Rashida
How is your team doing?
Before you whip out last quarter’s spreadsheet, that’s not what we mean.
Not how are your sales, numbers, conversions, etc, but how is your team?
How are your employees feeling?
Every organization should be able to answer this question, and ideally, with a resounding “they’re great!”
Employee wellbeing is crucial for every company, from top to bottom. When employee wellbeing is treated appropriately and prioritized, it benefits everyone.
Let’s take a closer look at what employee wellbeing looks like and how it helps the entire organization.
Employee Wellbeing vs Engagement
70% of all employees are unengaged. Uh oh. Unengaged employees won’t feel very motivated and certainly won’t do their best work. This statistic and concern for employee engagement have led many companies to focus on boosting engagement.
It makes sense. Engaged employees are more likely to be productive, and generate a higher quality of work. They are more likely to stay at the company.
But highly engaged employees are also more likely to face stress and burnout, eventually leading to lower performance and turnover.
According to a Yale study, one out of five employees experiences high engagement and high burnout.
While engagement is an important part of the equation, it’s not the same as wellbeing. The trick is to maintain high engagement without burning out your employees. As the Harvard Business Review puts it, to promote engagement and prevent burnout, “it is crucial to provide employees with the resources they need to do their job well, feel good about their work, and recover from work stressors experienced through work.”
Wellness Includes Managing Stress
A key component of workplace wellbeing is dealing with stress. Companies must address wellbeing holistically, not only focusing on production and work. For example, many HR departments are implementing wellness programs that include nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness to help their employees combat stress.
The work itself matters a lot as well. HR teams should work with managers and supervisors regarding the work demands they place on people. They must also ensure a balance between demands and resources. The more demands placed, the greater the need for support, acknowledgment, and recovery is.
Employee Wellbeing Benefits Employees
It may seem obvious, but employees are people, not robots (usually). People have motivators, emotions, stress, worries, and more. Genuinely caring about the wellbeing of employees is, well, good for employees.
Think about the last time you felt overwhelmed. How well could you focus? How well were you taking care of your body?
In the long term, employees cannot be successful while under immense duress. This is why “engagement” isn’t the only solution.
By ensuring employees have the resources they need for the demands they have, you set your employees up for success. They’re able to complete their work with far less stress, which ultimately leads them to live happier and healthier lives.
As you can imagine, happier, healthier employees are also great for the company…
Collaboration
Organizations are teams comprised of mini-teams. Even in a remote company or a position that’s fairly independent, collaboration matters. The better your team and company can collaborate, the more innovative and successful you will be.
Well, people that are overwhelmed and unsatisfied will not be great at collaborating. On the other hand, employees with great well-being will be much better “teammates.”
When employees’ needs are met and well-being is taken care of, they will be better able to collaborate. Each person will be able to bring their best foot forward. They will be more apt to listen to others, more inclined to share ideas and feedback, and more willing to check in with each other.
Employee Satisfaction Boosts Productivity
According to McKinsey, workplace stress costs employers $200 billion every year in healthcare expenses. Additionally, employees tend to miss more work when stressed, and an even greater percentage of employees still work while feeling unwell.
Excessive stress and low satisfaction lead to more sick days and ultimately less productivity. Even employees who work through feeling overwhelmed are not at their best.
Boosting employee wellbeing boosts performance and productivity. This helps your company in every way possible. Each employee will be able to get more work done and of higher quality. When employees feel their best, they also work their best.
HR Benefits
Employee satisfaction will also help out your HR team. Happy employees become long-term employees. Providing a supportive environment helps to create happy workers. When employees feel valued, they are more likely to stay with your company.
Keeping talent around is great for your company. Employee turnover is expensive. Each time an employee leaves, your team has to go through the long hiring process, spending time and effort to fill the position. Limiting turnover is great for your bottom line.
Even better is that employee wellbeing helps you attract better talent in the future. By earning a strong reputation in the market as a supportive employer, you can attract skilled candidates for future positions.
Happy Employee, Happy Customer
Have you ever wondered why an employee at a company was so rude? Got the impression they just didn’t even want to be there? Some people are just downright mean, but chances are, stress and burnout were at least some factors. While employees shouldn’t let personal issues seep into how they treat customers, this undoubtedly happens to even the best employees (remember the bit about employees being people with real feelings?)
Employee wellness is essential for customer relations. When the point-of-contact for clients and customers is satisfied in their current position, they are more likely to be engaged, passionate, and enthusiastic when interacting with clients.
Tips for Employee Wellbeing
Employee wellbeing impacts every facet of a business. Employees are the heart of your business, so focusing on their wellbeing is essential. Here are some tips for implementing employee wellbeing:
- Ask for feedback. You may not even realize that employees don’t have the resources they need or are feeling overwhelmed. Ask. Regularly ask for feedback through a variety of mediums. Send out surveys that ask specific questions (i.e. do you feel you have everything you need to complete your job?), but also meet with employees.
- Provide skills development. Give your employees opportunities to learn and grow. Skills development is an overlooked resource that many employees need to tackle the demands placed on them.
- Work-life balance. Employees have lives outside of work. When work seeps into every waking hour, it’s a recipe for burnout. Implement company policies that ensure work-life balance, like no emails after certain times, etc.
- Promote good health. While wellness programs won’t solve excessive work demands, they are part of a holistic employee wellbeing approach. Provide resources for good health as well, like exercise programs, nutritious snacks, and more.
Ultimately, employee wellbeing is about creating an environment that your team can thrive in. ensure your employees have the resources they need to perform their jobs well and check in with them. Find out how you can foster a more enjoyable work environment, and your entire company will benefit.
