Health and wellness are at the forefront of everyone’s minds, having been pushed to the top of the priority list as an effect of the global pandemic. This highlights the need for employers and business leaders to pay more attention and allocate more resources toward ensuring that their employees are healthy, both physically and mentally.
Recent studies show that employee well-being, as well as employee stress, mental health, and burnout, are among the top factors that will impact working environments in the future. Businesses that can catch up with these changing demands have the most potential to climb up despite the increase in expenses that these changes may bring.
Benefits of a Healthy Workforce
Healthcare costs are indeed rising, and this is a common concern among employers and business leaders. However, having a healthy workforce can bring many more benefits that far outweigh the company’s potential healthcare expenses.
For one, healthy employees are more productive, and as their output increases, so will the quality of their work because they are in the best shape to do their jobs. There will also be fewer absences, which means that the company operations will be stable and are less likely to face disruptions, particularly at critical times.
Aside from these, healthy employees also show more satisfaction with their work, which lessens the attrition rate and improves retention. This will also positively impact talent acquisition as potential new hires will see how happy and content the current workers are.
Customers benefit from this as well because healthy workers are more engaged and involved with the company’s performance. As a result, they become more attentive and careful with their behavior, ensuring that customers are satisfied and will keep coming back, thus promoting the growth of the business.
Promoting Health and Wellness in the Workplace
When planning for your company’s wellness program, it is vital to consider an integrated approach rather than taking it one step at a time. HR managers and decision-makers should connect with their workers, identify the concerns that need to be addressed and work out solutions as a team.
Encouraging health and wellness in the workplace can mean many things to different people, which is why it is essential to discuss and identify your priorities as a group. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Promote Work-Life Balance
Teach your employees to work smart instead of working hard. Even though hard work is appreciated, it does not help the company at all if the workers end up getting sick because they are being overworked. Stress, fatigue, and burnout can also affect productivity and work quality, which means that errors are more likely to happen, resulting in bigger risks and possible damage to the company.
Thus, it is better to encourage your workers to manage their time properly so they can go home early and give their bodies enough rest, then go back to work the next day feeling fresh and energized. Arrange programs that can train them on time management, remind them to take much-needed vacations, and allow them to take short breaks during the day to stretch their bodies and relax their minds.
2. Keep the Working Space Clean
Do not underestimate the effect of a clean workspace on your employee’s physical and mental well-being. A clean and organized space enables your workers to do their jobs without distraction while promoting a calm and relaxed atmosphere. Regular cleaning will also ensure that disease-causing germs, viruses, and bacteria are removed before they can cause harm to the workers.
If you do not have enough manpower to do the office cleaning as often or as thoroughly as needed, consider hiring professional cleaning services to help you out. “Offices require routine cleanups to ensure that sanitation and orderliness are maintained. Professional cleaning services guarantee that every area of an office is kept clean and sanitized,” says Mike Derryberry, Chief Visionary Officer and Co-Owner of Compass Cleaning Solutions, a Commercial Cleaning Company in Phoenix.
3. Increase Wellness Program Engagement
Most companies already have the basics in place, such as conducting an annual health screening or running incentive programs to promote wellness. However, a wellness program is only effective if the employees actively participate. As such, companies also need to consider ways of getting their workers more invested in their own health and making them more involved in living a healthy lifestyle.
Organizations can achieve this by fostering a comprehensive wellness culture that addresses individual and organizational factors that promote the employees’ well-being. Factors like corporate values as well as training and leadership, should also be considered to ensure the effectiveness of the campaign down to the ground level. Some of the activities that could be implemented include wellness events like fun runs or a walkathon, wellness coaching by a health professional, and sharing of resources that can help the employees make healthier decisions, such as how to prepare a nutrition-based meal plan or how to quit smoking.
