They say that a healthy workplace is a happy workplace. However, as a business owner, it can be all too easy to focus purely on your customers, your sales, and your profits. While these are certainly important, they should never come at the expense of what is essentially the lifeblood of your company: your staff.
Keeping your employees happy and healthy should be your number one priority. After all, without them how are you going to deliver goods and services to your customers? Let’s take a look at what kind of benefits you can see from prioritising the health and well-being of your staff.
Retaining Current Staff
For many businesses, particularly those in the hospitality and service industries, staff turnover is a major problem. The recruitment process can be time-consuming, and regularly onboarding and training new employees can mean having to make sacrifices elsewhere.
Good staff are in high demand. You must demonstrate to your employees that they are valued and appreciated, or they could be tempted by alternative offers or be headhunted by rival businesses.
One of the most effective ways to retain the staff you have is by fostering a happy and healthy workplace environment.
According to research by Bupa, Google searches for ‘health and wellbeing in the workplace’ have significantly increased over the past few years. This illustrates a growing awareness among the workforce of personal health and well-being. If staff believe their employer is not looking after them properly, they will likely start looking for work elsewhere.
Establishing a healthy workplace is vital if you want to retain your staff and keep your business on an upward trajectory.
Attracting the Brightest and Best Talent
As your business grows, it’s only natural that you will look to add new team members. This could be for expanding into new regions or developing your product offering. Whatever the reason, attracting the best talent is crucial if you want to scale successfully.
Ensuring you have a healthy workplace is essential if you want to set yourself apart from your competitors. When potential candidates compare different job offers, they will be drawn to positions that will put their personal health and well-being front and centre.
Having healthy workplace policies can help your business grow and can also make recruiters’ lives easier as your company will be more attractive to the most talented candidates.
What kind of benefits are employees looking for in these policies? What types of perks can you offer to create a healthy workplace? Find out below.
Ideas for Employee Health Perks
The best way to foster a healthy workplace environment is by implementing health and well-being policies.
What kind of benefits can you offer your staff? According to a study by Ciphr, 67% of surveyed employees considered paid sick leave to be the most important workplace benefit. Staff don’t want to have to come in if they feel unwell, and other staff don’t want to risk catching a bug or infection.
If you want to promote a healthy workplace environment, paid sick leave is a prerequisite. In the UK, the law stipulates that employees are entitled to a set amount of paid sick leave. However, if you want to be a modern employer with progressive healthy workplace policies, it’s worth offering more than this minimum amount.
Work-life balance has become a hot topic in recent times. Staff need support to avoid stress and burnout, so employers who have policies in place to meet this need will be looked upon more favourably.
Since the pandemic, we’ve seen a marked increase in the popularity of hybrid working practices. In fact, 80% of employees surveyed by the Harvard Business Review ranked hybrid working in their top four most valued benefits.
A healthy workplace prioritises both the physical and mental well-being of its employees. Adopting hybrid working practices will improve the work-life balance of your staff and make your business a more attractive option for candidates.
Other perks you can offer staff to foster a healthy workplace environment include free fruit and veg snacks in the office, discounts on gym memberships and fitness classes, and cycle-to-work schemes to encourage exercise and eco-friendly travel.
Conclusion
Recruiting and retaining staff can be tough. However, establishing a healthy workplace is an incredibly effective approach that can demonstrate to your current employees that they are valued. This can improve retention rates and attract top talent, making for a more successful recruitment process.