Workplace Factors That Impact Employee Health

Every employee wants a work environment that strengthens and benefits their health and well-being. This is a normal expectation because people spend a third of their lives working. Maintaining employee health in the workplace is in the best interest of both employers and their staff. A happy and healthy staff is a crucial asset for growth and productivity. Therefore, take note of these factors that can affect your team’s well-being in the workplace.

1. Poor work-life balance

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Getting back to the 9 to 5 normal has been a bitter pill for many employees to swallow since COVID-19 died down. There is no doubt that poor work-life balance is a huge factor threatening employee well-being. Strict 9 to 5 schedules can make childcare harder for working parents and lead to a fast decline in job satisfaction. One way your business can improve work-life balance is by introducing flexible working hours or remote working to allow employees to work from the comfort of their homes. With these arrangements, you can encourage staff to enjoy more freedom while they work. Team managers around the world are starting to embrace better work-life balance to benefit employee health, so feel free to consider this.

2. Hazards

Following health safety requirements is vital if you operate a business that requires employees to handle various manufacturing products. Workplace hazards differ from industry to industry. Therefore, you have to assess your operations and identify the prevalent risk that can threaten the safety of employees. Airborne dust, for instance, is a common problem in material handling processes in mining and civil industries. These fine materials can create numerous problems in processing, impact employee and community health, and also violate regulatory compliance policies. It would help if you adopt effective dust control solutions to make your operations cleaner, safer, and more productive.

3. Mental health

Workplace settings can impact employee mental health in surprising ways. The layout of your office is a great example. A cubicle that feels cluttered or too small may be stressful for employees. Therefore, businesses have to declutter their workspaces and explore alternatives such as hybrid work opportunities that allow staff to work whenever they want instead of always being tethered to one office. Staff members can share ideas and build relationships with others if a workspace is spacious enough and allows seamless collaboration. Another strategy is introducing plants in the offices. Bringing nature indoors keeps employees happy and boosts productivity by improving oxygenation in the space. It’s worth noting that making mental a priority isn’t just about tweaking the state of your offices. You have to also consider developing policies that support mental health and encourage your employees to share such issues with management.

Employers are responsible for creating and implementing risk assessment procedures to ensure physical, chemical, or biological harm doesn’t impact employees’ health. Employees may not complain about safety issues for fear of getting in the bad books with the higher-ups. But that doesn’t mean employers should take their health for granted. 

This is a collaborative post.