With employees spending a great deal of their waking hours in the workplace, many factors can threaten their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and consequently, their productivity. These can manifest in the form of burnout, stress, anxiety, illness, strained relationships, absenteeism, poor job performance, and quitting.
By prioritizing employees’ wellness, employers can help them feel valued, improving their job satisfaction, loyalty, and morale. As for the company’s benefits, happy employees can easily translate into strong customer service, innovation, sales, and huge profits. Employers can use the following interventions to promote sustainable and productive workplaces.
1. Promote Work-life Balance and Autonomy
Flexibility and autonomy allow employees the bandwidth to meet personal and family needs while still being productive.
Various flexible work arrangements have been shown to increase job satisfaction and decrease work stress. These include allowing employees to vary their schedules, choose where to work, and get paid time off when necessary.
Additionally, workload management promotes work-life balance. This can be achieved through allocating manageable work hours and workload and proper staffing, which help distribute workload and minimize overwhelm and burnout.
Autonomy is also crucial for work-life balance. Micromanagement can kill morale. Instead, employers should adequately train employees to work independently but set achievable milestones and goals. This empowers employees to prioritize, set boundaries, and manage their time independently.
2. Explore Comprehensive Health and Well-Being Initiatives
Workplaces have long been breeding zones for mental and physical health problems. In a study by Mental Health America, 81% of workers report that workplace stress affects their mental health and 73% of workers report that it affects their relationships with family, friends, or co-workers. ILO also estimates that 2.6 million people die every year due to work-related diseases. This calls for proactive and holistic employee health and wellness approaches.
Employers should explore on-site programs or offer reimbursements for fitness programs, regular health checkups, nutrition programs, weight-loss management, mental health subscriptions, health apps, addiction programs, and more. They can leverage a health rewards program that encourages participation or rewards participation or goal attainment.
Additionally, companies can organize monthly challenges and encourage employees to stay physically active on their own and take breaks at work. Employees can also greatly benefit from mental health support programs at work such as coaching and therapy to foster resilience, awareness, stress management, mindfulness, and more.
These initiatives promote a preventative rather than a reactive approach to health. They motivate employees to make positive life changes. Studies show that some companies have already incorporated various wellness programs and that employers who have adopted such interventions report reduced sick days, loyalty, and increased productivity among employees.
3. Offer Professional Development and Growth Opportunities
Employees should seek to provide continuous career development opportunities through educational programs, coaching, courses, workshops, conferences, and more. These can help employees feel more confident in their skills and fulfilled in their jobs and reduce stress, anxiety, burnout, and feelings of inadequacy.
They should also reward well-performing employees through promotions, salary increments, or recognitions to help them feel appreciated and keep them motivated. Regular performance reviews and constructive feedback for all employees also foster productivity.
4. Foster a Positive Work Environment
Employees thrive in workplaces where they feel a sense of belonging and are supported by management and colleagues.
Poor management can lead to burnout and quitting. Managers should be trained in emotional intelligence skills including empathy and thoughtfulness. These can enable them to listen to employees’ needs, show work-life balance support, and avoid making unrealistic demands.
Furthermore, supportive friendly relations should be encouraged between employees, and activities like team-building and community involvement incorporated.
Although many organizations have made huge strides in terms of diversity, equality, and inclusivity (DEI), more policies and programs should be put in place to ensure everyone feels safe and valued. This minimizes psychological distress and improves engagement and job satisfaction.
5. Consider Comfort and Ergonomics
In a 2018 study, 30% of the close to one million days away from work (DAFW) cases in the USA were a result of work-related musculoskeletal injuries and diseases — which include back pains, osteoarthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, sprains, fractures, and more.
Workplace-specific ergonomics like furniture modifications are therefore super important. Together with posture training, assistive technologies, and supportive devices — these interventions can greatly promote employees’ well-being and productivity.
Proper lighting, air conditioning, plants, and other space modifications are quite handy for comfort.
6. Welcome Feedback
Employees know better the things impacting their well-being, work-life, and productivity. Employers should seek feedback through surveys, meetings, or emails, follow up with appropriate interventions, and communicate impossibilities. This helps employees feel heard and included in problem-solving and decision-making.
Conclusion
When employees know their health and well-being are prioritized, they can profoundly reciprocate with dedication, loyalty, and high profitability. Employers should regularly engage their employees to establish tailored solutions that adequately address employees’ needs.
