How to Promote Well-Being at Work? 10 Ideas

To feel fulfilled, people need to be satisfied, both in their personal and professional lives! After all, people spend a lot of time at work and need to be comfortable. In the context of labor shortages, strategies to promote employee well-being have become essential. A company with an optimized employee experience will attract and retain more talent. 

Every dollar invested in creating a better employee experience can have tremendous potential in terms of benefits. These investments will not only help you build an excellent reputation as an employer, but will also help your teams excel in a healthy and motivating work environment. 

Download now: -> FREE FRENCH CHECKLIST Welcoming and onboarding new employees

What is well-being at work? How can you improve your working conditions to promote the well-being of your employees? Discover the answer in the rest of our article!

What is well-being at work?

Well-being at work is characterized by a general sense of satisfaction and fulfillment at work. It’s a balance between skills, needs and career aspirations, as well as the constraints and opportunities for advancement in the workplace. In other words, the harmony between these elements will provide a sense of happiness that will directly impact employee motivation and productivity. 

According to Forbes’ study, 87% of talent would consider workplace wellness programs before choosing an employer. In this regard, fostering the happiness of your staff is a crucial aspect in attracting talent to your company, especially in this context of labor shortage.  

Examples of the benefits of well-being at work include:

• A better reputation as an employer;
• Better employee retention rates;
• More motivated and efficient teams at work;
• A better team spirit;
• Ultimately, a better customer experience.

It is therefore crucial to ensure the well-being of your employees, since they are at the heart of your company. Happy employees at work will establish a positive atmosphere and quality service from their first contact with your customers. This is an essential asset for you to stand out as a company of choice, both for talent and for your customers!

10 Ideas to improve well-being at work

1. Create a climate for dialogue

In order to ensure the well-being of your employees, it’s important that they feel confident in their work environment. This requires above all a climate of respect ideal for exchanges between colleagues and managers. To that end, be sure to give concrete and relevant feedback to your employees to encourage them to give their best.

Schedule bi-monthly one-on-one meetings with your employees to learn about the various issues they face in the workplace. These frequent meetings will allow you to better understand their specific needs and expectations in their current context.  Don’t wait until annual meetings before offering feedback to your teams. During these bi-monthly meetings, provide constructive feedback to your employees so they can improve based on concrete leads. This will allow you to set clear expectations for everyone and avoid unpleasant surprises at the end of the year! 

Also make sure that the exchanges within your company are respectful and authentic. Encourage your colleagues to share their personal successes of the week to create a positive and enjoyable work environment. This will allow them to build relationships based on trust and respect. This is a great way to create a sense of belonging for your business. This is a good example to follow to maximize well-being at work!

2. Provide a safe work environment

An employee who doesn’t feel safe in the workplace will not be able to fully develop. Unsafe working conditions or a lack of safety rules can create stress for your employees. This anxiety will increase over time and may ultimately cause a high turnover rate. Similarly, you could also gain a bad reputation as an employer! 

Make sure you provide a safe environment for your employees. Using the leads proposed by the CNESST, identify the potential risks and then rectify them with preventive measures. Then, establish clear, precise and relevant rules to minimize the risk of workplace accidents. Here are some ways to achieve this:

• Dedicate a full day to training new employees on your company’s safety measures;
• Take your new employees on a tour of your company and explain the operation and hazards of each machine (if applicable);
• Show informative videos about the regulations in place and their purpose;
• Ensure your employees have access to a first aid kit;
• Name a first responder in the event of an accident;
• Make sure your managers lead by example by following safety rules and wearing proper equipment.

These preventative measures will make your employees feel safer at work. They will appreciate your company ensuring their physical integrity. A safe environment, relevant safety rules, and managers on the lookout are great ways to create a sense of well-being at work!

3. Having an inspiring work environment

Creating an inspiring environment is important for your employees’ well-being at work. In this sense, take care to establish a climate conducive to creativity and exchanges between colleagues. A stimulating and decorated work environment will have a positive impact on the morale of your employees. This will motivate them to work and share their ideas with their colleagues!

Here are some quick ideas to create an inspiring workplace:

• Create open and closed spaces to foster concentration and collaboration, according to the contextual needs of your teams;
• Choose rooms with good brightness and beautiful natural light;
• Decorate your offices according to the latest trends;
• Make sure your workspaces are soundproof to help your employees focus;
• Buy plants for your offices. They have many benefits;
• Integrate artwork into the workplace to encourage creativity in your teams;
• Integrate relaxation spaces dedicated to the breaks of your employees;
• Implement effective technologies to facilitate the work of your staff as well as large group presentations.

Remember that an inspiring workplace is a great way to promote well-being at work. See this investment as one of many criteria to increase the happiness of your employees in business!

4. Implement an employee questionnaire system

As an employer, it can be complex to understand the issues surrounding the well-being of each employee. That’s why it’s important to send employee wellness surveys regularly!

No one knows your employees better than they do. Thus, by sending these surveys regularly, you will be able to obtain concrete information about the strengths and weaknesses of your employee experience. As a result, you will be able to continuously improve your working conditions in order to better retain your talents and stand out as an employer of choice. This is definitely a strategy to adopt to promote well-being at work!

Similarly, did you know that InputKit offers Pulse surveys for employees? These fully automated and personalized surveys will allow you to implement concrete improvements based on the real needs of your teams. Thanks to our many question templates, you can also save several hours of writing. This way, you can find out all about your employees’ engagement and satisfaction!

5. Be flexible 

To ensure the well-being of your employees, flexibility is a must. Every employee has a unique context. It is therefore essential that you show empathy with the various issues that impact their lives!

When it comes to flexibility, we are thinking in particular of atypical work hours, work-family balance, the possibility of working from home and choosing your own vacation periods. Thus, being flexible as an employer means being understanding of your staff’s preferences. In turn, they will be much more inclined to give their best to ensure the success of your business.

While it is important to ensure that the measures in place are followed, always be open to discussion. This will definitely allow you to maximize well-being at work!

6. Give recognition equally

Favoritism is a much more common practice than one might think. Joboom raised a surprising statistic: “According to an American study of 303 executives, 84% found that favoritism linked to affinities or personal contacts influences the promotion of employees in their company.” This means that many managers would tend to offer promotions based on favoritism rather than performance. 

Such a practice is definitely harmful to your employees. In addition to demotivating your talents, it will create a noticeable gap between favorites and neglected employees. This competitive atmosphere will ultimately drive some of your employees to resign. 

To avoid this situation, make sure you treat your employees fairly. Recognize the successes of your teams and thank them on a regular basis for their work. When promoting, make sure your criteria are more focused on your employees’ performance and team spirit rather than your personal preferences. This will allow you to improve your internal processes!

7. Organize activities with colleagues to get to know each other

Developing meaningful connections is one of the key factors of well-being at work. Indeed, the majority of talents are motivated when a friendly and dynamic atmosphere is felt in their workplace. Did you know that according to a study shared by the Harvard Business Review, employees would claim that having a friend at work would increase their satisfaction by 50% and make them 7 times more committed to their work? By organizing team activities, you promote the creation of friendly relationships. This is definitely a good example to follow to ensure your teams’ well-being at work!

To this end, take care to plan activities outside a work context. Use a workplace wellness program to organize outings between employees, team-building activities or evenings with colleagues to encourage enriching exchanges. We think of rallies, quizzes, or even board games. These moments dedicated to your employees will allow them to know each other as human beings: it’s a must for forging authentic and meaningful relationships.

These activities are an ideal opportunity to create a sense of belonging to a group with shared values. This is an excellent example to follow to create cohesion between your employees!

8. Give your teams the opportunity to take training

In order to ensure the well-being of your employees, it is important that they feel fulfilled professionally. In this sense, offering free training will allow them to be up to date in their field of expertise, in addition to contributing to their self-esteem. This is an investment in your customer and employee experience!

Through a workplace wellness program, analyze how satisfied your employees are with their professional development and then act accordingly. Why not offer free training of their choice per term? Afterwards, you could even offer to share their learnings during a Lunch & Learn with the rest of your teams. 

By setting aside a budget for such training, you show your employees that you care about their professional development. Keep this in mind to maximize well-being at work!

9. Grant the right to disconnect outside of working hours

Technology allows companies to contact their employees at all times. While this has its advantages, it’s also important to give your employees a time off. A company that keeps calling its employees or sending emails outside of working hours is at high risk of facing stressed and exhausted teams!

The simplest way to balance work and privacy is to let your employees respond to their messages according to their working hours. In addition, a work disconnect policy could be an excellent tool to ensure the mental health of your employees.

Such a policy will demonstrate to your employees that they don’t need to respond to messages outside of their working hours, including holidays and holidays. This will reduce their stress, mental load and risk of burnout at work. This will help them achieve a better work-life balance, which will motivate them and significantly increase their work performance!

10. Pay your employees at fair value

In this labor shortage, it is more important than ever to pay your employees at their fair value. Did you know that according to a study conducted by Applauz, 71% of employees fear that their pay will not increase with inflation? This statistic demonstrates that fair compensation can be used as a competitive advantage. As such, you should offer your talent value-added salaries based on their performance and past experiences. 

It is crucial that your salary grid is based on performance, transparency and objectivity. If an employee is performing better and accomplishing more complex tasks, they should be paid accordingly. This strategy will help you attract and retain talent within your company!

Also, why not take the opportunity to reward your employees who perform well? Pay bonuses based on hours worked, salary increase based on seniority, promotion based on employee performance: these are good examples to follow to maximize well-being at work!

To promote well-being at work, measure your employees’ current status with InputKit

If you want to improve your employees’ well-being at work, InputKit is the solution for you!

Through our one-time surveys, you will be able to question your employees according to specific objectives. These automated and personalized surveys will allow you to learn more about the needs of your teams. Onboarding surveys for new employees, exit interview surveys, one-time surveys for organizing group activities: our many templates will allow you to gather as much information as possible in record time! 

With our Pulse surveys, you can also assess the satisfaction, engagement and motivation of your staff on a daily basis. With this valuable data, you can better understand the feelings of your teams and react accordingly. This proactivity will allow you to build trust with your talents, a necessity to maximize their well-being at work!

Did you know that our solution converts your customer satisfaction survey responses into performance indicators? With our centralized dashboard, you can see the performance of your existing teams. So, if an employee seems less motivated for some time, you can intervene quickly to ensure their well-being at work!

In the same vein, InputKit automatically invites your ambassadors to leave you a positive online review. What better way to motivate your employees than to share positive feedback from your satisfied customers? This will allow you to celebrate successes while showing your appreciation and that of your customers. This is a great tool to optimize the well-being of your staff!

Plan my InputKit demo to improve the well-being of my employees

How can you promote well-being at work? Follow our advice to attract and retain your corporate talent!

First, create a work environment conducive to meaningful exchanges. Be sure to provide a safe and inspiring work environment to motivate your existing teams. Then, establish clear rules to allow employees to disconnect outside of work hours.

To increase the well-being of your employees, make sure you pay them accordingly to their value. Offer free training, flexibility and equal recognition to give them a sense of value at work. From time to time, organize activities between colleagues to create authentic and human connections. Finally, send regular employee satisfaction surveys to continually improve the employee experience based on concrete needs.

Now that you know all about well-being at work, do you need a solution to improve your employee experience? If so, we invite you to schedule a free and customized demo of InputKit at the moment of your convenience. Our team of experts will be happy to advise you! 

Want to learn more about well-being at work and its issues? Feel free to watch the video below!