If you are looking for long-term success within your organisation or business, then you might want to consider the wellbeing of your staff. One of the major factors for success in business is often thought to be linked to the wellbeing of your workers. It is commonly acknowledged that happy and healthy workers are more likely to perform better in their roles and take less sick days. You can also help to boost productivity among your employees by making sure you employ wellbeing initiatives. But how can you prevent absenteeism and promote wellbeing in the office? Well, our blog gives you some advice.
What Is Absenteeism?
If you have a lot of staff taking days off and you are unsure if you have a problem in the office, it is important to know what absenteeism actually relates to. Absenteeism is when your workers will take regular days off for mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. Millions of working days are lost each year due to stress and depression and this is a common occurrence in office environments. This is also linked to presenteeism, where your employees will turn up for work when they are actually ill and not fit to carry out their job. Both of these are massive problems in the workplace and can massively affect productivity and morale.
How Do I Know If This Is My Office?
If you have high levels of absenteeism or presenteeism then it is a sign that your workforce has a low level of wellbeing. But it can be difficult to know whether or not this is present in your office environment and how you can prevent it. Analysing wellbeing within the workplace will give you some clues as to whether or not you have this problem. Looking at the similarities between sickness and how productive staff is could help you spot any issues in your workforce. You should also look at how much training you offer your staff and how you recognise good achievements.
Steps to Improve Absenteeism
If you have looked at your data and feel like you might have a problem with absenteeism in the workplace, then you might want to know what steps you can take to improve this. There are a number of steps that you can take to improve the wellbeing of your employees. These include;
Improve the Working Environment – One of the most important things to do in the workplace is to improve the environment. If people are using desk chairs and desks that are old and not fit for purpose, this can have a massive impact on their wellbeing.
Expert Support – One of the ways you can improve wellbeing is by offering expert support to your employees. Occupational Health Advisors can give practical advice to employees that have any issues such as depression or anxiety.
Promote Good Relationships – it is important that you promote good working relationships with your staff. It is also important to encourage relationships between teams so that people don’t feel like they are being left out.
