Your employees are the face of your business; whether they’re behind a counter or at a desk, they’re often the first to answer questions from prospective customers, build powerful relationships with returning clients and foster a better customer experience with everyone who walks through your door or calls your business.

When employees are satisfied, they’re engaged, productive and creative — all characteristics that give your business a powerful boost. When they’re not, their work can suffer, causing them to become disengaged, emotionally or physically unwell and even result in them seeking employment elsewhere, all things that can cause headaches for you and your business. In this article, we’ll examine what constitutes employee wellbeing, signs your employees are struggling and how you can improve their outlook at work.

What is Employee Wellbeing?
Employee wellbeing is more than a simple binary of your workers being happy or unhappy; rather, it’s a measure of how employees experience their lives — and work — through five interconnected elements, according to Gallup, a global analytics and advisory company. When viewed together, it can create a powerful picture concerning whether you’ve created a healthy and supportive workplace and how that ties into their job satisfaction, stress levels, pain points within their role and whether they have a positive work-life balance.

• Career Wellbeing – Do your employees like their work? While to you, their boss, this might seem like a simple yes-or-no question, career wellbeing actually forms the foundation of the other four elements that comprise overall employee wellbeing, according to Gallup. Positive examples of this include work that is meaningful and rewarding, takes advantage of their strengths and offers opportunities to grow or advance.
• Social Wellbeing – Many entrepreneurs and business owners position their company’s employees as a “family,” but how well do yours actually know each other? Strong social bonds both within and outside of work help bolster emotional resilience, contribute to a greater sense of belonging and enhance communication.
• Financial Wellbeing – As people, we tend to feel our most secure when we’re in a positive financial situation. Without the looming concern over making ends meet or worry after encountering an unexpected bill, employees face less stress, anxiety and depression, helping them focus on their work.
• Physical Wellbeing – When employees are in good health, it can boost their workplace satisfaction by lowering stress, enabling them to handle workplace pressures more effectively, raising energy levels for greater focus and higher productivity and contributing to improved mental health.
• Community Wellbeing – When we feel connected to and supported by the places where we live and work, it can create a sense of belonging and safety. Both of these are important factors in helping your employees feel satisfied with their jobs, take pride in what they accomplish and foster greater innovation by comfortably sharing their thoughts.

Creating a workplace where employees feel respected, valued and heard doesn’t just support their physical and emotional health; it can also net significant workplace benefits while helping you avoid harmful or stressful situations that can negatively impact your business’ performance.

What Happens When Employee Wellbeing is Low — And How to Improve It

Above, we covered the benefits you can reap when employee wellbeing is high: a sense of belonging and purpose, a desire to tackle challenges and develop creative solutions, as well as the ability to withstand any stressful situations that might arise.

When your employees’ satisfaction and engagement suffer, it can lead to difficulties for your business while they’re working and eat into your bottom line if they decide to take their skills elsewhere.

According to WorkTime®, a provider of non-invasive employee monitoring, replacing a single frontline worker — one whose physical presence is required onsite to perform hands-on duties or interact directly with clients and the general public — can cost about 40% of their annual salary. That number can double if they work in a skilled or technical role.

But here’s how they can potentially affect your team before they leave:

• Increase in absenteeism – Low employee wellbeing, such as situations driven by excessive stress, high workloads or workplace conflict, directly leads to an increase in unplanned absences.
• Team strain – When an employee is suddenly out of the office unexpectedly, healthy colleagues are forced to pick up the slack. If the drivers behind the rise in absenteeism are not addressed, it can create a negative feedback loop in which otherwise healthy workers take days off to escape.
• Disengagement – When workers mentally and emotionally check out of their job, they can still complete basic tasks but do so without energy, passion or care. This can result in less teamwork, poor output and costly mistakes.
• Mental health issues – Chronic workplace stress, which can be driven by excessive workloads, lack of control and conflict with team members, can all exhaust workers and increase their anxiety while lowering their quality of work. If these factors are unaddressed, they can even lead to burnout, an occupational phenomenon that leaves employees feeling useless, powerless and empty.

Employees struggling with their wellbeing can experience performance problems, give rise to rapid turnover or absences and cause issues for your business. When you notice an employee isn’t acting like they normally do or is having difficulties with their work, lead with a caring ear rather than punishment. Try the following:

• Keep lines of communication open – If you only engage your employees when something goes wrong, you can miss opportunities to make a beneficial impact and show you’re invested in their wellbeing. Ask them how they feel about their workloads, whether they need help and if they need additional support from you. Responding with compassion and flexibility when an employee discusses their problems can demonstrate your support and care.
• Address unequal workloads – Top performers can be a boon for your business, but when too much work is put on their plate, it can lead to stress, missed deadlines and sudden disengagement or absenteeism.  Additionally, underutilized employees can become resentful when they feel left out by unequal treatment. In addition to maintaining clear communication, using project-tracking tools can help you identify who is taking on too much and who has the bandwidth to assist.
• Support work-life balance – Your employees’ personal time is important; they have responsibilities and people they care for outside of work hours. When stressful situations arise in their personal lives, it can seep into professional environments as well. Encourage your employees to come to you when they’re facing difficult situations so you can help them reach a flexible working arrangement that ensures their needs are met — both inside and outside of the office.
• Model healthy behaviors – When bosses or team leads overwork themselves, send business-related messages outside of work hours or interrupt an employee’s break, it can lead your employees to mirror your unhealthy behaviors. Instead, lead by example by actively setting boundaries around work, protecting your mental health and sharing when you’re struggling. Your honesty will demonstrate that everyone experiences problems in the workplace and that you’re committed to their wellbeing.
   

When your employees feel their best, they do their best. Supporting your employee’s wellbeing is a powerful way to boost productivity, build loyalty and retain high-performing team members while reducing the risk and cost associated with rapid turnover. Remember, workplace wellbeing starts with leaders, so seek out training and additional information if you’re unsure where to begin.

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​Articles in this newsletter are meant to be informative, enlightening and helpful to you. While all information contained herein is meant to be completely factual, it is always subject to change. Articles are not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program. 

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