More and more workers are stressed out, burned out, and wiped out. And it’s not just because of on-the-job responsibilities. It’s because of the job PLUS everything else in their life that piles up and begins to wear on their health. That’s why there’s been a shift for employers to look beyond encouraging their workers to do typical “wellness” – such as exercise, eating better and not smoking – and look how they can help their people with their emotional, mental, and intellectual health.
Human Resource professionals refer to this as a trend towards overall “well-being.” If you are able to allocate some resources to help your employees with well-being, you may be ahead of your competitors in creating a happier, more productive environment. Here are some problem areas to look at tackling for your own workplace – which will ultimately help you recruit and retain good people:
Financial Strain
Almost 80% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck! Reports show that this financial strain is causing about half of your employees to lose an accumulated of 6 days of work annually. So, many employers are instituting programs such as educational seminars that help teach financial literacy, or third party financial resources to help their staff buy a home or save up for sending their kids to college. Some are even helping them payback student loans, which is very appealing if you want to attract younger workers. Just offering a basic 401K plan with some sort of match is both beneficial and educational for everyone’s financial health.
Depression and Anxiety
Mental health issues haven’t been widely recognized until recently, with the subject brushed under the carpet in many environments. While we are just beginning to understand the extent of the impact that depression, bipolar, anxiety, and ADHD has on the workforce, 84% of employees have experienced some sort of symptom of poor mental health. Programs that can reverse the stigmatization of mental health in the workplace will go a long way in helping workers admit and deal with their problems, so they can become happy productive employees. This may include in-house counseling or employee assistant programs. Options to take mental-health days off are also becoming more and more common.
Negative Culture
Unhealthy interoffice relationships and destructive managerial styles contribute to a toxic environment, where employees aren’t feeling respected. There might be a leadership team that’s not cohesive, a misperception of expectations, or a lead manager who is insensitive, or even biased towards one gender, race, or age. A recent poll of over 800 personnel across 17 industries recently showed that almost half of employees who didn’t feel respected have deliberately decreased quality of work and/or spent less time at work. Their mental and physical health suffers, with a high chance of them eventually leaving.
If you’re noticing both high turnover and lack of customer loyalty, an unhealthy work climate may be at play. Resolve this by revisiting company values and enhance your leadership training and team-building for optimized communication. Award and recognize respectful personnel. Institute ways to make it easy for your staff to share potential dissatisfaction, such as surveys or exit interviews, so that you have a clear perspective of what’s really happening.
If you’re having a hard time holding on to workers in the trades and need to hire, give Madden a call. We’ll help you find the best talent, and give you pointers for well-being programs to retain them too
