Healthy is happy. Happiness drives engagement and productivity, both in the workplace and in employees’ personal lives. However, studies have shown that some of the happiness and most engaged employees also wind up being the most vulnerable to burn-out. The idea being, the over-achievers are often the ones who work the longest hours leading to exhaustion and experience the most stress from their job. Implementing programs that address overall well-being (think health, wealth and life) will combat this vulnerability.
It’s certainly difficult enough to attract and retain top talent and the last thing anyone wants to happen is attrition of their highest performing employees. Investing in the well-being of employees, more times than not a company’s most valuable assets, is worth its weight in gold as it will drive exponential returns by reinvigorating high performers and quite possibly inspiring your not-so-high performers to do better. Below we share some six strategies to help companies to support their employees in decreasing stress and increasing vitality.
- Promote Work/Life Balance
- Trusting your managers and employees. Not everyone business is conducive to a work from home policy but consider unlimited vacation or summer Fridays. Let your employees know that their home life matters to you will create a sense of loyalty amongst them.
- Implement a Culture of Mindfulness
- Working harder does not equate to working smarter. Encouraging employees to pause throughout their day and clear their minds will drive down the intensity and make employees feel more relaxed with their work. Whether you schedule on-site meditation sessions or just encourage people to take a 15 minute walk during lunch everyone needs to recharge and reset their minds.
- Provide Financial Resources
- Not everyone has the budget to pay for financial wellness tools for their employees. This may include retirement matches, college loan repayment support or some other corporate investment in employees budgeting strategy. However, doing a little leg-work to find out about free tools to help employees budget better or plan for their future will let them know you’re thinking about what they are. There’s a wealth of resources out there – lead your employees to them.
- Incorporate Philanthropy
- Giving back feels good and helps others. Plus, studies have shown that volunteering makes people feel healthier and lowers stress.
- Create Communicative Support
- Building a community amongst your employees across all levels of the org structure and all functions of the company will help people feel connected with each other. Social connections support emotional well-being and can address mental health concerns before they become mental health problems.
- Walk the Talk
- Lead by example. Don’t just be the organization that touts wellness, live wellness. Whether you have a large budget to invest in onsite exercise, training and lifestyle services or don’t there are options out there for everyone. Some of our favorites include: HealthJoy, Exubrancy, FoundWellness, CCA, CommonBond, MoneyLion, Carrot and Maven. But there are MANY, MANY, MORE out there!
