How to Improve Employee Wellbeing

 

Well-being is a bit of a buzzword, but it is one of the most important aspects of healthcare at its core. How the patient ‘feels’ is critical and a vital aspect of their overall health. This understanding has been transposed to the workplace and the importance of ensuring that employees are on top of their well-being and health is critical for the business's overall success. It’s not just about how the employees feel and perform at work, but the holistic view of how they feel about themselves, at home, their physical health, and personal/professional relationships.

It is now more acceptable to take time off for mental health issues, and the number of short and long-term days lost has begun to see a marked increase. Thus, showing the importance of dealing with employee well-being. Below are the top means of improving employee well-being that all businesses must be aware of, no matter their shape size or type.

Work Environment

Creating a positive and safe work environment is an ideal way to encourage employee well-being. Ensuring that that have the proper tools at hand to do their jobs, be it functional equipment or tools such as caregiver software (if you work in the healthcare industry for instance) will keep them better organized and increase productivity. When employees stress less over their work tasks, their overall well-being will improve. 

Internal skills

Being able to build the skills internally is definitely a preferred option and one that can be easily possible with examples such as the Point Park Online Psychology Master’s Degree .This will see your business have these skills for years to come. Employee well-being is a long-term aspect for the business to consider. As such, the cost benefit of having  an internal professional to improve employee well-being and overall health is worthy of consideration.

External consultants

HR as a managed service is one of the easiest ways to improve employee well-being in your organization. Yes, it will likely cost more than having the function run internally, but you will be able to set very clear aims and objectives and have them work towards these with your employees. There are always risks when using an external consultant, and the main one is that you will still need someone internally to be able to analyze and use the data gathered over the long term or to be in a position to plan the types of activities and intentions for the improvement to well-being.

Changed employee mindsets

Effecting change in the business is a tricky task, but this will be the only way to create long-lasting change. Employees will essentially need to take responsibility for their health and well-being. None of the aforementioned means of improving well-being will work unless the employee themselves has decided to do so. This must be the first step and something that will need to be measured and tracked by whoever implements the plans to improve how your employees feel, work and perform. Many businesses have instituted reward systems and mandatory regular chat sessions to improve communication and internal conversations around well-being.

Employee well-being and the needs of the business have changed over the last 24 months, and it is now a hot topic in all businesses. The pandemic and changes to the way we live, work and socialize has made for a highly stressful work environment coupled with the anxiety of an uncertain future. This is the reason that employee well-being has never been as important as it is right now.