Prevention or cure - what's your wellbeing strategy?

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is leading to an unspoken pandemic - a reduction in the wellbeing of employees, regardless of whether they are working from home in a relatively Covid-safe environment or physically in the workplace.

The increased stresses arising from Covid, from juggling work and home schooling to financial worries to health of family members, friends and colleagues means some companies and organisations have put various measures in place to help their employees tackle the inevitable reductions in wellbeing. However, are these countermeasures being put in place as an afterthought, or are they part of a wider comprehensive approach to the wellbeing of your employees? A rounded wellbeing strategy should have both in place… with a focus on improving the organisation to minimise negative impacts on wellbeing in the first place, whilst supporting employees at risk of lower wellbeing.

When thinking about protecting the wellbeing of your employees take care that your wellbeing initiatives are balanced…a sound wellbeing programme should look to

· recognise the importance of employee wellbeing to company performance

· prevent reductions in wellbeing by identifying and improving the root causes of work-place stress

· continually improve employee wellbeing by acting on employee feedback and needs

· support employees at risk of lower wellbeing

If you have already introduced wellbeing initiatives at your organisation, kudos to you, we think it is fantastic that you are looking after the interests of your employees. Do make sure you are getting a return on your investment though…we’d suggest considering just two questions:

What difference are your wellbeing efforts having on your employees?

What difference are your wellbeing efforts having on business outcomes?

If you’re unsure of the answers, maybe Health of Business can give you a few ideas on how to get some clarity. Contact us on enquiries@healthofbusiness.com