The majority of employees want the company they work for to take a more active interest in their health and wellbeing. Is there something more you could be doing to take care of your staff?
Employee wellbeing has been a hot topic in recent years, and yet many employers are still not doing enough to care for employee welfare. The token gesture of fresh fruit in the staff canteen just won't cut it. Employee wellbeing is a much bigger, much more serious subject.
Workplace wellbeing boils down to caring for the physical and mental health of all employees. A large-scale survey carried out by the CIPD revealed some rather shocking statistics that I'll share with you now...
The CIPD surveyed over 1,000 people, 86% of whom said they had seen 'presenteeism' in their workplace. That's people working when they're clearly unwell. Two-thirds reported 'leaveism', meaning people were using their holiday time for work or putting in unpaid extra hours.
37% said cases of work-related stress had increased over the course of a year, but only half felt their workplace encouraged openness about mental health. Wellbeing means creating a culture where both physical and mental health are discussed, where employees find a good work/life balance and employers take an active interest in promoting a healthy lifestyle.
The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a surge in interest when it comes to workplace wellbeing. It's not just employees who should be concerned. Every year, over 141 million work days are lost to sickness, meaning employers are losing out because of poor workplace wellbeing policies.
Countless surveys have shown that employees highly value organisations which take wellbeing seriously. It's considered one of the biggest perks to a job. The more seriously you take wellbeing, the better your workplace will be.
Consider both physical and mental health
Avoid 'presenteeism' and 'leaveism'
Create a culture of openness
Promote a good work/life balance
