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11/06/2024
Posted by: Altura Benefits in Lifestyle
Everyone needs to relax sometimes, including your workers. Although a little stress is motivating, excessive or chronic stress has the opposite effect. To foster a healthy and productive work environment, employers should support relaxation in the workplace.
OSHA reports that workplace stress and poor mental health negatively affect job performance, productivity, work engagement, communication, physical capability, and daily functioning.
Although stress may stem from many areas of life, work is a common source of stress. In a survey from the American Institute of Stress, 83% of U.S. workers said they suffer from daily work-related stress and 39% cited their workload as the main cause of stress.
By helping workers relax, employers create a workplace that supports creativity, engagement, and productivity. In fact, research from Oxford University shows that happy workers are 13% more productive.
Excessive stress isn’t just bad for mental health – it’s also bad for physical health.
Mayo Clinic says stress impacts health in a number of ways, including by causing headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, fatigue, sleep problems, a weakened immune system, and an upset stomach. Stress may also contribute to drug or alcohol misuse, tobacco use, overeating or undereating, and reduced exercise.
Given this, it’s unsurprising that stress is linked to higher healthcare costs. According to research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, healthcare costs are almost 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress. By promoting relaxation in the workplace and reducing stress, employers support better employee health and reduce their healthcare costs.
Another reason to help workers relax is that employers that help workers manage stress may have an easier time attracting and retaining talent.
In the American Psychological Association (APA)’s 2023 Work in America Survey, 92% of workers said it’s important to them to work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological well-being and 95% said it’s important to work for an organization that respects the boundaries between work and personal time. In the APA study, 77% of workers also said they had experienced work-related stress in the last month and 57% were experiencing negative impacts, including 20% who said they had a desire to quit.
Employee turnover is a major expense for companies. This also leads to disruption and impacts operations. By fostering an environment that supports employee wellbeing and relaxation, employers may reduce turnover and the associated costs.
Employers have ample reason to support employee relaxation. They also have multiple ways of helping employees de-stress, including the following six.
During the workday, employees may need a break but may not always have enough time to go to a café, park, or other relaxing spot. Employers can help workers make the most of their breaktimes by giving them a relaxing place onsite.
Small changes to a breakroom will make it more relaxing:
To help employees relax on and off the clock, employers should consider offering perks that help with stress.
Mental health apps provide an easy way to try mediation or get better sleep. Examples include Headspace and Calm, which have options for employers that want to offer subscriptions to their workers as a perk.
Gym memberships are often cited as a way to boost employee physical health. Another reason to offer this is perk is that exercise is a great stressbuster. For remote workers, online exercise classes or a home gym allowance could be good alternatives.
When employees take short breaks, they may reach for their phones and start scrolling through social media – or “doomscrolling.” According to University Hospitals, this may lead to elevated levels of stress hormones as well as sleep problems, worsening depression and anxiety, and reinforcement of negative thoughts and feelings.
Help your workers break the doomscrolling habit by offering healthy and relaxing activities for them to engage in during their breaks. For example:
Pew Research Center found that nearly half of all workers who have paid time off don’t use all of it, with many citing concerns about falling behind at work, making their coworkers take on extra work, or hurting their chances of job advancement. Additionally, 12% of workers say their manager or supervisor discourages them from taking time off.
Although a relaxing breakroom may help workers de-stress during the workday, your employees also need time off to recharge. Encouraging them to enjoy their paid time off is a good way to help them relax.
The rise of smart phones and email has made the practice of managers contacting workers after hours and expecting an immediate response more common. This may make it impossible for workers to truly unwind and may contribute to burnout.
To deal with this problem, some countries are passing “right to disconnect” laws that say workers don’t have to respond to messages when they are off the clock. Even when they’re not legally bound to do so, employers should be careful about contacting employees excessively, especially for anything other than a true emergency.
It’s hard to relax when you’re worried about housing problems, legal disputes, or other major issues.
Employers can help their workers relax by giving them resources to deal with their problems. An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a practical way to provide support for a wide range of issues, including mental health, substance abuse, housing problems, legal problems, and childcare problems.
Employees may also like to provide teletherapy benefits to help employees deal with mental health issues. In a survey from the American Psychiatric Association, many U.S. adults said they have used telehealth, more than half said they would use it for mental health, and more than one-third said they prefer it over in-person options.
An employee benefits package can address many worker issues, including relaxation in the workplace. Discover how Altura Benefits can help you create a stress-free, productive work environment. Contact us today to optimize your employee benefits package!”