James Slater, Ceridian

The current economic climate is changing the landscape of the workplace: redundancy, pay freezes and growing levels of stress are impacting on employee motivation and health which in turn is impacting on business survival.

Changing landscape of the workplace

Now more than ever before staff need to be looked after and businesses should have wellbeing initiatives in place to support them. Wellbeing initiatives were traditionally seen as a nice to have by most businesses, a box ticked to show that they were a caring employer. However, wellbeing initiatives are now coming into their own as stress levels in the workplace are rapidly growing due to the economic downturn.

With redundancies on the up and surviving staff facing increasing pressures to work longer and harder, employers are being forced to take the issue of staff wellbeing more seriously - and rightfully so; taking care of ‘survivors’ is good business. There is ample evidence to show that businesses that do not pay attention to the wellbeing and morale of ‘survivors’ now, will fare less well in the long-term.

Failure to react with disastrous consequences

Although wellbeing initiatives may feel like a luxury, investment now will pay dividends in the future. It's vital for the business that employers get wellbeing initiatives right and are seen to be doing everything they can - if not, as soon as the upturn arrives, they risk staff jumping ship.

Maintaining an engaged workforce has a direct and positive impact on productivity. If employers can deal with the crisis effectively, and maintain the wellbeing of their workforce - it will strengthen their employer brand and stand them in good stead for being an employer of choice in the future; meaning that top talent will be seeking them out.

Why businesses should take action

Wellbeing initiatives provide a focus for re-energising and re-engaging employees at a time when organisations need to maintain and raise their game in increasingly competitive home and global markets. Employers are able to choose from a variety of measures in order to help maintain a healthy and productive workforce - most of which, if used and implemented correctly, are very affordable in the current climate.

The benefits of an EAP

Central to any wellbeing initiative should be an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). This is one way in which employers can help their employee’s wellbeing through difficult times by offering access to a range of support mechanisms. With a confidential telephone counselling service available - employees can talk through issues they may not normally feel comfortable discussing with their manager, or indeed family and friends. In addition most EAP’s provide access to face-to-face short-term counselling.

But EAP’s offer more than just emotional support. They provide access to a whole range of ‘work-life’ information services about health, childcare, eldercare, debt and budgeting and working life generally. Many EAP’s include online resources which allow employees to take a proactive approach to wellbeing issues, enabling them to act before the issue escalates into something more serious, which then impacts on their performance both at work and at home.

The need for manager support

The EAP is also a resource for managers, many of whom are in the front line of much of the changes and restructuring that is taking place within businesses. Most EAP’s offer ‘manager consultations’ which can provide a source of support and coaching for managers as they deal with the difficult and often emotionally messy process of change following redundancy and restructuring.

Health & wellness makes the difference

Alongside the EAP, health & wellness programmes can provide a proactive focus for re-energizing a demoralized workforce. In the increasingly turbulent and uncertain markets in which businesses are now operating, the energy and stamina of the workforce is an increasing differentiator. The need to support and encourage sustained performance by employees has been recognised by many organisations most notably GlaxoSmithKline, who have in recent years developed one of the most innovative health & wellness programmes in the UK.

Components of health and wellness programme

A successful health and wellness programme should contain a number of core components:

• A health risk assessment tool – this enables employees and organisations to identify risks in lifestyle and health related behaviour.

• Health and wellness information.

• Targeted health programmes to support employees at risk, stop smoking, weight management, stress programmes and healthy eating and exercise – these can include telephone or online support.

• Employee incentives to encourage changes in health behaviour and lifestyle.

Resilience can make a difference

A number of organisations, recognising that workplace pressures have significantly increased in the past decade, have taken wellness programmes a step further. Here they have developed resilience and energy management programmes, building on the work of Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book The Power of Full Engagement. These programmes equip staff at all levels with tools and techniques to manage themselves in high pressured environments. 

Investment makes sense

For businesses trying to survive the recession, doing nothing to support, motivate and re-energise employees is a risk. Job insecurity, organisational commitment and job satisfaction have all been shown to decline following a round of redundancies, while job stress and turnover intention tend to increase significantly. Investing now in programmes to support employees can make the difference between success and failure. Focussing on employee wellbeing sends a powerful symbolic message to employees but it also makes business sense in terms of retention, productivity and long-term survival.