Being supportive is a broad term, and you can support someone in many ways. So, what does it mean to support your employees? How does it benefit them, and how can it help your bottom line?
After dealing with a global pandemic, record inflation, and a growing mental health crisis, employees are burnt out and need more support than ever. Stress factors increase for working parents or those caring for aging parents; meeting childcare needs, finding a work-life balance, and battling caregiver fatigue and burnout are prevalent.
But supporting employees is more than just providing essential benefits, a decent paycheck, and a fulfilling job. It means taking a holistic approach to meeting employees where they’re at. It means that now, more than ever, companies need to invest in their people’s personal and professional development.
To tap into the full potential of your workforce, employees require wraparound support.
Benefits of supporting employees in the workplace
Increased productivity
The most significant benefit you’ll see by adequately supporting your team is that your bottom line will improve. When employees have the proper tools and direction to do their jobs, they are able to work faster, more efficiently, and with fewer errors.
Improved job satisfaction
When employees are properly supported, they’re more likely to show up, put in the work, and trust that you’re making the best decisions for the company.
Increased longevity
One of the most prominent reasons employees quit their jobs is their dissatisfaction with their direct manager. There may be a personality conflict, the employee feels the manager has unrealistic expectations, or the employee needs a more one-on-one approach. Either way, it isn’t surprising to find low morale and production lags in those conditions.
On the other hand, employees with solid manager relationships can work through professional challenges more easily. When an issue does arise, their manager helps resolve it rather than the worker feeling like quitting is the only option.
How to provide support
Change your mindset around benefits
Before thinking about how benefits can help play a role, you should change your mindset around what benefits matter today and why.
Employee benefits should be flexible enough to address individual needs and preferences. Before the pandemic, benefit programs were already evolving to better address diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Companies have also started to acknowledge that some employees now care for elderly loved ones and will need caregiver personal days and a flexible schedule.
Invest in well-being and mental health training and support
Regarding supporting your employees’ mental health, being proactive is better than being reactive. Training supervisors, team leads, and managers on how to offer support to employees can improve overall efficiency.
Training can also help establish a culture that embraces mental health and general well-being, allowing employees to handle uncertainties better. Such a culture can help you project how changes in demands or work environments affect your team members.
Offer Lifestyle Benefits
An astounding 53 percent of employees have said they experienced either depression or anxiety because of the pandemic, according to the Kaiser Foundation. The stress on employees has caused people to increase their use of alcohol, drugs, vaping, smoking, and other terrible activities for their health.
A great way to help employees out is to create a wellness program. Edenred’s Lifestyle Spending Accounts covers a variety of wellness benefits that impact mental health.
If you’re looking for ways to support your employees both in and out of the office, Edenred is here to help. We will be exhibiting at the SHRM Annual Conference June 11-14 in Las Vegas. Book a meeting with us today and we’d be happy to meet with you in person to discuss what we can do for you and your employees.
