The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many parts of our lives, but it is perhaps our working lives where there have been the biggest changes. Large swathes of office workers flocked to their homes in March 2020, and many continue to work there most of the time. In some cases, this has become a permanent move as business look to cut the costs associated with managing an office space. It is without doubt that these changes will have had a material impact on the wellbeing of those in work. For some these changes bring greater flexibility and lead to an improved work-life balance. While for others these changes have led to increased social anxiety and loneliness. Organisations of all sizes are currently considering what policies to put in place to adapt to this changing working environment. Those organisations that take the wellbeing of their workers into account when doing so are more likely to be successful.
Empirical evidence suggests that good working relationships, having interesting work and a good work-life balance are three of the most important factors for workplace wellbeing (Krekel et al, 2018). It is in businesses best interests to have a happy workforce, as the evidence suggests that happier workers are more productive (De Neve, 2019). Higher wellbeing at work is also associated with lower staff turnover and higher profitability (Krekel et al, 2019). Workplace wellbeing interventions aimed at promoting both the health and wellbeing of staff have been shown to have positive results (Ammendolia et al, 2019).
Although these programs were shown to have positive outcomes, in other settings these interventions may not produce the equivalent results. This is because context matters. As businesses look to consider what interventions are appropriate, it is vital to tailor these interventions to the needs of the workforce (Biron, 2014). Workplace wellbeing surveys are a good starting point for understanding these needs. A key outcome from the literature is that continuity of effort and adaptation of workplace wellbeing policies is critical to their success (Herrera-Sanchez et al, 2017). In achieving this, businesses with learning structures and good governance are best placed to facilitate these adaptations (Daniels et al, 2021). In addition, the position that senior managers take in responding to wellbeing interventions put in place is key to how junior staff perceive the intervention (Passey et al, 2018).
Based on this evidence we have put together a range of recommendations to support workplace wellbeing:
Staff surveys: Wellbeing interventions cannot be put together effectively without understanding the issues and pressures that they are looking to alleviate. These surveys can be structured in many ways but at the very least they should be looking to capture both the level of wellbeing across the workforce and employee’s preferences towards certain interventions. This doesn’t necessarily mean asking employees directly “would you like X or Y policy to be put in place?”. But instead asking questions like “what impact would more of X have on your wellbeing?”.
Leading by example: The culture within a business is an important leading indicator for whether it will be able to successfully implement wellbeing interventions. Culture is generated from good leadership, and this means making sure that managers and leaders within a business are supportive of wellbeing interventions. In addition, leaders that share personal stories related to their wellbeing with employees are more likely to create a culture where employee wellbeing thrives. This is because by leading by example means that other staff are then more likely to feel empowered to share their own wellbeing stories, helping to solve issues such as presenteeism quicker.
Education: Providing sessions that allow employees to learn about how best to manage their wellbeing can have significant benefits. This supplies employees with information to solve issues earlier and quicker than otherwise. It can also help to develop a healthy culture within the business.
Safety nets: Regardless of preferences, industries, or the overall level of wellbeing within a workforce, all businesses need to put in place safety nets to support their staff. Wellbeing policies can only do so much and there will undoubtedly remain a portion of the workforce that need additional support. Providing employees with access to professional mental health support will again allow for issues to be solved quicker and earlier than otherwise. Knowing this support is available would likely lead to lower staff turnover.
For more detail, please take a look at the full report linked below.