Workplace stress and burnout are real problems for many big and small workplaces. The reason why workplace stress and burnouts vary and they can range from poor leadership, constantly high workload, lack of breaks to poor treatment by colleagues and team leaders.

If it is not prevented or resolved, workplace stress and burnout can physically, mentally, and emotionally affect the employees. There have been cases of deaths due to overwork and stress.

If you are a company owner or team leader, you must prevent workplace stress and burnouts by focusing on employee wellbeing.

Employee wellbeing focuses on how a person feels about their life, in this case, their work life. Work-life involves how they think about their workplace, workload, salary, work mindset, and the people they work with. If they are happy, their wellbeing is promising and can help them and the company to thrive in the future. However, if they are unhappy and constantly stressed, there is a need to intervene.

Focusing on employee wellbeing can help improve your team’s focus, reduce their stress levels, foster positivity amongst the team and improve their overall wellbeing. The company will also benefit as productivity and performance levels will be higher, and they won’t lose talents due to stress and burnout.

With all these said, creating a working strategy to improve workplace wellbeing can be challenging since every company and workforce is different. You will also need to focus on several factors like their health, social life, work, and financial stability. To help you get started on developing a working employee wellbeing strategy, here are 30 great ideas to consider:

1. Create a safety climate that allows everyone in the organization to learn more about occupational health and safety and why it is essential.
2. Launch surveys and polls to hear employee opinions and measure their wellness levels.
3. Make praises and recognition a part of your company’s culture, especially after each big project or milestone.
4. Incentivize people to practice gratitude in the workplace
5. Encourage self-care by offering benefits like a spa day or wellness days
6. Offer a weekly fruit box for the staff to help with their nutrition intake.
7. Setup access to health checks. It can help workers identify the first signs of any health problems they may have and find solutions to improve their health.
8. Invest in affordable virtual wellbeing program everyone can attend
9. Host impromptu dance battles in between breaks
10. Open opportunities for employees to discover their purpose through seminars and skills training
11. Have means for social interaction by opening hubs in your business’ intranet system
12. If you don’t have intranet systems, set up one!
13. Encourage friendship between employees through employee night or having an open lounge they can chill out during breaks.
14. Try holding walking or standing meetings to help with physical wellness
15. Consider flexible work hours to help with work-life balance
16. Allow remote days or hybrid workspaces to help employees refocus and remove distractions
17. Invest in standing desks to counter a sedentary work lifestyle
18. Have a healthy menu served in the office canteen to encourage healthy eating
19. Encourage using bikes to go to work
20. Show trust by offering employees unlimited day-offs or vacations
21. Give sabbaticals to employees reaching a milestone to prevent burnouts
22. Offer unlimited maternity or paternity leave
23. Try doing an “undercover boss” competition to see who has done a lot of tasks for the workweek
24. Launch a vegan or exercise challenge
25. Give incentives for those who will get preventive care (ex. Vaccinations, medical checks)
26. Urge sick employees or those feeling unwell to go home to rest
27. Allow employees to set their own goals and work strategy
28. Have schedules for volunteering days and programs
29. Renovate your office to allow in natural light and a more comfortable workspace
30. Give regular performance reviews to provide feedback and assistance so employees know how they can change their work strategy and help with work-life balance

As an employer or team leader, workplace wellbeing is one responsibility you should not slack on because it can affect the entire organisation. You must actively fight to improve it for everyone so others can follow your lead and transform your workplace into one that everyone enjoys and loves.

Try the 30 steps above and see which ones work for your company or business, modifying them when needed. It may take a while to see the results, but once you can find the right strategy, it will be easier to find other ways to foster workplace wellbeing.

Need more motivational tips to buzz up the office? Check these out:
Extrinsic & Intrinsic Motivation In Your Workplace
Guest Post: Just a check mark away: using lists to keep motivation.
How Can Companies Make Employees Feel Valued

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