Wellness in the workplace – integrating initiatives that work
1. Align your strategy with the national wellbeing agenda:Recently, the National Program for Happiness and Wellbeing announced the launch of 'Business for Wellbeing Council' - a public-private partnership that is designed to improve workplace wellbeing in the private sector. The council hosts eight top national and multinational enterprises serving across diverse sectors. These include Majid Al Futtaim Group, Landmark Group, Emirates NBD, Etihad Airways, Aldar Properties, Emirates Airlines, Unilever, and Cisco. The initiative is in line with the objectives of the National Strategy for Wellbeing, which was issued last year by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The National Program for Happiness and Wellbeing is aimed towards promoting wellness in the workspace. Creating awellness framework on the basis of the principles outlined by the UAE government can give you the right foundation to get started.
2. Create an effective recognition system: Rewards and benefits are necessary to keep employees feeling valued and appreciated. They go a long way in keeping your teams happy, which reduces the turnover rate and shows better bottom line results. With most of today’s workforce today being comprising of millennials, especially in the startup ecosystem, it’s time to change the age-old thinking about rewards from being money, insurance and housing perks, to what is valued more. Very often, rewards aren’t enough to motivate and incentivize an employee. It is important to give your employees something beyond a tangible reward to show them that their efforts are being recognised. This is why you need to encourage managers and departments to recognize their employees. This could be in the form of a weekly announcement or even as simple as a company-wide e-mail.
3. Invest in training programmes: Training is an approach that yields long-term results, constantly upgrading employees to equip them with the skills they need. This technique has personal development and growth at the helm of it and will encourage employees to be more productive and happy.. Bob Moritz of PwC shares his thoughts in an article for UPS: “It’s also about much more than hard skills like learning new digital tools and competencies. The soft skills — leadership, adaptability, how to translate feedback into measurable change — are what make the short-term skills training more long lasting and transformative. People are looking to leaders to provide a trusted path forward. Leaders need to understand the needs of employees: where they want to go, what motivates them and what is going to enable them. They need to learn how to lead in fast-changing times, empower people and create a culture of lifelong learning where entrepreneurship will thrive.”
Also read: The X factor of great corporate cultures
4. Emphasise on a healthy work-life balance: People today have many passions, hobbies, and extracurriculars that they care about. It may be taking music classes, learning to code in their spare time, or even just cooking. If your employees spend a lot of hours in the office office, they will either experience burnout or eventually see a drop in productivity. So ensuring that work-life balance is a priority is a must; encourage your team to explore their interests outside of work to live a more fulfilling life. It can make a world of difference to how much they value themselves – and your business.
5. Promote a happier, friendlier work environment: Happy employees make a happy company. There is nothing worse than watching the hours go by until you can leave work — nor see an employee who does that. Take steps to promote friendliness and fun at work and you’ll feel the difference in employee morale. As the boss, also try to let go of superiority and embibe humility. It’ll go a long way in easing the relationship your employees have with you, and make them feel more comfortable as well as respected. A thank you and please go a long way in promoting happier emotions at work.
