Workplace Wellness & The ‘Great Resignation’ It’s Linked
You’re likely in two camps. You either work for yourself or for someone else. If you don’t work, you can skip this article 😊 We are looking at what it takes to keep the best staff happy. In 2022 it’s been this important for protecting your bottom line & your employees wellbeing. They are more linked than you think.
For the last two years the way we have worked changed for many. We the widespread move office jobs to remote setting. Other businesses experienced great spikes in demand. Others had to close their front doors.
We are out of a pandemic and the world looks like it’s an unsteady ground for the foreseeable future.
One thing for sure is uncertainty. With uncertainty brings doubt.
The Great What?
You might have heard the term ‘The Great Resignation’ or ‘The Big Quit’ used across the web & in HR circles. Per RTE, 40% of staff considering leaving their job. Business & employers have a bridge to cross.
How to keep the staff that provide the most value happy in their job?
From experience hiring and retaining staff is a key. When you are in the process one can easily understand the amount of time spent on the hiring process. The time spent on hiring when you could focus on getting more business
Workplace Dynamics in 2022
Take this example
Take Mary, Mary has been unhappy at her well-paid accounting job for the last 3 months. Mary doesn’t believe she’s getting the recognition she deserves and is not fond of being back at the office 5 days a week. After all she has 2 kids under 10. She’s thinking about looking for a role where there is more flexibility, and she can take more of a lead.
A week later she hands in her notice. Now Bart has to advertise the position. This requires screening candidates, scheduling interviews. All very timely tasks.
Forbes estimates it costs 90 hours per hire to get the right candidate. In cases where the hiring takes extended time, it doubles. This does not take into the financial cost of losing staff, The knowledge gap left & the ‘learning curve for new hires’ are often forgot about.
Happy Staff Save You a Fortune
So how could Bart avoid the above?
You can start with Happy employees. Happy employees are productive, engaged in their work, willing to go the extra mile. And it doesn’t take much
- Compensation – lets be real. It matters. This may mean investing in your employees or paying more
- Balancing Work Loads – You cannot continue with revs oat 100% of the time. Not doable , leads to burnout, absenteeism, and low performance
- Support Workplace Wellness Programs – Offer your staff something outside of work. Work happens at work, it’s difficult involve genuine wellbeing at the same time.
- Talk to Your Staff – Employees value managers and business owner that they can talk to. Lead these conversations and act with their interests at heart
The business can benefit the most having engaged staff. There is nothing better than dealing with engaged people & interested.
How It All Starts
Stress in the workplace is no joke. We have written on how cortisol and chronic stress is a major factor in all diseases. Especially when it comes to depression, insomnia, and lower immune response
Type in ‘Burnout in the workplace 2022’ or ‘Work Related Stress in 2022’. The year is important. The number of articles and personal stories are astonishing. Many write that’s a workplace pandemic – look at the rate of sick days and absenteeism.
There are more companies than ever promoting wellness at work, but something is not right. It seems a 30-minute Chair Pilates class after lunch on a Wednesday doesn’t cut it or help keep staff. Wellness at work starts outside of work in my experience. As an employer you have the most important role to keep the best staff. It pays to keep them .
Break a Day Keeps Stress at Bay
As a resolute employee you need to take time for you. This includes time away in the day for 15 minutes – no working from *am to 6pm without a break. Schedule time for yourself once a month. Most of all make sure you are doing something you enjoy – often. You’ll get a nice dopamine kick and reset the brain from the hustle & Bustle of life.
Basic breathwork like box-breathing is useful. A ten-minute meditation. A walk outside in nature, a 15-minute HIT session. Any of these take very little time and can make your day more enjoyable and productive (That’s what the studies say!)
Take time to take care of yourself each day & more dedicated time each week/month.
Everyone benefits from having a better you around
If you found this useful be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We write on the Workplace Wellbeing from the angle of the employee & the employer. You might get to see some cool therapies too.
We provide customised corporate well-being packages for businesses to help support staff – outside of work. Check our corporate wellness galway page for more information
