According to recent Winc research, 76% percent of employees in Australia say their workplace could do more to support employee wellness1. This makes developing a well-rounded workplace wellbeing strategy crucial for organisations seeking to promote a healthier and more productive work environment. To assist organisations seeking to enhance their support for workplace wellbeing, Carl Buik, Director and Principal Consultant at Buik Health, shares his expert advice on the key considerations when preparing a framework for a holistic wellbeing experience at work.
Before you get started.
Know your responsibilities as an employer.
As a minimum, all employers have the obligation to maintain compliance with legislation in their jurisdiction. There are many pieces of legislation employers must comply with which may impact the health and wellbeing of their people. All jurisdictions in Australia have comprehensive workplace health and safety laws which must be upheld. Over the past few years, Workplace Health and Safety Regulations across the country have been updated or had new requirements introduced requiring employers to manage psychosocial risks and implement control measures. All organisations need to be across these laws and ensure they are proactive to be compliant with any changes.
Listen to your people.
Collaboration is key when it comes to an organisation having health and wellbeing strategies which are relevant and effective for their people. The more you can listen to your people, the more aligned your strategies can be to their needs. Consult with your leadership team to understand how your wellbeing strategy can align with business priorities and be sure to ask your workers about their wellbeing experience at work. This can be done via surveys, focus groups or analysing existing data in the business.
Design work which fosters good health and wellbeing.
Prevention is always better than a cure. Leading employers are getting better at designing work to support employee wellbeing, while also optimising their contributions at work. By eliminating or controlling psychosocial hazards such as high workload, tight deadlines or lack of control, frustrations and stress can be prevented, including the prevention of burnout from ongoing exposure to hazards. Smarter work design can not only improve employee wellbeing but can also result in better employee engagement and productivity.
Get creative with communications.
Many workplaces have a range of workplace wellness initiatives in place already. However, their communications can be the weakest link in achieving the success they desire. Organisations need comprehensive communication plans to support the awareness, reach and engagement with their wellness initiatives.
Six tips for an effective workplace wellbeing strategy.
Prioritise workplace wellbeing with your executive and leadership teams. Organisations who fail to prioritise health and wellbeing at the executive and senior leadership levels will not achieve as effective an impact within their organisation. The top leaders need to be a leading force in role modelling a healthy culture and ensure adequate resources are provided to fulfil the health and wellbeing priorities and actions.
Assess your organisations’ wellbeing experience for a data-informed approach. What are your employees’ biggest health concerns? What are your organisations wellbeing goals? Once you have a good understanding of your starting point, you can develop a plan to improve. Collect and analyse any relevant data, such as workplace surveys, health risk assessments, and human resources records to gain insights into the existing wellbeing needs and challenges at your organisation. Identify specific areas for improvement to address the unique needs of your workforce.
Design a strategy to guide you to success. Having a health and wellbeing strategy and action plan for your organisation will help ensure you are taking an evidence-based approach and are set up for success with a result orientated pathway. A holistic health and wellbeing strategy will consist of ways to prevent physical and psychological harm, support workers with health and wellbeing problems, and promote thriving work and life experiences.
Deliver your wellbeing action plan and collaborate with your stakeholders. Deliver your wellbeing action plan in alignment with the strategic priorities of your organisation to ensure a greater chance of achieving a positive impact. Engage with key stakeholders regularly. For example, check with employees for feedback to ensure that the initiatives are tailored to their needs. Monitor how effective you are in reaching and engaging your people and make adjustments as necessary to remove obstacles and improve your reach and impact.
Evaluate your strategy and impact. To ensure the success of your wellbeing strategy, it is fundamental to define measures of success and set measurable goals upfront. This clarity makes it easier to evaluate the impact and outcomes of your strategies. Through evaluation, you can better identify effectiveness, strengths, and pinpoint areas for improvement. Remeasuring your baseline metrics (used to develop your strategy) will allow you to identify trends or impact. Comparing to external benchmarks can provide valuable insights to assess your organisation’s performance. Use this information to make necessary changes to improve the program’s effectiveness in meeting the needs of your employees.
Evolve the wellbeing strategy and action plan to adapt to emerging needs and opportunities. As the world changes, so do the needs of your organisation. Keep well informed of emerging trends, research, and best practices in workplace wellbeing. Regularly review and update your strategy to incorporate new initiatives, technologies, and approaches that can better support the evolving needs of your workforce. Encourage continuous feedback from employees and stay responsive to their changing expectations and preferences. By continuously adapting your strategy, business leaders can ensure that it effectively caters to the evolving needs of employees and provides them with the necessary resources for a healthier wellbeing experience at work.
How Winc can help.
Winc offers a wide range of everyday products that can assist in the delivery of your workplace wellness program, including: Office Products & Filing, Kitchen Essentials, Cleaning & Hygiene, Health & Safety, Mindfulness Essentials, Technology and Ergonomic Furniture. If you’re interested in a tailored solution for your workplace, please contact your Winc Account Manager.
About Carl: Carl Buik is the Director and Principal Consultant at Buik Health where he helps organisations design best practice strategies for health and wellbeing. For over 17 years, Carl has worked with many leading employers to help design, implement, and evaluate their health and wellbeing strategies.
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References:
1 Winc research, conducted by Taverner Research Group between 14 June – 27 June 2023, polling the opinions of 1,020 office workers around Australia.
