We all know that employee wellbeing is important.
Happy and healthy employees are more productive, committed and engaged, and that’s a win for both business owners and employees.
So, you spend enormous sums of money on wellbeing programs, thinking you’re doing a great job for your employees’ wellbeing and mental health…but they don’t work! Your employees are just as miserable as they were to begin with.
What’s gone wrong?
In my opinion, employee wellbeing programs are a waste of money as they don’t meet the true needs of employees, nor do they lead to any meaningful results.
Extensive workplace surveys reveal that the top factors negatively impacting employees’ mental health and wellbeing are:
- overwhelming workloads
- toxic work environments
- inadequate support from leadership
- unclear expectations, and
- insufficient diversity and inclusion.
It’s easy to see that not one of these issues will be resolved by a free yoga class.
Sure, offering perks such as on-site gyms, counselling, meditation classes, and healthy snacks is great, but it’s not going to make a significant impact on employee wellbeing if the underlying problems aren’t addressed.
So, what will actually work, I hear you asking?
The first step is for employers to take responsibility for solving the actual challenges their employees are facing and identify the root causes of stress and burnout in the workplace.
What are your employees struggling with? Are they overworked? Do they feel like they don’t have enough control over their work? Are they not getting the support they need from their managers?
Once you have identified the root cases, then it’s time to take action.
Investing in employee wellbeing is not just about ticking a box or following a trend. It’s about creating a culture of care and support that values the wellbeing of employees as much as the success of the business.
By taking the time to understand the needs of your employees and addressing the underlying issues, you can create a workplace where employees feel supported, valued, and motivated to do their best work.
And that, my friends, is a true win-win situation.
If you’re ready to stop throwing money away on programs that simply don’t work, give us a call to explore how we can help.