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Employee wellbeing as a business growth strategy

Don't forget to focus on physical, career, social, and financial wellbeing when developing a holistic strategy for your organisation, affirm experts from Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP).

Corporate wellbeing programmes today are no longer limited to select benefits or traditional perks – organisations are increasingly developing more robust strategies to ensure that their people are appropriately supported and empowered to thrive in the workplace.

Such strategies take on a holistic approach towards employee wellness, integrating the physical aspect of wellbeing, with financial, social and career wellbeing.

A holistic approach towards wellbeing which addresses the needs of the whole individual can reap great rewards. When organisations have a committed and inclusive well-being programme, employees in turn feel valued, supported and more committed to delivering positive outcomes at work.

Here are some components of employee wellbeing you can focus on when developing a holistic well-being strategy for your organisation:

Physical wellbeing

Supporting the physical wellbeing of your employees in the workplace enables them to perform their jobs more effectively and continue working for a longer period of time.

Employee wellness programmes could include a review of the physical workspace and work processes. Streamlining workflow and designing ergonomically-friendly and safe workspaces will benefit a multi-generational workforce.

Keep in mind that physical health and well-being is built up over the years, and focusing on this can enable younger employees to maintain their wellness as they stay on with you through the years.

While deeply personal, an individual’s financial worries can distract them and impact their productivity at work.

Career wellbeing

When employees feel that their organisation places emphasis on their growth and provides avenues and support to reach their career goals, they are more likely to feel appreciated and remain committed to the organisation and its success.

The key is taking a personal approach. Take time to learn about their aspirations, expectations and frustrations, to plot their career path within the organisation.

Subsequently, provide resources that they will need along their journey. For example, encourage them to apply for internal opportunities when available if you believe that the new role can help bridge any gaps, or allocate a mentor or coach to provide support.

Social wellbeing

Social wellbeing is a critical component that impacts the overall wellbeing of individuals, especially at the workplace where we spend most of our productive hours.

Apart from providing opportunities for employees to socialise within and outside the organisation, foster a culture that encourages communication and teamwork. For example, bring the team together to brainstorm on solutions for a problem, instead of leaving it to an individual.

Promote respect for diversity and the importance of inclusion, to create a culture of greater acceptance towards individual differences and provide opportunities for all ideas to be heard and valued.

When you create a common sense of purpose and a mentality that 'we are in it together', your team becomes more dedicated and motivated to perform their best. More importantly, this also helps to support one another to get through challenging times.

Streamlining workflow and designing ergonomically-friendly and safe workspaces will benefit a multi-generational workforce.

Financial wellbeing

Dealing with personal finances is often viewed as stressful to many working adults and can greatly impact well-being. While deeply personal, an individual’s financial worries can distract them and impact their productivity at work.

Be fair and responsible to your employees by offering a competitive salary package based on a set of fair-pay principles that is tagged to the job role and scope; and constantly evaluate and adjust your compensation policies to market fluctuations and cost-of-living realities.

Ensure that your compensation practices fairly reward employees with good performance and behaviours that are aligned with your company culture.

Once you have a robust compensation framework in place, support your employees in making the best choices with their finances. This can include talks and workshops on personal finance or encouraging employees to attend online courses at their own time to improve their financial literacy and wellness.

Wellbeing is a great way to achieve alignment between business objectives and the work employees do. Moreover, it can play a vital role in your employee engagement strategy when implemented properly.

As the employees' concept of well-being becomes increasingly holistic, it's time to create a wellbeing strategy that addresses different aspects of employees’ needs to ensure you have a happy and productive workforce!

Photo / StockUnlimited

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