can be done as an employer to ensure you are doing everything possible to have a positive impact in and out of the workplace.
- Make employee recognition and praise a top priority of your company culture
This is possibly the easiest one to introduce into the workplace. Praising your employees and making them feel valued will increase positivity and productivity in the workplace. This can be implemented with a simple email to recognise good work, as well as incentives such as employee of the month. - Introduce flexible hours for improved work/life balance
As we’ve already mentioned, we spend a lot of our waking time in the workplace, but this can have a negative impact on things outside of work. We all have a range of priorities such as family, faith, community and hobbies. Allowing flexible hours to accommodate things such as watching your child’s school play, attending an appointment or celebrating certain holidays which in turn will have a positive impact on employees wellbeing. It will also show that you can trust your employees and support their lifestyle. - Encourage healthy diets
It can be easy to get into a bit of a slum at work with lifestyle choices such as your diet. Having small things such as filtered water and fresh fruit available in the office may encourage employees to opt for these healthy options as opposed to carb/sugar overloading with unhealthy snacks and drinks. - Provide support for mental health
Encouraging people to speak up and reach out for help if they’re struggling with mental health is important. This may be something that people are ashamed and embarrassed about, but having a culture that’s understanding of the importance of looking after your mental health will make employees feel more comfortable about reaching out and getting the support they need. - Make health & safety a priority
It’s important to make sure all employees are working with the correct health and safety measures in mind. It could be as simple as ensuring the right sized ladder is readily available for a task or encouraging employees to use back support on their chair if they sit down all day.
Whatever industry you’re in, improving health and safety conditions amongst all employees could decrease depression and tiredness, and generally make everyone function more productively – and more safely. - Encourage employees to set their own goals and targets
Every job comes with a job description and all employees are working towards something. Having something to work towards keeps you motivated and on track to succeeding within your job role. Employees may feel more motivated and fulfilled within their job role if they have the option to set some of their own targets to work towards and being involved with planning the strategy to achieve these. - Introduce as much natural light as possible to the workplace
In a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, access to natural lighting was something desired by many employees. There are many perks of having as much natural light in an office as possible, including reducing the risk of seasonal depression and improving quality of sleep. Daylight beaming into the office isn’t possible 24/7 but having lighter coloured walls and furniture and opting for LED lighting opposed to fluorescent lighting is a sure-fire way to make it much more comfortable working conditions for employees. - Promote positive working relationships
It goes without saying that working relationships have a massive impact on coming into work. Building friendships with colleagues can increase fulfilment within the workplace as well as creating a positive work culture with a sociable atmosphere. This can also result in everyone being open and honest with each other, allowing more constructive feedback and the chance to have ideas and opinions voiced by everyone. Encouraging good working relationships can be done by implementing more team building activities and encouraging regular social events outside of the office. - Focus on personal development
No one wants to be in a dead-end job where they feel there’s no progressional available for them. Giving employees the opportunity to develop themselves with clear progression routes and further training available will improve employee morale and make them feel valued. As an employer, you will also see an improvement in the quality of your workforce and increase in staff retention. - Encourage employees to focus on their physical health
Focusing on physical health is a key factor in positive wellbeing. Encouraging your employees to take their full entitlement of a lunch break and getting away from their desk/workstation and going for a brisk walk will have them coming back to the office refreshed and contribute towards their physical health. On top of this, encouraging staff to take sick days and work from home will also reduce the risk of illness spreading around the office keeping employees physically well.
Back in October, The B2W Group held a wellness month where we implemented a range of activities to educate staff on the importance of their wellness within the workplace. Taking direct feedback from our employees, we implemented many of the ideas as a permanent feature in the office and continue to educate all staff and learners with the importance of looking after themselves.
For more information and to read more about Health & Wellbeing at The B2W Group, check out our blogs here.
