The business world demands of its workforce a great commitment to achievement, which is usually achieved by hard work. However, there are times when the strictness of performance standards can result in adverse effects for some employees.
And in today’s volatile business environment, employers need employees that are happy and productive to meet all the set business goals. So, while working on your business strategy, it is crucial to shift your focus from just achieving higher results to reaching the highest level of employee wellness.
What is Employee Wellbeing?
Employee wellbeing is the practice of promoting healthy lifestyles for employees and boosting productivity, in the process. But that’s only part of it. Employee wellness involves 7 pillars:
- Physical wellbeing – Your body is your instrument, and you need to keep it tuned up if you want it to perform at its best. Physical well-being is about taking care of your body through movement, nutrition, and sleep.
- Financial wellbeing – Financial wellbeing relates directly to how well employees are managing their finances on top of how much money they make. When money isn’t a constant source of stress for your employees, it frees up mental space for them to focus on their job.
- Career wellbeing – Many people feel like they have lost control over their careers, which can lead to demotivation and poor performance at work. Offer guidance through career coaching or training opportunities that allow employees to develop new skills and gain greater autonomy in their roles.
- Emotional wellbeing – Sometimes, life gets us down. Emotional well-being is about identifying what causes us stress and having the tools and skills to deal with those situations effectively.
- Community wellbeing – A sense of community contributes to an individual’s personal growth, happiness and success. It is relevant at three levels:
- Personal community: These are the people closest to you in your daily life — family and friends who understand you and share similar values.
- Colleague community: A strong workplace community leads to greater trust and collaboration among coworkers, which can improve business outcomes like retention, productivity, and job satisfaction.
- Global community: People want to feel that their work matters to the larger world and makes a difference in the lives of others. In addition, the world at large has an impact on individuals’ collective sense of health, happiness, and wellbeing.
- Social wellbeing – Relationships are important for happiness and fulfillment, but life can sometimes get in the way of connecting with others. Social well-being focuses on building relationships, both at work and outside of work.
- Purpose wellbeing – Purpose well-being means creating a culture that allows employees to lead purpose-driven lives. That doesn’t mean making everyone work for non-profits — although it can — but rather helping them understand why their work matters and what difference it makes in the world.
Consider these pillars as pieces of a puzzle. When they’re all in place and working together, they create the kind of strong foundation that allows employees to thrive in all aspects of their lives.
Why is Employee Wellbeing Important?
Employee wellbeing is more than a buzzword. It’s a key indicator of the health of an organization. If people are stressed, unmotivated, and unhealthy, your business will suffer. Focusing on employee wellbeing will lead to:
1. Increased productivity
One of the most important benefits of employee wellbeing programs is that healthy people tend to work harder. If you encourage your employees to exercise regularly, eat well and get enough sleep, you’ll notice they are more focused, efficient, and present-minded throughout the day.
2. Reduced absenteeism
You only have to look at the stats to see how much companies stand to gain by promoting employee wellness in the workplace. Employees who feel valued will have fewer sick days and be less likely to call in sick at the last minute.
3. Improving employee recruitment and retention
If your company is known for its healthy environment for its employees, you can attract better talent since people want to be part of something bigger than themselves and want to make a difference in the world around them.
Furthermore, if your employees are happy working with you they are less likely to leave their job which means you would have less training cost due to fewer new recruitments.
4. Improves Loyalty
When employees are well taken care of and feel like they are supported in their job role and given the tools to do it well, they will naturally be more loyal to the company. They will also be more productive with their work as they know that they can rely on the support of their employers if they have any difficulties within their role.
5. Well-being programs can also aid in building and helping high employee morale
When employees begin feeling better about themselves physically and mentally, they tend to be better team players in the workplace. Programs can also help reduce stress among workers by showing them ways to relax after work hours. This way, employees do not bring any leftover stress from home into the office with them when they arrive at work each morning.
6. Happy employees make for happy customers
Happy employees build positive relationships with customers. Companies with happy clients tend to attract other clients, but when a client has a bad experience with your company, they’re less likely to come back or recommend your business—and they’re more likely to tell others about their crappy experience.
Before You Leave
As a business, it is critical to remain focused on the needs and welfare of your team. If well-being programs have been implemented correctly, they should help to reduce unnecessary workload or stress.
At a time when businesses are struggling with high-stress levels and coping with fewer resources than ever before, employee wellness could be an important step in helping them stay afloat. Please tell us what you think. Like, comment or share this post!