Rethinking The Idea Of Workplace Wellness

The global pandemic has evolved and companies are returning to the office. Business owners are consulting workplace wellness companies and implementing best practices as they discover them. Here are six ideas for your brand to prioritize now...

Workplace Wellness Trends All Business Owners Should Consider Now

The topic of wellness in the workplace is constantly evolving. The pandemic put a lot of these topics in the spotlight, and the concept of well-being in the workplace is more important than ever.

• What does it really take to change attitudes towards wellness?
• And harness thinking differently regarding employee wellness?

Here are some factors for you to consider in rethinking the idea of workplace wellness.

The Concept Of General Health

The workplace environment, as far as food is concerned, is one full of pizza and doughnuts. While we cannot tell our employees how to eat, we must change our attitudes towards general health. This means we should lead by example and put inspiration into the office environment.

You can easily get started now on this with a juicer in the staff kitchen. Also choose healthy options when serving food. When we start to change our attitudes about general health by offering healthier options this will slowly filter over to our employees and instill healthier habits within them.

Well-Being Is Pivotal

Yes, wellness has been on our radar for some time, but now wellness has become a central component for effective workplaces and effective employees. Once upon a time, well-being might have been part of the HR strategy, but now we need to incorporate wellness as a broader conversation.

When we are changing our attitudes on well-being, it could be about beginning a new discussion, but it may also be embedding it on a cultural level. In order to do this, we've got to start the conversation.

Businesses today are increasingly diverse. This is a good thing, as it reflects the makeup of our society. However, with this diversity comes the need for businesses to embrace employee cultures and religious beliefs.

It is important to make all employees feel welcome and supported in your workplace. An easy example would be adding fabric church banners where possible and appropriate. Try doing this is by having a policy that forbids discrimination against any employee based on their culture or religion. This sends a clear message that you value diversity and support your employees' cultural and religious beliefs.

Open Door Policies And Workplace Wellness

The problem many organizations have with open door policies is the fact that the door was never open to begin with. Open door policies are there for employees to speak their minds.

Another issue that has raised a barrier to effective open door policies in recent years is the hierarchy. Managers and supervisors are people that appear to be “too busy” to speak to employees. This only sends the wrong message down through the ranks.

The concept of ranking within an organization is something that is endemic to poor well-being. When people feel that they are not able to speak to anybody for fear of looking stupid or talking out of turn, they are naturally not going to want to speak for fear of being fired.

Organizations need to ask for honest, heartfelt feedback. An open-door policy should be the culmination.

Evolving To A Holistic Workplace

Every company had to adapt to the pandemic. Many have been talking about returning to the office, but there's also been a lot of pushback.

This should facilitate a discussion on the topic of holistic workplace environments:

• Some people work better at home
• Others work better in the office
• Some benefit from a combination of factors

Holistic well-being can come with a number of definitions:

• Physical health
• Mental health
• Employee health

From the employee’s perspective. As companies look to alter their attitudes toward workplace wellness, the true benchmark of change will come from the employees and what they want.

The problem is that many employers feel that employees will only take advantage. But this is more endemic of an industry-wide problem. Truth: It usually comes from the top down. If an employer doesn't trust their employees, the employees will mirror that tone.

What Is The Future Of Well-Being?

Some people think that well-being is a fleeting topic, but well-being will be talked about consistently going forward. So how can we rethink the idea of workplace wellness? It's to do with our human attitudes. We need to focus on three areas:

• Reciprocating as a fundamental human need. We need to start doing things for others as well as ourselves. 
• Personalized plans. Well-being is individual to the worker, and everybody will have their own needs. 
• Evolve the concept. Prioritize workplace wellness activities that bring understanding.

We should not stop when the pandemic is over. It has to become part of business culture.

Employee Wellness Is Workplace Wellness

While the pandemic has hit people and businesses hard, the greatest benefit is that now workplaces are considering the concept of employee wellness.

Is it time for your brand to do so as well?