How Businesses Can Aid Their Employees’ Health & Wellbeing

With mental health issues rising worldwide and a focus on health and wellbeing, it is vital for businesses to look after their staff and understand health and wellbeing issues and solutions to cater to them. Having a well-designed workplace health and wellbeing programme can help to retain staff and have better engagement, creating a positive work environment. 

Explore how businesses can aid their employees’ health and wellbeing and see how you can make a positive impact on your workforce through creating successful initiatives that support the health and wellbeing of employees. 

Have mental health days

Allowing staff to go on mental health days when needed is a wonderful way to focus on employees’ health and wellbeing. A mental health day is when staff take sick leave for the day to better manage their mental state and wellbeing. Introducing these to your company recognises that while some staff may look physically well to work, they may need time to focus on their mental health before it affects their working day. Having these available for employees to make use of promotes a positive working environment and encourages staff to take care of themselves and focus on improving their mental state, de-stressing from their work. 

These may become required in the UK as the Mental Health Foundation is recommending governments introduce a minimum of two mental health days for every public sector worker. 

Be flexible

Provide flexibility in your workplace to give a better work-life balance to boost mental health and wellbeing. Being flexible can take on many forms, depending on what your staff requires or what suits your business. It could mean giving more opportunities to work from home or completely work remotely. It can also be putting the work day into the staff’s hands by allowing them to adapt their working hours, giving a better balance between their work life and personal life. Some businesses are even providing staff with a four-day working week, giving a long weekend and a deserved break to their teams. 

Encourage movement

Encouraging and supporting movement inside and outside the work environment is a simple yet effective strategy to aid employees’ health and wellbeing. This strategy can be inclusive as movement can mean something different to everybody. It can be a full-blown workout, or it can be as simple as going for a leisurely stroll. Whatever it means to each member of staff, encourage them to move more during the working day by providing areas for them to stretch their legs, head outdoors or even give standing desks a try. Staff can get their steps in, have dance breaks, do some stretches or go for a stroll in nature. 

Offer training for first aid & mental first aid

Having members of staff who are trained in first aid and mental first aid is a priority as a workforce needs somebody to rely on and go to when in need. It’s vital for higher members of staff to not only recognise their health and mental wellbeing but understand and spot the signs of health issues and mental health problems among their colleagues. This is because they are in a position of authority and need to be a support network for their colleagues to confidently go to them when in need. 

Offering training to the employees who need it, such as senior members of staff, is a great way to make all staff feel comfortable and positive about the workplace. You could hold first aid and mental first aid meetings and workshops in an outside conference room that you can hire to train staff in a productive environment. This can involve experts to give proper credentials to these staff members, making the workplace safer and happier. 

Adapt your workplace design

The dynamic between office design and productivity is vital to get right and you need to strike a balance that enhances motivation while giving employees a comfortable and positive environment to work in. Getting the design of your workplace right means that you can help productivity levels rise and improve wellbeing and health. 

It is best to allow employees to control and adapt their surroundings in your work environment. This can be as simple as allowing them to showcase treasured photographs or having a plant on their desk. It can also mean providing tools for staff to effectively and comfortably carry out their job, such as standing desks or extra cushioned seating. Doing this instantly improves the mood of your workforce and creates a peaceful and happy work environment, leading to better health and wellbeing.

As well as this, it’s important to let plenty of natural light in the workplace and encourage movement as often as possible as it’s unhealthy to sit down for long periods of time. Adding in fun pieces of artwork and greenery can boost mental health and having advanced technology can make work life so much easier for staff.

Build a community

Choosing health and wellbeing initiatives that build a community is ideal for your business. Bringing employees together and creating a community can have a significant beneficial impact on staff, especially if a workforce has remote members. Introduce healthy competition into your workplace to build a community and encourage staff to socialise, make friends and have fun at work. You could do leaderboards or get teams to go head-to-head and see who wins. Creating opportunities in this way encourages more participation and has a positive impact on staff’s health and mental wellbeing. 

Have access to mental health support & counselling

Mental health is one of the most common issues companies face as mental health issues continue to grow rapidly. To combat this, you need to focus on providing assistance with mental health for employees to easily access. This not only makes an employee feel safe in the workplace and creates a bond with your business but also gives them vital care to get back on track and increase productivity in the long run.

Have easy access to counselling as well for a confidential and useful way to talk through issues and gain the right support. This can help staff navigate challenges such as stress, depression, anxiety or family issues to ensure it doesn’t affect their work performance. 

Give wellness PTO benefits

A great way to aid health and wellbeing is to give paid time off for employees to participate in wellness activities. This gives them time to do physical activity, therapy, meditation or any other mindfulness activity. Allocate a day or two for paid time off for wellness and let managers know about the change so they can encourage employees to take this time off to look after themselves and stay well. 

Use this guide to how businesses can aid their employees’ health and wellbeing to introduce successful initiatives into your business to look after staff and provide a positive work environment. Doing this boosts mood, creates a community and allows employees to feel comfortable and supported in their roles, making them want to stay!