It is becoming more apparent that health and well-being in the workplace extend to more than just healthy eating and exercise; with the assurance that employees are supported both emotionally and mentally throughout their working days being of the utmost importance. Staff spend 5 days a week working, more than what they spend at home, so the office needs to act as an extension of their safe places by being comfortable, practical and inspiring. As an employer, it is our responsibility to ensure employees are armed with the right tools, educational resource and ongoing, confidential support to continuously strive and achieve top quality work.

Consistent employee well-being in the workplace does not only mean that there is an increased performance from a profitability and productivity perspective, but that all staff members have the ability to be nurtured and grow in their own individual roles.

The Core of Employee Well-Being

According to CIPD, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, an effective health and well-being programme is likely to encompass:

• health promotions
• a good working environment
• flexible working
• positive relationships
• opportunities for career development
• a healthy management style.

There are many companies out there that are available to help you set up a good Health and Wellbeing strategy within the company. As employers, we are no longer tied to just offering private health care, as there is a vast range of options that can be applied no matter what your budget. Wellness International, for example, has helped to transform the way Adidas look after its staff with a full onsite health suite to provide for all healthcare needs.

The heart of our strategy at Neon is innovation, resourcefulness, ambition and partnership. The ethos of our company does not just show in our client work, but also in how we work internally and how we treat our employees. As represented in our key takeaway, we want to be seen as:

“The best people to work with to achieve measurable commercial improvements.”

As a company, we cannot achieve this unless we have happy and healthy colleagues with the knowledge and experience it takes to be at the forefront of our industry. We ensure this by striving to provide the below:

Health Promotions

We believe in and promote the importance of healthy living, that’s why we contribute 50% towards gym memberships, encouraging staff to take a longer lunch-break to attend gym classes. To combat the 11am energy drops, healthy snacks are aplenty in the kitchen with weekly orders. A number of employees cycle to work due to our cycle to work scheme – and it doesn’t stop there! Recently, we participated in collectively cycling the length of Britain at our local gym in MediaCityUK, to not only support one of our clients but raise money for Children in Need.

Working Environment

As a digital agency, Neon is made up of many different personalities. There are times when most of our employees are zoned in with their headphones in, concentrating, but on the flip side, there are a number of times when the office meeting spaces are buzzing with activity during creative brainstorm sessions.

It is important that we provide the right environment to nurture all these personalities and working methods. Sometimes, you just need some peace and quiet, or a different, new environment to encourage those creative juices. Being in the heart of MediaCity means there are plentiful places for employees to pick up their laptops and find sanctuary in, with CraftBrew directly below us and Ziferblat across the way.

Flexible Working

Although we don’t operate flexible working hours as a standard at Neon, we’re a very flexible company. Tolerance and understanding for each employee as an individual is important, as some staff may start or finish late to deal with childcare arrangements, for example. We understand that for staff to give their best at work, we need to be flexible and give back.

Positive Relationships

Whether you like it or not, you spend most of your time around your colleagues! Neon is a close-knit agency, and with a bit of planning it’s easy to arrange social events to bring the whole office together. Every Friday, work shuts down at 4pm to allow the team to unwind, catch-up and play some Xbox over a few beers and snacks. Outside working hours, nights-outs and cinema trips are a frequent occurrence, and let’s not forget the Christmas do…

Career Development

The digital industry is continuously changing at rapid rates. What might have been “in” today, could be “out” tomorrow. With this in mind, we are always developing our knowledge to ensure we’re on-beat with the latest emerging trends.

Events to conferences, training sessions to networking meet-ups, we’re always looking for an excuse to get out of the office and develop ourselves in our careers.

Healthy Management Style

Our Head of Agency is leading the way in this area, after recently completing a “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course”, along with many of our employees taking advantage of the half-priced gym membership by attending lunchtime yoga and meditation classes to unwind. Lululemon recently did a video showcasing how yoga and meditation isn’t just for practice in a class with a mat, but how we can all incorporate this into our everyday lives, particularly at work.

Conclusion

Our approach to ensuring employee well-being is always expanding, developing and improving. Focusing not only on crunching numbers, but the welfare of our staff, has proven to provide many benefits to the company, including:

• increased productivity
• increased morale
• reduced sickness and absenteeism
• employee engagement
• employees striving to not only achieve but to outperform.
• invested interest in work.

An employee well-being strategy can’t be static and has to be able to adapt and cater to a range of different needs and wants. How do you keep your employees happy? What could your company do to help your well-being? Email us any suggestions, critiques or ideas at [email protected] for the HR team.