Workplace Wellbeing for a Sustainable Future | ECDL

For a long period of time, it was thought that the key to a company’s success was its employers unwavering work ethic not shedding any light on the work environment of the company. Workers were led to believe that to succeed they must brave away any hindrance, intolerance and prejudice they faced or succumbed to the fate of unemployment. ‘Workers were replaceable, work was not’ was so prominently believed that no attention was paid to the wellbeing of the workers. As a result, a shortage of quality employees was noticed due to increasing burnouts and their lack of trust towards the industry, specially among the millennial workers.

It is until recently, the matter of employees’ health and wellbeing proved crucial for the betterment of the organizations. The pandemic situation had a big part to play in this too. Employers across the world now recognize the quality of the workplace wellbeing they’re able to offer as a pressing concern. So, it is only natural to wonder, “Is my workplace wellbeing being ensured?” But let’s first know about workplace wellbeing in more detail. 

Workplace Wellbeing: What Does It Entail?

While the practice of workplace wellbeing is quite contemporary, the concept of it has been around since before 1700 when an Italian Physicist first discovered the effect of work exposure on its workers. Later in 1810, a 10 hour workday was proposed as an initiative to protect the wellbeing of workers in workforce which then minimized to 8 hour work days. A minimum measure to care for workers’ mental and physical health problems directly or partially caused by work environment were also taken but the true form of workplace wellness programmes didn’t start until the mid-1970 in the US. There were various steps were taken-in to consideration to plan a safe workplace including: 

• A fitness promoting work culture;
• Researching on the company’s cost related to worker’s unhealthy state
• Forming various health support group
• Assessing employees’ physical and mental health with routine check-ups
• Anti-bullying and discrimination policies
• Establishing Pensions and healthcare after retirements as incentives

In short, the recognized idea of workplace wellbeing revolves around the quality of work environment an employee is offered by the company that effects and affects the physical, mental, and lifestyle aspect of the worker consequently impacting the quality of service they will be able to provide back to the company. 

Promoting Workplace wellbeing

As discussed above, a workplace is pivotal to the general wellbeing of its workers due to the majority of their time spent here. So it is essential that employers pay attention to the details on how to improve the quality of workplace environment as well as staff wellbeing. For starters they may concentrate on:

1. Designing Impactful and Smart Workplace: People may thrive and realize their potential in a positive employment environment. Therefore, both employees and the business gain from fostering an atmosphere that actively encourages a sense of satisfaction. So building a workplace with flexible and hybrid working schedules, investing in employee wellbeing should be top of the business agenda.
2. Developing Personnel’s Strength: Wellbeing initiatives should prioritise creating tools and resources for wellness programmes employers need every day to delegate business company-wide. For higher performance, wellness counsel, webinars and other training programs to hone the soft skills of employees should be a matter of attention. 
3. Establishing a Safe Work Environment: Many worker dissatisfaction issues are caused by micromanaging and improperly utilizing employees’ skills. Companies can address this issue by encouraging managers to give regular, insightful feedback to their teams. Besides workplace harassment, racial or gender profiling and other sensitive issues should be navigated properly to keep the work environment safe for every employee.
4. Destigmatizing Seeking Help: Physical and mental health protection from work related stresses should be taken seriously. The organization can identify those who need more assistance and coaching if they are struggling and employees should feel they can seek help without any negative connotation or consequences attached to it.
5. Creating Staff Support Group: Companies should have support groups that can help employees to communicate with each other at an easy pace. Any assistance related to health, finance and personal life can be navigated to achieve or can even be directly provided for employees.
6. Encouraging Open Conversation: Communication is always the key. It is no different in the case of workplace wellbeing. Numerous surveys showed, employees feel safe and welcomed in a workplace where they can be truthful about themselves and speak out their minds.

9 Importance of Employees’ Wellbeing in Work Culture

Employers concentrating on measuring the negative effects of illness, such as the cost of missed work, success rates of projects and improvement of the company in general, should be wary of the culture surrounding the work environment of their companies.

Happy workers work better, this is as simple as that. But the importance of effective workplace wellbeing expands beyond that. Employees belonging a wholesome workplace not only bring the curve of prosper higher but such workplace also offers:

1. An increase in staff morale
2. A growth in staff’s productivity
3. A better staff retention and company expansion
4. A reduced staff absenteeism
5. A surge in creativity and leadership
6. A lessened rate of conflicts
7. A rise in motivation and loyalty
8. A healthier environment and
9. An overall improvement in staff satisfaction

Tackling Wellbeing Challenges to prevent Burnout 

During the pandemic, the most prevalent cause of broken economy was worker’s burnout. The insane workload, isolation, and insecurity regarding the future did a number on the employees. Come 2022, the burnout rate is not any better in post-Covid19 world. Free counseling, set working hours, and paid breaks can all help prevent burnout and reduce the amount of sick days employees take. There are some other measures to be made, like- 

• Better health insurance

• Mental health counseling

• Mandatory overtime limit

Ensuring Effective Workplace Wellbeing

Now that we know how important workplace wellbeing is, how do we ensure that in our workplace? There are a number of ways to that, among many:

1. Effective Leadership: Leaders should be able to recognize employees who have surpassed expectations and smashed their tar­gets by interacting with them and tracking their performance. They can then receive compensation increases or receive public praise during team meetings to raise morale.
2. Asking Employee Input: Employees should be asked about their opinions on how to make the workplace better suited for their needs. Regular surveys and questionnaire can help  with it. 
3. Investigation and Assessment: Internal problems should be investigated rather than sweeping under the rug and company policies regarding the wellbeing of employees should regularly be assessed to keep up the efficacy. 
4. Team Work Building: The employees in different discipline should be able to work in harmony and solidarity. Communication among the team members as well as between the executives and employees is highly encouraged. 
5. Minding Inclusiveness:  Employees should be included in any decision making regarding the work they do and a diverse range of staff in mindset, ethnicity and other aspects should be observed.  
6. Financial Assistance: The financial situation of workers is the most vital part of the workplace. Regular payments, extra benefits, good insurance policies will make huge difference in the engagement of the employees.

ECDL’s Wellbeing Initiatives 

Many companies are not well equipped to navigate through the wellbeing challenges. They can hire external support, for example, as a leading executive training facility, Enroute Center for Development (ECDL) offers various services, such as:

•  24/7 by providing first aid counseling
• Online One-to-One Counseling .
• On-Site Face-to-Face Counseling 
• Customized Training Programs on Workplace Wellbeing Issues
• Early intervention, and psychological & behavioral counseling

Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)

• What is meant by wellbeing in the workplace?

In fewer words, wellbeing in the workplace encompasses every step to facilitate everything a worker faces related to their work, making the workplace more employee friendly. 

• What are the 4 pillars of wellbeing?

Sustenance, Activeness, Peace and Restfulness are the 4 pillars of wellbeing directly related to Spiritual, Intellectual, Physical and Mental- these 4 dimensions of wellness.

• What factors impact wellbeing in the workplace?

The factors impacting the quality of wellbeing in the workplace are, 

• 1. The nature of the Job
  2. Physical and Mental Health Status of Employees 
  3. Workplace Conflicts 
  4. Financial Situation
  5. World Economy 

• What are the barriers to wellbeing?

The lack of trust among the employees, toxic environment, overexposure to the hustle work culture, poor paid positions are some of the main barriers to wellbeing.

• Why is mental wellbeing important at work?

Employees’ loyalties increase if their care for the company is reciprocated. The amount invested on the mental wellbeing of employees may lower the cost spent on other casualties significantly. 

To Sum Up:

The workplace has shifted significantly toward the betterment of the workers globally. It is time for Bangladesh to jump on that boat because there are no effective alternatives to making sure workplace wellbeing. ECDL and its pioneering services have the unique yet easily applicable solutions to the problem many companies in Bangladesh are facing due to the outdated workplace policies. It is imperative to change the condition of the workplace in this country as soon as possible to improve the overall quality of workforce, and ECDL may prove to be an ally in this situation.