What is Wellbeing in the Workplace?

Over the last few years, a new buzzword has worked its way into workplaces across the globe. Although the idea of well-being and how it can be improved for employees has traditionally not been high on the list of priorities for companies, in recent times that has begun to change.

This cultural shift has been gaining traction for years but the global pandemic has now led to businesses being put under more pressure than ever before. The expectations are now not only to take employee wellbeing into consideration but to actively improve it.

What is Employee Wellbeing?

Employee wellbeing, or wellbeing in the workplace, is the notion of ensuring both physical and mental health needs are met whilst at work. What this means exactly varies from job to job and it is the employer’s responsibility to recognise when these needs are not being fulfilled. A proactive response and approach to meeting them is then needed.

When we’re thinking about an employee’s wellbeing we are looking at their job role, their responsibilities, their level of experience and thinking about how they relate to overall happiness. Are stress levels high? Is the workload too heavy? Is the role challenging enough? These are all key elements that can play their part and understanding how to strike the right balance is key.

Despite this increased awareness of well-being and its impact on productivity, many companies have yet to implement any kind of strategic changes. The understanding and application of a holistic health and wellbeing approach have been well documented as increasing output as well as reducing staff turnover in the long run.

Wellbeing During Coronavirus 

When the world got flipped on its head in 2020 many fragments of everyday life changed dramatically. Working environments have gone from being busy hubs of activity to being reliant on video conferencing software and a stable internet connection.

The stresses of this period have brought employee wellbeing even further to the forefront and have placed the focus for many of us on wellbeing at home. Work-related stress over job security and income worries have become a major problem alongside health-related ones.

The current circumstances mean that there has never been a better time to assess and improve wellbeing amongst staff.

Resilience 

Resilience has become a key tool for ensuring wellbeing over the last twelve months, but what exactly is it? Well NHS England defines it as;

“The ability to succeed, to live, and to develop in a positive way… despite the stress or adversity that would normally involve the real possibility of a negative outcome.”

The switch to home working along with the huge shift in societal norms amidst the major health crisis means being resilient and dealing with stress well is key to overall wellbeing.

Wellbeing Initiatives

An important step that employers can take is to set up workplace schemes and well-being initiatives. In order to do this, it is first important to understand the challenges and worries facing your employees. This can be done either by talking with them directly or via a quick survey.

Once you have an idea of areas where change may be needed then you’ll be in a position to adapt. If you are unsure of how to successfully implement these changes then be sure to access some of the resources available. Our well-being and resilience webinar is a brilliant place to start.

How Keystone Training Can Help Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace

At Keystone, we know the benefits of investing in your employees and have multiple courses aimed at helping you get the best from them.

The Keystone Resilience and Wellbeing Webinar

Our three-hour webinar focuses on the specifics of what resilience and well-being may mean within your organisation. We look at understanding yourself and how you deal with stress personally, how resilient you already are and what tools and techniques are available to help.

Mindfulness in the Workplace

Introducing mindfulness and encouraging employees to take time out of their day to focus on certain techniques has been proven to help reduce levels of stress and anxiety. Our one-day workshop explores what these techniques are and how you can apply them to your workforce.

Stress Awareness

We also offer bespoke courses aimed at identifying and managing stress. These can be delivered to both managers and employees, covering aspects such as how to deal with stress and what may be causing it.

Get in touch with one of our team today to discuss your training needs. You can also view our full list of training courses for a comprehensive view of all that we offer.