EMPLOYEE WELLBEING IN HR

Anon, (n.d.). Available at: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-employee-wellness-program-managing-employee-health-employe-concept-image81430087.

WHAT IS EMPLOYEE WELLBEING?

It is the state of employees’ physical health, mental health, financial stability and happiness achieved through the dynamics within and outside the workplace. Employees’ duties, expectations, stress level & working environment directly affected to the wellbeing of employees.  It is about more intangible factors rather than tangible. An organization can use wellbeing in determining its long term success and effectiveness.

 

IMPORTANCE/ BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE WELLBEING

Improved employee wellbeing helps to create a more motivated, loyal & high performing workforce and it will directly boost the organizational performance in following ways.

Increase Productivity

Employees will concentrate more on their works, show positive health behaviors and take better decisions thus, increase the productivity.

            Help to Sustain High Employee Morale

If employees are physically, mentally & financial happy they will be more competent and valued.

            Attract Better Talents

If an organization has a good reputation as an employer who ensure its employees’ wellbeing, it will be able to attract skilled/ talented candidates and retain existing talents for longer period.

            Improved Customer Satisfaction 

Satisfied employees are the best brand ambassadors of the organization. If the organization treat their employees well they will be motivated and that positive energy will pass on to the customers thus, ensuring the customer satisfaction. 

Decrease Employee Absenteeism 

Healthy employees who have high degree of moral less likely to be absent from work. 

Reduce Healthcare Cost 

A good wellbeing programme helps employees adopt & maintain healthy behaviors. Healthy behaviors lead to lower health risks then; organization’s health cost will be reduced finally.

 

WAYS TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE WELLBEING

 

Different organizations act differently to create healthier and happier workplace to ensure employee wellbeing. 

Create a Collaborative Work Environment 

Employees who would like to work with others successfully create a collaborative work environment. Giving employees the opportunity to work collaboratively will definitely make them happy at work. 

Take a Whole Person Approach 

Employee wellbeing is not possible to achieve only through the physical fitness of an employee. It should assure the physical, mental, financial & social health of an employee. Whole Person Approach is a comprehensive approach that cover all the above categories of wellness. 

Offer Personal Development 

Creating personal development paths & opportunities will help employees to improve their talents and potential. Personal development programmes in the workplace helps employees to excel their skills and improve their wellbeing. 

Keep a Full Staff 

If employees’ workload or work stress is too high, providing a backup support is useful to ensure their mental health. Ignoring employees without providing proper support will be compelled them to look for work elsewhere. 

Develop Stable Work Schedule 

Employees who live with their families are able to properly plan their busy life if they are required to work according to a stable, pre-planned work schedule. Stable work schedules can cause to increase sleep quality and reduce the psychological distress. 

Have Empathy 

Being empathetic to the employees can positively affect to the loyalty among the workers. An attitude of empathy can also promote good health and lower stress level in the work place. 

 

 

 

STEPS TO IMPEMENT EMPLOYEE WELLBEING PROGRAM IN THE WORKPLACE

 

In order for a success of an employee wellbeing programme, it should be structured, properly planned and employee communication strategy should be included. Take a look at following steps to implement a wellbeing programme. 

Get Executives Support 

Whenever there is a change happening leaders should be the role models of the workplace. They should understand their importance to make the change and contribute to make the change successfully. They should communicate with other employees and encourage their participation. 

Conduct a Wide Wellbeing Survey 

Organization should understand its employees’ problems before build the wellbeing programme then, organization can make sure the effectiveness of the programme. 

Considering Employee Feedback 

Use employee feedback collected from the survey to properly plan the wellbeing programme. Employee feedback can be used to make smart decisions regarding the work stress, physical and mental health issues of employees. 

Define the Goals 

Organization can identify the benefits of investing in a wellbeing programme as the short, medium long term goals. These goals can be tangible as well as intangible such as,

·             Increase productivity

·             Reduce staff turnover

·             Increase employee satisfaction

·             Increase employee morale

·             Reduce absenteeism

·             Better relationship between staff and management

·             Increase communication among employees

 

Launch Wellbeing Programme and make company-wide announcement 

The success of the new programme will depend on the ability to spread the word across the organization and reach every employee with the news. Organization need to ensure the right flow of information by consolidating different communication channels in to a central communication platform.

Building the Internal Awareness 

Employees need to understand the benefits of wellbeing programme for their personal and work life. If they become aware of it, they will actively participate to the programme. Internal communication plays a major role in keeping wellbeing on top of the employees’ mind. 

Get the Managers on Board 

Managers should act as agents in maintaining good relationships between the organization and its employees. Therefore, they must understand the interdependence between employee wellbeing and organization’s success, and they have to be enthusiastic about supporting employee wellbeing. They should always encourage open and empathetic conversations with and among their teams. 

Continuous Encouraging Employees 

Employees must be continuously encouraged to participate to the wellbeing program and make their suggestions to improve it. This approach suitable to spot employees who passionate to create healthier, happier and more resilient work environment. 

Measure the Impact 

implementing a wellbeing program and measuring its impact are not easy. There are ways to measure the impact by collecting data such as absenteeism, staff turnover, number of health claims, number of employee complains etc. Analyzing these data will help to develop an overall picture of the effectiveness of wellbeing program. 

 

OBSTACLES TO IMPLEMENT SUCCESSFUL WELLBEING PROGRAMME IN THE WORKPLACE 

Following factors can be negatively impact to the implementation of employee wellbeing programme.

 

Organization’s Leadership Style 

It is obvious that, employee work stress can be increased due to the poor leadership style hence, happiness & healthiness of employees will depend on the attitude of the organizational leadership. The leadership style that think negatively on wellbeing can make employees feel incompetent & unreliable. 

Heavy Workload 

Employees overwhelmed by staff shortages or urgent business needs often feel stressed about meeting deadlines. With less time to work on valuable projects, they often make up for quality and worry about poor results. Wellbeing program will not be success in this kind of situation. 

Poor Staff Motivation 

If employees’ daily tasks are dull, they might feel less motivated to go the extra mile. They will produce better outcomes if they take pride in and enjoy what they do. Wellbeing program will not be much success if the employees are less motivated. 

Task Clarity 

Providing training and mentoring determine the priorities and goals of employees in the workplace. Without clarity in work employees will be confuse and struggle then it will be a barrier to achieve wellbeing.

REFERENCES

Aldana, D.S. (2020). 7 Most Important Reasons to Offer Employee Well-being at Work. [online] Employee Wellness Programs. Available at: https://www.wellsteps.com/blog/2020/01/02/employee-well-being-at-work/#Mountains_of_Evidence_Show_the_Benefits_of_Well-being.

Anon, (n.d.). https://www.oak.com/blog/employee-wellbeing/#:~:text=Consider%20offering%20flexible%20working%20so,employee%20wellbeing%20across%20the%20company.

CIPD (2020). HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AT WORK. [online] Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/health-and-well-being-2020-report_tcm18-73967.pdf.

 

Marinaki, A. (2020). Employee wellbeing: Caring for your people | Workable. [online] Recruiting Resources: How to Recruit and Hire Better. Available at: https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/employee-wellbeing-caring-for-your-people.

Martic, K. (2020). What Is Employee Wellbeing and How to Launch a Wellbeing Program. [online] Haiilo. Available at: https://haiilo.com/blog/employee-wellbeing-definition-importance-best-practice/.

Page, S. (n.d.). 9 Simple Ways to Improve Employee Wellbeing. [online] info.totalwellnesshealth.com. Available at: https://info.totalwellnesshealth.com/blog/improve-employee-wellbeing.

www.dreamstime.com. (n.d.). Employee Wellness Program And Managing Employee Health , Employee Wellness Concept Stock Image - Image of human, relaxation: 81430087. [online] Available at: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-employee-wellness-program-managing-employee-health-employe-concept-image81430087 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2023].

Anon, (n.d.). Available at: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-employee-wellness-program-managing-employee-health-employe-concept-image81430087.

Thanks for Reading

Chamara Perera