Productive harmony: Supporting employees with a healthy workplace

The pressures of meeting deadlines, handling heavy workloads and navigating the complexities of modern work culture can take a significant toll on our mental and physical wellbeing. To mark World Productivity Day on June 20th, an employee’s mental health, their workplace culture, and performance are often intrinsically linked.

With 50 million Americans struggling with their mental health at work, improving support and access to mental health benefits has become increasingly valuable. Companies that actively support employee wellbeing with a healthy workplace culture are more likely to attract and retain employees, foster engagement and innovation, and increase productivity. Conversely, ignoring the mental health of employees can have detrimental consequences, from higher healthcare costs and staff turnover, and lower morale.

This article explores strategies for creating a healthy culture that supports employee wellbeing, reduces stress and burnout, and ultimately fosters a harmonious work/life balance. 

Understanding work-life harmony

Improving work-life balance and harmony requires a holistic approach, recognizing the interconnectedness of these spheres and emphasizes the importance of creating synergy between them. Embracing the concept of work-life harmony involves finding a rhythm and flow that allows for the pursuit of professional goals while nurturing personal relationships, interests, and physical and mental health. 

A healthy company culture can play a pivotal role with the right resources, policies, and environment to enable individuals to thrive. This can be achieved by promoting flexible-working patterns, encouraging better communication, and giving staff more creativity to be true to themselves. This could mean encouraging employees to create engaging videos to support marketing or to volunteer their time helping with the company’s sustainability efforts. 

However, achieving work-life harmony is an ongoing process for businesses and staff alike, that requires continuous effort and adaptation. It involves setting boundaries, prioritizing self-care, and finding ways to align one’s work responsibilities with personal values and aspirations.

Creating a healthier workplace culture

Create flexible arrangements: One of the easiest but most effective ways to support work-life balance in business is by providing employees with flexible work arrangements. By offering remote work options, flexible schedules, hybrid working or compressed workweeks, companies empower their employees to better manage their professional and personal responsibilities. In fact, it can make a big difference to how motivated and engaged employees are.

Remote work options allow individuals to eliminate those lengthy commutes that cause so much frustration in our working week and work from locations that suit their lifestyles. Flexible schedules, meanwhile, enable them to accommodate personal commitments or attend to family needs that can be hard to balance with a regular 9-5. 

Promote work-life integration: Instead of treating work and life as separate domains, companies can promote work-life integration by creating an environment that blends the two seamlessly. This can include encouraging breaks and time off to recharge rather than giving the illusion that staff need to be constantly chained to their desks to be productive.

Similarly, conducting an employee benefit plan audit providing on-site amenities such as gyms or nursery facilities for children, and offering wellness programs and activities that cater to employees’ physical, mental and emotional wellbeing can also help. In providing staff with the resources, and health benefits they need, business leaders can help employees to navigate the demands of their professional and personal lives.

Foster open communication: Effective communication is critical for creating a supportive work culture that puts employee wellbeing first. Making sure that managers conduct regular check-ins is vital to understand employees’ unique challenges, workload and stress levels.

It’s only through understanding what staff are lacking or need more of that companies can implement the necessary changes or resources to support teams. By promoting a safe and inclusive environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns and experiences, companies can proactively address issues and implement solutions to support work-life harmony.

Prioritize employee development: Investing in employee development is not only beneficial for the organization but also contributes to a supportive work culture that values personal growth and fulfillment. Providing training and professional development opportunities, offering access to mentorship schemes, and encouraging career advancement can help employees find meaning and purpose in their work, which in turn enhances their overall wellbeing.

By focusing on employee development, companies can demonstrate a commitment to their employees’ long-term success and create an environment conducive to work-life harmony. Naturally, it benefits the organization to invest in skills and interests that can be utilized in the workplace, but it also keeps staff engaged and interested in what they’re doing each day which results in a more motivated and productive team.

Related: Workers cry for choice: Employer health plans leave everyone upset

Keep work lighthearted: Work can be stressful and when day in, day out, staff have to come in and battle constant challenges and difficult discussions, they’re less inclined to stick around long-term.  Being able to foster a lighthearted environment is incredibly valuable yet often overlooked. 

The ultimate goal should be to resolve problems as they arise, but if companies can do this with a positive outlook, so much the better. Leaders should ensure that their team is having fun at work – they’re more likely to want to come in and do their best than if they feel they’re stepping into a stressful, overwhelming space each day.

Provide opportunities to connect: Humans are naturally social beings. We crave interaction and connection, and the workplace is no exception. Fostering a supportive work culture requires everyone in the team to feel included and like they’re a part of something bigger, so providing opportunities to develop more meaningful relationships with colleagues is highly valuable. Not only that, but it also blurs the lines between work and leisure, which as we’ve explored is important for reducing stress and burnout.

A leaders role in promoting wellbeing: Leadership plays a crucial role in establishing and sustaining a culture that puts employee wellbeing and work-life harmony at the forefront. When leaders demonstrate a commitment to their own wellbeing by setting boundaries, taking breaks and engaging in self-care practices, they create a powerful ripple effect throughout the organization. 

In addition to leading by example and providing recognition, leaders should also allocate the necessary resources to support wellbeing initiatives. This might include dedicating a budget for wellness programs, offering advanced EAPs, and by investing in ergonomic workspaces, tools, and any equipment that makes it easier for staff to put mental and physical health first.

Therefore, achieving work-life harmony requires a multi-faceted approach. It also necessitates strong leadership that not only champions mental health initiatives but also leads by example, recognizing and rewarding efforts to establish a productive and healthy workplace culture.