How Employers Can Promote Healthy Habits Among Their Workforce
5 Steps to Boost Positive Workplace Wellbeing and Change Negative Behaviours
It’s no secret that a happy and healthy workforce is a productive workforce. 13% more productive in fact, according to research by Oxford University.
Pretty obvious when you consider we spend a third of our lives at work. With this, and countless other statistics promoting the many benefits of positive mental health in the workplace, it makes sense to ensure we create healthy and supportive work environments. Ones that motivate people to do their best work, feel energised and reach their full potential.
But how can employers promote healthy habits among their staff? While it may seem like a daunting task, it’s easier than you might think. In this post, I share 5 steps that employers can take to boost positive workplace wellbeing and change negative behaviours in the workplace.
Plot Twist! Employee wellbeing is NOT all down to the employer
In previous articles I’ve encouraged responsible employers to take a strategic approach to workplace wellbeing – minimising the stress risk for your workforce and taking into account how leadership and motivation affect wellbeing.
But here’s the twist: While as an employer, it might feel like you’re responsible for everything from office supplies to landing the next big client, it’s important to remember that your employees’ wellbeing is not solely your responsibility.
Yes, of course, organisations have a duty of care to address working practices that are causing harm, whether physical or psychological, but each of us as individuals is ultimately responsible for our own decisions, actions and outcomes – particularly around our health and mental health.
Your job as an employer is to create an environment where people can take ownership of their own wellbeing and make positive changes in their lives.
And while it’s true that some people struggle to own that responsibility, this is where you, as an employer, can really make a difference. You can change behaviours by addressing the root causes of stress in the workplace and taking positive steps to encourage healthy habits that promote good wellbeing.
5 steps you can take to help your workforce help themselves
Developing resilience
Resilience is our ability to bounce back from life’s challenges. If an individual can bounce back every time they get knocked down, much like the formidable Weeble, then they’re in a much stronger position to maintain their mental health and wellbeing.
Some people are naturally resilient, while many struggle to cope. Helping your employees become more resilient is a great way to boost individual wellbeing and develop a confident workforce.
Having a sense of belonging is crucial to human resilience. Increasing your employees’ sense of belonging, particularly amongst excluded groups, will almost certainly increase resilience, and happiness.
Developing resilience can take many forms but common approaches are resilience coaching or training.
Resilience coaching or training can:
- Help people grow their self-belief
- Increase adaptability
- Develop problem-solving skills
- Improve their organisational skills and attitude to change
Encourage physical activity
As a population, we are becoming better at exercising, although taking time out for that gym session or leisurely walk can quickly find itself tumbling down the priority list. For those with busy lives, exercise is often seen as an “I should” activity rather than an “I must ” necessity.
Finding ways to encourage your workforce to be active can have nothing but positive benefits for your organisation. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you need to go to the extent of building your employees a gym. Small actions such as providing maps for local walks or cycle routes, providing flexible working hours to allow people to attend classes, and supporting workplace walking groups or other sporting activities, can all help to encourage physical activity.
Simply leading by example by taking the stairs instead of the lift or walking to work are great ways to encourage people to consciously become more active.
Physical activity is so important to our wellbeing, not just from a physical health perspective but also from a psychological and emotional viewpoint. Staying active has a profound impact on stress, depression, sleep, mood and even memory.
Physical activity:
- Helps us be more creative in our thinking
- Increases neural pathways
- Reduces inflammation
- Creates feelings of calm – distracting from negative thoughts that feed anxiety
Promote money sense
Struggling with finances is a challenge for many people in our current economic climate. According to a PWC survey, 57% of employees said financial matters were the top cause of stress in their lives – negatively impacting sleep, mental health, self-esteem, physical health and relationships.
Financially stressed employees are more likely to be distracted, less engaged and likely to look for another job. So clearly, supporting people to improve their financial wellbeing will have benefits for the organisation too.
Remembering that it’s about how to help people take responsibility for themselves, and not how you can directly boost their finances, there are other steps you can take to support employees and promote healthy money habits.
How to support employees and promote healthy money habits:
- Offering training sessions on budgeting to help people manage their money better
- Providing access to a financial advisor
- Providing financial wellness tools
- Simply ensuring that any company benefits are well promoted and utilised
Just following these simple steps to promote better money sense can make a big difference to an employee’s finances and wellbeing.
Make work-life balance a priority
Long working hours, whilst manageable for short periods, are not sustainable. Excessive work can quickly lead to stress and burnout. We might tell employees to take their time off; to not work into the evening; to not hold off on their deserved breaks. But is that what we actually promote?
If you are burning the midnight oil and firing off emails all night long; chained to your desk; and never taking a breather, then perhaps you are sending mixed messages to your employees about what it really takes to succeed in the company.
This is perhaps the easiest habit to promote, by simply leading by example. Showing people that you recognise that work-life balance is important and that to do well in the company, you don’t have to be working all hours. Remember a rested and refreshed person is far more productive and creative than someone who is worn out.
Establishing a work-life balance:
- Boosts productivity – When an employee clocks out mentally and physically, they can recharge and return with renewed energy and focus, ready to tackle new challenges head-on!
- Enhances mental health – Well-rested individuals are less prone to anxiety and depression.
- Increases job satisfaction – When employees aren’t overworked, they can actually find joy in what they do. Happy employees equals a happy workplace, it’s a win-win!
- Strengthens personal relationships – More time for family, friends, and personal hobbies means a happier, more fulfilled individual. Because life isn’t just about work, right?
Creating personal wellbeing plans
Empower your employees to take charge of their own wellbeing by supporting them in creating their own personalised wellbeing plans that tackle physical, mental, and emotional health goals. Make it an integral part of the appraisal process to show that you’re truly serious about their wellbeing.
Why not take it a step further and incorporate wellness goals into your performance measurements? Make looking after personal wellbeing as important as the other skills you value in your employees.
But don’t take encouraging employee responsibility as a get-out clause and think that it absolves you of any and all duty. Sure, we want to encourage employees to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, that’s more empowering for them. But you still have a responsibility to ensure that you have, at a bare minimum, completed a stress risk assessment and correctly acted on it.
Creating personal wellbeing plans can:
- Help employees focus on their goals in a more structured and productive way
- Make them feel empowered to take actionable steps towards improving their wellbeing
- Motivate them to make healthy lifestyle changes by breaking down big goals into smaller, manageable ones
- Enable progress to be tracked so they can see the progress they have made
Conclusion
Promoting healthy habits among employees is a critical aspect of running a successful business. Companies that invest in employee health and wellbeing can positively influence the engagement and productivity of their workforce.
These 5 actionable steps can help employers inspire positive habits and help your people take more responsibility for their own wellbeing. However, each organisation will be different, with different wellbeing behaviours they would like to change.
That’s where developing a strategy for employee wellbeing will help. By identifying what good health, mental health and wellbeing look like for your organisation and what objectives you have for improving employee wellbeing and changing unhealthy behaviours.
After all, who wouldn’t want to transform their workforce into a healthier, happier, and more productive team?
As a professional member of the International Stress Management Association and holder of a CPCAB-accredited Level 5 Diploma in Mental Health & Wellbeing Awareness, I can help you develop a wellbeing strategy, undertake stress risk assessments to protect your workforce and provide stress awareness training. Get in touch at More Than Motivation for more helpful advice and support.
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