Why invest in wellbeing at work?

Wellbeing at work – what can you do to help your people?

While most businesses do want their people to experience emotional and physical wellbeing, there are also very sound financial reasons for investing in employee wellbeing at work. Stress, illness, burn-out – just three very common reasons for employees taking sick leave, under-performing at work, resigning or making costly mistakes.

There are many actions that a business, however small, can take to help employees with wellbeing at work. It’s worth remembering that enjoying your work is the single most important factor that underpins wellbeing, according to a Gallup study.

Here are some elements you could consider including in your wellbeing at work approach:

Recognition: Sounds so obvious but many businesses don’t have a way of openly thanking people, or for sharing their successes.

Development: Investing in training and development makes people feel valued while building their skill sets and competence.

Events: Bringing people together regularly, online or in real life, helps build your team culture and strengthens relationships. Team meetings foster better communication links and helps people feel more involved in the business.

Communication: Regular communication within teams, offices and from ‘the top’ can make a big difference. If there’s openness about targets, progress and plans, people will be more engaged and willing to contribute.

Physical activity: There’s no doubt that there are strong links between physical and emotional health, so any initiatives to encourage physical health will benefit both the person and the business.

Policies: Putting in place policies such as ‘no out of hours emails’ can help employees to recharge in their leisure time, along with policies which actively discourage people from staying late or working a lot of overtime.

From gym membership to bonus schemes, meditation apps to weekly updates from the boss, there are so many ways businesses can improve wellbeing at work.

To find out how we can help your business thrive, please start by finding your nearest accountant here.