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Why the Health of Your Employees Matters

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There are many reasons why the health of your employees matters that go beyond the bottom line. A healthy and happy employee is a productive employee. Employees want to work for people who care about them and their well-being.


Why the Health of Your Employees Matters

There are many reasons why the health of your employees matters that go beyond the bottom line. A healthy and happy employee is a productive employee. Employees want to work for people who care about them and their well-being. Driving your employees into the ground physically and mentally, forcing them to come to work sick, or putting them in hazardous work conditions will do nothing but breed resentment, exhaustion, and employees who only work to get paid. Even if your employees desire to go above and beyond, it will be difficult for them if they are struggling with their health. As such, it is in your company's best interest to care for your employee's well-being both inside and outside of your business. In this article, you will learn why the health of your employees matters, what is wellbeing, common issues that affect employee wellbeing, and how you can improve your employee’s well-being in the workplace.

 

What Is Wellbeing

Before we explore deeper into why the health of your employees matters, let’s answer the question, “What is well-being?” Well-being goes beyond physical health. Well-being also includes mental health. People who are well-being feel good and function well. They are free of disease, generally have a positive outlook, and have healthy interpersonal relationships. 

 

Employee Wellbeing

Unfortunately, many aspects of working a job can bring down a person's well-being. Long hours, inefficient leadership, safety hazards, low pay, and difficult work are all aspects of jobs that can bring down employee well-being. Employees in office settings sit for long periods of time and those in physical labor settings are prone to injury. As the employer, it is your responsibility to mitigate threats to your employee’s well-being that come from the job.

Employees on the job do not exist in a vacuum. Not only do they deal with work-related pressures, but they also carry stress from their private lives onto the job. Perhaps one of your employees broke their ankle playing baseball over the weekend. When they come in on Monday, their ankle will not become magically mended. They will need accommodations like a chair where they would normally stand and access to an elevator. Perhaps one of your employees struggles with depression. They can put on a brave face, but that does not mean their work is the best it can be. The more support you can offer your employees the better your general employee well-being will be.

 

Wellbeing in the Workplace

As a business owner, one of your primary concerns is making a profit. The people working to make that possible are your employees. Not only is it fair to create an environment where employees feel cared about, but it is also an effective way to increase productivity. This is why the health of your employees matters. Healthy and happy people tend to be optimistic and ready to take on new challenges. They are not as likely to become bogged down by the workday. Learning why the health of your employees matters will hopefully encourage you to take the health of your employees seriously. After all, there are many reasons why the health of your employees matters. When you care about the health of your employees, you will see lower turnover rates, more productive and harder working employees, and an increase in profits. 

As an employer, there are many things you can do to improve your employee’s well-being in the workplace.

 

Physical Health

The physical health of your employees is one aspect of employee well-being. Sick employees should stay home. This means you will be out a worker for the duration they are sick. Although it might be tempting to encourage your employees to work while sick, this is a bad idea. Sick employees will not be productive. If you have ever been sick, you know how difficult it is to focus. Not only will a sick employee’s work suffer, but they could also spread their sickness to other employees, meaning your entire workforce suffers. 

Instead, you should encourage sick employees to stay home and see a doctor.

A great way to invest in your employees’ physical health is to offer health insurance. The American medical system is expensive. The more you can do to ease this burden off your employees the better their well-being will be. They will be able to see a doctor when they need to without the stress of inconceivable medical debt. 

Encourage annual visits. The earlier an employee can catch an illness, the easier and faster it can be treated. Small health issues can quickly turn into big ones if not caught on time.

Nutrition and exercise are great ways to increase physical well-being. Offer healthy snacks. If you offer your employees lunch, provide healthy options. Fruit bowls and water coolers provide an easy way for employees to access a quick, healthy snack when hungry. Encourage exercise when possible. Perhaps you could create walking challenges. 

On-the-job safety is an aspect of your employees’ well-being that you should emphasize. Your business should be compliant with OSHA regulations and you should take any employee safety concerns to heart. If employees engage in unsafe actions despite regulations, you need to reprimand them. You should go above and beyond when possible. For example, a welding company should implement welding screens when welders are around others. You want your business to have a culture of safety both for the well-being of your employees and your business. 

 

Mental Health

Just as important, but often overlooked is the mental health portion of your worker’s wellbeing. Not only do mental health issues make life more difficult on their own, but they also carry a stigma that makes it hard for those struggling to find help. 

Although you can not cure someone’s mental illness, there are things you can do to encourage a healthy mental state. Encourage breaks. Pushing through when you have no ideas and just want to finish leads to poor work. This does no one any favors. If an employee needs to step away for ten minutes or even longer to reset they will come back refreshed and ready to do great work.

Natural light does wonders for mental health. If you can arrange for your office to provide your employees with access to windows or even an outdoor work area, you will see a big improvement in your employees’ mental state. 

 

Singer Safety

Now that you understand why the health of your employees matters, you can implement programs to increase their well-being and keep them safe. If you are looking to increase the environmental safety of your employees, consider using Singer Safety. Our wide array of products applies to many industries. From noise control to fire safety to vinyl door strips to welding safety screens, we have products that will make your employees feel safe as they do their jobs. Because you know why the health of your employees matters, you want to get the best products to best increase your employee’s well-being. Singer Safety has you covered.

 


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