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Organisations that prioritise mental health and wellbeing will be better placed to attract and retain the best talent.
The recruitment market is ever more competitive and good people want to work for businesses who truly value their health, ones can demonstrate that they are not just paying it lip service. This means putting worker wellbeing at the centre of strategy.
In fact, two-fifths (39 per cent) of employees report a decline in their mental health as a result of their employer not supporting their wellbeing during the pandemic with 30 per cent searching for a new job and a quarter to becoming less productive.
Across the UK as a whole, poor mental health costs employers up to £45 billion per year. The consequences of this are clear - leaders need to make conscious efforts to cultivate a good working culture. It needs to be intentional!
Shockingly, 80% of workers surveyed in a report by Mental Health America report that workplace stress affects their relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. Yet only 38% of them would access the Employee Assistance Programme available to them. This suggest that structural barriers need to be broken down and mental health stigma tackled.
Of course, workers face different challenges based on their occupation, setting and personal characteristics but efforts to invest in workplace well-being WILL support the development of a happier, healthier, more productive workforce. This will inevitably contribute to the success of an organisation.
Wellbeing in the workplace: It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. Without it, toxicity exists.
Research suggests that the following attributes are most predictive of whether workers refer to their work culture as “toxic”:
Disrespectful
Non-inclusive
Unethical
Cutthroat
Abusive.
The presence of these can lead to chronic stress which is detrimental to the health of an individual. It puts you at increased risk of many problems, including:
Anxiety.
Depression.
Digestive problems.
Headaches.
Muscle tension and pain.
Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke.
Sleep problems.
Weight gain.
In fact, chronic stress has also been linked to a higher risk of developing diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
Workplace well-being can therefore affect productivity and performance which fuels workforce shortages, not to mention work/life conflicts.
Of course, attractive policies, rewards and flexibility can help attract talent but without a structure and culture that is inclusive and puts people before KPI's, retention will be hard.
This requires support for both leaders and their teams. More Than Nutrition's workplace programmes are human-centred and focus on the necessary components for addressing workplace mental health and well-being.
For more information, please get in touch - rebecca@morethannutrition.co.uk