Employee engagement is a concept that goes much beyond employee motivation and passion. You should also care for the fact that engagement in employees depends on the well-being of your workers as well. Needless to say, employees who feel well physically and mentally perform to the best of their potentials.

Therefore, in addition to other vital strategies that you work on for the success of your business, you should also focus on employee well-being. Moreover, a culture of employee well-being further creates a high productivity scenario. Looking after employee well-being becomes even more important in the ongoing times of the COVID-19 pandemic. In present times, your workers may be struggling with stress, apprehensions, and other mental health issues. Furthermore, to stay protected from contracting the virus, they may also have some concerns about their physical health. Now, all of these worries and fears of the pandemic can take a toll on their mental health. Besides, this effect on their health can deteriorate their efficiency and their focus on their work.

Therefore, this post illustrates various ways in which you can care for the well-being of your workers. As an employer, when you look after the health of your workers, not only you win their productivity but also their loyalty. Next, let us look at the various vital reasons why employers should prioritise employees’ health. After that, we look at the multiple steps in which you can promote a culture of well-being in the workplace.

Imperative reasons to promote employee well-being

1. Employee well-being programs reduce the expenditures incurred by the organisation for the health care of workers.

2. A culture of well-being within an organisation can reduce absenteeism among workers in an effective manner.

3. Promoting a healthy lifestyle among workers can lead to increased efficiency among them.

4. Well-being programs encourage healthy behaviours and happiness among employees.

5. Well-being cultures can lead to a reduction in elevated health risks that workers can be vulnerable to.

6. Creating a culture of employee well-being can help in keeping the employees motivated and to retain their motivation for long.

So, as you can see, the above essential reasons to offer employee well-being indicate that it is vital for every organisation. The outcomes of maintaining a culture of employee well-being can be paramount to the success of your business. Now, we look at the strategies or the methods you can incorporate to boost employee well-being.

The 11 ways to promote wellness among employees

1. Make way for natural light.

There is evidence backed by research that proves the positive effects of natural light in the workplace. Natural light can help your employees to stay positive and productive throughout the day. Further, natural light can also improve their mood and energy, which are crucial for efficiency. So, by making little adjustments, you can let as much natural light come in as possible. This is a pretty inexpensive way to promote well-being, isn't it?

2. Offer gym memberships

One of the best ways of endorsing employee wellness is to contribute to their gym membership. This can encourage them to follow a healthy routine and workout daily to stay fit. Also, if you have additional space in the office, you can set up a gym or yoga classes within the premises. Yoga or aerobics is a popular choice among people these days to stay fit.

3. Offer counselling services to the employees.

If your employees are struggling with their mental health, they may need help. So, you can have small counselling sessions at regular intervals. Often big companies offer in-house counselling to workers. If you are a startup, you can invite a counsellor to take general sessions at regular intervals. In this way, by showing sensitivity towards their mental health, you can also win their trust and loyalty.

4. Organise sports events

What is a better way to promote wellness in workers than giving them a chance to participate in sports? Thus, on some occasions, you can organise small sports tournaments among employees. Not only their well-being, but you can also improve your health by indulging in sports. Besides, when workers take part in such events in teams, it can lead to enhanced collaboration. Sports can be an excellent idea for team-building as well as wellness in workers.

5. Offer free fruits

Wellness is often linked to healthy eating, and fruits are always at the forefront of it. You can offer free fruits to your workers such that they can get their daily nutrition in the right manner. Fruits can have tremendous benefits on the physical as well as mental health of your workers. So, you can prevent your employees from ordering unhealthy snacks. You can instead provide them with free fruits as a healthy snacking choice.

6. Encourage workers to cycle to the office.

Cycling is in trend these days, and a lot of people find it exciting to cycle for hours in a day. Not only cycling helps preserve the environment but also promotes good physical health. So, the next time you give a pep talk to your team, you should likewise inspire them to cycle to work. But what is the best way to encourage them to do so? Well, you can do that by leading from the front and cycling to work on some occasions. As a leader, you should always set examples of what you expect of your workers.

7. Promote a culture of gratitude

Gratitude is a work ethic that you should always look to establish and sustain in the workplace. Again, it starts from you, and thus you should begin to thank your employees for their excellent efforts. A culture of thankfulness can have a positive effect on the psychology of your employees. Further, a small ‘thank you’ can lead them to enhanced happiness and productivity.

8. Work on the colour theme

It is an accepted fact that bright colours can enhance moods and endorse happiness. Thus, if possible, you should work on the colour theme of your office and add a splash of bright colours. So, the best choice of colours for keeping workers elated include blues, greens, reds, and yellows. So, in case you are planning some renovation in the workplace, you should look to add some bright colours. 

9. Provide in-house entertainment

It is essential for wellness that your employees have ways to relax and let go of their stress in breaks. Hence, you should provide some means of entertainment that they can use for chilling in the break time. These can include PlayStations, a snooker table, a music system, and so on. When they have ways to bust their stress, their happiness and performance can improve. 

10. Encourage workers to take breaks

It is a proven fact that by working in small spans, people can achieve maximum efficacy. Everyone needs a break to relax and begin again with efficiency and passion. So. you should allow your workers to have small gaps between their work routine. In this way, they can manage their workload and stress in a better way and be efficient in all tasks. You should avoid creating an environment where workers feel scared to take breaks. Instead, you should show trust in their ability to manage their work in their way and offer some flexibility.

11. Have discussions on a healthy lifestyle

Another right way to make your workers abide by the idea of well-being is to hold lifestyle sessions. In this session, they can learn about the components of a healthy lifestyle, and they can give their best every day. So, once in a few months, you can invite a keynote speaker to talk about good health. This is quite an inexpensive way of incorporating the idea of wellness in the workplace. Besides, such lessons can be fruitful to workers and can help them learn new verticals of healthy living.

To encapsulate, wellness should be an idea that you promote within your organisation in the broader sense. There are diverse reasons why you should look after employee happiness and well-being. Not only is it essential for the health of individuals but also the success of the organisation. Besides, there are some simple ways in which you can create a culture of well-being. Some methods are as cost-effective as allowing more natural light to come in. Furthermore, if your budgets allow, you can offer paid gym memberships to workers or set up a place to workout within the office. Moreover, wellness is an idea that includes both mental as well as physical well-being. Thus, if possible, you can also provide your workers with access to counselling. Also, by having your door open for them all the time so that they can express their feelings with you can add to their wellness. At last, you can organise various sessions in the workplace that are centred around well-being or mental health. For these, you can invite keynote speakers to spare some time and interact with your workers.