Employee Wellbeing
Employee well-being is a critical component of a healthy working environment and organization. Companies that promote well-being make it easier for employees to manage stress levels while also maintaining a positive and productive environment. Well-being can refer to mental and physical health, as well as more complex things such as satisfaction and engagement levels. In this article, we’ll explain what employee well-being is, why it matters, and how to create the best employee well-being program in a workplace using a project management solution (Waida, 2021).
Blessings of employee wellbeing
The employee wellbeing definition refers to the state of employees’ mental and physical health, resulting from dynamics within – and sometimes outside – the workplace. These include their relationships with colleagues, use of tools and resources, larger business decisions that impact them and their work, and many other factors. In business terms, securing employee well-being can translate to:
1. More productivity: Employee well-being boosts productivity and performance. When feeling well, employees display healthier behaviours and better decision-making.
2. Higher employee morale: Employees feel more competent and valued when their needs are met at all levels, including physical, mental, and financial.
3. Better talent: When your company has a good reputation in the market as an employer who respects and supports work-life balance, you’re more likely to attract skilled candidates and retain your existing employees for longer periods.
4. Improved CRM: Happy employees are your best brand ambassadors. If you treat them well, that positive energy will pass on to your customers. Those employees will be motivated to understand how your products and services will best serve customer needs (Marinaki, 2022).
Why does well-being at work matter?
It is the employer's duty to provide their workers with the necessary support and care for their physical and mental health. Despite this, many organizations still don't have a dedicated well-being strategy. A well-being strategy can help employees feel valued and supported at work. It can also improve employee engagement and motivate teams companywide to reach their goals.
One recent historical example of why it’s important to improve employee well-being comes from the United States film and entertainment industry. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents a wide range of technicians responsible for film and television production behind the scenes, recently considered a strike to improve employee wellbeing.
Issues such as inhumane hours, inadequate rest, and inadequate pay are affecting all areas of employee health. In fact, many are now coming forward to explain how a lack of care and action toward improved employee well-being is affecting them on a personal level.
Clearly, employee well-being is a fundamental building block of all organizations. Even if your company is smaller or in a different field, you may still find that there are plenty of meaningful ways to improve the quality of life for everyone involved. Being proactive about employee well-being now can improve or even save lives in the future (Waida, 2021).
The priorities of the workforce have significantly shifted, ranking health and well-being above the quality of life and financial health.
7 Most Important Reasons to Offer Employee Well-being at Work
Well-being Programs:
· Improve Employee Health Behaviors
· Reduce Elevated Health Risks
· Reduce Health Care Costs
· Improve Productivity
· Can Decrease Absenteeism
· Can Help Improve Employee Recruitment and Retention
· Build and Help Sustain High Employee Morale
The Challenges of wellness initiatives in the Workplace
One of the biggest challenges of wellness initiatives in the workplace is setting and measuring goals. Getting a clear idea of what your current employee's well-being looks like can be tricky. Not only is it subjective, but some employees may not feel comfortable responding truthfully in case their complaints come back to haunt them. For that reason, even anonymous surveys may not give the whole picture.
Many traditional incentive programs rely on metrics such as blood pressure and body mass index, but these are often inaccurate too. As a result, many companies are now asking their workers to provide their health information in exchange for insurance plans that are higher cost. This practice could put older workers and part-time employees at financial risk if they are unable to make up the difference in the cost at their current wage.
Another issue is execution. Some companies may not be able to provide the programs that they promised to offer. Or if they do take action, the resources and policies they endorse may not be widely used. Having a constant eye on employee reactions to the program and obtaining feedback can help solve this problem (Waida, 2021).
Obstacles to Sustaining wellbeing at Work
The most common stressors that can negatively impact well-being at work are:
Leadership style
You probably have heard that employees quit bosses, not jobs. According to the CIPD survey mentioned earlier, a poor management style can increase employee stress massively. Take micromanagement as an example: having to explain every single nut and bolt of your daily task deliveries to your manager is inefficient and exhausting. It can also make the employee feel incompetent and unreliable.
Workload
Employees with heavy workloads due to understaffing or urgent business needs often get stressed about meeting deadlines. With less time to work on valuable projects, they often compensate for quality, and they worry that their results are inadequate. Helplessness, doubt and fatigue are the top feelings in such conditions.
Reduced social support
In order to thrive, employees need to be in a supportive environment that puts a positive value on effective collaboration and individual contributions. When competition is high and your performance is always compared to your peers, a lack of self-esteem and toxic relationships arise and can be difficult to resolve quickly.
Task clarity
Guidance in the form of training or mentoring, whether it’s practical (e.g. how to use a specific tool) or goal-oriented (e.g. what the end goal of a project is) is vital for employees to get the job done. Without clarity in work, employees feel confused and struggle to determine priorities or set smart goals.
Motivation
We sometimes overlook that work should be a positive experience; employees are not merely reinforced by their monthly paychecks to keep up the good work. The more they enjoy what they do and take pride in it, the better results they’ll deliver. So, if most of their daily tasks are dull, employees might feel less motivated to go the extra mile (Marinaki, 2022).
Conclusion
Reference
Aldana, D.S. (2023) 7 important reasons to offer employee well-being at work, Employee Wellness Programs. Available at: https://www.wellsteps.com/blog/2020/01/02/employee-well-being-at-work/ (Accessed: March 21, 2023).
Marie Puybaraud (2022). Restoring employee wellbeing for the New World of Work, World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/restoring-employee-wellbeing-for-a-new-healthier-world-of-work/ (Accessed: March 21, 2023).
Marinaki, A. (2022) Employee wellbeing: Caring for your people, Recruiting Resources: How to Recruit and Hire Better. Available at: https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/employee-wellbeing-caring-for-your-people (Accessed: March 21, 2023).
Waida, M. (2021). What is Employee Wellbeing and Why Does it Matter? | Wrike. [online] www.wrike.com. Available at: https://www.wrike.com/blog/what-is-employee-wellbeing-why-does-it-matter/ (Accessed: March 20, 2023).
While discussing the benefits of employee well-being, why did you not mention the impact on employees themselves? How can promoting well-being directly benefit employees' personal lives and work satisfaction?
ReplyDeleteEmployee wellbeing is interconnected with employee health and job satisfaction level. When company focus on employee wellbeing employee will gain more benefits on it. Work life balance will be there, employees will receive flexible working hours, increase job satisfaction, more engage and commitment towards the work will reduce the stress and work tension of employees. Will benefit by reducing the overloaded work. End of the day employee will happy to work and give best and achieve high productivity level.
DeleteWhile employee wellbeing is an important aspect to look at, it is important to strategize how you would provide the employees wellbeing related benefit. What kind of strategies can you use when deciding how you would provide the benefits?
ReplyDeleteIn my view employee wellbeing should be consume by all the employee. Still if we elaborate the topic. Managers can motivate all the employees to get benefit from it by providing promotions, appraisals, bonus, incentive to those who work hard, those who deliver productive out put, those who work efficiently and gain the effective result. When an employee acquire the benefit, others around him/her will work enthusiastically to get the next opportunity. At the end everyone will work engagingly and commitment.
DeleteYour article is very attractive for current business environments. According to (Ratih devi,Erita yuliyasesti, Herlina sisivi 2020) says, Withing the organisation, well-being act valuable role in the sustainability of company and individuals. When organisation has executed health programs at work it creates better results such as increased employee retention, productivity, and psychological well-being among a variety of other benefits. Well-being in the workplace is healthy and balanced life of a employee. Therefor to gain better benefit mental health of workers are very important. Therefor your article is matching to the topic.
ReplyDeleteTrough out the article you clearly mentioned about the advantages of employee well being. It is more value added if you could mention about the strategies to overcome the challenges which effect to employee wellbeing at work.
ReplyDeleteI discussed the challages and solutions at the same heading and same paragraph. It would be better if you can elaborate your inquiry I will try my best to clarify it.
Deletefantastic post to read, I have got more knowledge in addition to the theory I have learnt, and your theme and orderly flow of the text are simple to follow. finest blog thus far
ReplyDeleteGood post on Employee Well-Being. While appreciating this engaging and approachable post, like to add the strategies on how to overcome the challenges on Employee Wellbeing such as, Regular communication on importance of wellbeing, Encourage open communication, feedback sessions, motivation activities, allowances for health check-ups and paid leaves etc..
ReplyDeleteStrategies to overcome the challenges could be, apply and follow the best suit leadership style in the workplace, organising and prioritising work, allowing employees to work in flexible hours, assigning remote work facilities, not only assign task responsibilities but also authorities based on jobs and motivating employees by giving appraisal, incentive and bonus.
DeleteYour article provides valuable information on the importance of employee well-being in the workplace. It highlights the benefits of employee well-being programs and the challenges that organizations face in implementing them. The article also discusses the obstacles that can hinder the sustainability of well-being initiatives in the workplace.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion to improve the implementation of well-being initiatives in the workplace is to involve employees in the process. Organizations can gather feedback from employees to better understand their needs and preferences. This can help organizations tailor their well-being programs to meet the needs of their employees. Additionally, organizations can encourage employees to take an active role in their own well-being by providing resources and support.