Most sources suggest that initiatives aimed at improving employee well-being are associated with considerable benefits for the company that undertakes them. The benefits include e.g. better performance, improved productivity, and significantly reduced costs related to sick pay.

Guided by needs

So what are the universal human needs? The basic ones include: food and shelter, a sense of safety and security, and stable interpersonal relationships. In the background, there is just as important a need for self-fulfillment. It is about both discovering your strengths, as well as feeling that what you get involved in truly matters.

An organization with a mission that encompasses not only typical business goals, but also social responsibility, should make sure that its values and organizational culture include activities that support employees in satisfying their desires.

Such activities should result in a situation in which employees:

• feel that their professional efforts and endeavors are appreciated by the employer,
• trust their superiors and are convinced that they can count on them for support,
• feel satisfied, happy, and healthy to a satisfactory extent,
• successfully keep the work-life balance and know that striving for such a balance is important for their mental and physical well-being,
• know the key company values, follow them, and consider them reasonable and important.

Support areas

What areas should an employer focus on in order to build a good atmosphere in the workplace and take good care of employees? The following areas are especially worth the effort:

• Communication

Communication in both personal and professional life is essential for everyone. When used thoughtfully, it can streamline most processes. In addition, it is a skill that can be continuously improved. For this reason, it is a great idea to provide employees with communication training. This way you will not only take care of them and their interpersonal relationships, but also deliver benefits for the organization. Adequate communication makes most tasks easier to perform, as it minimizes the problem of insufficient understanding and eliminates difficult emotions that might arise in relation to potential disturbances in this area.

Implementing and educating employees about communication strategies, such as promoting feedback culture or emphatic communication in the workplace, can therefore be perceived as a decision that both makes economic sense and helps employees to develop their competences related to communication. This in turn can enhance their communication not only at work, but also in private life situations, which will translate into a higher quality of life and level of satisfaction. Results will include greater productivity, motivation, and job engagement.

So how to support employees in this area? It is important to provide education, and above all, communication skills training. Carefully selected courses will work here, but it is the actual everyday use of the tools acquired through such courses that really matters. It is also a good practice to encourage employees to improve their competences in this area as often as possible, for instance by providing them with access to the psychoeducational app Focusly which they can use to learn about different communication techniques and the reasons for adopting them.

• Relationships

Scientific research proves that good interpersonal relationships provide us with the greatest sense of satisfaction and happiness. In view of the fact that we spend most of the day performing our job tasks which often involve interactions with people, it is essential to ensure a high quality of our relationships. Every employer should make good use of this knowledge and never ignore conflicts between team members or any other situations that usually escalate, if neglected, not only causing delays in project delivery, but also affecting the general atmosphere in the workplace.

It is essential to realize that a climate defined by regret and resentment which are only nurtured, with no attempts to solve problems, will never be conducive to good cooperation and the achievement of business goals.

So how to support employees in this area? Here, too, appropriate training and a lot of practice in using the tools it provides will prove invaluable. Being mindful of oneself and others, which is the foundation of meaningful long-term relationships, is something that can also be learned in a mindfulness course. Stress, which often prevents us from establishing new relationships, can also be controlled by mastering conscious breathing techniques. It is a good idea to give your team the opportunity to choose from a wide range of services to make sure everyone finds something for themselves.