Insights

“When people are healthy in their body and mind, they are more productive. They’re more friendly. There’s less absenteeism because people are not off with stress or mental health leave. When people are mentally healthier, we are more creative.”
Dr David Hamilton, our kindness tsar and author of 11 books on wellness. 

The rise of remote working during the pandemic prompted many businesses to review their approach to employee wellness. A 2022 report found that while 31% of remote workers had no issues working remotely, 24% struggled with loneliness, and 51% felt disconnected from their co-workers, showing there is still much to be done to improve connection and collaboration. An earlier report by Totem found that while almost two-thirds of employees said remote working has had a positive impact, 51% said they found it harder to reach out for help from teammates. Another study from 2020 reported that 30% of employees felt unsupported when working from home.

While remote working is not the only workplace factor, this shift has proved helpful in raising awareness of the importance of health in creating a happy and productive environment where employees can flourish. This encompasses healthy working practices, building a supportive work community, and adopting positive habits personally.

A workplace wellness programme is not a one-size-fits-all fix. For it to be successful, it requires a tailored solution, input from employees, support from senior leadership, and ongoing monitoring.

Organisations with the most successful wellness programmes begin by asking employees about the kind of support they want in the workplace and keeping the lines of communication open to track how those needs evolve. Companies such as Alfa Financial Software run a pulse survey every two months and ensure a two-way communication channel so people can contribute ideas in multiple places.

If you’re wondering what to include in a wellness programme, our kindness tsar, Dr David Hamilton, recommends starting with the five components influencing health, as advocated by the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

These pillars are:

• Stress
• Community
• Sleep Quality
• Nutrition
• Physical Activity

Each of these is integral to physical health and well-being and offers a great starting point when considering what to include in a wellness programme.

We also suggest that businesses offering remote and hybrid working arrangements take specific steps to help nurture relationships that might otherwise grow naturally in an office environment.

This includes:

Making in-office schedules visible to facilitate in-person collaboration

• Implementing virtual coffee breaks with a no ‘shop talk’ rule
• Hosting regular in-person social events
• Holding in-person all-hands briefings
• Facilitating cross-functional working groups
• Hot desking to encourage interaction where office days vary across the team
• Providing a range of break-out spaces and meeting points to promote effective collaboration when in office

“Employee wellness comes from two sides. From the non-commercial business side, it’s important because you want people to live balanced, healthy lives and understand what happiness is for them and how they can provide balance to themselves. In the commercial/corporate sense, the better the wellbeing and balance is, the better the productivity; there’s less employee turnover, less cost of hiring – there are real, quantifiable benefits [to workplace wellness].”
Emily Lofting-Kisakye, HR Director for Cognita Schools

A study from the American Psychological Association agrees with our experts. The study shows that workplace wellness programmes with senior leadership support yielded positive employee outcomes, with 89% of employees saying they would recommend their company as a great place to work, and 91% of people said that they were more motivated to do their best at work as a result.

For the full story on wellness at work, download our well-being guide.