In any business, your employees are the cogs that turn your machine, which means they are vital to the success of your organization. With mental health problems on a sharp rise, it is likely that many of your workers could be feeling the negative impact of stress and anxiety at work and outside of it. As a result, you need to prioritize them and make them number one.
How to Look After Your Workforce
Though finding the time to do this can be tricky in the daily running of your busy company, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, there are lots of ways you can look after your workforce which will do immeasurable good in the long run for both them and your company.
Encourage them to speak up
If people are working in a high-pressure environment, it can be hard for them to speak up about issues that may not be working for them in the office. This could be because they are worried it may negatively affect their position at work, or because they haven’t been given the opportunity. Ideally, your employees should all feel as though their voice matters, whether it is in relation to work or other circumstances. To tackle this, you should stress from day one that you have an open-door policy, and that if there is anything they feel is affecting their work, your employees can come to you.
Promote wellbeing
One of the best ways to ensure your employees speak up is by promoting wellbeing at work. This could mean doing anything from putting on lunchtime yoga sessions to hiring a part-time mental health expert that people can come to when they are at work. Once your employees realize that you have a genuine concern for their wellbeing, they will feel much more gratitude to you and show it through hard work. In recent years, there have also been calls to end the stigma surrounding mental health sick days, which is another idea you could work around when you know certain employees are struggling.
Offer company discounts
Sometimes, there is nothing better than having a small perk to cheer you up from a bad day. This is one of the main reasons why companies often use company discounts. If you are hoping to tie this even more to your caring culture, you can try getting discounts for spa days, trips in the great outdoors, or even sports classes. This will show employees that you aren’t merely throwing out discounts for the sake of it, but you are giving them something truly valuable that they can indulge in whenever they need.
Implement training
When you have had a caring culture in place for some time, it can be difficult to introduce it to new employees who aren’t used to it. Ideally, you should include a short training module when they start, informing them of what they can do when a problem arises, and encouraging them to be caring towards other employees. Not only will this instill a more organic care system, but it means that on days when you need your own time to relax, there will be others who can step in and help.
