– by Ainsley Lawrence

– Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer with an interest in the way business, technology, and education intersect with the personal. She loves traveling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book.

Employee well-being is at the core of successful recruitment and retainment efforts. Data collected by Gallup shows that staff who feel happy at work are 32% less likely to search for a new role, and 62% say that better personal well-being is a core consideration when searching for a job.

However, Gallup data also found that just 21% of employees feel their current workplace authentically cares about well-being. This figure reveals a huge opportunity for recruiters who wish to attract talent within a healthy work environment.

Working closely with businesses that promote a healthy environment at work can boost retention rates, too. This can be a real boon for your recruiting business and will help you build a reputation as an agency that knows how to place productive people in places where they will be happy.

Promoting Stress Management

Stress is the biggest detractor from employee well-being. People who are chronically stressed due to work are far more likely to become burnt out and begin searching for new roles. According to research from the University of Cambridge, work stress can also cause:

• High absenteeism;
• Increased turnover;
• Decreased productivity;
• Poor timekeeping;
• Memory loss and low motivation.

Long-term stress also undermines employee’s health. Employees who are burnt out by work may suffer from sleep disturbances, headaches, and raised blood pressure. Stress can cause chest pain, too, as chronic stress increases the heart rate and leads to noncardiac chest pain due to fatigue in the chest muscles.

Promoting stress management at work starts with stress-aware leadership. Managers can cultivate a positive work environment by encouraging employee bonding and facilitating interdepartmental collaboration. They can spread the workload fairly and ensure employees feel connected to the company mission.

Businesses can also invest in strategies that promote effective stress management. For example, firms with a modest wellness budget can offer perks like free gym memberships or low-stress yoga classes. As their investment in health and wellness grows, companies can explore emerging wellness initiatives like paid time off for volunteering and walking meetings.

Creating the Optimal Environment

Promoting employee well-being is much easier when staff work in an environment that fosters focus, collaboration, and a sense of calm. Leaders should consider redesigning workstations and office floor plans to maximize productivity, health, and wellness.

Employers who care about well-being can get the ball rolling by rethinking their lighting, as it can affect workplace productivity. For example, natural light can improve an employee’s mood, alertness, and productivity. As such, switching to LEDs that emit natural light can be a real productivity boost during demanding projects. The right lighting can also promote well-being by reducing the risk of headaches, eyestrain, and drowsiness.

Leaders can empower employees and create a productive, healthy work environment by creating floor plans that enable productive interactions. For example, if folks typically work in cubicles, it may be worth switching to an open floor plan that ensures employees are able to work together on projects without having to leave their desks.

Employers can also experiment with biophilic design principles. Biophilic design is an interior design strategy that seeks to recreate natural environments in artificial structures. It blends organic shapes with plenty of houseplants and engages all five senses. A recent meta-analysis of biophilic design found that workplaces that incorporated natural design elements “increased positive emotion and decreased negative emotion.” These benefits can be a real boon for employers who want to help workers destress while at work.

Well-being Programs

Effective recruiters strive to form strong relationships with businesses that promote well-being at work. That’s why employees who work with established recruiters are more likely to find a role that suits their needs.

Businesses that want to attract more talented, ambitious employees can get the ball rolling by engaging in recruitment-boosting well-being strategies. Even simple benefits like mental health support can help firms appeal to younger employees who strongly prefer workplaces that promote well-being. Foregrounding well-being initiatives is easy, too. Recruiters who want to connect with candidates who care about well-being should:

• Lead with empathy and understanding when communicating with candidates;
• Push well-being initiatives to the forefront of promotional materials;
• Adopt a flexible approach to work and interview arrangements;
• Show appreciation for those who apply and continue to stay in touch.

These simple strategies can attract employees who are focused on health and well-being. Similarly, recruiters can work with employers who are behind the times to improve their workplace policies regarding scheduling, remote work, and health perks like gym memberships.

Conclusion

Employees show a strong preference for workplaces that actively promote health and well-being. Recruiters can use these insights to adapt their recruiting materials and forge relationships with employers who already actively promote well-being at work. Encouraging simple changes, like installing more natural lighting or adopting a biophilic design, can aid recruiters’ efforts and help businesses attract talented employees.