HR Insight: Employee Wellbeing – is there a disconnect?

8 November 2024

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Employee wellbeing is a big talking point across industries with employees facing increased mental and physical health challenges. But what is employee wellbeing and why do businesses need to take it seriously?

Employee wellbeing is defined as the overall mental, physical, emotional, and economic health of your employees. Employers have a duty of care to employees, and it is therefore vital to have the right mechanisms in place to provide the right support and create a culture that nurtures employees. Basically, investing in employee wellbeing makes good business sense, and directly impacts both the employee and the business.

With mental health struggles escalating a proactive cross-company approach to wellbeing needs to be clear to aid employees to take the preventative steps needed. However, a recent report from Westfield Health has revealed a widening gap between what employees need and the support that is offered by employers.

HR plays a pivotal role in designing processes and policies aimed at promoting positive employee wellbeing. The cost of not looking after your employees can become very high, with recent reports suggesting that poor mental health alone is costing UK businesses in excess of £45 billion per year.

It’s evident that high-performing and responsible organisations make employee wellbeing a priority, however there is still a gap between the support in place and the actual needs and implementation for employees.

Communication is key, and a joined up and proactive stance will aid a more engaged and productive workforce with better retention rates, thereby encouraging and supporting employees to reach their full potential.

Why not have a review of your current approach to wellbeing?

  1. Do employees know about the wellbeing strategy and benefits that are in place, how they can interact with them, and are they applicable to the target audience?
  2. Do line managers have appropriate training and the capacity to identify the tell-tale signs of poor mental and physical wellbeing, and do they know who to sign post too?
  3. Communication and interaction are key to spot signs – what mechanisms are in place to support remote and hybrid working employees?
  4. Are employees empowered to assess risk in colleagues, and do they know who to approach with concerns?

As award-winning industry leaders, here at Oculus HR we stand out from the crowd with our approach to Real HR. We are a team of specialists and operations support, providing innovative and flexible HR solutions to SMEs regionally and nationally.

Contact us for more advice and guidance around implementing your employee wellbeing strategy: [email protected]

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