With the rise of remote working, the line separating work and life has become increasingly blurred. Gallup’s survey revealed that 50% of respondents currently suffer from employee burnout. To counter this, HR leaders are looking to prioritise employee mental health and workplace wellbeing.
This leads to the important question, “what is workplace wellbeing?” and how can you as an HR professional foster sustainable work habits to promote it?
What is workplace wellbeing?
According to OECD’s report, wellbeing refers to “the state of living a good life and having the ability to shape one’s own life.” It is a multifaceted concept and spans across various dimensions of life including career, social, financial, physical and community.
In recent years, organisations have recognised the importance of employee mental health and started to develop workplace wellbeing strategies.
However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for wellbeing given its complexity. Just as diet, sleep and exercise are necessary for physical wellbeing, building sustainable habits are essential for employee mental health.
Why should workplace wellbeing matter?
For employees
- Job satisfaction: Employees who feel valued, supported and are provided with opportunities for growth will be more satisfied and engaged with their work.
- Reduced stress and anxiety: Employee wellness programmes, work-life balance, and a supportive company culture can contribute to reduced stress and anxiety within the workplace. With this, employees are able to focus on tasks at hand, increasing efficiency and reducing potential burnout.
- Improved physical and mental health: Stress management programmes, access to mental health resources, and development of sustainable work habits can bring about physical and employee mental health benefits. This translates to a healthier and motivated workforce with reduced health costs.
For employers
- Lower absenteeism: With employees feeling supported and engaged at work, they are less likely to miss work due to illness or stress.
- Improved employee retention: Employees are likely to stay in the company if they are provided with resources and support needed for their career progression. This reduces employee turnover and cost of recruitment, allowing organisations to further invest and develop their existing workforce.
- Ability to attract top talent: Employers who prioritises workplace wellbeing can significantly enhance their employer brand, which attracts top talents who share the same value.
8 sustainable work habits for workplace wellbeing
Now that we’ve gotten the basics of employee mental health and why it’s important for your organisation, here are eight ways that you can integrate sustainable work habits into your organisation for improved workplace wellbeing:
1. Work-life balance
As previously mentioned, the biggest impact on employee mental health is the ability to balance work and life commitments. Research has shown that providing support such as flexible or hybrid work arrangements, reduced working hours, and mental health days have positive effects on workplace wellbeing.
Fostering good work-life balance can encourage a positive work environment, boosting job satisfaction and increasing productivity. Some practical ways to promote work-life balance include:
- Encouraging employees to take time off from work.
- Setting realistic goals and expectations.
- Promoting team building and bonding activities.
Investing in initiatives such as employee wellness programmes, counseling services and stress management workshops.
2. Professional development
Prioritising employees’ skills development is beneficial for both professional growth and employee mental health.
An effective way to boost professional development and build a growth mindset is to have regular discussions on career aspirations with employees. Consider offering learning and development programmes, mentorship, and advancement opportunities within your organisation.
Performance review season is a great opportunity to focus on goal setting to help employees map out their aspirations, and ensure their personal goals align with organisational efforts.
3. Team collaboration
A collaborative team brings about many benefits such as enhancing creativity and innovation, building trust among teams, fostering diverse perspectives, and overcoming the silo mentality.
When you make team collaboration an integral part of your company culture, you can foster open communication within teams and build trust. One of the easiest and effective ways to achieve this is by acknowledging and rewarding collaborative efforts within the organisation to promote a sense of shared purpose. Aside from that, team building workshops or social events are also great alternatives to build camaraderie.
4. DEI initiatives
It’s been demonstrated time and time again that diverse teams bring about higher rates of innovation, boost employee morale, and create an inclusive work culture. In addition to creating more equitable organisations, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is important for both business outcomes as well as workplace wellbeing. When employees feel valued and respected this directly impacts workplace wellbeing.
To establish a strong foundation for DEI, focus on your talent pipeline. Review your recruitment process to identify and eliminate unconscious bias in job descriptions, interviews, and resume screening. Partner with diverse recruitment agencies or attend job fairs reaching underrepresented groups. Set clear diversity goals for hiring at all levels, and track your progress to ensure you’re building a representative workforce with comprehensive HR softwares such as Omni. Finally, promote from within with an inclusive lens. Implement transparent promotion criteria, provide equal opportunities for growth to all employees, and utilise diverse interview panels when making promotion decisions. This two-pronged approach will actively cultivate a diverse workforce and ensure a fair shot at advancement for everyone.
5. Leadership
When it comes to workplace wellbeing, there’s no better way than to lead by example. This leadership style drives a productive and healthy work environment with strong emphasis on employee mental health.
As an employer, establish and maintain healthy work habits such as taking breaks, adhering to business hours when sending messages, and respecting boundaries. Likewise, openly discuss the importance of employee mental health and show that you truly care for their wellbeing through action. Employees who observe such behavior are likely to follow suit and feel at ease doing so.
6. Feedback mechanisms
Another sustainable work habit for employee mental health is to establish feedback mechanisms. Having regular 1-on-1 meetings between employees and managers encourages both parties to give and receive constructive feedback. Such feedback should focus on career development and aim to offer actionable advice for improvement purposes.
For company wide feedback, consider implementing anonymous feedback channels for employees to express their concerns and voice their opinions without fear of repercussions and judgment.
7. Performance reviews
Having a clear and objective understanding of current performance can motivate employees to perform better. Employees who feel recognised and valued during performance reviews tend to have higher motivation and engagement, which is a core component of workplace wellbeing.
As a manager, work together with your team members to set clear, measurable, and achievable goals. Regularly review and adjust goals as needed, while acknowledging and rewarding progress made. When it’s time for performance reviews, use this opportunity to encourage employees to express any career aspirations and provide feedback on strengths and areas of improvement.
Consider using HR softwares like Omni to design, schedule, and run review cycles, helping you unlock insights and make informed decisions on employee mental health.
8. Mental health resources
Despite progress, mental health still carries a stigma in many workplaces. However, employers have a powerful opportunity to shift the focus and promote workplace wellbeing.
A great example is by encouraging open conversations about employee mental health within the workplace. Provide resources such as employee assistance programmes (EAPs), online mental health resources, wellness apps, mindfulness training programmes and more to empower employees to seek help when needed.
Beyond EAPs: Building a Culture of Wellbeing with Intellect
Throughout the years, EAPs have evolved drastically, recognising the demand for mental health support in the workplace.
Although mental wellness integration can be tedious, Intellect, a modern mental health solution, has a roadmap tailored to employee and company needs. Its scope includes providing employees with self-care resources; connecting them with mental health professionals; and measuring the ROI of workplace wellbeing programmes while, of course, keeping their users’ data confidential. As a result, Intellect has a 10 times higher adoption and utilisation rate as compared to other EAPs.
When paired with a comprehensive HRIS such as Omni, HR teams and managers are equipped with the tools they need to build a culture of belonging that is backed by data and streamlined for heightened employee engagement.
Having an overview of how your employees are really feeling at work takes the guesswork out of employee mental health and engagement. With aggregated and anonymised data, you can make more informed decisions about your workplace wellbeing strategy. And if you’re not sure where to begin, our client success managers will partner with you in tailoring growth interventions to your employees’ needs.
