4 Ways to Promote a Holistic Approach to Health and Productivity in Your Workplace
When companies have a healthy workspace it can improve productivity, and help employees lead a more work-life balanced life.
Employee productivity is an utterly complex topic. The more business owners and leaders think they know how to boost output, the more challenges they encounter.
For instance, if you look at the latest State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report from Gallup, you'll find it's filled with so much conflicting information. On the one hand, the organization's research shows that the percentage of employees thriving at work is higher than ever. On the other hand, the number of people feeling the effects of workplace stress reached record levels, with 44% of workers saying they feel a lot of stress during the day. Moreover, because 59% of employees are exhibiting signs of quiet quitting and 51% are planning to leave their jobs, it quickly becomes evident that hitting the right balance between workplace productivity and employee wellbeing is a tightrope to walk.
Of course, even though adopting employee-first practices in your workplace requires some trial and error, doing the work will bring about positive results. So, if you're looking for tips on how to do it, here are the top four ways to promote a holistic approach to health and productivity in your workplace.
Prioritize Employee Satisfaction
The most essential prerequisite for boosting workplace productivity is ensuring employee satisfaction.
According to scientific research conducted in 2020, organizations that boast high employee happiness levels also do better in terms of profitability and customer satisfaction. In other words, one of the best ways to boost productivity in your workplace is to figure out effective ways to ensure your workforce feels happy, fulfilled, and well taken care of at work.
But what do people want from work nowadays?
According to a recent survey conducted by Forbes, several factors contribute to workplace happiness.
If you look at company initiatives that employees value the most, you'll find that workers from all generations want two things. They want to work for an organization with a people-first culture. And they want the support needed to build a healthy work-life balance.
As for HR benefits, people's wants are a bit more specific. According to the data:
79% of professionals want flexible work options.
62% want access to mental health resources.
64% want flexible parental leave programs.
67% want flexible paid time off.
With this data in mind, it's evident that one of the best ways to lead your team is to learn what your employees need from you to feel and perform better at work. It could be something as simple as a day reserved for remote work or healthy snack options in your office recreation area. Alternatively, they may require benefits that are a bit more impactful, like access to mental health resources or better health coverage.
Support Your Team in Adopting Healthy Habits
As you work to promote a holistic approach to health and productivity in your workplace, you need to understand one thing. No matter how much you do to provide your employees with the right resources, ultimately, impactful wellness and productivity gains will depend on their self-care habits.
With this in mind, present your team with the resources and educational materials needed to ensure they're on the right track toward leading healthy and productive lifestyles.
For example, you can go above and beyond to provide team members with valuable resources. But unless they understand how those resources could impact their professional and personal lives, your investment may as well go to waste. So, what can you do to ensure this doesn't happen?
Well, the best way to guarantee your efforts result in productivity (or wellbeing) gains is to be vocal about the why behind every new health enhancement strategy you adopt in your organization.
For instance, you could provide your team with complimentary performance-enhancing supplements that positively impact performance. Sports teams already do this, with great outcomes. So, there's no reason you shouldn't invest in your employees just as much as if they were professional athletes. However, to implement such a strategy, you need to be fully committed to educating your team on how they can use caffeine, for example, to get the most benefits without experiencing the drawbacks.
Similarly, if there's a positive health and productivity-boosting hack you want to encourage in your workplace, consider tactics you can utilize to motivate your team to adopt it. (After all, many of the things that are good for us are things we don't really want to do — like timing power naps in the right way, taking ice baths for mental health, or walking 10k steps every day.)
In these cases, something as simple as a company-wide challenge could do the trick. It's proven that extrinsic motivation combined with accountability works wonderfully for adopting good habits.
Be a Leader in Adopting a Holistic Approach to Health and Productivity
One of the main things you need to understand about inspiring your team to take better care of themselves (and boost their productivity as a result) is that they will look to you for guidance on how to behave.
If you preach work-life balance but still email employees at 2 a.m., they won't see your efforts to help them thrive as genuine. Instead, they'll get the impression that you expect them to participate in the hustle culture while keeping up the appearance of practicing self-care.
So, if you want your organization to be a space where people accomplish next-level results without harming their wellbeing, do your best to set a good example. How? Well, start with the basics.
Take the best possible care of your body with proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep. Practice proper stress management and give yourself permission for time off. Prioritize healthy connections with people in your environment. Keep an open mind to non-traditional approaches that might help you achieve your health and productivity goals — like Chinese and functional medicine or healthy meal plans tailored to your team's dietary needs.
And most importantly, to become a great leader, accept that you might not be capable of controlling your circumstances. However, you can control how you react to those circumstances, which your team is 100% going to take cues from.
Accept That Productivity Is Not a Constant
Lastly, if you're genuinely committed to promoting a holistic approach to health and productivity in your workplace, remember that it's physically impossible for people to achieve constantly great results without at least some dips in output.
Productivity is not a constant. It ebbs and flows depending on a multitude of factors — most of which you can't control. The only way for you and your team not to get frustrated or discouraged during challenging times is to accept that your output may stagnate before it can pick up again.
During these slow times, try to adopt practices that will best contribute to your team's job satisfaction and positively impact their motivation levels and productivity. For instance, Statista's research shows that, in 2023, people want to do impactful work, have good career advancement opportunities, enjoy autonomy, and work in a flexible manner.
So, if you're getting the impression that your team isn't performing at their best, why not use some of these ideas for a much-needed pick-me-up? There's nothing as inspirational as a passion project or a fun learning opportunity to boost people's energy and productivity.
Over to You
If you're aiming to promote a holistic approach to health and productivity in your workplace, the four tips covered in this guide are a great place to start. However, understand that every team is different. And that means you might need to adapt your approach to have the best possible effect within your environment.
So don't be afraid to experiment. Be bold. But most importantly, ask your teammates for honest feedback. Remember, the best way to support them in achieving a satisfactory work-life balance is to give them unlimited support regardless of whether that involves motivation, mentorship, or simply equipping them with the right tools to achieve their goal.