With varying degrees of lockdown impacting people across the UK, it’s crucial that your business has all the tools at it’s disposable to keep your people supported and engaged during this time.
Providing the right tools to help manage workplace stress and mental health strains in the age of Covid is so important – that’s why we’ve outlined what you might need in your wellbeing ‘first aid kit’.
1. Your ‘surgical gloves’: be prepared
Research shows that the happier workers are, the more productive they are, meaning increased returns for the business. Having a wellbeing programme or scheme in place to look after and support your employees through life’s ups and downs will ultimately help boost employee engagement and help create an effective and enjoyable working environment. Engaged and supported people = happy clients.
2. Your ‘instruction manual’: communication is key
It is all well and good implementing a fantastic health and wellbeing programme, but if communication is poor, how will they know what they have, who they should speak to and how they can access their benefits when they really need them? A robust and continuous communications plan alongside the launch of your benefits programme will set your business up for success.
3. Your ‘thermometer’: pressure-check your people
It is important that, as a business, you encourage your staff to keep an eye out for one another. Do you have a buddy system in place? Do you encourage teams to take time out of each day for virtual coffees with colleagues? Building support structures within your organisation can help individuals feel valued and that they have someone to turn to if needed. Our wellbeing pulse check survey can provide you with useful insight as to how your teams are feeling – get in touch to find out more.
4. Your ‘ice pack’: prioritise physical activity
It is a well-known fact that physical activity helps relieve stress, increase mood and improves mental health resilience. Simply encouraging your staff to take a break, make time to move and get those endorphins going can make all the difference in both their mental and physical wellbeing. Consider bringing virtual communities together in a walking or running group or source a competitively priced virtual instructor for at-home workouts.
5. Your ‘bandage’: protect your posture
80% of workers in the UK suffer from back pain.[1] With many employees spending more than eight hours a day at their desk, it is not unusual for workers to experience muscular skeletal issues as a result of poor posture. If left untreated, this can lead to chronic issues. Equipping your workforce with both the knowledge and professional guidance they might need to keep aligned can be vital in keeping your employees pain-free and at work. Consider utilising Best Doctors in your wellbeing and benefits programme so that employees have a virtual GP at their fingertips to help diagnose pain or discomfort.
6. Your ‘emergency blanket’: take a pause
We all known that taking a break helps us to refocus and increases productivity. In the new working-from-home dynamic, it can be a challenge to maintain an effective work life balance. It is important that you encourage your employees to take a break and find their own working-from-home rhythm.
7. Your ‘SOS phones’: provide independent support
Sometimes, competing pressures (work, family, relationships, finances) can take their toll. Providing an Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) can ensure your employees have access to a network of professionals who can help them through the tough times when they need it most.
