Employee Wellness is Business Wellness: 6 Changes to Implement to Increase Morale
You may have excellent employees, but if they are not led well, you and your business will struggle. The importance of treating your employees well cannot be underestimated. The way you treat your employees and the environment you create for them makes a lasting difference.
How you treat your employees often affects the morale of the company more than the individual income levels. Certainly, compensating your employees well is important, but how you treat them may even be more important than high pay.
Why? In the short term, your business may thrive under high-pressure management. Your employees may work twice as hard to meet your rising expectations.
In the long term, however, there are significant consequences to the high pressure, specifically:
- High healthcare costs and increased health issues among employees
- Disengagement among employees
- Lost loyalty – high turnover rate
Health Issues with High-Stress Jobs
The number one issue that arises from high-stress businesses is the toll it takes on your employees’ mental, emotional, and physical health. Studies show us that, to present a safe and healthy working environment for employees, it’s important to take note of the mental, physical, and emotional strain of the job.
Also, workers who are disengaged are less likely to perform well, and far more likely to have an accident or make a mistake. High-stress jobs also lead to high turnover rates. Employees don’t feel loyal to jobs that leave them feeling unhealthy and unappreciated.
To help your employees feel like they’re valuable members of the team, there are six things that you can do.
1.Compensate them well. Compensation is not always monetary. You don’t have to pay your employees so well that you forfeit a healthy budget. However, paying your employees a fair wage will go a long way. Including incentives, benefits, free time, team activities goes a long way to making your team feel seen, heard, acknowledged, and understood.
2. Offer flexibility where possible.There are a growing number of employees who really desire flexibility in their work schedule. While a 9-5 job was once the norm, this is changing with younger generations. Employees want the option to have a flexible schedule that fits their lifestyle. Many applicants are looking for jobs that allow them to work remotely, or to have the ability to work from home some of the time. With the right remote working training, allowing for this possibility will go a long way to create healthier, happier, more robust and productive teams.
3. Listen to your employees and show them that you care. Taking the time to listen to the people who work for you will make a difference in how they feel about their time at work. Do your best to give them your undivided attention. Set the phone down, walk away from the computer, and let them know you’re paying attention by looking at them and being present. If you’re completely unavailable at the time, schedule a time that you canspeak with them.
4. Show your employees appreciation. Almost everyone needs to feel that the work they do is seen and appreciated. Some personality types need more affirmation than others, but most people need to know that the work they do is important and valued.
5. Have reasonable expectations. It’s easy to feel like your employees have easy jobs. It’s especially true if it’s something that you’ve been doing well for a long time. While you certainly don’t want to employ people who are completely incompetent, remember that people learn and acquire skills at different rates. Something that you’re completely comfortable doing may take a new employee some time to master. Be patient with them while they’re learning and refrain from becoming easily annoyed.
6. Establish a Wellness Hour. While it is true that work is a place of work, there is also power in play, scheduled free time other than lunch time and dedicated time for individual or team introspection. Giving your employees time to have a mental health break and occasional fun either individually or as a team can have substantial benefits.
A diverse work culture invites diverse growth opportunities and opens access to spaces that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Dr. Natasha Williams is a Radical Self-Care Expert, Registered Psychologist and one of the founding clinical directors of Allied Psychological Services in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Williams is also an international professional speaker, trainer, best-selling published author and a certified Diversity, Equity and Inclusion facilitator. Dr. Williams is currently a media expert with CTV News, CTV Your Morning and the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). For additional information please visit www.drnatashawilliams.com.
