Over the last two years, almost every person has been impacted by the Corona pandemic and its varying challenges. The global pandemic has also posed a host of problems for working individuals who were stuck in their homes, struggling to keep up with the changing environment and trends.
In 2021, employees reeled with the loss of their friends and family, while struggling to find a work-life balance. As a result, a good number of employers have understood employee wellness meaning and proposed new initiatives for the overall wellness of their people.
Today, personal wellness is not just the responsibility of individuals and doctors but also employers and HR professionals. As we step into 2022, one of the important duties of every company is to start anew and prioritize employee wellness programs.
If you are clueless about fostering employee wellness in your company, this blog will be a great read for you.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Importance of Employee Wellness Programs in Companies
The first step to addressing and solving mental health issues among employees is introducing a strong employee wellness program/policy. This gives employers and HR managers a framework to properly treat wellness issues in the workplace.
Additionally, employee wellness programs let employees feel that their company is taking a step to remove the stigma around mental health issues. This way, employees will always be comfortable discussing their mental health problems with their seniors.
So, every company, be it small or large, should take a step ahead and formulate employee wellness program ideas in 2022.
Top Five Ways to Prioritize Employee Wellness in 2022
1. Teleconsultations
In this digital era, even doctors have started using online platforms to connect with their patients. Now, online consultations not just save time but also ensure social distancing. Therefore, employers must tie up with such doctors who provide teleconsultations.
With the teleconsultation option, employees can get quick access to a health expert both on working and non-working days.
During the second wave of COVID-19, teleconsultations have helped several restless patients by connecting them with doctors from any remote location.
2. Relationship Counseling
Employees who have a healthy relationship with one another worry less that, in turn, help a business to grow. This is why many organizations are integrating relationship counseling sessions into employee health benefit plans.
Relationship counseling has several benefits, including decreased stress levels, improved employee wellness, and increased productivity.
Employers can also provide self-service technology like employee engagement software that can lead to a better employer-employee relationship.
3. Health Insurance
As an old saying goes, “financial wellness is a personal sense of control and a feeling that you can handle the future”.
Now, the people who do not have financial wellness or face a lack of money often end up underperforming at work due to various health issues like hypertension, anxiety, and more.
This problem can be easily solved by providing employees and their family members- parents, spouses, and children- with health insurance or increasing the insurance cover they already have.
This can easily mitigate the financial risks faced by employees, especially in COVID times.
4. Work-Life Balance
Let’s face it, the Corona pandemic has accelerated the importance of work-life balance lately. Even while working from home, employees struggle to balance their work and personal life.
Last year, we saw many employees exhausted and drained as they juggled with their work commitments and household responsibilities.
In 2022, companies should adopt a hybrid work model wherein employees can work two or three days in the office and work remotely for the rest of the week.
5. Therapies
Employees have always faced problems such as hectic schedules, peer pressure, mental health issues, and more. The COVID-19 pandemic has just aggravated these issues.
The best way of helping employees who are facing such problems is to include therapies like yoga and meditation in their work culture. There are a lot more therapies available that can help employees acquire a peaceful mind along the way.
How Can Companies Use Technology to Manage Employee Wellness?
Organizations can use technology to support employee wellness in several ways. However, the most common ones are as follows:
To Monitor Fatigue and Offer Paid Time Off
With the increased mental health issues, giving paid time off and sabbatical leave to employees is becoming popular lately.
For the uninitiated, paid time off is not just a normal vacation for a week or so, but it includes a more extended duration where working individuals can take care of themselves or their loved ones. Paid time off is best for employees involved in labor-intensive jobs that keep them away from their family and friends.
When it comes to sabbatical leave, it aids working individuals to regain balance and concentration by giving them more perspective on life outside of work. A big question arises here, how can employers know which employees require paid time off or sabbatical leave?
The answer is technologies such as HRMS software. Such systems help companies to track employee fatigue and monitor employee performance in real-time. This way, employers can easily identify which employees need time off or sabbatical leaves to rejuvenate themselves.
To Educate Employees
Stress has become one of the most common mental health issues among employees. At the same time, depression and anxiety cases are also on the rise. These issues usually arise due to money woes as well as family problems.
According to a recent report, 1 in every five adults experience one or another form of mental illness; however, people around them do not know how to help them. Just saying “it’s ok” doesn’t help people. This is when technology comes into the picture.
Modern technologies offer a host of resources, including eLearning and remote conferencing features. Using such technologies mindfully can help employers manage employees’ stress levels and tackle their emotions such as anger and sadness.
Another best thing about technology is that it promotes an open and flexible workplace that allows employees to work anytime and anywhere. Providing flexibility can help stressed employees to be their best selves.
The following types of employees can benefit the most from a flexible workplace:
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People with long working hours | | Parents who find it difficult to take care of their children |
| Self-employed professionals |
| People who have major health issues |
| And much more… |
Needless to say, flexible working hours, remote workplaces, and virtual teams are three best practices for organizations to stay ahead of the curve. Besides, these strategies can also aid companies in solving several employee grudges related to long traveling and workplace dynamics.
Wrapping Up
Truth be told, it took us a pandemic to understand what we were missing. The Corona crisis forced us to realize that the wellness of employees is far more critical than business numbers. Taking good care of employees can ensure organizational success in the long run.
In 2022, only those companies will win the game that places a personalized employee wellness strategy on top of their list. Therefore, start seeing EMPLOYEES as your greatest asset and improve employee wellbeing in every aspect.