Employee well-being refers to how an employee feels about the different aspects of their life, be it their personal life at home, social life, job, and other activities. Unfortunately, when one suffers in favor of another, the employee loses momentum in their career. Managers and employers must be aware that gone are the days when a high salary is the only way to keep employees happy.
When discussing employee well-being, it’s essential to consider the employees’ expectations by balancing these with their duties. By doing so, stress levels are kept to a minimum, all thanks to a working environment that fosters a healthy emotional, mental, and psychological state of mind.
By introducing these perks that Fergusons Plumbing and others have done, you’ll feel confident that your organization has transformed into one where the staff feels happier, with better work-life balance, good employee well-being, and a better quality of life.
- Encourage Connection With Other Co-Workers
Some employees are more outgoing than others. But even those who classify themselves as introverts can use good social interaction. That way, employees don’t feel alone in the workplace where all they do the whole day is stay cooped up in their cubicles, going about their own thing.
Be it inside or outside your workplace, it’s essential to encourage employees to connect with others. Start by limiting demands for overtime work only to a minimum. Employees have a life outside the office, so plans are made to see friends and be with family during that time off work.
Having good relationships is vital to fostering good mental health in employees. When this is achieved, they return to the office with a new feeling of belongingness and self-worth. They won’t have to blame their job as the main culprit for why their social life and relationships are on the line.
- Prioritize Good Physical Health
Physical health is often one of the first facets of one’s life that suffers, especially when overworked. Stress gets the best of employees, and the next thing you know, you have an office where the rate of absenteeism is high. This shouldn’t be the case.
Unfortunately, many people who live busy often think of their physical health as last in importance. It’s up to management and the employer to find ways to encourage good physical health so employees don’t have any excuse to be negligent about it.
These are examples of things that can be done in this regard:
- Offer regular health checks in the office by bringing in doctors, nurses, and even dentists, if necessary;
- Establish employee assistance programs on top of the health insurance policy each employee gets as a part of their benefits;
- Add a health insurance policy to each employee’s benefits.
Discuss this well with your human resource department, so you can find the best ways to prioritize your employees’ good physical health. Once successful, your employees feel like their health and well-being matter to you, and they’re more than just someone working for the employer’s benefit.
- Offer Opportunities To Learn New Skills
Learning never stops, even for top executives. Unfortunately, even if they may crave it, many employees stay away from further education simply because it could be too heavy for them timewise and money-wise.
That said, you may not be able to offer further and continuing education to every employee. But remember, that’s not the only way to learn things or update one’s skills. There are seminars and training, both online and face-to-face, that give employees more certification attached to their name.
Whenever possible, offer these opportunities to team members. This is for your organization’s benefit when employees are better skilled. But while achieving that, you can also give employees that sought-after learning experience they may not have been able to accomplish on their own.
When they report to work, employees have that renewed confidence that they can contribute more to the workplace now that they’ve just been sent to a conference. In effect, they feel like they’re doing much for the company rather than just doing their routine job and staying at the bare minimum.
- Take Notice Of Employees Who Seem Different
Good department managers aren’t just there to help get the work done. They can also sense when they have team members who seem to be different or who are struggling. While they can’t force those team members to open up, at least make them feel like they’re not alone in whatever it is they’re struggling with.
Remind each other to be mindful of their co-workers and take action when they feel such is needed. That one conversation may have been what they needed to turn their feelings around and look through a more positive side.
Employees need to feel like their workplace is a safe space to discuss their feelings. There’s no fear of judgment, gossip, or worse, an adverse reaction from a distant and cold manager.
Final Words on Promoting Employee Well-Being
Improving one’s well-being can be challenging, especially when discussing the workplace. Regardless of your industry, there’s no denying how many offices today have become magnets of stress. With so little time, there seems to be so much more to do. And if you happen to belong to an organization where management doesn’t care about their team members, those feelings become even more pressing. The examples above are only a few things employers and human resource managers can do to foster and achieve a happy workplace where employees feel their well-being matters.
