A recent study found that 79% of employees suffered from burnout in the workplace. And those employees are 63% more likely to take a sick day because of it.
So what does that mean for your workplace? Not only could the majority of your employees be unhappy with their jobs, but this unhappiness could cost your business a lot of money.
Supporting their employees in terms of health and wellness pays off for businesses. Here are some brilliant ways companies boost worker’s personal well being.
1. Encourage Physical Activity
Healthy employee well-being begins a healthy physical lifestyle.
Most office jobs are sedentary in nature. In fact, one in four Americans sits for more than eight hours every day. Sitting, referred to as the new smoking, leads to a higher rate of heart issues.
Take small measures to improve the physical health of your employees. Start by offering transitioning standing desks. This allows employees to switch between sitting and standing throughout the day to get their blood pumping.
Then, consider adding in a few pieces of workout equipment to the office or bringing in a fitness class instructor. Invite employees to get physical before or after the workday.
You could set up a reward system for attending classes or working out on equipment. Consider allowing employees to earn extra vacation hours by meeting certain goals, such as working out for a certain amount of hours in a month.
2. Promote Hobbies, Passions
Many people achieve a sense of well being by participating in their hobbies or passions. While all employers hope that their employees have a passion for their work, it’s okay to accept that your employees may have other passion projects.
Change the way your workplace currently functions by promoting these unique passions and hobbies.
Invite your employees to display their hobbies at work. You could start a program where a different employee shares about their passion each week. Maybe they can teach other employees how to knit, or share photos from their last mission trip.
By showing that you care about your employee’s passions, you’re showing that you care about how they are outside of the workplace.
3. Use an Employee Assistance Program
There are many employee well-being programs out there to help promote a healthy workplace.
These programs come in the form of a personalized app for your employees. The program promotes the mental, social, physical, and financial well-being of each individual. Depending on what support the employee is in need of, the app provides helpful solutions and suggestions.
The employee is connected with a network of counselors and coaches to help them through their struggles. All with the promise of confidentiality.
If this sounds like it could be useful to your business, learn more here.
4. Help Healthy Family Relationships
Healthy family relationships encourage healthy well-being. Most people keep their work and personal lives separate, but it doesn’t need to be that way.
Start by encouraging family presence in the workplace. Allow your employees to bring their children to work if schools are closed for the day. Or invite spouses to office parties to join in on celebrations.
Also, if your workplace doesn’t have an annual family picnic, start one. This is a whole workday devoted to coworkers interacting with each other’s family members. Have a group meal and have team building activities planned throughout the day.
5. Recognize, Award Employees
When employees feel valued, they are less likely to feel burned out by the daily tasks of work. When someone has good performance or goes above and beyond, make sure you’re rewarding them for their actions.
Starting an employee of the month designation is a great way to do this. Have a ceremony each month to name the new recipient. Give the employee recognition somewhere in the office and reward them with special perks throughout the month.
Also, reward little actions you observe. If you see someone handling an upset customer well, give them their favorite candy bar. If someone makes a huge sale, buy them lunch for the day. These little actions go a long way towards the wellbeing of your employees.
6. Accept Feedback for Improvement
If you’re looking for ways to improve the workplace environment, don’t forget to ask employees for their feedback.
They may have certain requests that are easy to provide but you never would have considered on your own. Maybe they’d appreciate a pet-friendly office or a longer lunch break to see a therapist during the workday.
By asking for their feedback, they’ll feel like their opinion at the office is valued. And if you follow through with some of their requests, they’ll feel listened to and encouraged to speak up.
Be sure to allow employees to leave anonymous requests too. A feedback box is a perfect way to receive honest suggestions from employees who may not be comfortable letting their grievances known publicly.
7. Teach Work-Life Balance
A healthy work-life balance plays an implant role in workplace well being. You can’t expect your employees to come in before sunrise and leave after dinner every day and continue to perform at their best.
In today’s world, work-life balance comes down to flexibility. In fact, 70% of employees say that they’re allowed to work remotely at least once per week. By providing the flexibility to work from home on occasion, you allow your employees to balance their home and family responsibilities.
If your business model does not allow for remote work, provide employees flexibility with their schedule. If they want to leave early on a certain day or work longer shifts to have a three-day weekend, consider allowing it. Let your employees choose their schedule as long as they continue to perform well.
Make Personal Well Being a Priority Again
When employers make personal well being a priority again, they will see a shift in their employee’s happiness and productivity.
Show your employees you care about them by implementing one, or a few, of these initiatives in the workplace. If you’re unsure what initiative to start with, provide a few options to your employees and ask which one they would most prefer.
Looking for more advice on promoting a healthy working environment? Search through the health-related articles on this site.