Promoting workplace wellbeing and creating a safe, secure, and confidential environment can be tough. However, here are a few tips to help you turn your workplace into one that improves the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of your colleagues. Change the culture It’s not an easy thing for people to open up about their mental health, or how they feel quashed by their workplace, causing further stress and anxiety. It is the responsibility of managers, therefore, to make changes to the culture of their workplace to create a more calm and open environment. Reduce long working hours As an employer, you expect productivity and at times go the extra mile to ask workers to work overtime just to deliver and complete the day’s tasks. It should be noted that when they are tired, they can’t do much as their brains need some time to relax. It’s their right to take a break. Encourage lunch breaks There are employees who never leave their desks the moment they report at work, if they do, it’s just to use the toilet. They eat and drink from their desk as they work, a thing that isn’t healthy. Management ought to discourage employees from eating from their desks. Also, regardless of how busy it gets, they should be granted a few minutes for lunch. Encourage openness Motivate your staff to talk openly about their mental health. This not only changes the internal culture but also encourages people to seek help by reassuring them that they’re not suffering in silence. All employees should be encouraged to treat each other well. No one should discuss another’s issue unless given permission to do so. Raise awareness There is still a lot of unawareness when it comes to mental health. A number of people don’t understand mental health, its implications, causes, and treatment. It’s everyone’s role to spread the word, raise awareness and help people access the tools they need to tackle stress, anxiety, and depression. Encourage work-life balance People wake up to earn a living. But life isn’t all about working. Employers should make sure that they provide training and guidance for people to manage their time, conserve their energy and leave their work behind at the end of the day. Health and fitness Keeping staff healthy and fit will reduce illness and absenteeism and boost productivity! Contribute to gym memberships for your workers if possible. Making a contribution each month to gym memberships, classes, sports teams will encourage your staff to get fit and healthy. Encourage even those that are not interested in sports. Mind about what your staff eats What do your employees eat? Too much junk isn’t healthy. If you have one place where you have lunch as a company, give orders of different kinds of food on a daily basis to encourage healthy eating. This is something that most companies don’t consider, but it’s important. Offer counselling services Let your employees have a counsellor to advise them. Private counselling should be encouraged either once a month or week, depending on what the company can afford. You do not know what people are dealing with, at work, and outside work. They need someone to open up to without judging them yet offering a solution. Positive affirmation Creating a culture that values individual team members is a key aspect of well-being. Managers, leaders, and co-workers ought to recognise that the efforts of staff can impact hugely on motivation, helping them to feel appreciated and satisfied in their roles. Positivity, either verbal or through written notes or emails, phone messages can push many people to move forward.
