What is employee wellbeing?
Employee wellbeing is defined as the overall mental, physical, emotional, and economic health of your employees. Employee wellbeing is influenced by many factors including relationships with colleagues, working culture, and the resources and tools they have access to.
Wellbeing will vary from person to person; however, employee wellbeing should allow for a working environment that is healthy, happy, and productive. There are also many factors that contribute to employee wellbeing outside work that includes family, personal relationships, finances, housing, and health.
Why is employee wellbeing important?
Forward-thinking companies are now realising that implementing a well-planned and targeted workplace wellness programme, is fast becoming the most strategic element of attracting new talent. When it comes to retention, your people want environments that encourage and motivate them to do their best work; here again, a tailored evidence-based wellness programme is a key component.
Along with employee retention, there are many other benefits to employee wellbeing such as;
Employee Loyalty
When an employee feels like they are cared about and that their wellbeing is a priority in a company’s culture, they have increased loyalty toward their jobs and are less likely to leave their position to join a new company.
Engaged and Productive Workforce
Research shows that engaged and healthy employees are, on average, up to 30 days more productive and likely to give greater company loyalty to employers who demonstrate an interest in their wellbeing. Employees are most engaged and productive when they are happy and healthy.
Engagement is a crucial and vital component for a productive and effective workforce because fundamentally it costs a company more to replace staff than it does to develop them.
Absenteeism Levels
Depending on the size of the company, high absenteeism levels can cause havoc on a business. Addressing the leading causes of absenteeism is crucial. Employees feel more competent and valued when their needs are met at all levels, including physical, mental, and financial.
The inclusion of health screening may also reduce the likelihood of employees being absent due to illness. These are just some steps you can take, but it is important not to roll out an “off the shelf” solution and ensure whatever you do is based on data and fits within your company culture.
How do you promote employee wellbeing?
The success and failure of corporate employee wellbeing programme lie primarily in the execution of a successful wellbeing strategy. This will dictate the commitment of employees and employers. One solution to fit all is rarely on the road to a successful corporate wellbeing programme. Treating employees as individuals with individual challenges and motivations is the first step towards the success of employee wellbeing.
“To implement a successful and most importantly, an effective wellbeing programme, the wellbeing provider needs to determine what problem the company is trying to solve and tailor the programme to address that specific need “ Richard Murphy, CEO, Zevo Health
A sign that a wellbeing programme is successful is when there is ongoing leadership, support, and commitment felt by both employees and employers. Imagine a new employee arriving on their first day at a company. This company provides ongoing education around physical and mental health from day one. They also provide incentives to employees to actively work on their wellbeing. Their senior management and middle management are actively promoting this programme and ensuring its consistency. This creates a culture in which employees feel that their wellbeing in the workplace is of critical importance to its success.
How do you improve employee wellbeing?
To ensure a wellbeing programme and initiatives are successful within an organisation, a company needs to implement the correct tools and employee engagement resources.
Here are some ideas that can help develop a culture of wellbeing in the workplace.
1. Provide an Employee Assistance Programme
An EAP Programme is designed to allow employees to feel safe and comfortable to come and talk about any difficulties they may be experiencing. An EAP gives your immediate access to support their health and wellbeing through a confidential, digital-first, and expert-led platform
2.Set Friendly Fitness Challenges
Ireland’s Fittest Workplace Challenge is designed to push companies to measure up against themselves to ensure they are not just improving the health and wellbeing of their employees but also creating fantastic engagement and keeping spirits high within organisations. Activity Challenges increase team morale and productivity levels within an organisation.
3.Researched Programme
Ensuring a wellbeing programme appeals to and is effective for all individuals within a company is crucial for improving employee wellbeing. Zevo Health determines the health needs of the workers of the company and keeping those in mind, becomes as fluid as possible when it comes to tweaking the programme to make sure that all those needs are met.
Zevo Health has a range of workplace wellbeing programmes that allows us to cater to every company across different industries. From inter-departmental competitions to seminars and webinars, to a nutrition knowledge base that can be accessed by everyone in your company.
