BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!
Your alarm clock’s ringing. It’s time to roll out of bed. Do you feel calm, or is there a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach?
If it’s the latter, you might be stressing about the working day.
As an employer, you don’t want that for your people. You want them to feel content, confident, and happy to come to work. This Stress Awareness Month, have a look at how your rewards and benefits can ease your people’s stress, and improve their wellbeing.
So how can your rewards and benefits help create a corporate culture that makes people want to come to work? We’ve rolled our sleeves up, done our research – and this is what we found…
The five pillars of wellbeing
Gallup, the global analytics and advice company, has identified five pillars that people need to thrive.
- Physical – you have energy to get things done
- Financial – you manage your money well
- Community – you like where you live and work
- Social – you have meaningful friendships
- Career – you like what you do every day
As an employer, you can shape your rewards offering to positively impact all of these pillars. Here are some of our suggestions.
Learning and development
Developing skills helps people to feel confident in a role. They have a sense of security about being able to fulfil their job when a company may be adapting to a new environment. So take a look at your skills system. Do your people have the capabilities to thrive as hybrid working becomes the norm? Can they see that you’re investing in their future?
Employee recognition
Employees who feel valued take less time off with stress-related issues. They’re also more productive. So why not create and roll out a recognition strategy? A compliment here and there is nice in the moment, but for your employees and your business to benefit it needs to be a key business focus, be timely and linked to your values.
Internal communications
A senior leadership team that asks and involves employees on business matters cultivates trust, helping your people to feel heard. So think about the communications from the people at the top. Are they timely and consistent? Are they genuine? Help your people connect with what you’re saying – lose the jargon and corporate-speak.
The other side of the communication equation is listening to your people. Roll out surveys, hold focus groups – and have your door open whenever you can.
Benefits and incentives
Your benefits and incentives can inspire results. If your people feel that you’re investing in them, they’ll invest in you. Align your incentives with what matters to them. Think about what makes your employees tick. Are they into wellbeing? Promote your EAP. Have they formed a lot of sports clubs? Look into discounted gym memberships. Do they count the pennies? Consider a discount app.
Events
Having friends at work helps people feel connected, which directly impacts productivity. According to HubSpot, 70% of employees state that friendships are crucial for a happy working life. So hold regular events for people to create and strengthen bonds. But make sure you consider all your people – introverts and extroverts, night owls and larks of the morning – to make sure everyone feels comfortable and included.
Policies and Procedures
Regularly assess your policies and procedures against the five pillars of wellbeing. Wherever you can, focus on supporting and encouraging your people. Can you implement flexible and hybrid working? How can you support physical and mental health? Do your return-to-work policies encourage presenteeism?
Facilities
Post-pandemic, we now need to consider facilities for those working in an office and at home. Our teams should be comfortable, wherever they’re working from. And that includes being able to connect and collaborate on a daily basis: interaction with friends and colleagues is a key motivator for a lot of people, improving both their wellbeing and their productivity.
The final piece of the puzzle
Focussing on these areas will help you improve your people’s wellbeing and reduce their stress. Because if the people in your company aren’t healthy, physically and emotionally, your company isn’t healthy either.
Now more than ever, it’s a company’s stance on employee wellbeing that plays a major part in where people want to work. To recognise the full benefits, people need to know what you’re going to do for them and why – and this is where good communication comes in.
For help communicating to and connecting with your people, get in touch. We’d love to know more about your plans to improve wellbeing in your company.
