4 Strategies for Creating a Healthier, Happier Workplace

If you peruse any job search site, you’ll likely see hundreds of postings where employers boast about their great workplace cultures. 

But what do these cultures look like in practice? Many employers mistake pizza parties, ping pong tables, and casual Fridays for true, lasting efforts to create healthy and happy workplaces. There’s actually much more to it than that. 

In this quick guide, we’ll take a closer look at why it’s important to cultivate a healthy, happy workplace for everyone, from leadership to summer interns. We’ll also explore some winning strategies you can try in your own workplace. Let’s begin!

Why Is It Important to Have a Healthy, Happy Workplace?

The average full-time employee spends about 71% of their year working, not accounting for time off. Given that employees spend most of their time at work, the working environment must empower them to live happy, healthy lives both on and off the clock.

 This requires employers to find ways to help employees prioritize their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. (More on specific strategies below!) Doing so will provide your organization with a wealth of benefits, like: 

• Better talent attraction and retention. When you can offer a positive, healthy working environment that allows employees to flourish in several areas of their lives, it will positively impact your recruitment efforts. It will also help reduce turnover. According to Zippia, 80% of employees whose employers are engaged in their wellness say they enjoy their work, and 85% say they intend to stay in their jobs. 

• Increased productivity. Research from the University of Oxford found that happy employees are 13% more productive. Feeling happy about work can be extremely motivating, allowing employees to fully focus on tasks, work more efficiently, and go the extra mile.

• Stronger employer brand. No organization wants to be known as a “bad place to work.” Not only does it affect your recruitment and retention efforts—it can also affect your reputation in your local community and among customers, constituents, and partners. These individuals want to work and associate with organizations that treat their people well. 

• More innovation and creativity. Happy and healthy employees will feel more loyalty to your organization’s larger mission and purpose, which in turn will motivate them to try out creative ideas and solutions that drive your big-picture goals forward. 

If you want to experience these benefits at your organization, be proactive in promoting and supporting employee wellbeing. Let’s check out some of the best strategies for doing so.

1. Review Your Compensation Strategy

According to The Conference Board, aspects like workplace culture are important for ensuring your employees are healthy and happy at work—but only after they’re confident they’re receiving competitive compensation. 

Analyze your compensation strategy to determine whether your employees are being compensated in a way that is fair, performance-based, and competitive. For most organizations, this will involve evaluating both the direct and indirect ways employees are compensated: 

• Direct forms of compensation include all the financial aspects of an employee’s compensation package, like base salary or hourly pay, variable pay, and long-term incentives. 

• Indirect forms of compensation include all the non-financial aspects of an employee’s compensation package, like benefits and perks. 

Go a step further by working with an HR consulting firm to conduct a market analysis to see how your compensation strategy measures up with similar organizations. You can also conduct an internal pay equity analysis to ensure everyone is being compensated fairly. According to HR consulting firms like Astron Solutions, working with an expert to conduct these analyses will allow you to tap into objective insights and avoid major legal pitfalls.

2. Champion Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance, or, what many are beginning to refer to as work-life integration, is the idea that employees are seeking to balance or integrate their professional and personal lives and responsibilities. 

Though it’s unlikely that an employee will find a perfect balance between their professional and personal life every day, there are still things you can do as an employer to empower your employees to live their best lives in both areas. Check out these ideas: 

• Offer flexible work arrangements. Being able to work from home some or all of the time or even step out of the office to attend to family responsibilities is important for health and happiness. Consider implementing a hybrid work model. According to Accenture, 83% of employees prefer this type of arrangement. 

• Help employees set boundaries with work. Drawing a clear line between the work day and the rest of the day allows employees to focus on their personal lives and not give all their energy to their work. Make suggestions like removing work email accounts from smartphones or setting clear office hours to help employees maintain healthy boundaries. 

• Encourage employees to use their vacation time. Some organizations give their employees vacation time that comes with an unwritten expectation that it will seldom be used. Vacation time allows employees to rest and recharge and spend time with family and friends; encourage them to use their time off and ensure they don’t feel pressured to work while out of the office. 

One of the best things you can do to champion a healthy work-life balance is to model it for your employees. When your team sees you setting healthy boundaries, going on vacation and not responding to email, and being productive while working from home, they’ll know they can do the same and still succeed in their roles.

3. Promote physical and mental health

Whether your organization is a small environmental nonprofit or a large software company, how your employees feel mentally and physically will greatly affect their ability to do their jobs. 

Here are a few ideas for promoting physical and mental health at your organization: 

• Take a close look at the benefits you offer. For instance, your health insurance plan may include access to free or discounted personal training sessions or health app Educate your employees about everything they currently have access to through their benefits, or try offering something new, like gym memberships.

• Practice mindfulness. Whether it’s afternoon yoga or a morning meditation session, encouraging employees to take some time out of their day to clear their minds, focus on their breathing, and put things into perspective will help boost their mental health. 

• Provide healthy break room snacks. Try stocking your break room with fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grain snack options, and caffeine-free teas. This will encourage employees to say goodbye to sugary vending machine options (or at least make a healthy swap every now and then). 

Group activities and events, like joining in on a charity walk-a-thon or launching a monthly steps challenge, are also fun ways to get your employees up and moving for their health. Pay attention to your employees’ interests and preferences, and build activities around them. For instance, you might know that many of your employees enjoy volleyball. You could plan a company field day that includes a volleyball tournament.

4. Cultivate a positive work environment

The atmosphere of your workplace is another important factor to consider when creating a healthier, happier workplace. If your employees feel welcome, valued, and uplifted in your work environment, it will positively impact how they feel about themselves and their roles. 

You can cultivate a positive work environment by: 

• Prioritizing open communication. Are your employees in the loop about what is going on at your organization, and when they have questions, do they have an avenue for getting answers? This is what open communication is all about, and it can help you build and maintain trust with your employees. 

• Celebrating employees’ achievements. You may have some form of employee recognition baked into your compensation strategy, like commissions or other incentives. But don’t be afraid to try other strategies. For instance, eCardWidget recommends giving social media shoutouts, buying employees lunch, sending eCards, or creating an employee hall of fame.   

• Hosting social gatherings. Encourage your employees to get to know each other and make friends in the workplace by hosting social gatherings. These might include happy hours, trivia nights, or weekend excursions to museums. 

If you’re wondering if your efforts to cultivate a positive workplace are actually working, seek feedback from your employees—and act on what you find. This will show your employees that you’re listening to them, taking their preferences and needs into consideration, and acting with their best interests in mind.

Everyone wants to feel happy and healthy both inside and outside of work. Do your part as an employer by trying the strategies above, keeping in mind that what they look like in practice will be a little different for every organization. 

And, if you need assistance on your journey to improving well-being at your organization, consider turning to an expert HR consultant to help. You’ve got this, and your efforts will be well worth it as you watch your employees thrive in all areas of their lives!