Basic Reasons Why Well-Being at Work Matters More than Ever

Well-being at work can be defined in many different ways but the importance should never be neglected. In simple words, in the words of Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, well-being is defined as “how you feel about the work you do and how you and your community are doing overall”. In the middle of a pandemic, well-being at work matters more than ever.

Whether it’s the environment that serves to cater to the needs of the employees or the products that should be boosted through well-being, well-being is of incredible importance to have the balance in work and life.

Without taking the appropriate measures, productivity and personal health take hits. To maintain it all, there’s a definite need to ensure that the owners are taking proper well-being initiatives at work.

When we talk about healthiness that we need to introduce in the work environment, or the emotional well-being at work and the employees, there are little things that could benefit the employees and the organization as a whole.

Major organizations like Google, Facebook, and Apple are known for their well-being initiatives which make their work so effective.

Why is well-being at work so important?

The importance of health is something that people often neglect when it comes to working. While hard-work is often promoted, healthy environments at work are not. Organizations often ignore the benefits simple well-being initiatives could bring for not just the employees but the whole organization as well.

A lot of employers like saving when it comes to well-being acts but even a minimal investment goes a long way into shaping a whole environment that would add value to the organization. More important than that, when employees are satisfied and have a sense of belonging, it improves their productivity in ways that benefit the whole organization in massive ways.

Here are the factors why well-being at work is so important.

Environment Boosts Productivity

The work environment is generally the most important factor which can further be divided into the factors below. A healthy and productive environment goes a long way toward achieving well-being at work. A good environment promotes good work and life balance. To achieve that, many well-being initiatives can be taken to promote productivity and health.

As we already talked about well-being doesn’t need to be costly, there are simple tasks and acts that you can introduce into the work environment to create an atmosphere that is healthy and productive for all the employees. Well-being at work doesn’t just improve personal health; it also makes already good works into excellent ones.

Focus on creating an environment that promotes transparency and a sense of belonging to the workers as in testing times like this, employees need to have a stress-free environment where they don’t have to worry about the future or how long before the company could lay them off. According to De Neve, people can lose 20% of life satisfaction if they are fired from work.

Additionally, when transparency is promoted, it ensures no uncertainty remains. When people are certain about the company and how things are going to go on, it leads to them working properly without their thoughts being cloudy.

Constant evidence that witnesses the advantages of well-being

Because of so much research done about organizations that have well-being programs while others that don’t, this might be the right time to take initiative at your organization to introduce such acts.

We have listed down three major benefits that well-being programs offer.

1. The natural improvement in behavior

The major reason behind the introduction of any program on well-being at work is the improvement in behavior. When you combine people with the right environment, motivation, healthcare, social support, and security, people improve massively in their behaviors.

When it comes to well-being programs, the biggest advantage they can offer is the healthiness in the behaviors of the people.

Healthy behaviors lead to much more productivity, peace, and de-stressed environments for employees. This, in turn, leads to better health for employees which contributes to much lesser healthcare risks and costs. In the long-term, this saves the organization massive amounts of money and effort.

2. Emotional well-being and de-stressing

One of the major risks and issues that any workplace could have is the emotional and mental stress it brings to the table. Many employees who work in the subpar condition report psychological issues if diagnosed.

From productivity to health, everything depends upon how the employee feels about their work and the environment at work. Any program of well-being at work that promotes mental health awareness at work has the potential to be the most effective one as well.

Activities such as mindfulness training at work, mental health seminars, and security at work lead to better mental health for employees, improves personal health, and boost performance massively.

3. Well-being programs cater to the health of the employees

When any program on well-being at work is initiated, one of the focused factors should be the importance of the health of the employees.

People with high blood pressure problems, cholesterol issues, and elevated blood glucose need to have healthier eating habits and additional physical activity. Their problems revolve around unhealthy diets. Well-being programs should introduce healthier eating and exercising behaviors.

According to research done a few years ago, a clinical trial was introduced to assist people in improving their physical activities and health. The results of the trial were seen in as few as six weeks. When the results are so quick, well-being at work should be promoted more to ensure that people remain healthy for years to come.

According to Harvard’s researcher’s summary of the well-being ROI research published in 2001, it was stated that for every dollar spent on a well-being program, they saved $3.27 on healthcare costs. This was due to the massive improvements in health that the employees showed after well-being programs at work were introduced.

Conclusion

Productivity, healthcare, work-life balance, and overall behavior, all come down to the well-being of the employee. If the person is well-catered to, he would perform in the best possible way because he is being taken care of by the organization. Thus, this is the perfect time for you to introduce a program on well-being at work to improve the performance and health of the employee and the organization both.

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