The spotlight has been on employee wellness for some time now. Employers want to build a strong workforce with healthy, happy employees. And rightly so. Taking care of employee wellness and encouraging your employees to look after their health and wellbeing has numerous benefits.
What Are The Benefits Of Employee Wellness?
Healthier, happier employees will be more productive during their work hours and are likely to stay with the company for longer.
Having a happy workforce will also drive down the number of absences and will prevent employees from ‘burning out’ and having to take stress-related time off work.
Studies show that companies who have an employee wellness programme, have a higher employee engagement than those that don’t. Similarly, companies that focus on employee wellness have also seen a rise in consistent employee productivity.
Employee wellness programmes have a positive impact on company culture and enhance the company’s image. This makes it easier to attract and employ talented candidates.
Employee Wellness Trends
We are now halfway through 2019. So, this seems like the perfect time to look at the tried and tested employee wellness trends that have surged in popularity this year. Here are 6 of the top trends for 2019:
Prioritising Self-Care
Self-care is now considered a necessity rather than an indulgence. Mindfulness, meditation and other self-care techniques that people were once sceptical about, are now a normal part of our day to day life.
Studies show that employee wellness programmes work best in an encouraging work environment where employers help their employees prioritise self-care.
You can help your employees prioritise their self-care by encouraging them to take regular breaks and recommending that they spend some time outside in the fresh air. You can also provide healthy snacks such as fruit in the workplace or you can teach your employees about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation.
Perhaps create a quiet space within the workplace for employees to go and relax when they need a break.
Flexible Working Arrangements
Flexible working has been growing in popularity in recent years. It allows employees to work from home or at the office/workplace. It also gives employees the flexibility to choose their own working hours providing that they still work their number of contracted hours.
Having a flexible working schedule will boost your employees’ moods and engagement. It will also decrease the number of absences and will lead to a decline in tardiness.
Flexible working arrangements also allow employees to have a better work-life balance. For example, it will give employees the opportunity to meet the needs of their family, enjoy time with friends or take an exercise class.
Engaging And Personalised Content
Another trend in 2019 is engaging and personalised content. When it comes to wellness, everybody is different, which means personalisation is key.
Your employees will be facing different challenges. For example, one may be suffering from work-related stress whereas another may have family issues. And so, each employee should be offered a wellness solution that is tailored to them. This may be in the form of ongoing, practical advice.
Wellspace, the leading experts in workplace wellbeing have a mobile phone/tablet app that allows employees to track their wellbeing. The app will suggest resources such as helpful articles and practical advice based on the problem that the employee is having, for example, “Why Am I Always Tired?”.
Encouraging Exercise
This one may come as no surprise. In today’s society, our Instagram feed is littered with people posing in the gym or showing how many miles they did on their latest bike ride. Exercise is trending massively!
It only seems natural for employers to encourage their staff to get plenty of exercise. Exercise is as good for the mind as it is for the body. Employees that exercise regularly will not only be physically healthy but will also be mentally resilient.
Encouraging your employees to exercise couldn’t be easier. Perhaps introduce a weekly jogging club or a weekly yoga class or you could even offer a discount on membership at the local gym. Or you could offer a ‘Power Hour’ – one hour a week when employees can take an hour out of their working day to enjoy some exercise.
Employee Wellness On A Digital Platform
Socialising, shopping, even banking… everything is on a digital platform these days. So, it makes sense that offering an easy-to-use digital platform will encourage your employees to participate in a wellness programme.
Having a wellness programme on a digital platform means that its accessible to your employees 24/7. They can input information such as their height and weight etc. and can even track their sleeping pattern.
For example, Wellspace has a health and wellbeing online portal that employers can use to increase employee engagement and monitor the company’s employee wellness. Using the portal, employers can tailor activities and training sessions based on the needs of their staff members.
Focusing On Stress
Recent studies have highlighted the detrimental affect that stress can have on an individual. Stress is a normal part of life and is something we all suffer from occasionally.
Unfortunately, stress can cause a number of physical and mental health issues. Stress can cause headaches, nausea, sleeplessness and an elevated blood pressure among other things. It can also lead to other issues such as anxiety and depression.
Because stress can have such an impact on an employee work life, it is now common for companies to offer a range of strategies to help employees cope with stress.
Wellspace, for example, offer individual resilience coaching for employees who are stressed.
Get In Touch
If you are an employer and want to learn more about offering an employee wellness programme, you can contact us here for more information, or if you prefer, call us on 0808 178 0748.
We have an expert team of wellbeing professionals who will be delighted to chat to you and offer guidance surrounding an issue that will inevitably take place at some time or other within your organisation!
