Employee wellbeing is key to an organization’s overall productivity. Physical discomfort and distractions prevent an individual from reaching their full potential. Managing stress levels boosts employee wellbeing and increases engagement in the work process while simultaneously helping deliver the best results.
Employee wellbeing – definition
Employee wellbeing is a complex term defining overall employee health influenced by several physical, mental, emotional, and economic factors within and outside their workplace. An employer, in turn, controls only the aspects present in the workplace.
For instance, work conditions can bring comfort to employees, but they can also aggravate their existing physical conditions or trigger the development of new ones. Relationships with supervisors and co-workers can affect both emotional and mental wellbeing.
Wellbeing programs for employees – which are the best?
Taking care of the staff’s health is the easiest way to increase their wellbeing. Employees can benefit from more and more effective programs today, which focus on their physical activity, eating patterns, and helping them quit health-threatening habits. Choosing the best wellbeing program for employees depends on the size and resources of the company. Therefore, there is no universal solution for every organization.
For instance, large corporations have opportunities to equip their office buildings with on-site health-oriented services and fitness facilities. However, many smaller enterprises will look for more straightforward ways to help their employees enjoy more wellbeing.
First of all, they can adopt wellness reimbursement and subsidy programs. Secondly, they should think about making their workplace more ergonomic. The third option involves incorporating on-premises wellbeing facilities. Employees can benefit a lot from such affordable and accessible improvements as having a special private zone for conversations and individual work, such as acoustic phone booths.
Another reasonable option when it comes to wellbeing programs for employees is offering healthy snacks and lunches.
Finally, a lunch break can be extended to allow staff to enjoy physical activity or rest.
What are the examples of wellbeing benefits for employees?
Introducing a wellbeing program for employees can have significant effects on the efficiency of a company, such as driving down costs and improving employee productivity.
The latter is evident since healthy and satisfied employees are more focused, creative, and energized at work. They are also less prone to changing employers. In contrast, the issue of financial benefits for the company is more complex. These benefits include savings from reduced absenteeism and decreased costs of health care. Businesses that take initiatives to improve the wellbeing of their employees experience fewer disruptions in the workflow and build a positive reputation in the market – attracting more customers, partners, and high-qualified job candidates.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
