Tools, solutions & strategies for wellbeing in the workplace

Why is wellbeing important in the workplace?

Nearly 15% of people experience mental health challenges in the workplace and 34% say work is the biggest cause of stress in their lives. Whilst there are multiple potential causes of poor wellbeing,  including being over-stretched, or under-paid, our research has highlighted the impact of problematic behaviour such as bullying, discrimination or harassment. 2 in 5 people have experienced culture-damaging behaviours at work, it’s an issue that is pervasive, and prevalent. However it’s also an issue that can be overcome, with the correct awareness, and intervention strategy.

Give people a place to speak up.

Our research showed that 71% of people felt they had nobody to turn to when they experienced problematic behaviour at work. Combined with our finding that 62% of people would be more likely to speak up if they had an anonymous reporting platform to do so, there are clear benefits to creating accessible reporting channels that prioritise employee safety.

Our reporting platform promotes anonymous reporting as a way of building trust, removing stigmas around speaking up about mental ill-health and poor wellbeing, and allowing people to feel safe in communicating their experiences.

Offer self-directive support that doesn’t require face to face discussion.

Personal wellbeing has been at the forefront of discussion for the last few years. The pandemic shone a spotlight that isn’t fading, and the impact of workplace wellbeing on personal wellbeing continues to influence the support offered by organisations.

But a core focus for HR teams is on ensuring support is relevant and accessible. Offering self-guided support, or centralising support resources into a singular location can ensure that anybody looking for information and help can access it without facing barriers.

73% of the people in our research said that colleagues didn’t step in to support them when experiencing problematic behaviours. Campaigning, promoting behavioural change and encouraging bystander intervention can all be routes to ensuring that employees don’t feel isolated. You want to build a culture where seeking support, and offering support is normalised. Within our platform we create and help to publicise this information, so that organisations that prioritise wellbeing have a simple way of upholding that commitment.

Workplace wellbeing solutions

How can you promote and support staff wellbeing?

1. Hold awareness sessionsWhether it’s a Lunch and Learn on money-saving tips during the cost of living crisis, presentations run by charities on checking your body and your own health, or sending around resources via emails if you can’t get everybody together, simply raising awareness of and solutions for different topical issues can help everybody understand more about them, share advice or experience and show you as an employer are aware of what may affect your team. At Culture Shift we try to do as many of these as possible throughout the year, varying or repeating as needed.
2. Do things togetherOrganise group walks, yoga sessions, “Chill and Chat” tea breaks, away day trips or whole company team building days, the possibilities are endless when it comes to encouraging as many people as possible to participate in non-normal work related social events and activities, all of which can help with wellbeing, mental health, personal skills or general morale. All our Culture Shifters enjoy our full team get togethers, meetings and days where they can socialise and relax, particularly with people not in their department.
3. Review your EAP and benefitsHow comprehensive is your EAP and benefits package? Culture Shift has partnered with YuLife to offer our team a wide range of perks and help. These include meditation through partnered apps such as Calm, quick and easy access to online GPs, mental health support, fitness challenges, and ways to earn YuCoins to exchange for vouchers that can be used for shopping, which many have found rewarding and extremely cost-effective. When 87% of candidates say they consider health and wellness packages when choosing an employer, it is imperative that organisations make sure their packages are in line with competitors or ahead of the game. In addition, we offer up to five Wellness Days that our Culture Shifters can take off any time during the year with no questions asked whenever they feel they need a breather.
4. Ease workplace stressAs well as some ideas mentioned in the above points, how is your office set up to allow breaks from work should your staff need it? Are there quiet areas for them to focus away from others or do you have a dedicated place for people to relax? Stress can also be alleviated through structured personal development programmes to help them focus on a career or skills goal, or finding ways to help delegate workloads across teams.
5. Provide empowering ways for employees to speak upRegular employee engagement pulse surveys in addition to annual surveys and of course a platform for staff to anonymously report incidents of bullying, discrimination or harassment that they experience or witness are great ways to show your commitment to knowing and understanding what your people are experiencing, thinking and feeling. The average employee engagement survey might only get a 30-40% response rate, while pulse surveys can get an average response rate of 85%, mostly because they are a lot quicker to complete and more consistently front of mind.Meanwhile, our research shows that 62% of employees are more likely to report an incident of problematic behaviour at work if they could do so anonymously, compared to 35% of people who have reported incidents before through traditional routes. And an inspiring example of how empowering it can be comes from one of our biggest clients, who within two weeks of their system going live and promoting it internally, already started receiving reports. A spokesperson for that client said “without Culture Shift, those issues wouldn’t have been raised. It levels things out and gives a voice to people who wouldn’t have had that voice.”

If you want to learn more about the benefits and power of implementing an anonymous reporting system like Culture Shift’s, which has been launched in more than 90 universities, colleges and public and private workplaces already and gives 1.9 million people access to a safe and secure way of speaking up, contact our team today.