Before new benefits, employers should look inward

Organisations should know if their workplace is the cause of stress, say experts

BY Dexter Tilo 08 May 2024

Employers are advised to check on their workplace first before introducing a new wellbeing initiative to ensure that their efforts have an overall positive impact.

Humanforce recently pointed out in a white paper that workplaces can be a cause of poor health among employees.

"Every workplace has periods of high stress, but if this is 'just how things are here,' delve into whether or not staff are overworked due to a lack of resources, or if there's an unspoken expectation for long hours to be worked," the paper read.

It stressed the importance of having a healthy and psychologically safe workplace culture to complement an organisation's wellness benefits.

"Elements such as transparency, a culture of feedback which encourages people to speak up, strong values, and well-defined policies can all make a difference."

To ensure the development of a safe workplace culture and effectiveness of wellness benefits, Humanforce offered the following tips:

Speak with employees to understand their needs. Make it clear why input is needed and provide various channels for feedback, including anonymous channels if possible.
Develop a business case and strategy to meet those needs. Win over the support of senior stakeholders to wellbeing benefits by outlining the issues needed to be addressed, aligning it with business goals, and including measurable goals.
Assess and implement wellbeing offerings. Determine the best wellbeing benefit is fit based on what employees want and what organisation aim to achieve.
Create communication strategies to reduce stigmas - especially those surrounding money. Establish communication lines with executives, managers, and employees to open up and "normalise" sensitive topics, such as money management and mental health.
Measure and track progress. Track the following areas when it comes to wellbeing benefits, awareness, employee impact, and organisational impact.

Read more on supporting the frontlines in this white paper from Humanforce.