World Wellbeing Week is the perfect time to check in on your employees and start an open conversation about wellbeing at work. As an employer, you’re in a unique position to make a real difference in the lives of your staff members.

You know your team is the driving force behind your company's success, but with the daily grind and rush of deadlines, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Plus, making sure your team’s wellbeing is supported 365 days a year can be tricky to navigate.

That’s why, to mark World Wellbeing Week, our experts at BrightHR crafted a FREE comprehensive wellbeing policy that you can tailor to your business and use to boost team performance, reduce staff absence, and promote better wellbeing to keep employees engaged.

What is workplace wellbeing?

When we talk about wellbeing in the workplace, we're basically talking about how happy and safe employees feel when they’re at work. It's all about job satisfaction, feeling good about what they do, and not having to worry about getting hurt.

The benefits of having a wellbeing strategy far outweigh the costs. Enhancing your workplace wellbeing can increase employee productivity and reduce absences; improve your reputation and boost retention and recruitment, giving you a competitive edge and saving you money in the long run.

Studies have shown:

• Companies that invest more in employee support see employee satisfaction rise exponentially. Google, for example, saw a rise of 37%. (1)

• 68.5% of Australian workers felt like they were ** burning out at work.** (2)

• The estimated direct economic cost of poor mental health at work sits between ** A$43 billion – A$70 billion.** (3)

• Almost two-thirds of workers believe they’re not receiving the support they need from their direct supervisors, which has adversely impacted their wellbeing. (2)

Your workplace wellbeing responsibilities

Putting the benefits aside, as an employer you have a responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of your team.

In fact, work health and safety obligations are designed to cover all aspects of health and safety at work. This includes psychological health and wellbeing as well as physical safety.

But how do you act on these legal and ethical duties? These simple steps are sure to put you on the right path:

• Make sure your working environment is safe. Conduct risk assessments making sure you consider both physical and mental health risks to individuals and take action based on the results of your assessment.

• Introduce mindfulness and educate staff. Ensuring your staff are aware of your wellbeing strategy with handbooks and educating them with e-learning courses will foster a culture of mindfulness and mutual care.

• Protect staff with comprehensive policies. From an equal opportunity or discrimination policy to your wellbeing policy, you must make sure these resources are up-to-date and easily accessible everyone within your business.

• Encourage open communication. This means being willing to have difficult conversations and providing a safe space for your team to share their struggles. It also means leading by example and prioritising your own mental health.

Taking proactive steps to support mental health and wellbeing in your business doesn’t require a huge investment of time or money.

Focusing on flexibility, connection, resources, and recognition can help build a supportive company culture where people feel empowered to thrive.

Signs your employee’s wellbeing may be suffering

An Employsure mental health survey revealed that 32.5% of respondents have seen an increase in sickness absence due to mental health concerns.

As an employer, it is important to be aware of potential signs of poor wellbeing and mental health issues among your employees.

These signs may include:

• Increased absenteeism or lateness. If employees are frequently calling in sick or late, it could indicate poor wellbeing or mental health issues like depression or anxiety.

• Changes in mood or behaviour. Look out for mood swings, irritability, anger, or withdrawal. Decreased motivation and loss of interest in work or social activities can also be signs of poor mental health.

• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions. Mental health conditions like stress, depression, and anxiety can make it hard to focus or think clearly.

• Changes in appearance or sleep. Excessive sleeping, insomnia, weight gain or loss, or lack of personal hygiene can be signs of distress.

• High staff turnover. If you’re seeing a pattern of employees frequently leaving your business, poor wellbeing may be a contributing factor. Employees in distress may have trouble coping with the demands of the job.

• Complaints from co-workers or customers. Pay attention if you’re hearing concerns about an employee’s wellbeing, mood, or job performance from co-workers or clients. Their insight can be valuable.

By spotting these signs early and taking action, you can help support your employees and benefit your business as a whole.

Taking on this responsibility is no easy feat. You may be feeling overwhelmed by all this information and wondering what exact steps you need to take to implement or enhance your wellbeing strategy.

Well, being in the business of people management we’re here to help.

BrightHR’s free wellbeing policy

Solutions to support your team’s wellbeing don’t have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, some of the most effective ways to boost mental health in the workplace are often simple and can cost nothing, or very little, financially.

Your free, expertly written wellbeing policy covers the following topics:

• Encouraging employees to create a work-life balance.
• Considering requests for career breaks and sabbaticals.
• Providing medical assistance to employees.
• Encouraging employee fitness.
• Promoting dignity at work.
• Minimising the stressful impacts of work.
• Managing sickness absence effectively.

By utilising and actioning these essential solutions, you can ensure year-round wellbeing support that helps you protect your people and meet your safety obligations.

Start your workplace wellbeing journey today and download your free wellbeing policy.

Your free policy is just the beginning. BrightHR has an extensive suite of time-saving tools that make it even easier to manage, monitor and support your team’s wellbeing 365 days a year.

(1) Happiness linked to increased productivity in study

(2) MMcQWellbeingLabAustraliaWorkplaceSurvey2019-2022-1.pdf

(3) Workplace-wellbeing-fact-sheet.pdf