Employee well being and work-life balance

        Protecting the employee's well-being is one of the most important roles of any organization in nowadays. It has become a most important duty assigned to the human resource management division of the organization. Today, it seems that many organizations are more interested in it. But we have seen that some institutions are implementing it in a very poor way. So let's discuss it further through this blog report.

The Importance of Employee Well-being

Every person living in this world is a dedicated worker for some purpose of his own. There his job plays a special role. Most people spend most of their non-sleep hours at the workplace. Therefore, the impact of the workplace on their lives is immense.

"Well-being plays a central role in creating flourishing societies. Focusing on well-being at work presents a valuable opportunity to benefit societies by helping working individuals to feel happy, competent, and satisfied in their roles. The evidence also shows that people who achieve good standards of well-being at work are likely to be more creative, more loyal, more productive, and provide better customer satisfaction than individuals with poor standards of well-being at work."{Reference: Well being at work, A review of the literature by New Economics Foundation (NEF)} (https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/71c1bb59a2ce151df7_8am6bqr2q.pdf)

• It can enhance the productivity and performance.

With the standard well-being of the employee, their physical and mental health becomes to a satisfactory level. It will lead to effective engagement and performance with well balanced work-life of the employee. The responsibility of the HRM would be well-being by promoting work-life balance, stress management programs, and ensuring proper ergonomics at work. Also, it will definitely minimize the absenteeism of the employee due to minimal burnout or stress-related issues and physical health attitudes.

According to the research paper on "Well-being and productivity" by Isham, A.; Mair, Simon; Jackson, T. in chapter 10.1 it is mentioned that the "Workplace wellness programmes are interventions designed to improve the health and wellbeing of an organisation. In many ways these interventions provide an experimental test of whether boosting employee wellbeing can cause increases in productivity. Case studies demonstrate that these programmes can deliver benefits in terms of enhanced productivity, but this seems to be reliant on certain conditions being met. The literature demonstrates a need for better evaluation of workplace wellness programmes and work also needs to be done to determine the longevity of improvements in productivity once participation in programmes has been terminated."

(Reference: https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10454/18268/pp-wellbeing-report.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y)

• Higher motivation with engagement.

When the employee feels that they are cared for and valuable for the organization, satisfaction become to a perfect or closer level of the role. HR shall introduce strategies such as flexible working hours, wellness programs and mental health support on well being to increase job satisfaction. This employee does not wish to leave the organization and it would be effected to reduce turnover and the costs associated with hiring and training new staff.

Example story from real life.

Source: Journal of Human Resource Management (2021)

GlobalTech Inc. is an international technology company that has faced low motivation and engagement levels in the workforce. Productivity of employees had become stationary, and turnover was advancing at a significant level. They were complaining that they experienced burnout. In response to this scenario, GlobalTech offered to create a holistic employee wellness program focusing on health, mental health, and work-life balance for the wellbeing of employees.

Program Components:

Flexi-time Work Hours: All employees were allowed to adjust their working schedule with legitimate personal commitments.

Mental Health Support: In-house counseling and mindfulness workshops were provided.

Health Incentives: Subsidized gym membership and wellness challenges.

Work-Life Balance Policies: It encouraged employees to make sure they took regular breaks and did not work emails out of hours.

Outcomes After 12 Months:

The results of the well-being program were measured through employee surveys, performance appraisals, and engagement scores.

Even more motivation According to the employee, there was an increase in motivation since they expressed more energy and thus concentration at work. Indeed, 75% of the employees felt they were motivated to achieve their performance goals. They attributed it to the medium flexible working hours that reduced stress and thus improved concentration.

Higher levels of engagement: The engagement scores were up 18% across the company, according to Gallup's Q12 survey of engagement. Employees became more connected to their jobs and the mission of the business, but this was particularly the case with regard to those who engaged in activities of wellness promotion that helped create community and team spirit.

Improved Retention: This pertained to the 10% drop in the rate of turnover; employees were showing better job satisfaction. When the company had invested its interest in them, employees became more interested in continuing with GlobalTech.

Productivity Gains: Improved well-being, employees took fewer sick days, creating a 12% increase in their overall productivity. This was due to the collaborative teams demonstrating initiative in their projects.

This case study of GlobalTech further exemplifies the strategic HR initiatives to address employee well-being, which in turn directly influences an improvement in motivation and engagement. By supporting the employees holistically, it enhanced their individual well-being and trickled down into positive organizational performance.

HR participates in making those policies which have a direct link to the private life of the workers; thus, it helps them to contribute towards well-being. HR contributes to creating an environment where employees can balance professional and personal lives for lower stress levels, improved mental and physical health, and higher motivational levels. This holistic approach of the employees also leads to better performance, retention, and commitment of the latter towards the organization.