Employee drivers – Employee wellbeing

What is employee wellbeing?

Employee wellbeing is the overall physical, mental, financial, social and career wellbeing of an employee. It’s crucial that employers prioritise employee wellbeing, as it plays a major role in the performance and productivity of an organisation.

Why is employee wellbeing important in the workplace?

Employee wellbeing has a direct impact on an organisation, and can affect performance, productivity, and financial success.

Organisations that make employee wellbeing a priority can reap the rewards of a more positive work environment, which will lead to increased efficiency, satisfaction, and morale amongst employees.

What are the benefits of prioritising employee wellbeing?

There are numerous benefits to supporting wellbeing in the workplace, for both leaders and employees alike. For leaders, good wellbeing of the workforce can lead to better job performance, increased retention rates, and better buy-in from potential new hires. For employees, a good standard of wellbeing allows for increased job satisfaction and happiness, and promotes healthier living.

What are the outcomes of poor employee wellbeing?

Many employers mistake employee wellbeing as a one-size-fits-all practice, or they fail to address current pain points or hurdles. And this has serious repercussions for any organisation.

Examples of these outcomes include low morale, lack of motivation, reduced productivity, an increase in employee turnover, poor team communication and collaboration, worsened mental health issues, heightened stress levels, and reputational damage as a business.

What initiatives can you implement to support employee wellbeing?

A good place to start is to consider the different pillars of wellbeing. These pillars represent five areas that contribute to a person’s overall health and happiness.

1. Physical wellbeing is the direct result of lifestyle choices surrounding our behaviours, sleep, physical activity, and diet. Initiatives your organisation could implement to promote physical wellbeing could include a movement or fitness challenge, a corporate gym membership, or providing private healthcare.
2. Mental wellbeing is a combination of how we feel and how we function. Initiatives your organisation could implement to support the mental wellbeing of its people could include appointing a ‘Mental Health First Aider (MHFA)’, signposting free resources, or training your leaders to identify those who are struggling.
3. Financial wellbeing is how people feel about the control they have over their financial obligations and the relationship they have with money. Initiatives your organisation could implement to support financial wellbeing could include providing access to regulated advice, employee discount schemes, or regular pay reviews.
4. Social wellbeing refers to the measure of someone’s interpersonal relationships, and in the workplace specifically relates to an employee’s sense of belonging, social stability, and social inclusion. Initiatives your organisation could implement to support social wellbeing could include team socials, encouraging peer-to-peer recognition, or regular team social calls.
5. Career wellbeing and development refers to how happy an employee is in their job, and this can be affected by the amount of development opportunities they receive. Career development could be supplemented by mentoring schemes, regular one-to-ones, or by communicating learning and development budgets.

How can you track employee wellbeing?

Employee wellbeing can be tracked through numerous methods. It can be tracked through absence and sickness records, through one-to-one conversations, and through surveys. Surveys are a useful way to measure employee wellbeing as they provide direct feedback from staff about their experience in the workplace.

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