3 Actionable Ways to Promote Worker Well-Being

Running a business is a steep learning curve, but one of the things that you likely learned early on is that employees are the beating heart of your business and central to its success. Having the best team to help bring your vision for your business to life and to ensure it runs efficiently on a daily basis is invaluable. However, many businesses overlook the vital role their team members play in the company’s success. Failing to appreciate employees can lead to a wide range of issues, but ultimately, your best team members are unlikely to continue working for your business if they do not feel valued.

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Investing in your employees and helping to improve employee wellbeing is an excellent way to demonstrate to your team that their efforts are appreciated and that you value them. Looking for ways to promote employee wellbeing will benefit your team members and your business. With a renewed focus on employee wellbeing, you should find your staff retention rates increase, your team members are more engaged in their tasks, and productivity increases. But, to enjoy all of these positive outcomes, you first need to find the best methods to promote the wellbeing of your employees.

Here are some of the best ways to get started:

Offer Flexible Working Options

The concept of flexible working has undergone significant change in the past couple of years. Before the arrival of the pandemic, working from home was a rarity, and many businesses were reluctant to make it an option available to their employees. The idea of remote work was met with scepticism from many employers as they were concerned about the impact that it would have on productivity. The logistics of working from home and having employees in multiple locations was another barrier that prevented their employees from working from home. However, the past couple of years have proven that remote working is not only possible, but it can also improve how employees work.

Being able to skip a stressful commute and reduce their travel costs appeals to many employees. So, having the option to work from home either as part of a hybrid working agreement or on an ad hoc basis can make a significant difference to employee wellbeing. If you are unsure which approach to take, you may find it helpful to ask for employee feedback so that you can gauge their opinions and choose the option that works best for your team members.

Improve Your Workplace Environment 

When was the last time your work environment had a spruce-up? If your office space looks a little tired and unloved, now is the perfect time to make some changes. Decorating your office is about so much more than simply making it look better. Devoting some time to improving your workspace can have a beneficial impact on your employees and their wellbeing.

As you and your team spend many hours in your offices, it makes sense to ensure they look good and are as functional as possible. At a minimum, your offices should provide a healthy place to work and be free from issues that can impact the health of your employees, such as sick building syndrome.

There are many positive changes that you can make to improve your workplace environment in terms of both its functionality and aesthetics. From a practical viewpoint, ensuring that you have adequate lighting, the right equipment for your employees to use, and an air conditioning system that works is a great starting point. Beyond these practicalities, you may want to think about the changes you can make to the work environment that will provide your employees with a wellbeing boost. This can be achieved by letting plenty of natural light into your offices and decorating the walls in a colour that will encourage productivity.

Depending on your budget, you may also want to spruce up your break rooms so that your team has a pleasant environment to relax in while they eat their lunch.

Nurture a Positive Company Culture

Your company culture may not be a tangible object like a new break room or a new piece of equipment, but it is extremely valuable and one of the best ways to help boost your employee’s wellbeing. Your company culture infiltrates every aspect of your business operation and can significantly affect employee engagement levels, productivity, and staff retention.

Negative company culture can quickly turn toxic and create a work environment where employees put their own needs ahead of the team and compete against each other aggressively. An organization’s culture starts from the top and filters down through the company. So, thinking carefully about the type of culture that you want to exist throughout your business and how you can work on making this happen is vital.

One practical way to enhance your company culture with a view to improving employee wellbeing is to introduce activities that will help your team to take charge of their wellness and empower them to make changes.

Organizing a virtual team building activity is an excellent way to put the focus on wellbeing and allows everyone to join in, whether they are working in the office or at home.

Final Thoughts

Valuing your employees and taking steps to ensure their wellbeing is a priority can make a significant difference to your business. Introducing a focus on employee wellbeing can drive positive change in the workplace by making staff members feel they are valued. The knock-on effect is that your employees will feel more engaged at work, achieve higher levels of productivity, and are more likely to continue working for you for the foreseeable future.

As you can see, there are many actionable ways that you can help to promote employee wellbeing in your organization. But it is crucial to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. No one knows your business better than you, so thinking about which of the above methods best meets your company’s needs while promoting employee wellbeing is a great place to begin.