Photo by @brookecagle
After the devastating effects of the pandemic on people’s mental and physical health, it is more important than ever that employers are creating a healthy environment for workers and showing the value they place on their employees’ wellbeing. There are several ways that a business can prioritize the health of staff as a part of the employment package. Read on for more information.
Promote good physical health in the workplace
Encouraging staff to look after their physical health can come in various methods; for example, by providing a healthy lunch menu and creating exercise clubs in the office. Many offices even offer an in-house massage service on a weekly or daily basis. These types of offerings can make an employee feel more encouraged instead of worried that they should prioritize their workload over their health. The physical benefits of helping employees to avoid work-related muscle pain or other conditions are also advantageous to the business, as it will reduce the chances of work absences and long-term sickness.
Deliver management training
Training your management team sufficiently is extremely important to ensure the rest of your team is set up for success. Creating effective communication skills so that when employees need support, there are processes set up to help them. A manager who is ill-equipped to handle staff needs can do much more harm than good, by making employees feel unsupported and undervalued. This will often lead to a lack of productivity, burn-out, and even resignations.
Provide mental health awareness training for all
As well as managers having basic training, it is useful for all staff to have mental health awareness training. This can help provide information on key symptoms to look out for in common mental health illnesses such as high functioning depression. Having a plan in place to support your employees and their mental health goes a long way. With mental health struggles being more prominent in society than ever, training your team on awareness is extremely important.
Provide a healthcare service and counseling service
These days it is becoming more expected for employers to offer a private healthcare service as part of the employment contract offered in a business. Often this will include either a face-to-face appointment or a telephone counseling service. This service remains anonymous, and the data is not reported back to the company. A service such as this can offer vital support to employees who do not feel comfortable approaching friends and family or are unable to access services elsewhere.
Offer volunteer placement days
Lastly, allowing staff to follow their passions, and showing that their involvement in other aspects of life such as charity work brings value to the company, is a positive step towards increasing health, employee engagement, and social skills. Many businesses will offer a set number of days for staff to volunteer for a nonprofit each year. This could be organized by the business or by the employee, and can often be physical activities such as a community gardening project. Many organizations are now offering the service of being a middleman for companies to organize this.
However your company supports employee wellbeing, this should be thought through carefully and delivered sensitively with the involvement of employees, allowing them to express their needs within the business.
