Efficient Ways To Implement Employee Wellness
The modern working environment is an entirely different landscape in comparison to the days of yore. With increasingly consolidated job responsibilities, an upsurge in time spent working overtime and the required dedication for an employee to stand out and set themself ahead of the pack so to speak, it is no wonder that chronic stress-related conditions have become ubiquitous.
To add to these health concerns are the physical effects of excessively long work hours, as discussed on Wellable, and a decline in personal social interactions. Self-care becomes a tertiary, if not altogether overlooked aspect of our day to day lives. The long term implications of this high-stress approach in response to the severe levels of competition in the job market can wreak havoc on your physical and psychological well being.
As an employer, the responsibility undoubtedly falls to you to address some of these significant concerns. Even the most Machiavellian employer should surely be able to gauge that a decrease in employee satisfaction will directly affect the company’s margins. In this article, we are going to take a brief look at some of the things you can implement to assist in creating a working environment more conducive to the well-being of your employees.
Flexible Hours
Does this idea strike you as a nightmare to manage? Well, it isn’t. Depending on local employment laws, your employees are only allowed to work a certain number of hours per week. Implementation is as simple as a biometric scanner, which you may already have installed, to clock employee work hours.
By offering employees flexible working hours, you allow for said employees to find ways to balance their family life with their work-life, leading to substantial increases in general employee satisfaction and retention. The messengers of the now very much dead old world of 9 to 5 ethos might at first wish to argue against such measures, but the employment landscape has changed, and if you aren’t offering flexibility, some other company is.
On-Site Recreational Facilities
This is another recommendation that someone unfamiliar with the modern employment-scape may scoff at, but to you, we say it’s time to get with the program. Offering on-site recreation fosters a sense of ‘home at work’ in employees, and companies like Google and Tesla have already done the groundwork and shown that this approach leads to a considerable increase in employee productivity.
This is not to say that it would suit your business to have an arcade on the premises. Depending on the nature of the business conducted by your company, you may instead opt for a recreational lounge area for coffee breaks or even an on-premises gymnasium. With careful consideration for the suitable type of recreational facility, you are sure to improve employee satisfaction and wellness.
Yoga
The term in and of itself is synonymous with a very hippie mentality, but mindfulness and yoga have been medically proven to not only reduce stress but increase focus. Not a practice that should be implemented as mandatory, optional opportunities for yoga may be scheduled into the workday.
If the increase in productivity weren’t enough, the appeal of a yoga program could be used to attract new talent when advertising vacant positions. The practice itself makes a statement about the operational methodology of a company.