Following economic events like Brexit, Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis, the UK has seen a seismic shift in attitude towards employee mental health and wellbeing.
Employees are demanding more, and following the Great Resignation and its after-effects on recruitment, employers are having to consider their workplace culture (which 56% of job seekers now say is more important than salary).
A significant part of any workplace culture is the health and happiness of the team – yet only one third of organisations have increased their wellbeing budget since the pandemic began.
One of the companies who have worked hard to ensure the wellness of their team is Space Inclusive, who shared their thoughts on how their team benefit from our Health Cash Plans in this blog.
Many managers are reporting feeling concerned about their team – especially due to the cost of living crisis – but they don’t necessarily feel equipped to properly support employees.
The latest study by Inside Employee Minds indicates we are entering a new chapter – that of the lifestyle contract – where wellbeing needs (physical, mental, emotional and financial) are paramount. A great company culture and workplace wellbeing strategy are what set an employer apart from competitors, but with recent events putting employers under financial pressure there are limited funds available for increased wellbeing resources.
But it’s not about throwing money at the problem. Some of the most effective wellbeing policies can be extremely low-cost, and the most successful are those which will make a difference to people’s lives, whether by supporting their financial health and enabling them to claim cash back on healthcare costs, enabling them to prioritise parental responsibilities through flexible working, or having professionals available to provide services from counselling to physiotherapy if needed.
Workplace wellbeing is about caring for all aspects of employee health – from financial health to mental health and everything in between – from a ‘prevention is better than cure’ perspective. This isn’t just about supporting those who have existing or emerging mental health conditions, or who are experiencing a specific issue which has caused a dip in their wellbeing. It’s about ensuring everyone remains as far towards the ‘well’ end of the wellness scale as possible.
A recent report rather worryingly showed half of workers surveyed are feeling overwhelmed, whilst 48% feel burnt out, and 35% are experiencing depression – which is why experts are advising board level buy in to ensure wellbeing takes front and centre stage on management agendas.
Wellness needs to be frequently discussed at senior level and its importance filtered down to all employees in order to encourage employee engagement and cultivate a workplace environment and culture which properly supports everyone’s wellbeing.
If you’d like to find out more, why not download our Workplace Wellbeing guide, and take a look at our Mood-Boosting Tips blog 😀