8 Ways To Keep Office-Based Employees Happy & Healthy

Whether you have employees moving from fully remote to hybrid working patterns, or your whole team is back in the office, it’s important to make some key considerations to maintain both their mental and physical health. 

That’s why in this article we’ll show you how to boost morale, reduce absences and support talent retention whilst ensuring the health & happiness of your team…

1. Offer flexible working

Hybrid, flexible and remote working options are more in demand than ever before, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to consider alternatives to the office. Not only does allowing remote working give your staff greater autonomy, but it also helps them to feel trusted and empowered - in turn, boosting productivity. 

When offering flexible working options, it’s important to ensure that any communication gaps are accounted for so that teams remain connected, and staff members can give feedback directly.  

2. Encourage team building

Personal relationships form a large part of the overall company culture, so team-building efforts should be hosted regularly. This doesn’t just mean taking the team out for lunch but includes organizational factors such as:

• Encouraging team working and collaborative working
• Hosting daily meetings (remote or in-office)
• Providing collaborative planning and IM software 
• Hosting company team-building events
• Considering an open-plan office layout

It’s important for team members to have a sense of belonging, and to feel that they are integral to the organization in which they work. 

3. Celebrate accomplishment 

Staff should feel rewarded for their hard work, and the recognition of a job well done can help to boost job satisfaction and motivation. Take the time to celebrate your team's wins regularly, and consider enrolling on employee benefits or rewards programmes.

Tap My Back makes it easy to send recognition and reward employees whether they work remotely or in-office. Not only can you give direct feedback as an employer or HR manager, but your staff can give recognition to other team members, saying thanks for a job well done. 

4. Support mental wellbeing

Having happy staff means actively supporting their mental health on a day-to-day basis. Whilst stress in the workplace is often unavoidable, having a team that is equipped and supported means it can be handled efficiently instead of getting worse. 

To support your employee’s mental health, you can:

• Ensure individual workloads are reasonable and regularly reviewed 
• Offer access to mental health professionals 
• Encourage conversations about mental health
• Provide a safe space for employees to talk and ask for help 
• Ensure regular contact with remote staff to prevent isolation 

Ensure key members of staff, such as human resources or managers, are aware of the warning signs of poor mental health, such as withdrawing from the team to struggling to manage workloads. 

5. Listen to feedback

It’s important that staff feel listened to and part of wider company decisions. To take on feedback, you should offer both anonymous and structured channels for your staff members to have their say. 

From regularly polling your employees to providing an anonymous suggestion box, make it as easy as possible to give feedback, and respond within a timely manner with a firm plan of action.  

6. Boost physical activity

Good physical health contributes to overall wellness, as taking regular exercise can help to support mental well-being. Healthy employees are also of course less likely to take sick leave, so it’s crucial to support their health and productivity. 

Some easy ways to encourage physical activity include offering gym vouchers, allowing flexi-time to incorporate fitness goals or starting a company running team. 

7. Keep offices clean

In the post-COVID landscape, it’s more vital than ever to ensure that workplaces are clean, sanitised and free of clutter. Whilst keeping things sanitary will help to prevent the spread of viruses among team members, a clean and tidy office can help to support mental well-being, too. 

Ensure that high-traffic areas are cleaned regularly, such as door handles, light switches, bathrooms, and breakrooms and encourage weekly individual desk clearing.

You can also aid mental well-being within the office environment by ensuring there is plenty of natural light and providing storage and organization solutions. 

8. Support continuous personal development (CPD)

A key part of providing a supportive and healthy environment at work is by enabling staff to develop and build upon their skills 

regularly. Ensuring continuous personal development can help to:

• Identify any skill gaps early on 
• Attract new talent to your company 
• Ensure staff feel equipped, confident and motivated
• Aid employee retention 
• Maintain a healthy corporate culture 

CPD can include all sorts of learning methods, from listening to podcasts or attending a training course. Tap My Back makes it simple to track, monitor and act upon skills data in real-time, whilst helping to aid in regular performance reviews by presenting informed feedback. 

Try Tap My Back today and see the difference it can make for your organization!