Why Employee Well-being is Important

Why Employee Well-being is Important

Recently, employee well-being has been in the limelight in the business world. With the advent of Covid-19, the importance of well-being in the work environment has become even clearer. Consequently, more companies are starting to re-strategize how to take care of their workers, and your enterprise needs to do the same.

The following are a few reasons why employee well-being is critical for the success of your organization:

1. Reduces Absenteeism in the Workplace

Several studies have researched the relationship between workplace well-being programs and a decline in absenteeism levels. These studies have demonstrated that workplaces with all-inclusive well-being programs can record low absenteeism levels for the following reasons:

  • Workers having healthy glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol have minimal chances of falling sick and thus less likely to record absenteeism.
  • Workers having good health behaviors record low absenteeism days at their workplace.
  • Workers with body fitness who aren’t obese or overweight are less likely to be absent.
  • Workers who can manage their stress have minimal chances of recording absenteeism.

According to experts, having an employee well-being program in your workplace can enhance employee health. Being healthy can impact whether or not your staff record absenteeism from their workplaces. That explains why employee well-being is important for your business.

2. Promotes Employee Engagement

More than 85% of enterprises admit that well-being programs are critical in fostering employee engagement. By implementing an employee well-being program, your staff can feel more connected, their health is taken care of, and thus their happiness increases.

All these aspects are instrumental in promoting employee engagement levels in your company. Nevertheless, employee engagement is often impacted by employee recognition and other factors. For instance, you can use a workplace app where employees can engage with each other about their well-being and raise any concerns they may have. Therefore, if you’re keen on improving employee engagement in your firm, ensure you leverage a holistic approach that caters to all factors.

3. Boosts Your Brand Image

Is Your Company Embracing These Employee Well-Being Trends?

According to Optum, over 78% of companies implement well-being programs to develop an attractive brand that attracts and retains top talent. The struggle for the market’s top talent is extremely competitive, and the best candidates have many alternatives to select from when choosing their next employer.

Therefore, offering an employee well-being program that aligns with your future workforce is critical. Doing so will boost your brand image and help you attract and retain top talent to drive your business to greater success. And that’s why employee well-being is vital for your company.

4. Enhances Employee Productivity

Poor workforce productivity may be described as a situation where your workers are physically at their workplace but aren’t working. Such kind of unproductivity is commonly referred to as presenteeism. On average, the cost related to presenteeism due to poor health is at a minimum 2 to 3 times higher than direct health care costs.

There are several reasons why workers can have poor productivity at their workplace. For instance, it could be due to exhaustion, lack of knowledge on equipment usage, or spending too much time on social media. Still, one of the primary causes of presenteeism, which impacts productivity negatively, is poor health.

A recent study found that smokers had a 28% chance of experiencing presenteeism than non-smokers. Workers taking an unhealthy diet had a 66% chance over those taking fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Also, workers who never engage in physical exercise had a 50% of experiencing presenteeism than those who exercise regularly.

From these findings, it’s evident that poor health behaviors are related to high levels of presenteeism in the workplace. Unhealthy personal lifestyle choices can significantly impact employee productivity in the workplace. That’s why implementing an employee well-being program in your company is important.

Concluding Remarks

If you adopt an employee well-being program in your business, you’ll not only help keep your workforce healthy, but your company will become more productive. A workforce that is sick all the time won’t be able to propel your business to the next level. Therefore, you should consider adopting and implementing an employee well-being program to benefit your workers and your business.

Steffy Alen

Learn More →