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02 Jul 2019

5 current trends in employee wellbeing that every employer should know about

Thinking about employee wellbeing and ensuring that your workforce stay happy, motivated and productive is vital to the success of your business. Many employers run ad hoc wellbeing activities in the workplace, often tying them in with national awareness days. However, for your business to move forward, it’s important to come away from this type of approach and head towards a more strategic wellbeing programme.

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To do this, it’s important that reward and benefits professionals are aware of these five trends: 

  1. The Importance of Financial Wellbeing 
    With the uncertainty that Brexit brought, many individuals across the UK find themselves confused and stressed about their financial future. In fact, according to PWC’s employee financial wellbeing survey, money is one of the biggest causes of stress in the modern workplace. With 53 per cent of employees worried about their financial situation, there is no denying the importance of embodying financial wellbeing within your wider wellbeing strategy. 

    Employee benefits such as Financial Wellbeing programmes, which provide employees with financial education and affordable borrowing and debt consolidation, are vital and should be incorporated into your reward strategy. 

  2. Personalised Benefits 
    No two employees are the same and the key to offering an effective wellbeing strategy within the workplace is offering individualised benefits. When employees feel that their personal needs are met by their employer and that their wellbeing is looked after, they will be more motivated and productive at work. 

    This can be done using online platforms, which allow businesses to run many benefit schemes that can be managed quickly and efficiently, which makes it easier for you to offer different employees various rewards simultaneously. You can no longer take a one-size-fits-all approach to your wellbeing strategy. Using technology to understand what your employees value allows you to offer benefits they care about which are personal to them. 

  3. Reducing Burnout 
    Employee burnout has financial implications for your business as your employees are less productive. In order to reduce burnout, it’s important that you take a proactive approach to stress within the workplace. You can do this through supplying employee benefits such as employee assistance programmes which address mental health wellbeing. 

    These types of programmes encourage employees to take a positive approach towards their health and wellbeing, providing them with confidential and secure virtual counselling via video, phone and online to assist your employees in dealing with a range of emotional and practical issues. These programmes inspire employees to seek help in the early stages of a problem, identifying the reasons behind their stress. 

  4. Gather Data  
    Without data, it can be difficult to make informed decisions about your employees’ wellbeing. Another trend which will be shaping wellbeing strategies is the use of online platforms which allow businesses to measure the success of their existing rewards and how they affect employee wellbeing.

    Data about which benefits employees are searching for on online platforms can be gathered for you to determine which rewards work best. By measuring impact, you can keep track of the key areas of concern within your company and gain valuable information about what type of benefits your employees appreciate, and what they wish to see more of. You can then incorporate this into your reward strategy, which in turn benefits employee wellbeing within your workplace. 

  5. Physical Health 
    Working alongside your wellbeing strategy, there should also be a focus on your employee’s physical health. It is common that many employees who work in an office spend all day at a desk, and so improving physical wellbeing can be quite difficult. 

    Many businesses are ensuring they look after their employee’s physical wellbeing through the introduction of gym discount programs and exercise classes, workouts and yoga classes onsite. By offering these benefits, you illustrate to your workforce that you understand there are many different elements involved when supporting their wellbeing which includes their physical health. 

Workplace Wellbeing 
Workplace wellness is one of the economy sectors that is predicted to have the strongest growth over the next give years in 2019. It is therefore vital that as a business, you incorporate all elements of wellbeing, including physical, mental and financial. You may find that this is possible through online platforms, which help personalise your benefits offerings.

This article is provided by Busy Bees Benefits.