Employee Wellness in the Workplace

Introduction

In the last few years a strong focus has been spreading through the international corporate world, and the focus has been shifting from what the employer can get out of his employees, to what the employer can do to improve the workplace to such an extent that the employee willingly increases the output of his or her workload and productivity. I.e. the employers are looking to de-stress, and re-engineer the workplace of the employee to such an extent that the employee feels almost at home in the workplace.

This is where the philosophy of Employee Wellness comes to the foreground. How to make the workplace so good that employees feel that at work they can always call on someone that can assist them in any problem that they may face in the workplace, be it of a work or private nature, for try as we might, the two will always influence each other, the private life will impact on the productivity of the employee, and visa versa.

1. The Basics

The basic and simple principles that can be looked at when it comes to making your employee feel more comfortable in the workplace can be small things that ensure that the employee feel that they are appreciated and can come to work with a clear mind performing their set task for the day and the best possible productivity rate.

• Ensure that persons, once employed get a full tour of the workplace, introducing them to everyone where this is possible, and ensuring that they understand where in the company they are going to fit in. further to this it is important to make the employee understand what the future holds for them, and what growth paths there will be for them in the there employment with you.

• Ensure that all employees understand the Mission and Vision Statement of the company, and what the future view of the company is, where the company stand at the moment, and what part they are playing in this progress. These have been found are easy to do, with regular staff meetings, and highlighting where the company is at the moment, where they would like to be, what needs to be done to get there still, and if they are ahead or behind schedule at the moment. This will make employees feel like part of a team and understand what their part in the process is.

• One thing that sometimes slips through the cracks, is explaining the company Policy & Procedure manual, the Disciplinary Code, and the Grievance Procedure. Employees need to understand and be sure as to what they can do if they feel uncomfortable with something in their work environment, and what will happen if there is something they are doing that is unsatisfactory to the company. This ensures further that there is a clear understanding that all employees understand what sanctions there are that both up and down the ladder should there be anything that is creating unease in the company.

• Take an interest in what your employees are doing at the moment, asking them for progress reports, and understanding what difficulties there are for them completing their tasks, and what they are finding easy to do. This will help to recognise where and how the company can help to make the task achievable. Further to this it does not hurt to enquire about the employees personal life, and if there is anything the company can do to assist the employee to get over what the problems are, as this will certainly make him or her feel like they are cared for, and there is an interest in what is happening in their lives, both personal, and work. An excellent way of doing this is through regular "One-on-One" interviews. The important aspect to ensure here is that if the employee does raise issues, that they are addressed as soon as possible.

• One small thing that only comes to the fore in open plan offices is that this is very detrimental to the productivity of employees. It is far too easy to get distracted from the tasks they are performing. A simple solution is screening, this gives the employee a certain amount of privacy, and allows them to focus. It has been proven that even this simple thing allows employees to feel more focused, and increase productivity.

There are many more simple steps that can be taken to ensure that employees wellness are looked after, and these are but a few, the object is for them to feel like they are important, and the company cares. These are sure to make any workplace more relaxing for anyone. The basic words are an "open door policy", with clear guidelines.

2. More Advanced for the larger companies

Certain of the larger corporate companies have started to focus on even further ways to improve the workplace with some outstanding results, decreasing the employee turn-over - employees leaving the company - and vastly increasing productivity. Unfortunately these programmes are usually very expensive, and a return on investment is only seen in the long run.

Corporate Crèches

A concept that is really taking off in the international workplace, is the Corporate Crèche, this has come to the fore due to a lot of factors, but the most important being:

• The increase in Single parents.
• More females to be employed in all companies due to the BEE.
• A continuous rise in the number of divorces in South Africa , and increase in the number of single parents in the work force.
• Family dynamics are changing and we see more and more single dads raising small children.
• There is an amount of "Brain Drain" happening in the workforce, as woman are being educated and trained, but in a lot of companies, as soon as they are having children, opt to stay home, as they have no place secure and trusted they want to leave their children during the day, and companies are loosing vast amounts by recruiting and training up replacement personnel for position.

These are but a few reasons for the increase in corporate crèches worldwide. The problem being that more and more people are having their lives changed by the added responsibility of taking care of children, which should be the most important factor in any reasonable person's life.

The effect of not knowing whether your children are safe, being cared for correctly, or receiving the correct stimulation to optimise the growth of the children, places an enormous amount of stress on employees. By bringing this facility into the workplace where the parents can see what is happening, and what the facility is like, and being aware that they can during the working day, like lunch time, spend time with their children.

Gyms in the Workplace

This is a concept that has come to the fore more and more as there is a stronger focus on health and fitness, and it has been proven over and over that exercise stimulates progressive thinking, and assists employees to increase concentration levels as they are more stimulated.

Employees further find that it is easier to unwind and regain momentum after a long day, or even a tough meeting, as they are able to focus on something more stringent and let there minds flow more with ideas and problem solving thoughts.

Canteens

It is said by many people that some of the best places to swap ideas and thoughts is while having a meal. It therefore makes more sense to have this kind of facility available on the premises so that employees can have the opportunity to share these ideas and feel inspired by employees that have had a brain storming idea during a work period.

Though this is a very viable and one of the most often routes taken for employees, the thought behind this being that employees do not need to leave the workplace during their lunch period, and still be available to take calls and answer questions that are work related.

Medical Staff on hand

Some corporate companies have gone to this extent to create an environment in the workplace where employees know that they can have assistance in the workplace should they require the need to be medically treated. Some examples of medical staff on site are:

1. Physiotherapist - As we are all aware in this day of working on computers that it is hard on the back, especially if the office chair is not that comfortable, as they rarely are, but the strain of sitting with your back arched over the keyboard, it does start hurting after some time. Having a person there that is able to assist in getting your staff all back up and healthy will definitely increase productivity.
2. Psychologists - Very often staff have to contend with problems, and that they feel due to the nature of these problems, they can not discuss with work colleagues or their manager. Instances such as divorce or STD's can not be discussed as such. Having a qualified person on hand that is able to deal with such problems professionally, can be a huge asset to large companies, who might be able afford to employ such a person full time, or in the case of smaller companies to have such a person on a contract that is available as and when it is required.
3. General Practitioners - Not always required full time but it will save vast amounts of productivity time in the long run if a Doctor is available to do general checks and medical exams on site, as employees will not actually have to take an hour or two off, or even a half day to have check-up, or exams. Advise on this is the same as above, larger companies, depending on the need can have this available on site, and smaller companies a person on standby, on contract as and when required.

3. Conclusion

All these above are vital in small, medium and large companies, as the shift in thinking takes us from what we can do to improve the work situation for our employees, thus improving the quality of life and environment for our people. The ultimate goal to create a workplace environment where employees can focus on their daily task, and schedules, without distractions, thus ensuring that all employees are performing to the best of their natural abilities, this meaning that productivity is at an optimum.

Creating this sort of environment is bound to ensure that companies are thrust into the future where the expensive loss of staff, that drain of money; Staff Turnover can be at a minimum and saving the company millions at the end of the day, as well as ensuring optimal productivity. The object is to ensure that you have happy staff, and a happy working environment.

In the next issue, we will closely examine the effect that Corporate Crèches have on the work environment and the positives and negatives that can be had form having a crèche at work.

For information on Corporate Crèches, visit our Website www.dbs.co.za and click on the Kids Inc logo.