Employees are productive when companies value their wellbeing

The essence of a business is not to be found in its service records, its financial accounts, or the shininess of its offices and client brochures. Of course, these are important, but without people there would be no business at all.

We have all heard the benefits of a smiling, laughing and energy-filled workforce. But recent research shows that nearly four in ten UK employers reported an increase in stress-related absence in 2011. On the other hand, a plethora of employee wellbeing research shows that productivity increases with employee motivation, fewer sick days are taken and employee retention improves.

Retention, retention, retention

Retention is particularly important during hard-pushed economic times as businesses do not want to lose their best people, and certainly not for a reason that they could easily control, such as helping them to feel supported.

There has been increasing talk around “wellbeing” over the past few years, as shown through, for example, the establishment of the Cambridge University Well Being Institute. Commentators have been suggesting that companies should redirect focus to people and not processes (see, for example.)

But what can actually be done about this and why is it worth investing in?

Looking at wellbeing in the workplace is becoming absolutely essential to ensure that a business retains the talented people it needs. Addressing wellbeing is also a necessary part of the transformations associated with company cut-backs and restructuring.

In addition, as corporate responsibility and sustainability pushes ever up the agenda, employee wellbeing is being brought to the fore.

Support the best people

Every person will face ups and downs in their lives and work, whether they involve health issues, family changes, personal problems, financial and job security or housing difficulty. Most employees would like to know that they are supported by their employer should these situations arise. So what can a company do to show its current employees that they care?

Regular collaborators Tracy Butterworth, director of wellbeing in the workplace consultancy Handstand, and Michael Weatherhead, director of New Economics Foundation Consulting, suggest that there are three key things that can be done now.

1. State your belief that wellbeing underpins performance.

Acknowledging and making this link clear early on – during interviews and meetings, on the company website, employee handbooks, induction and training materials – will ensure that individuals are aware that their wellbeing is your priority.

It may be worth having a stated company value or principle recognising that businesses function through humans not machines, and that work- and personal-life are intrinsically linked.

Weatherhead says that a key part of employee wellbeing is feeling that your work is valuable to a wider audience. Numerous surveys have shown that doing a job that is valuable to customers and general society regularly appears high on graduates’ list of criteria against which they judge companies they might wish to work for.

2. Dedicate some time to wellbeing in the workplace.

After a staff wellbeing survey and a series of three workshops with a central government department, Butterworth found that their perception of positive work-life balance had improved from 44% to 82%, workload pressure from 44% to 76% and performance improved from 67% to 76% between the initial survey and final workshop.

In addition, the department calculated a saving of over £1m in productivity over one year. The employees themselves put this improvement primarily down to knowing that their employers cared enough to put aside three half-days towards wellbeing.

To avoid a stated commitment to wellbeing ending up as lip service, companies can set up an open door policy to discuss flexibility around the pressures that everyone faces, and should make sure their people are aware of it.

3. Engage people around how they would do things differently.

Having a sense of control is a critical part of wellbeing. Asking employees what encourages a positive sense of wellbeing in work and the top three things they would change to achieve it will, in and of itself, support employees to move up the wellbeing scale.

A regular feedback loop (in the form of a wellbeing survey) that covers factors such as mental and physical health, trust at work and manageable workload not only demonstrates that there is a commitment to wellbeing within an organisation but also enables target setting through ongoing metrics.

Correlation assessments can then be made with factors such as staff sickness, retention and commitment – for example, would you recommend your company as a place to work to a good friend or potential customer? With these diagnostics, adequate action can be taken against the issues that are worth unpicking. Giving employees this sense of ownership will allow for creativity and a flourishing workforce.

Wellbeing is essential for retaining talent and improving business productivity. With technology improvements there is a new sense of urgency and people are expected to complete tasks faster, whilst many are facing an increased workload due to recession cutbacks. In order to rebalance in this era of change, companies need to give attention to employee job satisfaction, empowerment and their perception of security.

Rosie Helson is a global corporate sustainability consultant at Amida.