10 Ways Employers Can Promote Healthy Work Environments

Most of the time, the discussions and suggestions surrounding work-life balance are primarily given to employees - setting boundaries, establishing priorities, and the whole nine yards.

But, as an employer, you have an important role to play in this essential aspect. And that's to promote and encourage your employees to take steps to ensure that they achieve a healthy work-life balance.

Here are ten ways employers can promote a healthy work environment.

Make health a priority
There are lots of benefits to having a healthy workforce. By having a safe and healthy environment for your workers, you can boost their morale, improve productivity, and secure their loyalty. There are a few things that you can do to foster health in your workplace. First, you can sponsor company sports events such as marathons and swimming competitions. You can also offer discounted gym memberships at your local fitness center. You can also sponsor optional health classes such as yoga or Zumba during weekdays.

Get feedback from your workers
The best way to find out the needs of your employees in the work-life balance aspect is to ask them. Get to know their struggles when it comes to balancing life with work. Find out where you can assist - flexible work schedule, support for single parents and/or senior citizens. By taking this initiative, you will be able to identify key areas for improvement within your company and provide workable solutions that will help resolve those issues.

Allow flexible work hours
If work permits, why not let your employees choose their work hours. Most of the time, workers find it hard to balance work life and professional life if they have young kids, elderly parents, classes, and other obligations. Yes, they may be dedicated and hardworking but it's just that they find it difficult to keep up with the demands of both life and work.

By offering flexible time or "flextime" you'll be able to decrease absenteeism, employee turnover rates and increase productivity and employee satisfaction.

Try work-from-home
Why not let your employees work from home even for just one workday? According to a Stanford study, employees that work from home are 13 percent more productive than their in-office counterparts. And thanks tools like Asana and Skype, you can easily communicate with your employees at any given time.

Create "quiet" spaces within your office
Create a space in your office where your workers can take a quiet moment or two. Ideally, this space should have comfortable seating, some reading materials, or even some relaxing music. Just be clear with your employees that this is not a space for socializing and chatting.

Sponsor monthly team building activities
Schedule monthly events such as bowling, escape room adventures, picnics, or hiking for your employees. These activities will help relax and recharge your team whilst encouraging them to bond as a unit.

Apply positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is the system of rewarding your employees’ good behavior in order to bolster that behavior. If your worker did a good job, go ahead and commend them. Don't be stingy with your praise. A little bit of appreciation goes a long way.

Promote 'caring' initiatives
Give water bottles to encourage your employees to drink up. This might seem a given, but when things get cray cray, this is one of the things that often gets overlooked. For parents, they might appreciate some discounts from a nearby daycare or laundry and dry cleaning services.

Consider trainings and upskilling
Learning is a continuous process. And if you want your employees' skills to remain sharp, why not invite trainers to host workshops in an out-of-office venue for once or even twice a month.

Bonus: Lead by example
The best employers are the ones who lead by example. Whether you like it or not, your work tendencies can have an impact on your employees. Researchers at Colorado State University identified a quality called “idealized influence,” which basically translates to workers admiring their boss or employer by copying his or her behavior.

If you want your employees to have a healthy work-life balance, make sure that you practice what you preach. As much as possible, leave your office on time and pursue healthy activities outside of work. Once your workers see that you value your personal time, they will take their cue from you and won’t feel guilty for prioritising theirs.

 

Book affordable meeting rooms and desk spaces when you need it, where you need it. VenueNow is one of Australia’s leading on-demand workspace marketplaces. We’ve scoured Australia for the very best meeting rooms, training rooms, and event spaces for your business. Search and hire the perfect workspace today!