Workplace Wellbeing Activities Your Employees Need in their Lives
7 January 2022
Employee wellbeing is a hot topic and so much more than a tick-box exercise. From mental and physical to financial, emotional or social, businesses thrive when they prioritise wellbeing in the workplace. Read on to discover the six activities to introduce to enhance employee wellbeing.
Supporting employee wellbeing in the workplace and beyond is becoming a critical ingredient for a loyal and engaged workforce.
Businesses that put their people first and create a culture of workplace wellbeing thrive!
Looking after your team's health isn't just good for your employees; it can benefit employers, too.62% of employees say wellbeing support is vital when applying for a new job (Forbes).
An authentic approach to workplace wellbeing improves employee engagement, attraction, and retention, but that’s not all. Other benefits include:
- Increased productivity and motivation
- Better morale
- A reduction in work-related stress
- Lower sickness absence
- A Healthier and more inclusive work culture
Nearly one-third of employees are struggling with their financial wellbeing, and 24% said they were concerned about their mental and emotional health (Forbes).
Think holistically.
Financial, mental, and physical wellbeing are all linked. Your workplace wellbeing strategy should include support in all areas to be most effective.
Benefits can improve employee wellbeing; to be most effective, you need to start from the bottom. Workplace wellbeing must form part of your core values, promoted and practised from the top down.
Looking for some inspiration?
Here are six employee wellbeing activities to introduce to your people to authentically demonstrate that you’re prioritising wellbeing in the workplace.
- Start up a 'Wellness Wednesday': Beat the hump day blues, and boost drive and motivation by dedicating Wednesdays to workplace wellbeing. Cycling sessions, mid-week walks, team challenges… these are all ways to enhance wellbeing in the workplace that includes those working remotely and with different abilities.
- Host fitness sessions: Most desk-based workers have relatively sedentary lives, so it’s essential to encourage them to get moving. In-person or virtual exercise classes like Yoga, Dance, or Stretches can help break up your employees' day. Host them during lunch times or towards the end of the day. Movement works stress through our bodies, helping us leave the niggles of the day at our desks, allowing us to make the most of our personal time.
- Get creative: From painting to pottery, knitting to candle making - crafting is brilliant for our mental wellbeing. Beyond the social element and joy of being part of a group, crafting can reduce stress and anxiety, enhancing overall employee wellbeing. Use the skills within your business, inviting those handy with a glue gun to share their talents and passions with their peers.
- Run mindfulness and meditation sessions: Mindfulness can help relieve stress and improve mental health. Enhance employee wellbeing by running guided mindfulness sessions or signposting them to the tools you’ve made available via your EAP offering.
- Hold meetings outside: Whether you have a one-to-one in the park or prefer walking meetings, holding meetings outside helps your teams get extra fresh air and sunshine… weather permitting. In addition to boosting employee wellbeing, a change of scenery and the environment encourages creativity. Removing employees from the office environment also helps employees open up and nurture meaningful conversations.
- Run wellbeing challenges: Having a goal or a challenge can motivate us. So, why not champion workplace wellbeing by setting up regular challenges to encourage healthier habits? These could be daily, weekly, or monthly step or activity challenges, water, meditation, financial, or creativity challenges.
There’s a lot to think about, and it all takes time to manage, so it’s beneficial to create a Workplace Wellbeing Team from employees who are passionate about the subject and have the skills, imagination, and energy to bring the initiatives to life.
Increased employee wellbeing = higher employee engagement and motivation!
If you want your people to adopt new behaviours and align with your workplace wellbeing values, reward and recognition must be part of your employee wellbeing strategy. Offer rewards with your challenges, praise your Wellbeing Superheroes and recognise your employee benefits Super Users so they continue to promote your workplace wellbeing agenda.
Enhance employee wellbeing in the workplace and beyond with employee benefits that will help them enjoy and afford more of what matters.
Discover more…
Financial wellbeing:
- Why it pays to enhance employee financial resilience
- SmartPay… the cost-neutral employee benefit you need in 2024
Mental wellbeing:
- Improving mental health in the workplace… affordable, impactful, essential!
- Employee Mental Health... Tips for finding #MomentsForMovement
Physical wellbeing:
Enhance employee wellbeing with Pluxee UK!
A look at some of the most popular employee benefits…
- Financial wellbeing: Our Employee Discounts Platform and our cashback-earning Virtual Pluxee Card stretch salaries further.
- Mental wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programmes provide essential mental health support.
- Physical wellbeing: Our Cycle to Work scheme and Gym & Fitness Discounts make healthier lifestyles more affordable.
Offering a comprehensive employee wellbeing programme is more affordable than you may think, especially when you take advantage and use cost-neutral employee benefits like our Green Cars, Cycle to Work and SmartPay to fund other employee benefits.
Get in touch today to discover how Pluxee UK can help you harness the power of workplace wellbeing to help your people and business thrive.
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