Wellbeing Week is the ideal time to think about how you can better support employees in the workplace. There is no denying that having a mentally strong workforce is hugely beneficial to any business, but this doesn’t always happen naturally and sometimes additional support from employers is needed. According to Mind, 14% of employees have resigned from their role because of workplace stress, and 30% of staff said they don’t feel able to talk openly with their manager about feeling stressed at work. As you can see, stress really is something that affects a lot of people during their time at work.

Though 56% of employers would like to do more to improve staff wellbeing, they also felt a lack of guidance on how to do so. In this blog, we have taken a look at how you can support your employees’ wellbeing.

How to Boost Employee Wellbeing in the Workplace

• Provide Training and Support for Mental Health – A lot of employees struggle with their mental health, and this can have a huge impact on their wellbeing in the workplace. Stress, depression and anxiety are all common, but employees should feel supported and understood. This can be achieved by support and training, and by encouraging communication around mental health topics. A lot of people find it difficult to talk about mental health struggles, and you should be doing what they can to remove the stigma. This training can include training for managers, so they are confident in spotting issues that individuals might be facing.
• Offer Wellbeing and Health Benefits – It’s easy for employees to neglect their health and wellbeing, especially as gym memberships can be expensive. You can support your employees’ wellbeing by offering a range of health benefits, and making these activities accessible to everyone. You could provide access to online GPs, sign up to a cycle to work scheme, offer discounted gym memberships and provide excellent health insurance. All of these benefits help employees to take care of their physical health, which in turn benefits their mental health.
• Encourage Colleague Bonding and Friendships – A lot of employers make the mistake of assuming that employees being friends will hinder productivity, but this is rarely the case. When you spend a lot of time at work, bonding with colleagues and forming friendships can make the experience a more positive, friendly and enjoyable place. Not only does this boost employee wellbeing, but it can lead to a more productive workforce. You can encourage friendships by organising a buddy system for new starters, or by setting up team bonding activities.
• Provide a Good Work-Life Balance – It’s important to offer employees flexibility at work, as this can help them to create a good work-life balance. This could be changing their working hours to suit their personal commitments, or by allowing them to work from home if they need to. Placing a focus on targets and results, rather than the number of hours worked, could support employee wellbeing and ensure everyone feels supported at work. Making room for flexibility also shows employees that you trust them, which boosts employee happiness and loyalty.

Supporting the mental health of your workforce has so many benefits, both for you and the individuals that you employ. The sooner you put wellbeing support in place, the sooner the benefits will begin to show.

Wellbeing at Cherry

We believe that a healthy and positive work environment leads to happier and more engaged employees. For World Wellbeing Week, we have a few initiatives taking place to encourage a healthy environment for our team, including free healthy breakfasts, a team 500,000 step challenge, a quiz, a blind drawing challenge and more!

However, wellbeing should be implemented year-round and not just this week! At Cherry, we have been gaining feedback from our team to implement their ideas and respond to their needs. Together, we can create an even better workplace that supports your wellbeing and professional growth.

We are really proud of what we have done for far, and we are constantly evolving our strategies to meet the needs of our team.

Cherry are proud to announce that we have signed the Menopause Pledge and have committed to raise awareness of the challenges that come with Menopause. We recognise that menopause can be an issue in the workplace and employers should recognise, support and adjust to the needs of women who are affected.

We have also established a Staff Forum and an Entertainment Committee off the back of feedback from our team.  These platforms have been working incredibly well and have helped to improve communication from different parts of the business, allowing everyone to have ears, eyes and a voice – helping make Cherry a better place to work.  

What do we currently offer? Everything we do to look after our people supports mental, physical and financial health and wellbeing.

Changes we have implemented:

• Paycare which includes; a healthcare cash back plan, an Employee Assistance Programme and access to a 24-hour GP.  
• Enhanced policies including maternity/paternity/adoption/SPL. 
• Hybrid working and Flexible working. 
• Dignity at Work policy and training. 
• PDP and 121 time to focus on career development. 
• Employee Engagement surveys to check “how happy people are in their roles”.   
• A focus on celebrating success with recognition and rewards.
• CSR and volunteering programmes. 
• Social events – this year will include a summer BBQ and a night at Nottingham Dog Track, and more. 
• Christmas flexibility to give people more quality time at home.  
• Buy and sell holiday days.   
• Wellbeing Policy.
• Fresh fruit in the office as well as our much loved coffee machine

Let’s celebrate Wellbeing Week and implement strategies to enhance employee wellbeing for 2023!

Let’s celebrate Wellbeing Week and implement strategies to enhance employee wellbeing for 2023! If you are interested in learning more about Cherry, take a look at our join us page.