6 Surefire Ways to Promote Workplace Wellness
In this post-pandemic era, employee burnout is still rampant. With rampant burnout, there’s rampant turnover. Thus, employers face the challenges of maintaining an engaged and healthy workforce.
Fortunately, workplace wellness addresses these challenges. It has been in process for decades to end toxic workplace culture. Yet, it only made significant progress recently as companies refined and enacted them.
What is Workplace Wellness and Why Does It Matter?
Workplace wellness is an organizational effort. It aims to empower healthy choices among employees.
Companies install these programs through individual or communal activities. They also install them through company policies.
Outside the US, workplace wellness is also known as corporate wellbeing. But wellness at work goes beyond mindfulness and healthy diets.
Here we count six doable ways to introduce workplace wellness.
The 6 Guaranteed Ways of Boosting Workplace Wellness
- Invest in your employees' health through health coverage and benefits. The pandemic has shown that employees need care benefits to be safe and productive.
Even before the pandemic, 40% of employees value healthcare coverage over a pay raise. Today, 57% of business leaders are paying attention by prioritizing care benefits. - Encourage employees to move throughout the day. Did you know that sitting for long periods is bad for your health? It's linked to high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. It increases the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.
Therefore, encourage employees to stand up and walk around by giving them extra breaks. Team leaders can lead by example to make employees feel at ease.
Having standing tables and under-desk bikes can also increase physical activity and prevent the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. - Offer mental health support at work. 1 in 5 adults in the US will struggle with mental health. In 2021, a survey showed that 92% of employers expanded their wellness programs in the effects of the pandemic.
As an employer, you can provide workers with self-assessment tools. Offer them mental healthcare coverage with no or low out-of-pocket fees. Train supervisors to detect signs and symptoms of stress and depression.
For employees, choose proven programs, like our Emotional Life Skills at Work. It's an interactive and scientific approach to cultivating workplace resilience. - Improve communication lines at work. Give employees the avenue to speak up. It helps take part in the discussions affecting their work stressors. It also encourages honest discourse on matters affecting workplace productivity and culture.
- Accommodate flexible working options. Offer remote working options or hybrid work. This may also entail shifting from hours-based to output-based work.
Letting your employees decide on what best suits their working styles builds trust. It also boosts their sense of self. Accommodations result in higher productivity and increased creativity. - Expand senior care and child care benefits. 17% of US workers care for their elderly. Half of them are also caring for children under 18. By offering support services to employees, employees are less stressed and burnt out.
Most employees don't see themselves as caregivers. So companies must make them aware of their support services, such as daycare facilities. They can also help them connect to external services for elderly care.
Workplace Wellness Starts Within
There are a lot of factors affecting wellness at work. The above steps aim to prevent burnout and turnover. Employers play a significant role in instituting these changes.
You can start by offering them Emotional Life Skills® at Work. This interactive movie has helped thousands of employees by learning:
- Impact of Mental Health Challenges
- The Five Signs of Emotional Suffering
- The Healthy Habits of Emotional Well-Being
- Building A Community of Support
- Bystander Interventions
Experience the best self-care practices for yourself with our free demo.
Sources:
https://www.businessgrouphealth.org/resources/2021...