After the covid pandemic, the productivity crises became common in many organizations around the country because of the affected health and safety of the employees. The loss of productivity and thus economy due to depression and anxiety in workers indicates that the importance of employee’s health cannot be overstated. For the success of any business, the workers need to be safe and healthy in terms of both mental and physical. In this guide, we will discuss the importance of employee health and the benefits associated with it.
What are the purpose and benefits of workplace health?
The main purpose of workplace health is to protect the health of workers, both physically and mentally. Employers have the duty to protect their employees from the workplace issues, such as workplace harassment, discrimination, bullying, and a few others. the businesses that fail to implement a perfect environment for their employees have to face lower profitability, higher recruitment costs, and lower retention rates. Poor workplace health can lead to illness, workplace injury, and even the loss of business. In short, the better workplace health means the successful business.
A variety of studies suggest that working in a safe and healthy workplace is beneficial for physical and mental wellbeing. Employees spend almost half of their day working in an office, so this place and environment should be peaceful enough to let the employees work in peace. A workplace with a safe and healthy environment results in greater productivity and higher performance. A safe and healthy environment makes the workers get increased job satisfaction, as a result of which, they can participate well in their work. The major benefit of better workplace health is that such organizations have lower absenteeism rates as compared to those with an unhealthy environment. Few other benefits include less workplace injury, faster work return, greater engagement, and increased profits. These are the reasons why a number of organizations are working hard on implementing health programs for the well-being of their employees.
What are the ways to improve workplace health?
Workplace health and safety eventually result in a better environment, improved productivity, and increased growth in business. Employers need to keep in mind that the growing absenteeism rate is not only a result of sickness. The reason for growing absenteeism can be growing stress among employees, lower engagement levels, and overall mental and physical health. To reduce the absentees within the organization and increase the productivity level of the employees, the employers need to take certain actions for the betterment of workplace health. Improving workplace health doesn’t need to be an expensive undertaking. Small solutions and smart initiatives can also play a huge role and can go long way toward creating a healthy workplace environment. Let’s look at the few important ways that can help improve workplace health.
· Providing the employees with health and wellness programs that address all the areas of employee mental and physical health.
· Providing the employees with the facility of annual health screening tests to make the staff aware of the health issues and cope with them.
· Encouraging the physical activities within the organization for the employees to improve their health. These physical exercises could be running groups, gyms facility, and much more.
· The office space also plays a huge role in keeping the employees healthy and motivated. For example, a company should invest in an adequate space for the employees with proper desks and chairs. Also, the place must be good enough, where they can get direct access to the sunlight.
· Offering healthy lunches and snack options instead of unhealthy drinks and snacks.
· Providing the employees with health education with practical advice, which they can put into practice.
· Enlisting help from the insurance navigation companies can help the employees navigate the underlying issues, such as mental healthcare, primary care, and insurance. It will help the employees make smart and well-informed decisions that are cost-efficient as well.
· Creating a professional yet comfortable environment for the employees to support their mental and physical health. It may include, breaks, vacations, parties, and much more.
Conclusion
Taking care of the health of employee in the workplace is not only beneficial to the employees but also create an effective and efficient environment. A better environment eventually results in a reputable and fast-growing business. The workplace health and the productivity level of the employees go hand in hand. The more mentally and physically healthy an employee is, the more productive the business would be. A healthy workplace means the staff who care for each other and an environment where the employees feel safe and satisfied.
