Gone are the days when employees were considered work machines and strict work culture was in practice. Today, modern-day firms treat employees as their biggest asset.
Employee expectations have rapidly grown in the past few years. Instead of just monetary gains, employees now expect their employers to consider their entire lifestyle. Thus, they look forward to more flexibility, comfort, and openness.
Furthermore, smart employers are now aware of the secrets to their productivity; one of them is employee satisfaction. To enhance employee satisfaction, firms should enhance the overall perks of working with them.
Besides, competition in the corporate arena is growing at a high rate. So, to attract the best talent and boost productivity, creating employee wellness programs is essential.
Fostering a wellness culture also requires deep knowledge about employee expectations, smart strategies, and optimum resources. Let me share some useful tips for developing such a culture in your firm. So, here you go:
1. Well-Organized Workplaces
Working in a well-maintained and organized workplace is way better than a place that is full of clutter. Neat workstations have a positive impact on the employee’s mental health. Consequently, employees perform better.
Similarly, sitting in messy surroundings is enough to distract an employee’s mind. For instance, you are in a rush and need to find out an unissued gas safety certificate in Hertfordshire, which was returned by the gas engineer. You will find it hard to look for it in a messy cabinet. It will take more time, require more effort, and ultimately frustrate you.
But, all these things happen in organizations that have no norms. Therefore, setting some rules and regulations regarding cubicle management is important. For this purpose, you can arrange training workshops for teaching employees how to stay organized and well-maintained while working.
After this, a weekly check is important to ensure proper implementation of the rule. Here are some ways that can help your employees to stay organized and well-managed:
– Sort
Every employee should keep only the required stuff on the desk. There should not be any unnecessary clutter on it. Also, keep a covered dustbin under each desk.
– Standardize
Set standards for everything. In this way, employees will know how to conduct any activity inside a workplace. For instance, teach them the protocols of conducting meetings. There should not be any papers, extra stationery, and files left in the meeting room.
2. Encourage Employees to Stay Healthy
Since employees are the biggest asset, firms can never ignore their health. It becomes especially important when employees are working hard. For instance, late sittings, extra work, and business trips can boost productivity.
But, at the same time, it impacts badly on an employee’s health. Therefore, focusing on your employee’s health is imperative. To achieve this goal, you can promote healthy activities inside the firm – for example, exercise and training sessions can encourage employees to stay fit.
Some well-known firms have also built gyms inside their workplaces. In this way, employees can attend short gym sessions during break time. Apart from these activities, free fitness consultancy, aerobics, and yoga classes can also be helpful. When employees are healthy, the rate of absenteeism will decrease.
Firms can also arrange sports leagues and competitions, provide free vouchers for healthcare facilities, or even create a sports club. All such things will help in improving the overall employee’s health. This, in turn, will increase employee satisfaction, which is likely to boost productivity.
3. Multi-Level Leadership
Directors and top-level management do not have sufficient time to indulge in wellness programs. Therefore, firms should adopt a culture of multi-level leadership. This ensures that all wellness activities are in complete control of the middle management.
Thus, the middle management implements such activities and shows the overall results to their top managers. Furthermore, when there is a multi-level leadership system, employees stay organized. It directly influences their behavior patterns. Apart from it, when managers are directly involved in creating wellness culture activities, employees feel valued and more satisfied.
Example
The top-level management decides to create a wellness program for employees. They think that the program should have training sessions, fitness classes, and incentives based on free club memberships.
They give this idea to the middle management, who will conduct research and develop a practical plan of action to implement the program. The middle management will also keep a thorough check on each activity and will be present at every event. In the end, they will submit a report to the level management.
4. Realistic Health Goals
Improving the employee’s health doesn’t mean forcing them to adopt healthy habits. Instead, firms can set small and realistic goals. In this way, employees will enjoy adopting these habits rather than feeling pressured. Therefore, try to keep your plans simple and actionable.
For instance, if you are starting a fitness class, be sure to include multiple categories of exercise. Some employees might be happy to do the plunges, while others might enjoy the squats and crunches.
Similarly, companies shouldn’t forget to hire healthcare or fitness professionals for consulting the new employees. In this way, employees won’t hesitate in starting any new exercise program.
5. Consider Ergonomics
Though fitness programs are extremely helpful, they are not the right choice for every problem. For instance, sciatica pain is common among employees because it results due to long hours of sitting.
Now, to treat this issue, we use muscle relaxants, narcotics, and anti-inflammatory medicines. Exercise, on the other hand, can make the situation worse.
So, firms should use things that can help employees with such kinds of issues. These things include:
- Exercise balls
- Standing desks
- Ergonomic counters, table, and keyboards
- Revolving chairs
Wellness in the Workplace is Achievable
In short, encouraging a culture of employee wellness is mandatory for business success. Employees can only give the best productivity when they are in the best of their health. Therefore, creating and implanting wellness programs should be the prime objective of every firm.
Tips like keeping the workplace organized, maintaining multi-level leadership, and encouraging employees to stay healthy are helpful. Additionally, we should set realistic goals for improving health and never ignore ergonomics.
All these things can contribute to bringing a wellness culture to the workplace. It will enhance productivity, increase employee retention, and build a distinctive identity of the organization.
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rstapholz
Editor
