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29 Jul 2021

Master employee health and resilience to foster a diverse, inclusive working environment

For all the many challenges of the Covid-19 health pandemic, there have been some valuable learnings for HR teams to take forward in the way they support employees.

 

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Workplace wellness has gone from well-intentioned but often vague policy, to an essential part of employment culture. In fact, companies that overlook its importance risk alienating their talent. Here are the key lessons we have learnt which will help shape our post-Covid world.

1. Flexible working really works

For years, the prospect of working flexibly in order to make work fit around parenting, caring and health issues has been seen as unfeasible. In lockdown, we learned that our people can perform to their best ability whilst working from home and a flexible approach to work can be more manageable.

So much so that almost 50 of the UK’s biggest employers questioned by the BBC said they do not plan to bring staff back to the office full-time, and 43 said they would embrace a mix of home and office working, with staff encouraged to work from home two to three days a week.

For individuals juggling work with health and family issues that require time away from the office or which benefit from a comfortable working environment, flexible working is ideal. Amongst employees who are going through the menopause, looking after young children, managing chronic health conditions or going through fertility treatment, flexible working has been a game-changer.

2. But flexible working is not for everyone

Whilst some employees value the lack of boundaries and the option to fit work around their personal lives that comes from working remotely, the blurring of boundaries can lead to an ‘always-on’ culture – some employees feel they can never switch off.

According to The Office Group, almost a third of the workforce said lockdown had brought them closer to burnout.

In fact, 69% of employees have been experiencing burnout symptoms while working from home, according to global online employment platform Monster. As a result, employee wellbeing programmes have gone from being a ‘nice-to-have‘ policy to a core business priority. 

Almost two-thirds (65%) of Britons say that the pandemic has had a negative impact on the state of their mental health, according to figures from YouGov. Young employees in particular need the structure and on-the-spot training opportunities that occur naturally whilst amongst workmates and managers.

3. Tech will never replace real people

Few can deny that while face-to-face meetings were strictly off-limits, we would have been lost without technology.

Zoom, Teams and Slack have all been brilliant for staying connected, forward planning and continuing to provide services for clients, but the past 18 months have proven that the human touch is invaluable.

Research from Microsoft found that almost two-thirds of the full-time employed or self-employed workers polled were “craving” more in-person time with their teams.

This is why so many of us will be returning to the office, even if only part-time. It’s also why at Peppy we support employees going through menopause, fertility, pregnancy and parenthood by connecting users to human experts, rather than robots or A.I.

4. You can’t put a price on employee health and wellbeing

The pandemic has shown the value of a wellbeing strategy that works – if your people aren’t physically, mentally or emotionally well in their personal lives, it will impact their performance at work too.

REBA’s Employee Wellbeing Research 2020 report found that wellbeing programmes are becoming a defining feature of business culture, helping to develop resilient, successful organisations. Companies that have a mental health strategy in place have leapt ahead of those without, in terms of the progress they have made in creating more open, positive corporate cultures.

It’s also made discussions about being unwell much more normalised. Talking about ill-health due to Covid, mental health issues or even vaccines is largely more welcome than pre-pandemic, and HR teams have had to get far better at offering a listening ear, as well as actionable solutions.

That’s why putting in place inclusive, personalised health and wellbeing support is so important for now and the future. For example, leading employers including Aviva, Clifford Chance and Wickes launched personalised fertility, menopause and perinatal support for their people during the pandemic.

“It can only benefit our business, having colleagues that are well in themselves,” said Claira Singh, diversity and inclusion manager at Wickes.

Watch our video case study: How baby, fertility and menopause support is helping employees at Wickes.

5. Company culture is more than pub nights

Many of us will be happy to get back to Thursday night after-work drinks, but we’ve also learnt that company culture is more than free beers and staff socials.

Creating a sense of togetherness has been tougher than ever during the pandemic. Digital tools have helped – group chat tools like Slack or Yammer have kept us in touch during lockdown and virtual support groups have helped keep company culture afloat.

For example, Peppy’s group chat feature allows employees to speak anonymously to their colleagues and other peers going through a similar health journey: “We’ve found it has helped foster a sense of togetherness among colleagues that, given how dispersed our working lives have become, has never been more important,” says Kathy Abernethy, director of menopause services at Peppy.

And, when it comes to your health, we think the ability to get trusted, confidential support at the touch of a button will be something that employees value whether they’re working from home or killing time on the commute.

Conclusion

As we return to ‘normal’ life, now is the time to capitalise on what we’ve learnt from the pandemic. Employee wellbeing and resilience will be of paramount importance for companies and their HR teams. Companies that master this will foster a diverse, inclusive working environment and build an employer brand to be proud of.

This article is provided by Peppy.

In partnership with Peppy Health

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