Employee Well-Being: Why It Should Be a Top Priority for Business Leaders

Everyone knows the saying ‘happy wife, happy life’ but this can translate to business as well. When you have happy and satisfied employees, your business will thrive. There have been various studies conducted on this topic and the results are unanimous: when employees are happy in their jobs this increases productivity and customer loyalty while keeping staff turnover low. These outcomes are already good on their own, but they also contribute to increases in profitability. There can be initial costs when implementing wellbeing initiatives, but you will find that the benefits far outweigh the costs and with increased profitability these costs can be made back.

Some strategies for improving employee wellbeing:

· Supporting employee mental health – To support employee mental health you can implement an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). These programmes include support such as free counselling sessions, general health and wellbeing advice, bereavement support and much more. Employees who have good mental health are more likely to be productive at work as they can more easily stay focused, think clearly, and deal with stress.

· Promoting a work-life balance – one simple way to do this is by offering flexible and remote working. We all have lives to take care of outside of work, and when employees feel that they can pop out to deal with things, it makes them feel that they are appreciated and trusted – you know they will get the work done regardless.

· Implementing wellness initiatives – there are various ways in which this can be done but two easy ways are: offering healthy snacks to promote good health and eating habits; and, encouraging employees to participate in wellness activities, for example, workplace step challenges. Not only will this encourage your employees to get some physical exercise in, but it can also boost morale and foster friendly competition within the workplace. Employees that are healthy are less likely to call out sick, they have more energy and feel better in work which helps productivity.

Overall, we can conclude that it pays to invest in your staff, and your business will thank you for it.