It has always been a struggle for workers to strike a perfect balance between career and personal life. As schedules become busier than ever, most of us tend to sacrifice our personal life to beat work deadlines, close more deals, and mainly focus more on our work.
The paradox is that the more technology has become more advanced, the more demanding our jobs. Employers do need to realize, though, that employee wellness should be given value. The healthier employees are, the healthier the companies are as well. Furthermore, giving a premium to employee’s well-being helps organizations save a lot from illness and work-related injuries.
Why Wellness Is Crucial
It is no secret that balanced employees feel more motivated and less stressed than their counterparts. They are likely to be productive at work and have lesser chances of encountering conflicts with coworkers and event management.
Employees who feel that they have more control over their own lives tend to have better relationships with their employers. Furthermore, they are more likely to be able to separate work-related problems and the ones at home.
Also, organizations known for promoting wellness through work-life balance are attractive to workers, leading to a valuable pool of candidates in the instance where there is a job opening. This also translates to a lower attrition rate among employees.
In a nutshell, a workplace that encourages wellness among its employees benefits not only the workers but also the company.
Promoting Wellness in the Office
1. Healthy Eating Habits
The importance of lunch breaks is often overlooked in a busy office environment. But employers need to make their employees understand that they can (and have to) break away from their desks to enjoy a full lunch break. It is hard to enjoy your meal when you have to multitask. Plus, not being able to appreciate one’s meal fully leads to overeating.
Employers need to encourage healthy eating habits since, ultimately, it redounds to the benefit of the management. Employees who eat healthier are more productive, according to a study. Aside from encouraging employees to take their full lunch breaks, fruits and veggies can be offered in the break rooms as alternative snacks.
2. Stress Management Strategies
Stress is often an evil thing that can get in the way of employees and their best work. At some point, even the best employees can struggle with stress, whether it is work-related or not. Being employers, though, you can provide various ways to help your workers manage it to help boost their self-esteem, overall well-being, and productivity. These are some of the things you can do:
- Providing a meditation room
- Scheduling a bi-annual retreat
- Allowing early offs
Being under a lot of stress is not good for anyone. Stress can overwhelm someone leading to mental and/or physical breakdown. When running a business, this can mean increased employee absenteeism and medical expenses for the company.
3. Exercise Access
Not everyone can get excited about working out. Too often, exercising is one of those wellness goals that professionals often leave the wayside when busy. But we all know how important exercising is. Fit employees are more likely to handle stress much better and are more efficient in performing their work.
Companies can do some things to highlight the value of exercising for their employees. This can be providing an office gym or hosting events such as football, baseball, or even just some random hula hoop contest. They can also offer health programs for those with special needs, like exercise programs for those with curved spine scoliosis.
Emphasizing the value of exercise to your workers not only means increased productivity in the workplace but also means lower health premiums. When your employees are healthy, they are less likely to suffer from any mental health conditions. It also lessens the chance of them suffering from chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes.
4. Sleeping Habits
According to a survey conducted by Sleep.org, lacking the right number of sleeping hours costs many companies in the U.S. $63.2 billion in productivity loss. Thus, sleeping habits are something that should be discussed freely in the office environment. Employee or not, everyone needs quality sleep to maintain one’s physical and mental health. One who is well-rested can make better decisions since one can think more clearly.
5. Mental Health Concerns
Even with this whole mental health concern going on at an international level, the majority of employees still feel hesitant talking about their mental health conditions. But, promoting an office culture that values and promotes mental health nudges employees to avail of the services they need.
For most employees, it is difficult to find opportunities for wellness promotion. But being employers, you have more resources to help workers achieve optimum health.