How to promote employee health and wellness in the workplace

Did you know more than 34% of employees lose one hour or more of productive work time in environments that are unsupportive of mental and physical wellness? That’s according to the Future Workplace Study. Factors like lighting, air quality, and technology were some of the top components when it came to employee health and wellness but others include flexibility and pay ranked highly as well. The answer is simple: If you want more productive employees, it’s important to give them an enjoyable work environment.

Create privacy

Although some employees thrive in a completely open layout, it is important to provide a sense of privacy by giving valuable employees offices with doors. Having a quiet workspace encourages more productive work throughout even the longest hours of the day. If this is not possible, encourage employees to post little reminders like “do not disturb” signs during stressful times and lunch breaks.

Offer mental health education

When mental health education is brought into the office, more employees will feel encouraged to speak up during hard situations. Be sure to remind your employees that you offer constant emotional support and enforce an open door policy.

“Leaders can say that they value mental health because maybe they really do want to value it,” Dr. Monica Worline, a research scientist at Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, told Forbes “But they often don’t know what to do other than saying that, so it can seem like they’re just giving it lip-service.”

Show compassion

Life happens for everyone. Sometimes the timing is not always perfect. As a leader, it is your job to show compassion and offer support when an employee is in a tough situation. By offering occasional benefits like flexible work policies and paid leave, your employees will be grateful and end up fostering a more productive workflow. If you want results, give your employees a reason to stay.

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