It’s been a tough year.
- The COVID-19 pandemic
- Economic downturn
- The constant threat of climate change
- Political uncertainty
Yeah, it’s been a really tough year.
Just about anyone who’s been working as normal throughout the past year is likely to have struggled with their own welfare at some point, whether that’s their physical or mental health.
In 2021, there has to be a change, and employers have to be the ones driving it. With so much power over the lives of regular people, it’s important that employers prioritize welfare and make it a cornerstone of their business. If the list above hasn’t convinced you, here’s why employee welfare should be your number one priority in 2021.
Employees are struggling right now
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned everyone’s lives upside down.
Whether you’re a business owner or an HR manager, you need to be acutely aware of the unique mindset your workforce is dealing with. Many will be cautiously optimistic about a return to normal life this year, yet they will also be equally unsure about the security of their employment and health as the true impact of the pandemic is realized.
In addition to this, many employees have spent the past year working from home or forced to confront potentially unsafe working conditions. Even if they loved working in their pajamas, reduced social contact and a less than ideal office space are sure to have taken their toll and made many people unsure of themselves and their abilities.
Investing in welfare builds trust
Trust is an integral element of a successful business.
According to One Model, employee trust is very low right now, with people feeling taken advantage of by their employers.
That needs to change. Not only is a trusting work environment a more productive one, but a happier and more creative one.
Investing in employee wellbeing and being able to make concessions to support them through difficult times is perhaps the best way of earning employee trust.
If you’re open to supporting wellness needs, employees will be encouraged to come to you with their concerns rather than bottling them up and turning them into a bigger issue than they need to be. One day off is much better for your business than an extended break to address their mental health.
If you develop a culture of trust, it makes it easier to hang onto people. Employees understand it’s a difficult job market out there, and if they’re happy and satisfied in their role (and trust the business wants the best for them) they’ll stick around.
Finally, a trusting workplace is infectious. Customers, in particular, can tell when a place is genuinely positive and enjoyable to work in and want to be around that. Organizations such as Vet Comp & Pen have seen the benefits of this, attracting veterans in need of their services by developing a positive working culture built around trusting ex-servicemen and women.
Employees will be considering life changes
Although the job market might be a little thin right now, there are plenty of people weighing up their options and considering whether the grass is greener on the other side.
Without social events or even office chat to break up the day-to-day grind, many employees have become tired and frustrated with their jobs, looking to new positions to inject some excitement into their lives.
This leaves employers with a unique challenge — how do they hang onto their best talent?
By making employee welfare a priority, you’re planting a (positive) seed of doubt in the mind of your workers. They’ll start to consider whether the companies they’re applying for offer this level of support or are willing to give the same kind of opportunities you are.
This is a time to start branching out and offering incentives. Promotions, travel, new tools — whatever your employees are asking for, find a way to integrate it alongside general welfare practices. By making the workplace exciting and genuinely caring, you ensure heads stop turning.
Other priorities for your HR team
To close off this article, let’s look at some ways you can improve employee welfare.
Communication between teams
Communication is key for business success, but in times of struggle such as the pandemic, it’s an important part of keeping spirits high and helping relationships blossom.
Consider creating new channels for communication across the business. Encourage teams that wouldn’t usually mix to work together on projects, forcing them out of their comfort zone and into situations that will help them grow.
Helping to keep existing relationships intact is equally important, especially in a remote working situation. Using digital tools to create virtual ‘desk’ scenarios so that teams can work together and chat, as they would in their regular office, is a good way to replicate the feeling of normality.
This kind of environment encourages people to be themselves, something new tech companies such as Buffer have reaped the benefits of for years, producing a happy, yet hard-working, workforce.
Addressing the widening skills gap
The widening skill gap across generations has been a difficult challenge for employers in the last decade.
The evolution of tech has left some older workers behind, with COVID further exposing this as a critical problem that can hamper businesses and employee’s perception of themselves.
Rather than letting this fester and become an issue for your business, make training programs and teamwork a cornerstone of your operations. By putting everyone on personalized, robust training schemes you allow them to catch up with the average at their own pace, learning skills they feel they need to progress in the role and improve their usefulness to the business.
This might not feel like wellness, but it tells employees they’re appreciated and you care about their futures. Not everything has to be a giveaway. Investment in their futures is equally rewarding.
Acknowledging the costs and benefits of tech
Tech solutions might be the in-vogue way of solving any business problems. But ask yourself, are these digital tools doing more harm than good to my employees?
Consider the impact of everything from screen time to meeting fatigue on your employee’s welfare. Remote working might be a necessity now, but is it worth the savings on office rent once things return to normal? Staff may be more productive, but in the long-run, the isolation could prove costly.
Tech is supposed to free us and remove the burden of micro-tasks. However, for many workers, tech solutions have just incurred more stress and demand for more productivity. Tracking tools, in particular, have been a problem for many workers through this pandemic, while the idea of email-less businesses is catching on. Consider what the tools you use are doing to your business and the message they send to your team.
To put it bluntly, employee welfare should be a priority because there’s no way of getting around it.
This is a permanently live issue now, whether it’s mental health concerns or an adjustment period after a year of remote working.
That should cause concern amongst your senior team. Challenges like this are a part of running a business. If you do this well, you’ll strengthen the bonds within your business and build a workplace everyone can enjoy and feel comfortable in.
