Fifty-five percent of workers are “languishing,” which means they are having a hard time with both work and personal problems. Unfortunately, not all workplace health programmes give workers the tools they need to be healthy and happy.
Numerous companies do a great job of putting their workers’ health first by offering benefits like health insurance, gym memberships, yearly health checks, and more. However, businesses often fail to improve employees’ mental health. People think that if someone isn’t experiencing mental illness, they must be mentally healthy. As opposed to offering proactive mental health help, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) focus on diagnosing mental health problems.
As with physical fitness, there are different types of mental fitness as well. You can improve your physical and mental health through workouts and make a personalised wellness plan that works for you if you have the right tools.
Offering tools to reduce stress and improve well-being is something that employers should do to prioritise their employees’ mental health as much as their physical health. These five benefits help both the employees and the company as a whole.
Not all mental exercise tools and activities work for everyone. Plus, BetterUp Care’s personalised approach to mental health works so well. Using cutting-edge data and AI technology, its coaching, counselling, learning chances, and mental health resources are tailored to each person.
1. Certified therapists
There are workers who want or need more than just a coach. They need a therapist. For example, workers may have access to mental health professionals through their benefits, but that doesn’t mean they will use it. According to the World Health Organisation, 30% to 80% of people who have mental health problems don’t get help.
Mental disease has a bad reputation, which is part of the problem. BetterUp Care helps make mental health less scary. When someone starts BetterUp Care, they are given an evaluation that checks for important signs of mental health. That finds people who could use professional care and offers to put them in touch with a licenced therapist who can help them get better.
Putting workers in touch with clinical help right when they need it improves use and gives workers the help they need before a condition gets worse, which lowers the organization’s healthcare costs in the long run.
2. Personal trainers
All employees need help, even if they don’t need medical care. This is the reason why every worker should have access to a teacher.
Hiring managers will often say, “Let’s get him or her a coach,” when someone starts to fail or has problems at work, writes Bersin & Associates president and chief analyst Josh Bersin. “So it has felt more like a bandaid than a vitamin, so most of us never got a coach.”
Assisting employees in reaching their personal and business goals is what coaches do to help workers do well. An example would be working out with a personal trainer.
As a business, coaching is worth a billion dollars, and rightly so. Personal coaches help clients set goals and deal with problems at work by letting them be open and growing.
Though, not everyone wants to work one-on-one or feels safe doing so. For that reason, BetterUp Care gives you many choices, such as personal coaches, group coaching classes, and text-based help from over 2,000 coaches speaking 32 languages. Based on each person’s specific wants and preferences, BetterUp Care chooses coaches for them.
By using BetterUp Care’s on-demand coaching, your staff can always get help when they need it.
3. Behavior-improving digital learning programmes
Employer-provided training shouldn’t just focus on teaching job-specific skills. Wellness programmes that teach workers about things like stress management, financial health, being resilient, and more can also help them do well.
With more than 2,000 learning materials, BetterUp covers a wide range of topics, from how to give good comments to how to be a better leader. Many types of media are used to make this educational material available, so workers can learn how, when, and what they want.
Topic experts wrote the content, which is meant to change people’s behaviour in the long run. Furthermore, it is powered by AI and offers useful content to workers at the right time to assist them in growing.
4. Better help during transitions
Big changes in people’s lives have effects on their work as well as their home lives. It’s in the best interest of businesses to give their workers the tools they need to not only survive but also thrive in these situations.
32% of all working women are mothers, by way of example. But the difficulties of being a mother make it hard for women to work. Today, only 40% of women who take parental leave go back to their full-time jobs, and 30% of new mothers think about quitting their full-time jobs after parental leave. This problem has gotten worse because of COVID-19.
It’s a lack of knowledge and skills at work when these women don’t work. Companies can keep workers longer if they give them the tools they need to handle and do well during the change.
Companies that hired BetterUp parenting experts for working moms saw a “63% increase in retaining new mothers after six months of personalised coaching.” Employees learned how to be kind to themselves, control their energy, set goals, deal with stress, and more.
“My coaching sessions were essential in helping me get through pregnancy and have resulted in me being happier, healthier, and more productive overall,” a BetterUp participant shared.
BetterUp Care isn’t just for new moms, though. A company acquisition, a promotion, a move across the country, or a death in the family are just a few of the many changes that can happen at home and at work. To be able to handle these situations, workers need to learn how to be resilient.
Employees who work with BetterUp Care teachers and specialists learn how to deal with both big and small changes. In just three to four months, this makes them 35% more ready for change.
5. Resources that help people stay healthy
Because mental health affects physical health, it’s important for an employee’s mental health programme to include tools that help them sleep better and set up healthy eating habits.
Sleep has an impact on all parts of our lives, from our health to how well we do at work. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention say that one-third of U.S. people don’t get enough sleep, even though the National Sleep Foundation says that adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
The American Sleep Association says that people who regularly get less than six hours of sleep have a weaker immune system and are 48% more likely to die of heart disease and 15% more likely to have a stroke.
Sleep also impacts almost every part of our day, including our ability to concentrate, get things done, deal with stress, and more. It even hurts the bottom lines of businesses. In fact, poor rest is thought to cost each worker $1,967 in lost output every year.
BetterUp Care puts workers in touch with sleep experts who can help them get better sleep. Rest is the behaviour that gets better the most with BetterUp teaching.
Another important factor in how happy employees are is what they eat. The World Health Organisation says that good nutrition can boost memory, focus, and imagination, and it can also make people 20% more productive. On the other hand, employees who eat poorly are 66% more likely to say they are less productive, which leads to lower earnings.
Conclusion:
Investing in workplace happiness is an investment in the success of both the employees and the company. As individuals experience improved well-being, they become more engaged, creative, and resilient, contributing positively to the overall organizational climate. By incorporating these strategies into the workplace, employers not only enhance the health and happiness of their workforce but also lay the foundation for sustained success and growth. Remember, a happy and healthy workplace is a cornerstone for building a thriving and resilient workforce in today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape.
FAQ’s
Q1. Why is workplace happiness and health important?
Health and happiness at work are important for employees' general health and happiness, as well as their overall productivity. A positive work environment leads to less stress, more involvement, and better physical and mental health, which makes the workplace more successful and peaceful overall.
Q2. How can promoting work-life balance enhance workplace happiness?
Getting people to care about work-life balance helps them keep a good balance between their work and personal lives. This can help keep employees from getting burned out, make them happier at work, and improve their general health, which can make them more productive and happy.
Q3. Why is open communication essential for a healthy workplace?
Trust, honesty, and a sense of belonging are all improved by open communication at work. When workers feel like they are being heard and understood, it makes the workplace more positive, clears up confusion, and builds stronger relationships between workers. All of these things lead to a better and more peaceful workplace.
