How to Ensure the Health of Your Employees in the Modern Workplace

| July 15, 2019

Should you live to work or work to live? This is one of the biggest questions plaguing the modern workplace. The fact is that work should finish at the end of the day; but we still take many of the worries with us afterwards. Learning to remove these stressors and worries from our every day, then, can be invaluable.

For that reason, understanding and ensuring the health of your employees in the modern workplace is important. And here are some of the best ways you can ensure this. 

Offer Flexibility 

Flexible working is one of the newest trends in the modern workplace and something which many are looking for more in the modern workplace. People want to be able to book appointments for dental care, eye appointments and other things important for their health without having to use holiday allowances for the luxury. 

Giving someone more flexibility isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Nor will it make your business flop, despite what you might have heard by the naysayers. 

Remote working can also be a good option as it gives a whole new level of flexibility. Even if your employees don’t always take you up on the scheme, having that option in cases of emergency or times of need can be a relief to have. 

Encourage Breaks 

Breaks aren’t a sign of laziness. In fact, allowing your employees a few chances to escape and get away from their jobs every day is vital. Otherwise, you may find they are too overworked to actually be as productive as you would like.

If your employees are consistently working on computers or operating machinery, regular breaks can actually be a safety precaution. Eye strain, repetitive stress and tiredness can be made worse by too much time spent 

Increase Support Schemes 

One of the most important things you can introduce into your workplace is various support schemes. This can include gym access, exercise incentives like ‘cycle to work’ and a fridge to ensure employees can bring in healthier lunches. Including a regularly topped up section for healthier snacks or food. 

Support schemes don’t necessarily have to be in relation to physical health either. Mental health days, sponsored therapy sessions and the like can also be a great way to ensure the unseen side of work struggles are dealt with. 

Offer Health Incentives 

The issue of being a business in the modern world is having the right processes in place to make health incentives worthwhile. You can even introduce office incentives like health baskets, free breakfasts and even gym memberships. 

You can even put into place bigger incentives. For example, start a ‘smoke-free’ campaign which offers rewards for employees giving up smoking. This can be cash incentives, rewards like a meal out at the end of a certain period or something along with that nature. 

Acknowledge The Differences 

Not every employee is the same, so blanket policies are not always going to work. Acknowledging this and understanding that you need to diversify these policies is important. Understanding and then implementing policies which reflect the differences, as well as making sure people can navigate around them is important. 

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