Employee wellbeing - what would really help?

[paralysedbyinertia]

I'm starting a new job soon, and one of my first priorities will be to address the issue of staff wellbeing, which I understand has suffered over the last year for a range of different reasons.

Obviously, once I get started, I will be consulting staff about what they think would make the biggest difference to their experience of work, but I'm keen to get a headstart on thinking about this if at all possible.

So, I'm really interested to know what workplace initiatives have made a significant difference to your wellbeing at work, and/or what you would like your employer to put in place in order to make your work life easier and more enjoyable.

I will have the power to make significant changes to working practices, but not much financial resource to play with, if that makes any difference to your answers!

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

Fair and equal pay
Decent pay rises (i.e. Don't let existing staff fall behind the market rates)
Bonuses based on performance (not blanket amount so the slackers get as much as the hard workers)
Flexible working
Deal with poor performance quickly
No excessive workloads - policy for working hours to ensure nobody does loads of extra hours all the time
Training for managers on seeing things from other viewpoints (e.g. Wfh is bloody lovely if you're on 6 figures with a fancy home office, it gets a bit shit if you're working in your bedroom and your bills have gone up when you're on the minimum wage)
Communication from management - so people know what is happening with the business
Allow staff to give anonymous feedback at any time
Stop doing everything on the minimum possible cost. Cheapest doesn't mean best value. Stop outsourcing at 10% of the price to people who take 20x as long to do the job. That's actually more expensive and pisses all the internal staff off.

Things that don't work for me:
Mental health ambassador - I don't want to talk to some random work colleague that's been on a one day course about my mental health problems
Shopping discounts - I don't want to buy cashback cards, etc. Just pay me properly so I don't need to look for a 1% discount

I've been thinking about this thread indeed the whole of today.

I definitely agree about the tea/coffee. I worked at one place where you could only get tea from a machine. It was free but vile. Another place I worked provided free milk but only milk and only for 1/2 the staff (admin and managers weren't allowed to use it). I resolved this by just consistently buying and bringing in milk for everyone else but it was so petty it was ridiculous.

I also have a principle of "collaborative not combative" - everyone is much happier when we're all on the same side.

And finally, alongside the "don't over work everyone" thing you have to remember that it you offer 27 days holiday a year + bank holidays then each employee is off for 7 weeks with no sick leave. That means that for every 6.5 employees you should employ a while extra person just to cover holiday (52/7 = 7.5 so after 6.5 the last person is just covering other people's holiday).

Wow @NameChangeforMoneyThings, thanks for giving it so much thought. Totally take your point about needing enough staff to cover for annual leave etc,, and I love the idea of workplaces being collaborative not combative. Going to nick that!

I get the dislike for resilience training. It's a bit like saying we'll teach you to suck up the shit that we're going to throw at you. Not great.

Also totally understand that mental health ambassadors with minimal training are not really what people need.

Listen to the people on the ground doing the actual job, not the five layers of management above them who think they know what's happening. In every single job I've had (and there have been plenty before going self employed), one of the biggest complaints was feeling that changes were unilaterally made without consulting the shop floor/customer facing staff, and those changes inevitably impacted them the most.

The other one was micromanaging managers who made you feel like you were in prison or nursery, and wanted reporting back to every fifteen minutes, not an adult hired and trusted to do a skilled job.

No endless meetings - eight people in a meeting for an hour is a whole workday wasted. Also, autonomy over which meetings to attend - I once had a full time job in which I spent 23 of my 37 hours a week in meetings I didn't need to be in, for the look of someone from my department being there.

You sound lovely and like you really care OP - I hope the new job is brilliant!

A workload where I can do my job in the week working hours. Without the expectation I work all evenings and weekends. I'm thinking of leaving my profession (academia) because it's just incompatible with having young kids.

Thank you @hilariousnamehere, I do genuinely care. I've worked in some pretty toxic environments myself, and I really want to create something different. Besides, I am convinced that people work more effectively when they feel valued and when they have a proper work-life balance etc.

Totally get what you're saying about meetings. They can be such a waste of time if they're not used carefully, and it's soul destroying to sit there when you know how much other stuff you've got to greet through.

@Tippexy

No meetings allowed to be scheduled between 12-2.

Yes this. I have a protected lunch break only because it's in my occupational health plan.

On that matter - occupational health referrals need to be prioritised - you can achieve a lot if staff health issues are promptly supported and it's obviously good business sense

Noted re occ health referrals. I'm used to working in bigger organisations where they have occ health in house, so will have to figure out what the options are for this new organisation.

Definitely flexibility if it's possible too - both in working hours/locations but also in types of office environment.

I know some people thrive in the busy open plan office and would hate to be in a smaller, quieter one, but for me I know having worked in both I can give much more of myself to the job in a quieter space, because my energies are not being split and sapped by surviving the chatter and noise and other people

@Thefourbells

I work in HR and am a freelance consultant on flexible working and staff wellbeing.

I am constantly telling employers staff don't want yoga vouchers, fitbits or "fun" team days.

They want:

1. flexible working that is actually flexible
2. a workload that actually reflects the hours they are paid to work
3. Bosses who don't micromanage
4. more money.

Most of them don't want to hear it.

Our employees tell us the same about the silly perks and discounts - they value private healthcare and as employers we do too - NHS waiting lists are brutal and sick pay they can actually survive on. We have a culture that values our clients and responds to them in a timely fashion but we have the same attitude towards each other and perspective employees - don’t forget about recruitment - treat candidates with respect, whether you intend to hire them or not - don’t keep them hanging on, give them the correct documentation and feedback as needed. Ensure new joiners have everything they need snd are properly cared for during their on boarding - with frequent check ins from manager, especially while everyone is wfh. Provide a mentor/coach to staff if you can - choose carefully- someone who is removed from the person’s direct management.

No cliques and stamp out bullying at first sight.
Decent pay commensurate with duties and responsibilities.
No more wellbeing shit.

Make people aware of their rights and staff expectations or general well being that’s already ingrained

For example previous staff organized a joint meal one day a month where everyone brings a plate and have a staff lunch altogether - some new people felt awkward because they didn’t understand or felt included.
We have a staff WhatsApp which people seem to think 6am messages are acceptable even on a weekend
Recognize hard work without penalizing working parents who can’t give the hours but do turn up and work hard
Don’t come down hard on mistakes, people make mistakes, big ones usually just once abs they learn from it. Avoid the blame culture.m, the shame of mistakes, recognize that’s something we learn from and can use to improve.
Say good morning to staff.
Check pay scales reflect existing staff - be fair offering overtime or time off etc

Decent sick pay, not feeling you have to return to/stay at work because you can't survive on SSP.

Follow up after return from sick leave, not just on your first day back, but also in the subsequent weeks and months.

Good communication, staff finding out about new projects, job vacancies etc before it's on the company's social media pages.

Open door policy for management and lack of hierarchy, everyone treated equally and valued for the job they do.

Coming out of the pandemic a return to work/life boundaries. Beig accessible 24/7 with emails on your phone, office number linked to your personal mobile etc makes it very hard to escape from work (physically or thinking about it).

Agree about team building, treats and tokenistic perks - just pay people a decent wage, with decent holiday entitlement and thank them them when they do a good job.

pp who said that these things don't help if the basics aren't in place, talks sense.

Many of my friends work for huge companies, and most/many of these things are missing. It's actually really really poor.

"Most of them don't want to hear it."

Strong and fair leadership and sort problem staff.

Having just had a quick look at my emails, I’ve thought of another one! Our offices have been closed now for over a year and admin and senior staff have been working from home. Both me and many of my colleagues are single and live alone so when yet another invite for “an evening of fun over zoom” comes through, it’s more of a kick in the teeth than something to actually look forward to. We’ve just spent 8 hours sat in front of a screen on our own, why on earth would we want to sit in front of the same screen for 3 hours on our own, in our own time doing a ridiculous virtual team building/supposedly fun event. If you have to do such inane things do them in company time please.

Proper training/ handovers
Enough time allocated to do the job well
Don't leave roles empty for weeks/ months so job is a complete nightmare for the person picking it up
Don't hassle people do do hours of online cpd when there is no time
Don't do stupid team meeting where everyone has to list their 'wins' for the week
Be honest that the job is a nightmare when you interview people so person accepting job has a realistic picture before giving up previous role
When staff tell you something, listen to them
Don't ask staff to cover other jobs when they are already too busy
Hate being told about online yoga/ well being stuff when hardly have a second to visit the bathroom!

You could try using the new ISO 45003 which is a new standard to give a logical way to assess psychosocial risks in the workplace (stress factors).

Otherwise you might address the ones that seem to bother you but there might be some things you miss that would be easily remedied eg desks not feeling private, excess noise etc.

I should say that I genuinely do have complete flexibility in my job. I work 21 hours a week and of that I spend only 1 hour in a standing meeting. Other than that I can work whenever I want. No core hours. Any time.

I think lots of people have already said most of this but, having been a manager in the past and now happy beyond words that I'm just an ordinary team member...

Enough staff to do the job

Enough resource to do the job and not always buying the cheapest

Decent IT

Awareness that some of the top managers' pet vanity projects might have to be sacrificed or put on hold for a bit if the last two aren't possible, or even, God forbid, assessed to see if they're actually necessary at all

Getting managers to set realistic deadlines and expectations with the resource available

Minimising favouritism and getting managers to understand what people actually do is at least as important as what they're seen to be doing/tell everyone they're doing

Making sure it's not always the same people who have first dibs on holiday, for instance

If pay is an issue that can't be improved then whst else could be done - flexible working, TOIL, home working, making sure people are able to take their lunch

Allowing everyone to have their say even if the introverts in the team need to feel safe before they can - not making people talk in front of others if they're not comfortable but gaving suggestion boxes or similar

Minimise pointless meetings; I've worked in way too many places where managers seem to think the more meetings they have the better a manager they are and the work will just get done by the work Fairies as the managers have NO CLUE how long anything takes (yes, HE, I'm REALLY looking at you)

Second, third and fourth the previous comments about don't have stupid awaydays every other week (I could write a book just on that). Athough I'd definitely be a fan of the back to the floor approach for managers...

That staff are human not robots and life doesn't run in a straight line and unexpected things happen - still astonishes me even after COVID-19 that there are people who don't get this

Quiet or thinking space

Decent basic facilities - coffee rooms, loos, parking etc

Managers not micromanaging and understanding just how much work can be done from home; and for some jobs, does it matter if it's done between 2pm and 10pm as long as it's done? Why does EVERYTHING have to happen between 9am and 5pm?!

All the yoga initiatives in the world won't help 8f ths fundamentals aren't there to start with

And back to...enough staff to do the job or getting managers to understand what is and isn't possible with the resource available

Agree with PP. Enough staff to cover the workload, good staff with the right skill set.
Don't penny pinch on IT or supplies needed to work from home.
Sensible flexibility, it cuts both ways, I know I can take an hour out for a doc appointment and I don't mind working a bit late on an urgent task. Not every night, every weekend though.
Any wellbeing lecture or fun Teams event gets immediately deleted from my calendar I'm afraid due to workload.
We do actually have a Franke bean to cup machine at work, and proper kitchens with fridge, microwave and milk,/tea/ squash provided. I respect that about my employer they treat us like humans in that respect. Don't need a massive buffet of biscuits, cakes etc, just good basics.

You said you were a small company I don't know how small but not everything that works on macro scale works in a small place if there are under 20 people and it's just the owner and 2 managers and 17 others you first need to be realistic about what can and can't be changed and you said very little budget flexibility.

When it comes to flexibility it's not just parents that need it, taking your elderly mum to hospital is just as important as school sports day,

Above all else be fair, reasonable and respect everyone and encourage that sideways and to the cleaners etc. Your are the manager so manage
make allowances for people just after trauma or bereavement don't have a full team meeting if you only need half the team.
Be realistic about how much overtime people do or that needs to be done
Tea coffee and milk just decent ones not 6 different sorts

For questions you could look at the Gallup 12 questions for inspiration. A lot of companies use Gallup to implement and gather data do it is anonymous.

The questions build on each other starting with basics and moving into higher attainment. I once worked in a tram where we scored really highly on the higher questions, but very low on the basics (I know what’s expected and have right tools). So it was a lovely, friendly team, but not very effective.

However don’t do what many companies do and gather the data, then ignore it and don’t address it.

Q01. I know what is expected of me at work.
Q02. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
Q03. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
Q04. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
Q05. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
Q06. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
Q07. At work, my opinions seem to count.
Q08. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
Q09. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
Q10. I have a best friend at work.
Q11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
Q12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

www.gallup.com/access/323333/q12-employee-engagement-survey.aspx

Physical environment is important to me.
Comfortable temperature
Natural ventilation not aircon
Natural light and not strip lights/overhead lighting
Not noisy
Not open plan
Comfortable and ergonomic chair and workstation
Clean, tidy and safe
Comfortable break area
Clean toilets