In our fourth podcast of the “Rebalancing the Work-Life Experience” series we take a deep dive into the importance of employee health and wellbeing. This issue is critical to the success of any company. Quantitative data from our bespoke Experience per Square FootTM database clearly identifies the importance of wellbeing and its relationship to bonding with colleagues, motivation and an ability to do one’s best work – all of which are potent drivers of overall workplace experience.
As a result of mandated working from home, workplace challenges have increased with employees needing to manage remote working and caregiving responsibilities as well as logistical issues such as adequate workspace environments and sub-par internet connectivity. All take their toll on wellbeing. Leading companies have recognized the toll and taken an active lead in adopting a people-first approach to provide support, not only in the current remote environment, but also as employees start to transition back into the workplace.
Key takeaways of this podcast are:
- Wellbeing is more than physical and mental health—it is also linked to motivation, purpose, energy and drive. Together these factors build resilience, which is what everyone needs even more right now.
- The separation between home life and work life continues to be blurred and people still struggle to work efficiently. Working from home is not the panacea, but one tool in the strive for work-life balance.
- The current situation provides a tremendous opportunity to rethink workplace experience and accelerate change to build wellness across three key factors: the building, the workplace and the workforce.
In an environment where an ever-increasing focus will be placed on managing employee wellbeing, the new currency is trust. Organisations need to trust their employees to do their best work, wherever they choose to do it; employees have to trust that employers care about their personal wellbeing.
