Workplace Wellbeing – What You Need to Know
Creating a wellness culture is more important than ever for employers. The millennial generation in particular value a happy and healthy workplace more than any other generation – most would be willing to sacrifice better pay to work for a company where they feel appreciated. Businesses should cultivate a healthy workplace to keep young, dynamic talent.
There’s also strong evidence to show that good employee health and wellbeing boosts organisational health, and can improve your business.
There are many reasons you might want to develop and implement a health and wellbeing program, including to:
- Improve staff motivation, productivity and performance
- Reduce costs associated with absenteeism, illness and workers’ compensation claims
- Improve the workplace culture and keep your staff happy and loyal to your organisation
- Attract talented, new employees.
The following suggestions should help your business begin this process:
- Arrange an employee appreciation day.
Expressing gratitude and recognising hard work leads to happier employees. If you haven’t already, consider adding one or two days per year dedicated to your employees. Set up a physically or mentally challenging activity for this day, and include a lunch or dinner in the mix. Use a normal workday – you may lose one day of productivity but your employees will make up for it in the days to follow, as they’ll feel more appreciated and motivated.
- Offer healthy snacks.
Make healthy snacks available for your staff throughout the day, by stocking up on fruit, nuts, cheese, seaweed snacks, protein bars, carrots/celery, hummus, and natural/greek yoghurt each week. Your staff will feel more energetic, satisfied and motivated throughout the day.
- Organise a walking or running club.
This is a great way to get employees moving and socialising. Employees will enjoy the opportunity to exercise and will be alert for the latter part of the day. As the club gains participants, the camaraderie and pride will increase. Healthy and happy employees will contribute to the company’s success and stick around to watch it grow.
- Offer flexible working arrangements.
Offer hours of work that suit your staff, such as later starting and finishing times. You could also offer one remote working day per week. Your staff will feel appreciated and will be more likely to stick around and feel motivated to always do their best at work.
Contact us today to learn more ways we can help you build a wellness culture in your workplace, or check out details of our upcoming conferences.