An average of 11.7 million working days are lost each year due to stress related absence, costing the British economy £6.5 billion in 2015/2016. Employee wellbeing is becoming a bigger focus of overall business strategy, as more companies understand the impact wellbeing has on employee engagement and productivity.

With so many options available for companies, from smoothie Fridays to a weekly massage, how do managers know which employee wellbeing programmes are most effective? And how do you make wellbeing a key focus of your business?

All employees are different

There is no one-size-fits all approach to employee wellbeing, as stress triggers differ drastically from person to person. Before you can build a wellness programme that will suit your business, you must first understand who you are building the programme for and why they need it.

The why is important. It could be that a feeling of stress has been cultivated within a team due to a breakdown of communication. Or there may be external factors influencing stress levels – a recent office move or long commute.

Understanding people’s behaviour is vital to workplace wellbeing and productivity. Using psychometric profiling or team constellations can give you the tools you need to improve existing team dynamics, get a better understanding of how different personalities work together and find solutions that work for everyone.

Corinne Williams, Head of HR at Simplyhealth, commented: ‘The key is in defining what underpins employee well-being at work and then embedding both strategic and day to day activities that reinforce these to help employees to focus on their own wellness and increase the overall engagement and productivity of the workforce.’

Combine physical and mental wellbeing

Workplace wellbeing has traditionally focused on the physical, with cycle to work schemes, gym memberships and ergonomic desk set-ups being a common feature of the modern office for some time now. However, wellness isn’t all physical, and ignoring mental health can cost your business an average of Â£1,035 per employee per year in absences.

Mental health issues are often skirted because some employers don’t understand them or they feel uncomfortable addressing them. It is important to refine your approach to mental health by being more open with your employees. There are many unique and non-obtrusive ways you can do this. Try offering an anonymous wellbeing survey or provide confidential in-house counselling or therapy sessions. Often just providing a safe and supportive space can work wonders for employee stress levels.

Take a proactive approach

Don’t wait until stress becomes a significant problem. Now is the time to take action, creating a holistic wellness programme that works for your business and provides a measurable return on investment.

Companies that prioritise employee wellbeing have lower turnover rates, higher engagement and more productive and profitable teams. If your employees feel happy and stress-free, and, importantly, valued by your company, they are going to enjoy coming to work more and you’re going to get the best out of them.

The business benefit

The results speak for themselves. Stress accounts for 47% of short term absences and 53% of long term absences in the UK, while presenteeism – people coming into work when they aren’t well – is also on the rise. 72% of employers have observed some form of presenteeism in the past 12 months. This costs businesses considerably in lost productivity and revenue.

A focus on employee happiness significantly reduces overall costs and actually helps businesses earn more. Happy employees are 12% more productive, hitting KPIs quicker and providing a better overall customer service.

The time has come for small businesses to follow in the footsteps of giants such as Amazon and Google, and turn employee wellbeing from a ‘nice to have’ to a key performance indicator.

Discover how Sussex Wellbeing Company’s full-service, bespoke approach to wellbeing in the workplace can boost employee engagement, retention and productivity. Get in touch today. 

About the author:

Dr Jelena Goranovic is a psychologist and Programme Director of Sussex Wellbeing Company. Having worked as a researcher for over 15 years as well as teaching at several universities in Brighton and London, she now works as a workplace wellbeing and stress management consultant, helping companies maximise employee performance with tailor-made wellbeing and team development programmes.