Are you hoping to improve your employee wellbeing in the workplace? Find out some of our tips and tricks here in this latest blog from the MM Legal team.
As a business owner, you are responsible for looking after your team when they are at work. While you can’t control what they do at home, you can encourage them to look after their mental health and create a positive atmosphere in the workplace. If this isn’t something that you are well-versed in, don’t worry as we’ve got some tips for you below.
Rethink Your Contracts
When you are drafting employee contracts, consider including some form of benefits system. This can include enhanced holiday entitlement, increased pension contributions and other important benefits. However, more recently, employers in Scotland are considering the wellbeing of their staff and introducing new – mental health-focused benefits. This can include ‘mental health days’ which allow your team to rest when their mental health isn’t great.
If you need help with editing your current contracts or advice on how to draft one, a member of our team can help.
Listen to Feedback
Employee feedback is very important when it comes to running a business that will last. So, what happens if your team are giving you feedback and you aren’t implementing any changes? This could cause unrest amongst your team and lead to issues regarding employee wellbeing in the workplace.
You could find that certain team members require additional assistance to improve their general wellbeing and you should really listen to them. Ask for feedback and make changes that benefit everyone.
Focus on Wellness
While it isn’t your responsibility as an employer to offer regular yoga sessions or host a meeting with a life coach, creating a culture of wellness in your office can be beneficial. With a clearer mind, your team can not only improve their mental health but can also be more productive when working. There are tons of ways that you can promote wellness in the workplace including offering discounts on gym memberships, hiring a life coach and more.
This will likely take up some of your budget, but it will be worth it in the end.
Be More Flexible
If the pandemic has taught employers anything, it is that working hours and locations don’t always have to be so rigid. For so long now, employers in office-based businesses have required their team to come to the office every single day from 9am until 5pm – but is this likely to change? Some employees around the world have reported improvements in their wellbeing because of home working or altered working hours.
At present, the law in Scotland states that all employees who have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks or more have the right to request flexible working. Each request should be carefully considered, especially if you want to improve employee wellbeing in the workplace. It is likely that the interpretation of this right will be much wider than it has before given the way businesses have had to adapt to allow them to continue to operate
Get in Touch
If you are thinking about making any changes to your employee policy to improve wellbeing, you need to stay on the right side of the law. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team who will be happy to guide you through this process.
