How looking after employee wellbeing can create a high-performance workplace

Staff wellbeing directly impacts the success of your business – how can you prioritise wellbeing to encourage high-performance?

Employees are every organisation’s best asset however, according to the Mental Health Foundation, 14.7% of people experience mental health problems in the workplace. The nine elements of wellbeing include:

• mental health;
• physical health;
• financial wellbeing;
• stress management;
• emotional wellbeing;
• physical activity;
• nutrition;
• social wellbeing;
• professional development.

To look after the wellbeing of their staff, businesses must consider four key factors:

• Environment: workplace temperature and office comfort – for example, furniture and access to natural light.
• Physical: how often they can be active, and how is their nutrition, lifestyle and hygiene.
• Social: relationships with managers and colleagues – collaboration, communication, policies and HR management.
• Psychological: stress, the opportunity to learn and develop, autonomy, purpose, goals and rest.

Companies have a responsibility to look after their employee’s wellbeing, so it is important that they foster a culture of wellbeing in the workplace that helps, encourages and supports employees to practice healthy behaviours in the office. The benefits of workplace wellbeing for businesses are numerous. They include: 

• increased staff satisfaction;
• improved team morale;
• a sense of community;
• company loyalty;
• better retention rates;
• easier recruitment;
• reduced absenteeism.

So, businesses need to set out an employee well-being strategy which includes:

Mental health training and support

Offering training for staff members to become mental health first aiders or creating access to online platforms that provide mental health support, therapy, coaching and meditation is a great way to offer mental and emotional support to your workforce. Read this article on becoming a mental health first aider to find out more.

Health and wellbeing benefits

Free access to healthcare, free or discounted gym memberships, and access to mental health support schemes can help to support employee mental health, whilst perks such as retail discounts and social events can help to boost morale and build a positive work environment. 

A culture of reward and recognition

Rewarding and recognising staff can help to improve employee engagement and productivity and retain staff. Offering your employees the opportunity to earn ‘points’ with a peer reward system can also help staff who are working hard behind the scenes to be celebrated by their colleagues – making sure  they don’t ‘fly under the radar’. 

Flexibility for work-life balance

Offering a flexible working schedule allows your employees to fit work around their own unique schedules and supports employees with additional responsibilities outside of work, such as caring and childcare duties. 

Employee well-being is essential for the success of high-performance teams. When employees are healthy, happy and motivated, they are more productive, engaged and committed to their work.