Employee wellness – How can employers provide support?

Over the last few months, most of us have dedicated many hours of our daily lives to working from home. As the future with the COVID-19 pandemic stays unpredictable, the need to reign in our freedom of movement and interaction with others becomes primary. Concerns around employee wellness and healthcare, isolation and depression have started surfacing.  While employees scramble to adjust to the new lifestyle of working remotely, it becomes vital for employers, HRs, CEOs etc. to ensure their teams stay motivated. It also becomes important to ensure they stay far from the reaches of stress, burnout, depression, and creative exhaustion. 

Here are a few ways to encourage employee wellness and give them a safe space to talk about these issues. 

Employee wellness starts with open conversation

Whether your employees are back home with their families or living alone in the big cities – isolation and depression can strike anyone, at any time. These individuals often stay quiet about their struggles with mental health because our society does not consider these issues to be on par with physical ailments. This is not true. In fact, internalizing mental health issues for a long duration often leads to breakdowns that take much longer to recuperate from. Encourage open conversations about mental health, depression, etc. in your workplace. Start by creating an online Safe Space or chat group solely for the purpose of discussing these topics. Let your employees know that their mental well-being matters and give them the chance to share and communicate. 

Show empathy and communicate regularly 

Be consistent with your approach to employee mental well-being. For those who suffer from feelings of intense isolation and depression, a few conversations in the initial stages is never enough. Just like a relapse into bad drug habits – after your few words of motivation, the employee suffering might relapse. His/her negative thoughts might close-in on him without regular communication. Set up a time every week, to focus on and talk about employee mental health. Don’t force it out of them either. Give them time and space to talk, privately if necessary, and be consistent. 

Keep them engaged through fitness, creative projects

Most teams have a healthy mix of individuals with personal interests in fitness, art, music etc. Having such members on the team is often a blessing in disguise and this is the perfect time to make use of that. As an HR or employer, you can ensure your team members stay curious and creative by breaking away from regular tasks. Get the artists on your group to hosts painting sessions; the musicians on your group to collaborate and entertain and the yoga trainers to take sessions for the teams etc. Get your team to interact more through activities outside the work sphere. 

Provide required resources and access to mental health support systems 

Assist your teams with additional employee wellness plans that give them access to counselors, therapists, online applications, platforms, etc. There are many online platforms available these days that give live counseling sessions at a minimal cost, with someone to talk to at every hour of the day. Partner with employee mental health platforms to get printable sources on mental welfare, depression, etc. for detailed information. 

Distance physically but not socially during Covid-19

It may be vital to follow social distancing, but there is no need to socially distance ourselves from others. Supporting our colleagues is the one way we can ensure we help each other move forward and stay away from negative thoughts. Let your team take a break occasionally to avoid burnout and catch up on each team member personally. Encourage topics of discussion from outside the office space. Get people to discuss their new hobbies, share stories on their everyday activities, talk about their families, etc.  

Reach out for support when you feel the need to with these Helpline Numbers

Government Helpline : 08046110007 

Vandrevala Foundation : 1800-233-3330/ 0261-2662700/ 1860-266-2345 

Fortis Hospital National Helpline : 91-8376804102 

We at Onsurity are driven towards ensuring our customers have the best of health at all times. With our comprehensive healthcare packages, we are taking digital healthcare to a new level, allowing customers to take care of their medical needs, at all times.