Employee wellbeing should be more than something you just think about when you’ve worked through the rest of your to-do list; it should be a fundamental part of your management approach. After all, it can have a huge impact on the long-term success of your business. 

Employees who enjoy being at work are more likely to be productive, be invested in the future of the organisation, and be more likely to stay in their role — if you’re looking for a way to boost your employee retention rate, then enhancing employee well-being is a highly effective method. 

In this post, we’ll run through some of the most effective ways to elevate employee well-being at work. 

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Offer Freedom

People are happier when they feel that they have some control over how and when they work. While you’ll have your own requirements from your employees, it’s best to offer as much freedom as possible whenever and wherever you can. For example, you might allow employees to work from home, at least on a part-time basis, or you may offer flexible start/finish times. Studies have repeatedly shown that this is a relatively easy adjustment that can lead to big improvements in mental well-being. 

Provide Support

Your employees are human, and that means that they’ll have issues from time to time. Some of these will be work-related issues, others will be personal matters. As a caring employer, you can help elevate your employees’ well-being by offering support whenever you can, in both direct and indirect ways. Directly, you could help support employees by offering your team chaplain services, which can have a significant impact on the emotional wellness of staff. Indirectly, you may simply offer sympathy and understanding when an employee has a difficulty — for example, by allowing the team member to leave work when they have a family-related issue.

Manage Workloads

You’ll need your employees to do plenty of work, but it’s important not to give your team too much work. While there’ll always be busy periods that require an additional push from your team, by and large, things should be steady. People naturally begin to feel more stressed when they have a lot on their plate since it cuts into their personal time, which means they have less time for friends, family, and relaxation. If you’re continually pushing your employees to the limit, then it’ll be best to look at recruiting additional employees or changing the structure of your workflow.

Provide a Wellness Stipend

There are plenty of things that management can do to improve the mental well-being of employees, but it’s also worth remembering that, in many cases, your team will have a better sense of what they need than you do. That’s why it can be a good idea to provide a wellness stipend, which will allow your employees to spend money on the wellness-boosting activity that works best for them, be it a gym membership, massage, or day at the spa. It’s a surefire way to enhance employee happiness and, by extension, commitment.