After the COVID-19 pandemic, employee wellbeing has become a top concern for both employers and the workforce itself. Employees are looking for a supportive work environment that cares for their mental and physical health.

As an employer, it’s in your best interest to offer that support and care. The wellbeing of your employees affects everything from day-to-day productivity to how many sick leaves they’ll need this year. The lower your workforce’s wellbeing, the worse your business performs.

But to create a good working environment for your employees, you need an understanding of what wellbeing really is.

What is Employee Wellbeing?

Employee wellbeing is a holistic look at the health and contentment of your employees. Over decades of research, Gallup has identified five elements of wellbeing that all cultures have in common –

• Career – You feel fulfilled by what you do every day.
• Financial – You make enough money to live well.
• Physical – You are in good health and have plenty of energy.
• Social – You have meaningful relationships and a strong support network.
• Community – You feel at home where you live.

By paying employees fairly and giving them work they love, you can have a direct impact on career and financial wellbeing.

But you can make a difference to social and physical wellbeing as well. Team dynamics, management style, workload, and work-life balance all affect how your workers feel at the end of the day.

Why is Employee Wellbeing Important?

Your employees can’t do their best when they’re not at their best. So, if you want a workforce that gives its all, you need to ensure your people are up for it.

Better wellbeing correlates with positive mental outlook and emotional state, both at and outside of work. This simple fact leads to these substantial benefits –

Supporting Engagement and Productivity

It’s not surprising that there are close links between employee wellbeing and productivity, engagement, and motivation. With high employee engagement, your workers feel more energized and productive. As a result, they’re at less risk of occupational burnout.

But the same is true for the reverse. An employee who is chronically stressed and isolated will emotionally detach from their work and your company. Low wellbeing typically makes for a disengaged, unproductive worker.

Retaining Your Best Workers

According to research by ManpowerGroup, 75% of companies across the globe are experiencing a talent shortage. That’s even worse when you consider how high turnover rates have risen in recent years.

To retain your top talent, you need to do more than simply offer a job.

Companies that prioritize benefits, healthcare, and mental health support create an environment where employees can thrive. And when your workers are happy where they are, their loyalty and commitment to your company will increase.

Boosting Your Company’s Reputation

Happy employees are an organization’s most valuable supporters.

If you can boast high workforce wellbeing as a statistic, your company looks good on your website dashboard. But what really raises your reputation and attracts new talent is word-of-mouth.

According to the American Psychological Association, 89% of employees recommend their workplace to others if they benefit from an employee wellbeing program. That’s compared to only 17% of employees whose organizations don’t support their wellbeing.

Reducing Absenteeism

As previously mentioned, wellbeing isn’t just a measure of health and mindset in the workplace. How your employees feel outside of work also impacts overall wellbeing.

So, addressing underlying issues has the knock-on effect of improving quality of life. Better mental, emotional, and physical health means fewer sick days and less money spent on healthcare. All in all, it’s good for your bottom line.

5 Must-Have Strategies for Employee Wellbeing

In 2023, most employees reported that their wellbeing was the same or worse compared to the previous year. But around 77% of C-level executives thought their workforce’s wellbeing had improved.

This disconnect between leadership and the backbone of the company shows how important it is to invest in employee wellbeing. Here are five tried-and-true strategies that every company should follow.

1) Set Up Mental Health Channels

The stigma around discussing mental health issues is starting to fall apart. And it’s a good thing, too, because of how widespread these issues have become.

Mental health should be a priority in your company, with managers frequently checking in to ask questions like –

• Are you comfortable with your current workload?
• Are there any personal circumstances we’ll need to work around this week?
• What can management do to support you at the moment?

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are a great way to look after employee wellbeing in the workplace. These programs offer confidential counseling to employees suffering from mental health issues or difficult circumstances at home.

Making mental health services part of your employees’ benefits package shows that you take these issues seriously.

2) Ask For and Implement Feedback

Many organizations try to solve employee issues without actually knowing what their employees want or need. That often leads to wasted time, effort, and money. But there’s a simple solution to this dilemma: just ask them!

Easy and accessible feedback channels create a platform for employees to take charge of their work environment.

This may be through frameworks that build a feedback culture, such as conversations, feedback, and recognition (CFR). But equally valuable is the employee wellbeing survey, which allows employees to express frustrations anonymously and come to a consensus.

These initiatives are nothing without follow-through, though. When feedback is processed, your managers should clear about what can be implemented, what can’t, and how employees can help.

3) Stay Engaged with Remote Workers

According to Psychology Today, workplace flexibility improves employee wellbeing by reducing depression rates. Hybrid working has become the new normal – and employees are thriving in it.

But it has its drawbacks, especially if remote workers are simply left to their own devices –

• Burnout – Some employees struggle to switch off work mode while working from home. When work begins to invade an employee’s personal time, stress inevitably builds and becomes burnout.
• Isolation – Being physically disconnected from colleagues can have an impact on your remote workers’ social wellbeing. What’s more, feelings of isolation and neglect are a straight road to employee disengagement.

You can touch base with your remote employees’ stress levels by scheduling regular check-ins and one-on-ones. Time management and self-organization workshops can also help employees set time for breaks and “log off” effectively.

4) Give Your Managers Support

A study by UKG found that managers impact their employees’ mental health as much as a spouse or partner. So, it’s clear why bad management can do a number on employee health and wellbeing.

Effective managers are adept at open, transparent communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving. This keeps them in tune with their employees’ needs and struggles and allows for timely, collaborative intervention.

But these skills must be learned like any other. Management courses train your managers to support and develop healthy relationships with employees. Not only that, but these resources also offer valuable strategies for handling the pressure of leadership.

5) Establish Wellness Programs

Desk jobs put employees at risk of developing back, neck, and joint pain from the long hours stuck in a chair. Luckily, there are ways to offset this occupational hazard.

Employee wellbeing activities make it easy for your workers to stay active. Encourage healthy habits by providing discounts or free access to fitness classes, gym memberships, and health workshops.

According to a Harvard economist’s meta-analysis, for every dollar spent on employee wellness programs you can save up to $6.

Take Charge of Employee Wellbeing Now

You can’t stay on top of employee wellbeing without open feedback channels. And because wellbeing and engagement are so closely linked, you can make your employees happier by keeping them engaged.

nGAGE is the ultimate people-centric platform for supporting engagement, productivity, and growth. Here’s how it can transform your wellbeing initiatives –

• nGAGE’s gamification features can offer massive rewards for outstanding performance. There’s nothing like a refreshing getaway or a new gaming console to unwind after a period of hard work.
• Easy-to-use feedback functions encourage employees and managers to communicate honestly. Over time, feedback solves problems, establishes trust, and builds meaningful relationships.
• Real-time reports allow your managers and HR team to monitor employee productivity. This allows for responsive check-ins when an employee appears to be struggling.

Ready to take your workforce from surviving to thriving? Request a demo using the form below.