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Wellbeing Support for Employees

Supporting employee wellbeing is sadly a relatively new concept. That said, it’s a very noble endeavour and one many employers are taking very seriously.

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Over the years of running the GoVox Wellbeing platform to support workplace wellbeing, we have learnt some effective ways to support employee wellbeing, thanks to the continuous feedback from our clients. We present our five top tips below.

1) Ask twice

Are you okay? Seriously though, are you okay?

We’re all accustomed to asking how people are doing, but do people actually answer?

How many times have you asked ‘How’s it going?’ and someone answers with something like ‘Good to see you.’ Repeat the question: ‘Are you okay?’ Show the person that you’re genuinely checking in with them and concerned about their wellbeing (in a good way… don’t act like you’ve just discovered something sinister!) This is the first step to supporting wellbeing at work.

2) Share personal stories to open up dialogues

When we’re asking questions, it helps if we’re relatable. Sharing a personal experience around a particular event may encourage the employee in question to open up about their own experiences. If they don’t feel comfortable, that’s fine too.

‘Yeah, I get a bit down when I return from holiday. It’s so hard to get back into everything and get your work hat on again, isn’t it?!’ We’re all human and people need to know that we can all feel much of the same feelings at times.

3) Listen, hear, acknowledge and repeat

Do you ever find yourself switching off during conversations and losing your train of thought, particularly when you’re preoccupied with other activities. If you’re looking to support employee wellbeing effectively with an employee wellbeing support platform, you need to actively listen to what people are saying, hear them, acknowledge what they’re saying and repeat it back to them. This shows you’re actually hearing them and taking on board what they’re saying.

4) Take notes

Okay, this may not be appropriate while you’re actively engaged in conversation with the employee, but as soon as reasonably possible, take notes about what you were discussing. Effective employee wellbeing support needs your full attention. You shouldn’t be surprised if the person you were talking with closes up if you can’t even remember what you discussed.

5) Follow up

Conversations are great. Actions are better. Following up on things you discussed with your team members is the only surefire way to offer truly effective, holistic wellbeing support to employees at your organisation.

We hope you’ve found this short blog useful. To discuss employee wellbeing support further at your workplace, and to see how our workplace wellbeing platform can add rocket fuel to your wellbeing support, please visit our relevant web pages for more information. And good luck!

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