Employee well-being: What is it, and how can you prioritize it?

International Workers Day is not just about celebrating the working population, it's also a chance to continuously improve the conditions that people work in.
Placing importance on employee well-being is crucial to keeping your workforce happy. But what exactly is employee well-being, and what are some of the immediate steps you can take to improve it?

What is employee well-being? 

Employee well-being is a holistic approach towards the health of all your employees, be it physical, emotional, mental, or financial. Many factors, such as relationships with coworkers across hierarchies, organizational values, access to employee resources, and work conditions (including the hours of work, pay, and workplace safety), all contribute to understanding and shaping employee well-being.

What are some of the immediate steps organizations can take to ensure employees' well-being? 

Now that we've understood what employee well-being is, let's look at how it can be improved—besides satisfactory monetary benefits and a hazard-free, well-maintained workplace.

Creating  space for open and inclusive communications 

Internal communications isn't always about keeping everyone in your organization updated, it's also about encouraging dialogue across all levels. One of the challenges that organizations face in this regard is the lack of a common platform that brings your organization together. A simple solution is to sign up for an employee experience or EX platform. 
When you have a unified space, all employees—from frontline or desk-less workers to hybrid and in-office employees—have a chance to express themselves, share their ideas, give their feedback, interact with other members, and be a part of everything that's happening in the organization. When employees are given an opportunity to be themselves, they start trusting the organization. Mutual trust is the first step towards creating a peaceful, low-stress work environment.

Recognizing and rewarding employees 

There's no doubt that monetary rewards are key to helping employees feel appreciated and valued. But we're human after all, and it's natural for us to feel truly valued only when a sense of belonging is instilled in us. It's often small acts of kindness that become etched in one's memory and shape their perspectives. Workplaces are no different.
Simple acts, such as expressing gratitude and acknowledging all employee contributions, can make a huge difference to individual employees. It boosts their morale and confidence; it empowers them. As we all know, a group of kind, confident, and empowered individuals is all it takes to make a world of difference for the better.

Learn more.

Understanding how employees feel 

Establishing an environment where your employees can feel at home requires constant communication and evaluation. It also requires creating positive feedback loops that enable both employees and management to bridge any gaps in understanding each other.
At Zoho, we're an organization with over 10,000 employees, and one of the ways our employees feel understood is through regular interactions with the company leadership. Whether it's the CEO or the head of HR, a virtual town hall or a simple survey is all it takes to get to know what employees are going through and what their grievances are.
Knowing this information helps any organization act from a place of empathy as it ensures that employee needs are well taken care of.

Enabling a healthy work-life balance 

Burnout, anxiety, and stress are things that most individuals face in their work. While it's important to consult professionals who can help you with the systemic changes needed to address this, there are steps that your organization can take to make sure that employees don't feel that way.
Prioritizing employee wellness is also prioritizing your employees' mental and physical health, as well as their leisure time. Holding space in your organization for employees to bond over common interests, or turning their work into something more interactive, can lighten the load in their work environments. Using EX platforms, your frontline and desk-less employees are also part of the fun.

Wrapping up

Businesses are all about people, and the most valuable of them all are those that work to achieve your organization's vision—your employees. By taking care of them, valuing them, and strengthening trust and relations with them, you create a healthy environment where people can thrive.
However, to make this happen, you'll need a little help. What better way to start than by getting all of your employees Connected?