Introduction
It is often said that we are living in a hybrid world. We now have several worlds to consider including the one where we live, work and play as well as the virtual world that is rapidly evolving.
When it comes to wellness in the workplace, things can feel like they’re getting more challenging by the day. The remote workforce has become commonplace, and with it comes new challenges for leaders who want their employees to thrive–not just survive. When you are not face-to-face, it’s harder to create a culture of care and connection.
In this hybrid world, however, there are ways that you can make changes to create an environment where employees will be healthier and more engaged so let’s look at some ways that you can start doing this.
Make wellbeing a priority in your hybrid workplace
To build a workplace wellness program that works, you’ll need to prioritize it. This means creating a culture where the wellbeing of your team members is prioritized and supported.
A culture of wellness should be practiced at all companies regardless of size or industry and here are some key components to think about.
- Being clear about what you are offering—and what you expect from your employees. This means being explicit and consistent about the types of benefits that are available to employees. It also means being open about how those benefits are used by employees and what kind of work-life balance they can expect from working at your company.
- Supporting your employee’s personal wellness in tangible ways. This includes offering resources for stress management, healthy eating options during office time, gym memberships, access to mental health services as just some examples of things that you can do.
- Acting outside of the workplace to foster a culture where it’s possible for employees to take care of themselves both mentally and physically. Your company’s leadership team needs to set an example here! They need to model healthy behaviour so that people are more likely to follow in their footsteps.
How can employers support their employees’ wellbeing in a hybrid workplace?
Employees need the support of their employer to make changes in the way they live, both at work and away from it.
Regular communication is key. Updates and initiatives that are directly linked to wellbeing should be a consistent feature in the quarterly calendar. An open culture between managers and their teams should also be fostered, where employees can feel comfortable to talk about what’s going well or not so well in their lives. Employees also need flexibility—in terms of time off, working hours and location. Employees should be encouraged to include wellness time within the structure of day-to-day work life that will allow more time for self-care activities like meditation or exercise.
Another helpful tactic is to set aside specific blocks of time during each week where teams get together face to face at least once as a group—whether it’s an all hands on deck meeting or just some informal time over lunch—to talk about anything from upcoming projects or goals to what’s going on in the world. These smaller moments spent together help foster stronger relationships between colleagues.
If you want to see your employees thrive, it is important that they feel supported with their wellbeing in the office environment too. Employers can do this in many ways, from improving the physical space through things like ergonomic seating, ensuring there are plenty of natural light coming into the building, having healthy food options available on site and even offering mental health services if necessary. If you have the space, you can even go so far as to create a quiet zone where people can practice yoga or other meditation activities.
Make sure your leaders are properly trained to assess, understand and improve wellbeing within your company.
To ensure that your business has the best possible wellness culture, it’s essential that your leaders have knowledge of wellbeing. Leadership is a key factor in creating an environment where people feel supported to be conscious about their wellbeing. This means that leaders need to understand what wellbeing is, why it’s important and how they can drive it within their teams. They also need to understand how to encourage employees to act on their own wellbeing risks and issues, and what support they should offer if employees need additional help.
It’s important for leaders to be trained in this area before they’re put into practice as well; otherwise, there may be some confusion about what exactly constitutes good leadership when it comes down to supporting health and well-being.
When designing or choosing a training course for your company’s leaders, look for one that meets these criteria:
- It focuses on practical application rather than theory alone.
- It offers tools for measuring progress after completion of the course.
Conclusion
In the last few years, a lot has changed in the workplace. As we’ve seen, there’s been a rise in hybrid working, where employees don’t necessarily have regular office space but often work from home or from a coffee shop. This means that businesses need to be flexible with their employees’ needs and wellbeing, whether they’re in the office or not.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at wellness in a hybrid world. If you have questions around wellbeing in the workplace or training and development in this area, please contact us, we would love to hear from you.
