Why Employee Wellness Is So Important (And How Employee Productivity Tools Can Help)

Employee productivity is an aspect of business that is front of mind for almost all modern companies. However, what many  companies overlook is that employee wellness -- an increasingly popular buzzword among enterprise teams -- directly correlates to productivity.

By focusing on employee wellness, businesses aren’t just doing the right thing; they are also improving employee productivity and the effectiveness of their staff.

In this article, we will elaborate on the importance of employee wellness and look at three supporting strategies (this includes using an employee productivity tool).

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The Importance Of Employee Wellness

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Employee wellness is more than just focusing on the physical health of your staff.

Today, it is more about improving the health of all employees, beyond just physical health. With society placing more importance on mental health than ever before, employee wellness includes workers’ emotional wellbeing as well.

Employee wellness mostly boils down to making sure employees are healthy and happy, not just with their work but also in general. 

Unhappiness and unhealthiness among your team can be prevented or helped with the right support, tools and encouragement. Today, this support can take the form of programs, information, education, and more.

Wellness Programs Make And Save Money

Employee wellness is multidimensional. It’s a balance of your workplace ethics, environment and behaviors..

Healthy and happy employees are more effective employees. That means the more effort and resources businesses put into employee wellness, the better their business will be. 

Employee health may impact productivity more than any other factor. The health of your employees has a truly pervasive effect on  their day to day performance, engagement, and even their safety. 

Using an employee productivity tool can reveal essential data that indicates areas where employee wellbeing may need extra support. Using this type of technology-focused approach to track productivity at work is incredibly effective.

Beyond the importance of looking after your employees, focusing on employee wellness is also a high-ROI activity for businesses. Not just because it improves employee performance productivity, but also because it reduces healthcare costs.

A proactive focus on employee wellbeing means employees will be healthier, happier and make fewer health insurance claims.

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Remote and Hybrid Work Requires More Focus on Employee Wellness

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Remote and hybrid work has become the new normal since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although companies have previously allowed staff to work from home, the pandemic has made it much more common.

During times of crisis, mental health can be greatly affected. Physical health during the pandemic has been affected as well; not just by the virus, but also by other factors, such as lack of exercise.

So, now is a better time than ever for businesses to focus on employee wellness.

With staff working from home, however, implementing proper wellness programs can be difficult. It can be hard to track productivity at work from a distance.

Let’s go over effective methods to support employee wellness despite remote or hybrid working models.

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3 Methods To Support Employee Wellness

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Supporting employee wellness is important and employers are charged with ensuring the mental and physical wellbeing of their staff.

This is ideal not just for a business' workforce, but it also helps improve engagement and productivity.

Here are three ways any business can help support employee wellness:

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Offering Perks/Flexibility

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Years ago, offering employees free lunch was enough to satisfy the ‘perks’ requirement that many employees appreciate. However, today it is no longer enough.

Now, offering employees flexible work environments and other perks is the norm. These do more than just attract applicants to a company; they also improve employee wellness.

Flexible work environments and perks (like employee discounts and fitness programs) lead to healthier and happier employees. A big part of flexibility is allowing workers to make personal decisions and have more control over their working lives. This additional autonomy can lead to:

• Decreased stress
• Financial stability
• Happier employees
• Less possibility of burnout 
• Freedom to practice healthy habits

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Use Technology 

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Stress in the workplace is a major contributor to adverse employee mental health and can lead to unhealthy physical behaviors, like smoking and drinking.

One of the best ways to mitigate stress in the workplace is to monitor and balance workloads. Being overwhelmed with work is a massive culprit for stress, and can be helped through the use of technology.

Communication software, workflow management, project management, and desktop productivity applications can help employees manage their workload more effectively.

By working smarter and not harder, employees will feel less overwhelmed and more ‘on top’ of their work. Businesses can use an employee productivity tool to help with this.

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Introduce Managerial KPIs

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Employee wellness is important enough that companies should consider establishing KPIs for managers to focus on related to the wellbeing of staff.

There are many ways to track employee wellness to meet KPIs, such as:

• Employee surveys
• Sentiment analysis
• Attendance tracking
• One-to-one employee communication
• Electronic monitoring of employee productivity

Setting up systems to track productivity at work is one of the most effective ways to ensure employee wellness KPIs are being met. Tools like productivity apps for PCs can be used as an early warning system that employee wellness may need additional attention.

Also, it may be worth appointing dedicated staff to focus on employee wellness. After all, improving employee wellness can have such a high ROI that it makes hiring new employees (or a new department) worth it.

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How To Track The Productivity Of Employees

Employee wellness is a key aspect of business today, especially considering the popularity of remote and hybrid working models. 

Use the strategies included in this article to improve employee wellness, create a better work experience for all, and maximize staff productivity.