Employee health is a hot topic among companies today, but this involves much more than just minimizing sick days and the spread of germs. There are many ways that companies can prioritize their employees’ physical and mental health in an effort to boost company morale, improve employees’ moods, and increase overall productivity.
Here are examples of a few programs that a business can implement to create a more positive work environment, as well as different collaborative office designs that can facilitate cross-team communication.
1. Company Outing Ideas to Boost Office Morale
For small businesses, group outings are great company morale boosters that increase positive energy and improve work flow. Ask your team to vote on what type of company outing they would enjoy the most so that you’re in tune with what everyone wants.
2. Bring Events to the Workplace to Keep Employees Healthy
For larger businesses in which company outing ideas aren’t practical, consider bringing different events into the office to break up the monotony of daily work and give employees a mental break to spark greater productivity later in the day. Event ideas include art classes, game sessions, trivia games, happy hour, and karaoke.
3. Encourage Lunch Breaks
When you tell your employees to take a lunch break, really and truly mean it. Set a good example by taking a lunch break yourself and go for a walk, read a book in a nearby park, or enjoy a delicious meal at a local café.
4. Celebrate Birthdays and Work Anniversaries
To help employees feel more appreciated and noticed, put employee hire dates on a calendar so that you can celebrate their annual milestones. For birthdays, consider giving employees the day off of work instead of just having cake in the office. To help your office feel more like a family, you can also recognize significant personal events and losses in employees’ lives to build a caring corporate community.
5. Recognize Accomplishments with Awards
Another way to keep employees healthy and happy is to recognize them for jobs well done. Make a point to give deserving employees good bonuses to improve office morale. You can also offer special healthy perks to your employees, such as free or discounted gym memberships, counselling sessions, or transportation costs.
6. Rethink the Structure of Your Business
Focusing on the wellbeing of employees is important for corporate retention rates, so optimizing the structure of your business may have distinct positive effects across many levels of the corporate environment. This may mean adjusting or limiting office hours, changing the hierarchy of reporting, or spending more time on employee training. Make sure to communicate your company values as you make any structural shifts to ensure that employees are onboard with those values too.
7. Make the Most of Office Space Design
Your office layout can either help or hinder good communication, not to mention give your office a vibe that feels fun, dull, distracting, or collaborative. Office space ideas that work well to boost company morale include having separate rooms for distinct purposes, creating office rooms that are just for fun, allowing office spaces to be flexible, and integrating technology for personal use as well as for business.
Also, sometimes a simple change of scenery is all it takes to get employees’ creativity flowing and get employees excited to work again. At NYC Office Suites, we provide coworking spaces, private offices, and meeting rooms to accommodate your team on a long-term, shot-term, temporary, or occasional basis. We even offer discounted full-service HR benefits that include member savings of up to 50 percent on health care. Contact us to learn more!