In many aspects, 2020 has been a challenging year for people around the world. Since the start of COVID-19, most people have experienced major changes in their personal and work lives. Your employees and co-workers have had to face new realities. You probably have, too. Remote work, job insecurity, and work-life balance has created uncertainty and anxiety in the corporate world.
It’s time that enterprises had well-rounded corporate wellness approaches in place to support employees both physically and mentally. This blog will provide 4 key areas to build your corporate wellness plan around, as well as specific things to implement in each area.
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Health Considerations: Creating a Safe & Healthy Work Environment
One of the most important efforts in developing corporate wellness is making sure that the work environment is safe and healthy for your employees. Be sure to follow all CDC guidelines as you re-open your office, and if this isn’t possible, allow remote work for your employees.
Some things to offer in the workplace are:
- Hygiene Stations: Hand sanitizer, gloves, disposable masks, disinfectant wipes
- Screening: If possible, have COVID-19 screening available in the workplace to ensure that employees coming into the office are not infected. This can help keep all employees healthy and their minds at ease.
- Health Education: Be sure your employees know the facts about current health situations as well as preventative measures and resources.
- Distancing: Be sure that maintaining a 6 feet distance from each other is possible in the office. It can be helpful to mark the floor with markers that are 6 feet apart so your employees can visually see the distance they must maintain.
- Remote Work: If your office is just not cut out for all of the CDC recommendations, or certain employees are high-risk, it is smart to allow remote work until a vaccine is available.
Social Connectivity: Encouraging Employee Engagement/ Providing an Outlet
Social connectivity is vital in creating a happy and successful work environment for your employees. COVID-19 and other hardships can have employees feeling lonely or disconnected. While typical hands-on activities are not feasible during the pandemic, there are many options for virtual employee engagement opportunities. These activities also provide an outlet for employees who are facing anxiety and stress.
Consider setting-up these activities for your employees:
- Virtual Happy Hours: Implementing virtual happy hours a few times a month can increase employee engagement and morale during these times. We at Aragon enjoy throwing in a bingo game, trivia round, or scavenger hunt during our happy hours!
- Virtual Exercise: Set up virtual walks/runs, meditation, or yoga sessions for your employees to enjoy! Exercise is proven to improve our mental health and well-being, and can also be a great bonding activity, even virtually!
- Work Buddy Approach: The work buddy approach is a great way to keep your employees connected to each other during the pandemic and beyond.
Mental Health Considerations: Providing Support
If you are a leader or manager in your company, providing support to your employees is a must. Your employees are human, and will likely be experiencing many ups and downs, whether from day-to-day life or from specific hardships like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Be sure to offer the following for your employees:
- Patience and Understanding
- Support: Try implementing an open-door policy for managers in the company. Okay, maybe not literally “open-door” during the pandemic, but rather let your employees know that you are available and willing to listen when they have questions or concerns.
- Resources: If you find your schedule to be too busy or have too many employees to offer direct support to, consider offering (and financially covering) outside mental health resources.
Training & Learning: Continuing Education & Development
It might be easy to get lost in all the chaos and slack off when it comes to training and learning for employees. Remember, training and learning should be an ongoing process in your company, not a one-and-done operation that stops after onboarding. Training and learning not only helps create better work outcomes and success of your business, but increases employee satisfaction as well.
When it comes to employee training and learning, you should provide:
- The Right Technologies
- Unified Communications and Collaboration Technologies
- Enterprise Video - check out our recent webinar (for free!) to learn about key use cases for enterprise video: 5 Reasons to Leverage Enterprise Video in the COVID-19 Era
- A Modern Learning Platform
Implement these four approaches to corporate wellness, and see how your enterprise transforms. Your employees will feel supported and at-ease, ultimately driving a well-functioning enterprise.
For in-depth coverage of employee engagement and learning, view the following resources: