The importance of employee well-being has been greatly understated in the past. That being said, companies are now starting to recognise the importance and the benefits of investing in employee wellbeing. It used to be a case where employee well-being programmes were confined to bigger organisations with a big budget and the luxury of a big HR department.
The fact is that companies are not just investing in employee well-being to be nice, there are tangible benefits of having access to well-being professionals and should be a consideration for all companies. This post is going to dive into some of the benefits of investing in an employee well-being scheme.
Employee well-being has become an even bigger issue during the pandemic. Here’s all you need to know about keeping your staffs health and wellbeing at the forefront of all you do.
Employee wellbeing has never been more of an issue. The global pandemic has touched every part of our lives, both personal and professional.
Many business owners have had to take out loans and implement new ways of working just to keep things running.
Employees have been concerned about losing their jobs – those who have been placed on furlough still have a nervous wait until September to find out if they’ll still have a job to go back to. And those who have been forced to work from home during the pandemic have had their own issues to deal with, including isolation and mental health struggles. While working from home can help with work life balance, this benefit is all but negated when people have nowhere else to go and are stuck between the same four walls all day.
Balancing life and work
It is important for employees to have a healthy work and life balance. In reality, people get ill or have babies or get married or have mental health problems or move house. It is important for them to know that their work will not hinder what they have planned for their lives outside of work.
Well-being programmes encourage healthy living and reduce risk factors while at the same time increases health behaviours.
Improve productivity
The main aim of employee wellbeing programmes is to improve productivity across an organisation. Well-being programmes contribute to improving job satisfaction which in turn increases the quality of work, productivity rates and financial performances.
As an employer, if your employees feel that you care about their well-being they would be willing to go the extra mile to make sure that tasks are carried out to the best of their ability.
Recruitment and retention
In terms of recruitment, having an employee well-being programme in place can help to attract a wide variety of applicants. Companies that have a reputation for prioritising their employees’ well-being will appear more attractive to potential applicants than companies that do not.
In terms of retention, employees are more likely to come into work every day and engage with their employers when they know that you care about their well-being. Not only does this improve retention, it also reduces recruitment costs as you are hiring fewer new employees.
Reduced absences
If your organisation is well invested in their employee well-being, then you should notice a reduction in the number of sick leave and lateness. Employees are likely to feel more engaged with their employer and enjoy coming to work where they know that their employer is focused on well-being.
Employee engagement
You are also able to build a community within your organisation. Promoting health related group activities will connect the employees not only to your company but also to each other. This provides them with an opportunity to form new relationships and engage with other members of the company the they wouldn’t normally engage with.
Work-related stress
One of the contributing factors to employee well-being is learning how to reduce or manage stress. For those working in high demand jobs, it is important to know how to manage stress at work to avoid reduced productivity or work-related illnesses. Each job brings its’ own stresses though, so always put the well-being and mental health of your employees, whether they work on the shop floor or in the boardroom.
Flexible working
Offering employees flexible working benefits is a great way to help them keep a healthy work-life balance, and can even improve productivity. And if you’re concerned employees could lose touch while working from home, consider all meetings can be held via a conference call, a simple, fuss-free way to stay in touch.
