18 April 2023

Improve Employee Wellbeing Today!

Employee wellbeing is becoming a more common topic being talked about and researched. It can often be challenging to gauge employee well-being; it can fluctuate throughout the year and become hard to track. Incorporating wellbeing exercises and programs that are regularly set up and sent out can increase the employer's chances of having high employee wellbeing. According to Nielsen et al. (2017), having workplace resources for employee wellbeing was positively associated with employee well-being and performance. Providing resources to employees or people who support employees to have wellbeing activities actively planned increases job performance and well-being.

When thinking about well-being in the workplace, it is essential to know the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). SDT is how to fulfill the psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. These psychological needs are crucial because the higher employees' SDT needs are, the more extremely motivated they will be, leading to employee engagement. Employee engagement will increase the chances the employee will complete wellbeing exercises to improve their well-being.

These well-being programs and exercises will either be easy enough to initiate immediately or require little preparation time. Creating this simple but effective list of ways to increase employee well-being also helps keep all levels of the organization thinking about employee well-being and nurture a culture that believes in employees' wellbeing first.

 

10 Employee Well-being Programs or Activities

  1. Disc assessment
    • This is something that will take some preparation but has a high payoff. The disc assessment is a quiz that employees take and will be put into a category where they can read about their strengths and weaknesses. This assessment works well because you can see other employees’ categories and tips on best practices when working with them.
       
  2. 1-minute stretch and scan
    • Emailing employees and reminding them to stand up and stretch is essential for office jobs. While they are stretching, you can guide them on how to complete a body scan while stretching. Focusing on your body parts individually can reduce stress and help the employee relax.
       
  3. Step-by-step desk meditation
    • Emailing an audio/video guiding 2 to 5-minute meditation or a step by step guide on how to do this meditation lets employees take a minute and breath to improve their well-being.
       
  4. Take a break and go for a walk
    • Emailing employees reminders to get up every once in a while and go for a short walk help employees reduce stress and physical discomfort from sitting all day.
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  5. Health, exercise, and recipe corkboard
    • Having a place to hang up tips and tricks is always helpful for employees. Having posters on easy exercises or informing employees about future well-being challenges shows the employees that your care about their well-being. Add some healthy recipes for employees and encourage them to participate by hanging up their exercises or recipes.
       
  6. Sleep tips and habits
    • Sending an email informing employees about best sleep practices and how poor sleep can affect everyday problems. Include how sticking with a nighttime routine helps your brain prepare for sleep.
       
  7. Water challenge
    • Having a simple water challenge that encourages employees to track their water input benefits their well-being. Encourage employees to share their tips and tricks on remembering to get significant hydration with coworkers and even make them compete in a fun one-on-one water challenge.
       
  8. Reconfirming that we all have our limits.
    • Emailing employees reminding them that we all have our capacities and it is okay to say “No” when asked to complete a task for someone. Include tips on how to properly communicate when you reach your limit and how to say no professionally.
       
  9. Socializing break
    • Encourage employees to take a break with a friend or host a “Coffee & Chat” in the morning where employees have time to sit, drink coffee and talk to coworkers.
       
  10. Appreciation sentence or note
    • Email employees and ask them to take a moment to be appreciative and write a note. The note doesn't have to be long, and it can be to anyone (Parent, coworker, sibling, dog). By taking A moment to be appreciative helps us stay connected with each other.
       

Employers that use these tools show their employees that they care about them and their well-being. Employee well-being makes more effective and productive employees that want to work at their job. Well-being is becoming more important now than ever because employees are also taking their well-being seriously and realizing that there are jobs out there that will do the same.


 

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