Achieving a quality life, in general, requires practicing positivity. This means looking at the brighter side of things and focusing on solutions rather than problems. After all, life isn’t all about sunshine and rainbows.
But did you know that promoting positivity is all the more necessary in business? A positive workplace offers tons of potential benefits to your company or organization. Specifically, it can positively affect your employees’ overall welfare.
Fret not; This page revolves around having a positive workplace for employee well-being. Specifically, learn more about:
- What employee well-being is, including its components and importance;
- The impact of a positive workplace on employee well-being; and,
- How to promote a good working environment for your business.
Ready? Read on.
What Is Employee Well-being?
Employee well-being is a holistic state of the employees’ welfare in a company or organization. It’s more than just taking care of their health; It encompasses various facets of their well-being, whether physical, emotional, or social. The ultimate goal is to ensure they are always happy, healthy, and fulfilled in the workplace.
Here’s the catch, however: Only over one-third of employees worldwide thrive in the workplace. Gallup reported that almost 60% are actually struggling, while nearly 10% are already suffering.
So, how do you promote and improve employee well-being? Understand its vital components first. Read below.
Key components for fostering overall well-being
As cited, employee well-being isn’t strictly confined to physical health alone; Its key elements are multifold. So, when assessing your employees’ overall welfare, take a holistic approach. Consider the following components:
- Physical health: Are your employees almost always healthy? This means they rarely take sick leaves and go absent from work.
- Mental wellness: Are your employees anxious and depressed? You want to ensure they can focus on their job and concentrate at work.
- Emotional well-being: Are your employees stressed and exhausted? The goal is to ensure they are happy and fulfilled in the workplace.
- Social well-being: Do your employees have good relationships with each other? You want to ensure they engage with others well and participate in various workplace activities.
- Financial position: Are your employees satisfied with their compensation and benefits? This means they get paid fairly and reasonably with some perks and rewards for their hard work.
- Career opportunity: Do your employees get promoted or end up resigning from work? Your goal is to provide them with more opportunities so they can stay in your company for good. A win-win for both parties!
Discover the potential benefits of promoting employee well-being below.
The importance of employee well-being
Poor employee well-being can take a hit on your business. Another Gallup report cites it can affect sickness and absenteeism, work performance, employee burnout, and even job resignation. The numbers don’t lie:
Tom Golubovich, Head of Marketing & Media Relations at Ninja Transfers, underscores the importance of promoting employee well-being for business success.
Golubovich explains, “Employees are the most valuable stakeholders in your organization since they run your day-to-day operations. Holistically well workers can each contribute to your overall success. It goes without saying that you take care of your workers, so they will take good care of your company.”
Here’s why employee well-being is extremely important for your business:
- Reduced workplace absenteeism: It’s easy to see sick employees go absent or stressed workers take personal time off (PTO). But if you promote health and well-being in the workplace, they will be healthy who are always ready to work and perform their jobs.
- Improved employee performance: Employees who are healthy and holistically well perform better at work. Not only are they able to go to work, but they are also motivated and productive. They always deliver quality work on time by going above and beyond what’s expected!
- High employee and customer satisfaction: Businesses offering health and wellness programs boost employee morale. These workers will be more satisfied and fulfilled working for your company. And that can extend to your much-valued customers who get served better.
- Increased employee retention rate: Companies or organizations with employee well-being initiatives will not only attract talent but can also keep these hired workers for good. These employees will love working for your business, knowing they are always taken care of.
- Business profitability and growth: As explained above, employee well-being translates to good employee performance, increased work productivity, and high customer satisfaction. All these will help generate more profits for your company and grow your business.
In the next section, learn how a positive workplace can positively impact your employee well-being.
The Impact of a Positive Workplace on Employee Well-being
Companies are now seeing the importance of employee well-being. They have started incorporating this key concept into their organizations and implementing viable solutions. In fact, 87% of them have at least one initiative, while 83% have an actual strategy in place. That makes employee well-being their top priority in the next five years.
The proof is in the number—Look at the infographics below:
However, what better way to promote employee well-being than by fostering positivity at work? Of course, it all starts in the workplace!
Find out how a positive working environment can essentially impact your employees’ overall well-being below.
1. Physical Health: Preventing diseases and absenteeism
A favorable work environment can improve overall health and physical wellness. In an IT company, for example, it helps lower the prevalence of common health issues like eye strain, back pain, and other musculoskeletal diseases. However, promoting positivity may mean establishing ergonomic workstations, providing regular breaks, and offering wellness programs.
Derek Pankaew, founder of Listening.com, cites the value of a positive workplace for preventing illnesses and decreasing absenteeism. “For all you know, it can greatly impact your employee well-being. Creating a positive work environment is not just excellent for boosting employee morale; it is also critical for keeping your team healthy. Happy employees imply fewer sick days and more workplace productivity.”
2. Mental Wellness: Reducing stress, burnout, and anxiety
A healthy work environment is vital for psychological well-being since it reduces stress and burnout, which are common workplace difficulties. You can establish a supportive workplace through open communication, fair workloads, and, more importantly, access to mental health resources. These can significantly increase your employees’ mental wellness.
Thomas Medlin, Co-founder at JumpMD, suggests focusing on mental well-being through a positive work environment. “A supportive work environment is critical to avoiding stress and burnout. When employees feel valued and understood, their stress levels decrease, and their production increases. Ultimately, spreading positivity is key to psychological well-being!”
3. Emotional Well-being: Improving employee relationships
A favorable work environment improves your employees’ emotional well-being. It promotes strong, healthy interactions among workers. However, encourage cooperation, open communication, and mutual respect to foster a positive environment where employees feel connected and valued. That translates to a more cohesive, collaborative workforce!
Phil Strazzulla, founder of SelectSoftware Reviews, recommends creating a positive workplace to improve employee relationships. “Creating an environment in which employees actually enjoy working together is a game changer. When employees develop solid ties, morale improves, and the entire team becomes more effective. In the end, they have each other as their emotional support system.”
4. Social Well-being: Keeping employees engaged
Social well-being in the workplace is critical for keeping people engaged, which provides several benefits to an organization. Highly engaged employees translate to a 21% increase in profitability, a 31% decrease in turnover rates, and an 80% boost in customer retention rate. Therefore, build a sense of community and encourage social connections to improve employee engagement.
Logan Mallory, Vice President of Marketing at Motivosity, underscores the importance of a positive workplace for employee engagement. “Keeping workers socially connected at work benefits everyone involved in the business. Engaged employees are more satisfied, stay with the organization longer, and contribute to its success.”
5. Financial Wellness: Ensuring job satisfaction and productivity
Financial health is another critical aspect in guaranteeing job happiness and productivity. Employees confident about their finances are practically more focused and motivated at work. With over 80% of employees expressing a need for financial counseling, your company can provide financial wellness programs to help improve your employees’ finances.
Axel Lavergne, Founder at ReviewFlowz, believes that compensation and benefits impact employee well-being, which equates to job satisfaction and productivity. “Helping employees with their financial status is more than just a benefit; it’s a necessity. When people are sure about their finances, they bring their best selves to work each day. A win-win for both parties!”
6. Career Opportunity: Promoting career advancement and professional growth
Promoting career advancement and professional development is critical for retaining talent and motivating employees. With over half (52%) of American employees considering a career move this year, providing clear career paths and opportunities can boost workplace satisfaction and loyalty. However, cultivate a culture of continual learning and development to invest in your employees’ professional growth.
Grant Aldrich, Founder of OnlineDegree.com, emphasizes building a positive workplace by providing workers with career opportunities. “When employees envision a future with your company, they are more inclined to stay in your company and succeed even further. Ultimately, offering career options contributes to employee well-being and translates to employee retention.”
Best Practices for Promoting a Positive Workplace for Employee Well-being
At this point, you understand how a positive workplace can positively impact your employee well-being. However, this begs the question: How do you promote positivity in your company or organization in the first place?
Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches, recommends implementing best practices to establish a positive workplace.
Webber argues, “This holistic approach is easier said than done. You must sit down and brainstorm with your HR department and other stakeholders. Sure, the leaders are responsible for planning various initiatives and creating effective programs. However, the key here is to get everyone involved as a collaborative effort.”
That said, Webber recommends the following best practices:
- Promote health and wellness initiatives. Think of installing healthy snack vending machines, partnering with fitness centers, and holding employee marathons. Health and wellness programs not only attract talent but also make your workers stay for good.
- Provide training and development programs. Consider reskilling and upskilling training for your workers to enhance their knowledge and hone their skills. Almost 95% of employees will stay at their current employer if they invest in long-term learning.
Conduct team-building and company events. It won’t hurt to let your employees enjoy themselves once in a while, not only during Christmas parties. Other wonderful initiatives include medical outreach and charity work to uphold corporate social responsibility (CSR).
- Hold employee rewards and recognition. It’s best to recognize top performers monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Offer them some rewards, whether monetary or tangible perks. Gallup reports that employee recognition is one of the best ways to inspire and engage them.
- Establish an employee feedback loop. Open lines of communication so that employees’ voices are heard. Take concrete actions to address their needs and offer resolutions to their problems for employee satisfaction. About 65% of American employees are satisfied with their jobs, with 20% being passionate about them.
- Foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. Companies and organizations with DEI programs are looked up to not only by customers but by employees themselves. About 57% of employees say their companies should be more diverse and inclusive.
- Reinforce a robust code of conduct. It’s crucial to create strong policies designed to improve the employees’ welfare, promote positivity, and hold offenders accountable. More importantly, ensure everyone strictly adheres to the company’s code of conduct through positive reinforcements.
Final Words
A positive workplace can make a world of difference in your company or organization. It can create positive repercussions on your employees’ overall welfare, including physical, mental, emotional, social, financial, and career-wise. Ultimately, it translates to the following:
- Avoid illnesses and attrition,
- Lower stress and burnout,
- Boost employee connections,
- Keep employees collaborative,
- Guarantee job satisfaction, and
- Fosters professional growth.
Consider the best practices shared above for promoting positivity in the workplace, from providing health and wellness programs to offering employee rewards and recognition to creating and implementing a code of conduct. Ultimately, all these will help establish a positive workplace for employee well-being and business success!
The post Positive Workplace: Understanding Its Impact on Employee Well-being appeared first on Apollo Technical LLC.