Workplace well-being

As research consistently shows the direct correlation between employee well-being and productivity, many businesses understand just how important a happy, motivated and engaged team is as a contributor to long term business success.
Although there’s little argument over the value of employee well-being, many businesses are uncertain how to improve this element of their people management.
The key to improving the overall well-being of your workforce is understanding the components that contribute to heath and well-being, including physical, financial, emotional and social well-being.
It’s important to understand how these different aspects of health and well-being influence one another. To give an example, if an employee is having difficulties with their physical health, let’s say an injury that prevents them participating in a favourite sport, they are most likely feeling the emotional and social impacts of not being able to fully participate in that sport. When even one element – physical, financial, emotional or social – is lacking, it’s going to influence how employees perform in their role, and with others in the workplace.
As an employer, you may be well aware of the importance of health and looking for practical ways to improve productivity or boost morale while contributing to workplace well-being. Employee wellness programs are becoming popular for competitive businesses when wanting to create an attractive workplace through positive culture and employee benefits. While these are often great programmes full of worthwhile initiatives, many small and medium sized businesses simply don’t have the resources to invest into formal wellness programmes.
We have compiled some practical initiatives you may consider introducing to your workplace, to positively influence the well-being of your employees.

Physical

  • Annual flu vaccinations, some providers will come to your workplace
  • Healthy office snacks, such as a weekly free fruit snack bowl
  • Employer paid or discounted gym or health club memberships
  • Free annual skin checks, or biometric screening at work
  • Monthly massage

Financial

  • Partnering with banks or providers offering financial education
  • Providing financial assistance towards tuition further education
  • Offering performance-based incentive programs

Emotional

  • Stress management strategies
  • Provide access to meditation or mindfulness workshops or online courses
  • Emotional/mental health education – can be tips shared during team meetings, or more involved workshops
  • Employee Assistance Programs to support those dealing with mental health challenges

Social

  • Team social events
  • Celebrating birthdays or other events with shared morning tea
  • Creating spaces that are conducive to social interaction during break times

Remember, many factors contribute to employee health and well-being, from a brief conversation with a colleague, through to employer funded programmes, and even small changes will contribute to improving well-being in the workplace.
Looking for ways to improve productivity and performance in your workplace? Whether it is employee engagement, health and well-being, reward and incentive programs or a broader HR strategy around team culture, we can help.

Our outsourced HR model is flexible and we offer many options to businesses of all sizes. Get in touch with our team today for more information on how we can assist you.