Like Thrive Global, Business Media Live is aware of the importance of employees’ wellbeing. Creating an employee-friendly work atmosphere is good business, as all strong, successful executives understand. It only takes a little time and attention to figure out what needs your employees have so that they can live stress-free, healthier, happier, and more productive lives.
Some businesses don’t give a damn if their employees are appreciated or if they are paid a living salary, even encouraging them to seek government assistance to make ends meet. Employers with a conscience and a heart, on the other hand, must remember that it is possible to make model profits while still caring for our coworkers and employees – and guess what? It is doable. Employee happiness leads to a happy world, and isn’t that what we all want to live in?
Employees, for the most part, require the same things from their employers that they require outside of the office – good eating, exercise, and quality family time to help them cope with the stress of their professional commitments. Here are five methods to invest in your employees’ health and well-being.
Facilitate on-site childcare for your employees
Let’s face it: a sizable section of your personnel is likely to be parents, and if they aren’t already, they will be in a few years if you can keep them. Make life easier for your parents by arranging for on-site childcare. Not only will it relieve your staff of a major worry, but it will also eliminate a significant amount of lost time and productivity due to issues with child sickness, injuries, and scheduling.
If you can’t afford to cover it entirely as part of your employee benefit plan, at the very least offer a subsidized plan to your employees so that parents don’t have to worry about where their infants and toddlers are. Nearly a third of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For providing on-site daycare, and with good reason: child care improves employee morale, reduces turnover and absenteeism, and increases productivity for the companies that provide it.
This will also allow young parents to return to work sooner after having children, making it easier for them to support their growing family while maintaining their abilities. Employees with out-of-date skills are the last thing any business wants. Assist them by ensuring that they return to work without large gaps in employment owing to protracted absences.
Provide healthy meal choices and cofee
Food is fuel, and a well-fueled workforce works more efficiently and productively. Stock the breakroom, lounge area, and cafeteria with healthful nutrient-dense foods, fresh fruit, and vegetables to discourage unhealthy snacking. This is one of many things Google gets right: by encouraging staff to eat better meals and snacks, they keep their employees hydrated and nourished.
Offer in house excerices and training programmes
Offering in-house exercise classes is fantastic, but if you don’t have the capacity, consider partnering with a nearby gym and offer group discounts on memberships, as well as frequent access to other programs and physical activities. Encouragement of exercise is more than just team building; it is an investment in your employees’ health and well-being, and it helps them stay healthy.
A lethargic body communicates to a lethargic mind. Obesity and metabolic diseases have been linked to decreased cognitive function, which implies that overweight people think and perform slower, resulting in reduced productivity, messy mix-ups, and costly blunders, according to numerous research. When you invest in your employees’ physical health, you ensure fewer days off due to illness and cheaper insurance expenses for both the employer and the employee.
Enable regular vacations
Employees in many corporate settings are overworked, anxious, and in desperate need of time away from the office that they can’t seem to find. As a result, they may become irritable and sluggish, or even daydream about quitting on a daily basis: a jaded daydreaming team does not make for a productive office.
Encourage employees to take advantage of their vacation time each year, and even reward them for taking much-needed time off. In the long run, this will result in lower turnover among your engaged and committed employees, as well as improved overall productivity and performance.
Many people believe they can’t afford to go. Others are concerned that they will be easily replaced or that work will be neglected while they are abroad. Expedia.com found in its annual Vacation Deprivation Study, released in November 2015, that, much as working out and training in intervals can help us build strength and stamina and perform better in sports, taking vacations from work can help us perform better at work.
“A healthy work-life balance is vital, not only to offer people an opportunity to enjoy their lives outside of the office but also to recharge, making [them] more productive when [they] get back to work,” says John Morrey, Vice President and General Manager of Expedia.com.
Offer financial and relationship counseling
Many new employees are struggling to make ends meet, even with well-paid employment, because 70% of recent grads have roughly $30,000 in school debt. To relieve stress and gain financial management, everyone can benefit from professional coaching, recommendations, and counsel. Invite personal finance specialists to speak about investing, planning, budgeting, and other financial topics. Boutique accounting companies can advise on basic financial management, while student loan consolidation experts can direct fresh graduates to the most cost-effective debt repayment and loan forgiveness choices. You might wish to poll your staff to see what types of tips they would find most useful.
Many organizations currently provide specialized training and courses on topics such as professional growth, workplace sexual harassment, safety, and business management. Think beyond the box to provide additional training opportunities for your staff that will benefit them both in and out of the office. Offer discounted CPR lessons, free or low-cost parenting and family relationship coaching classes, or year-round marriage therapy and individual counseling. Employees will recognize that you are concerned not just about their professional development and training, but also about the health and well-being of their entire family. Your workers will feel heard and appreciated.
Our responsibility as employers should extend beyond the minimums required by law. As caring and empathetic individuals we need to recognize that unmet needs and stressors outside of working hours do affect our bottom line. When employees have the tools they need to have both productive work and home life they are more likely to practice healthy habits and behaviors – which will boost productivity overall and encourage a culture of strength and abundance both in and outside the office doors.
Here’s a list of things you can start implementing fast:
- Invest in your in your personnel. Offering a variety of training programs demonstrates to your employees that your company is committed to helping them improve their abilities and advance their careers.
- Build career plans. Assist employees in developing career goals so that they are aware of the next stages on their career ladders, what they must do to get there, and how they might build skills that will benefit them — and the company — in the future. This inspires employees and helps to overcome a problem that many small and midsize firms face: a perception of a lack of advancement prospects owing to the company’s size.
- Create a mentorship program. Determine who employees may turn to for help and advice. This is especially important for new employees who may feel out of place at a new company.
- Alternative employment arrangements should be considered.
Telecommuting, flexible hours, and job sharing are examples of programs that help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance (and, in the case of disabled employees, may be required as a form of reasonable accommodation). - Make an effort to be a decent corporate citizen. A growing number of professionals want to work for companies that are committed to doing the right thing. Create programs that allow employees to get active in the community and support causes that are important to them.
- Survey your employees. You can learn how your staff feel about their jobs by getting regular feedback. Surveys can not only identify issue areas, but they can also suggest techniques and ideas for improving your workplace.