6 ways to best support employee wellbeing
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The future of work has evolved from a business strategy to a business responsibility – a much-needed approach as the world battles year three of the pandemic. This business approach or responsibility requires top management to address the shift in workplace culture in a way that’s meaningful and designed to support the wellbeing of employees.
The uncertain times brought on by Covid-19 has led to a powerful transformation in the employer-employee relationship. At a time when industry talent is waning and employees’ motivational drivers undergo a transformation, employers too are realizing just how important people are to the success of their business.
Smart employers who offer a hybrid, human-centric, and purpose-driven place of work are ahead of the game when it comes to:
- Improving employee experience,
- Raising workplace standards, and
- Finding the best talent.
According to insights by Gartner, a consulting firm based in Connecticut, 39% of knowledge workers say they would leave if their employers insisted on a ‘hard return’ to full-time, on-site work.
This is promising and the hope is that it will push organizations to transform their DNA, evolving into a workplace of the future that truly puts its employees first.
6 ways to best support employee wellbeing
1. Ramp up employee benefits
With mental health problems skyrocketing and their effects continuing to impact the workplace, the time is now to recognize the emerging mental health crisis and plan out a meaningful benefits program. Following are a few short-term changes worth considering carrying over into the years ahead.
· Provide additional time off for employees.
· Offer flexibility in terms of remote working or working out of shared spaces.
· Re-evaluate company child care and parental leave policies to include added benefits.
· Provide wellness support by improving mental health care benefits
2. Build kinder work environments
Do away with the ‘always-on’ culture and instead, focus on making the workplace a kinder place to work. Leaders are choosing a compassionate leadership model, one that removes the ‘hustle-culture,’ replacing it with a model that prioritizes employee wellbeing and rewards collaboration over competition.
3. Encourage boundaries
Build a leadership model that encourages employees to set boundaries between their personal and professional lives. Adapt practices that support the wellbeing of employees and their families such as:
- Creating ‘meeting hours’ that does not trickle into anytime of the day.
- Consider implementing a shorter work week.
- Discourage after-hours communication.
- Encourage exhausting vacation time.
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4. Review all systems and processes
It’s important to avoid workspace bias that favors office workers over remote workers. Some ways to do away with such bias is to:
- Put all workers on a level playing field by opting for a remote-first culture.
- Review all systems and processes to make sure company policies do not favour office workers over remote workers.
- Create a knowledge dump of updated information that everyone can access from anywhere.
- Review company performance review processes to make sure that promotions and incentives are merit-based, and not based on who works from where - the office or coworking space.
5. Encourage virtual socialization
Even if it’s just one employee working remotely, make sure managers across the board hold meetings virtually. This is to ensure that no employee misses out on any real time, in-person conversations. Another great way to strengthen remote culture is to encourage social meet-ups online.
6. Create an inclusive workspace
Unlock connection and collaboration across teams with tools and technology that support an inclusive workspace. For instance, by integrating Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) at the workspace, you can truly feel that employees across the world are across the room.
Conclusion
Organizations have come a long way over the last two years, but there’s still room for improvement when it comes to supporting employee wellbeing. With both companies and their employees continuing to adapt to the ‘new normal’ of hybrid work, broader cultural shifts are the need of the hour for employees to feel truly supported at the workplace.
FAQs
What are the five main categories of employee benefits likely to see significant change?
Leave benefits, family-friendly benefits, health & wellness benefits, flexibility benefits, and learning & development benefits are the categories most likely to see changes centered around the transition to hybrid working.
What is the future of the hourly workforce?
The future of hourly workers is one of the bigger labor issues the Joe Biden administration is currently tackling. Forward-thinking organizations would be wise to reevaluate their overall HR strategy towards offering flexible work arrangements. Those that are tuned to unique stressors that the hourly workforce experience will be able to manage them well in the future.
Do shared workspaces help with employee wellbeing?
Coworking and shared workspaces such as Worksocial help improve employee productivity and wellbeing through the power of workspace design. For instance, the flexible meeting room spaces repurposed into conference rooms allow teams to collaborate on projects with ease, pioneer cultural change, and of course, improve wellbeing.
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