Five ways to boost employee wellbeing during lockdown

Overcoming challenges

As lockdown continues, many employees may be feeling frustrated, lonely or bored and some will be finding juggling home-schooling and caring responsibilities while working from home a real challenge. This can have a detrimental impact on their overall wellbeing. So, here are some simple steps you can take which can help:

1.  Remind people of the employee benefits and support available

Your employees may be finding things tough at the moment so don’t forget to remind them of the employee benefits and range of support available to them.

• Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), Virtual GPs and Mental Health apps are all great tools to enable employees to proactively look after their health and wellbeing and seek advice and support early on.
• While benefits such as Private Medical Insurance, Income Protection cover and Financial Education workshops can give your employees peace of mind that help and support is on hand if they need it.

There are also lots of great sources of free and confidential support that you can signpost your employees to, including:

• Mind who offer practical advice for looking after your wellbeing.
• NHS England provides guidance for looking after mental health and wellbeing.
• Samaritans are available 24/7, 365 days a year.

2. Encourage your people to maintain a positive work/life balance 

For many people, a prolonged period of working from home means that the boundaries between home and work have become blurred.  As a result, you might find employees working longer hours, suffering from digital fatigue and taking fewer breaks than normal. This can lead to ‘e-presenteeism’, reduced productivity and burn out.

It’s important to stress the importance of taking a break, so consider:

• Encouraging employees to book time in their diaries for regular breaks.
• Banning internal meetings over lunchtime so employees can get away from their desk and enjoy some fresh air.
• Being flexible and where feasible, ripping up the ‘9-5’ rule book. The most effective working patterns are likely to be different for different employees depending on their individual home situation. Speak to your employees to find out and agree what works best for them, their teammates and your business as a whole.

3. Check in with team members regularly  

Working from home can be isolating and sometimes lonely, so it’s good to establish effective communication and support networks.

• It’s important to make time for supportive conversations. Encourage line managers to check in with their teams on a regular basis, both for one-to-one and team calls.  
• Find a communication tool that works for your business and your people. Whether it's Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime or a good old-fashioned phone call; different colleagues will prefer different communication methods.
• Set up a buddy system and allow time for people to talk with their assigned partner. This doesn’t need to be formal, but a quick coffee can provide a much-needed boost to mental health and wellbeing.
• In the absence of being able to meet new workmates face-to-face, help newer members of the team settle in by partnering them with more experienced employees. They’ll be able to benefit from their skills and knowledge of your business which could help to alleviate any anxiety or worries they may have as a newcomer.

4.  Find time for fun

One of the biggest things many of us are missing from being away from a physical workplace is our colleagues and the general office chat, camaraderie and fun!

• Continue to celebrate birthdays, work anniversaries and other important personal and business milestones.
• Organise virtual get-togethers – pub quizzes, coffee mornings and team building activities provide a simple and cost-effective way to get together without the focus being just on work.
• Host a team lunch and give everyone a small budget to treat themselves to a lunch delivered by their favourite restaurant or café.
• Consider keeping work and social communication channels separate – use WhatsApp, dedicated Workplace groups, Yammer and other tools to create a place for ‘water-cooler’ conversations so they don’t get caught up in important work-related emails and messages.

5. Encourage people to get active

Lockdown during the winter months is proving harder for many people than the first lockdown. Encouraging employees to look after their physical wellbeing can help to boost immune systems, support mental health and keep people happy and productive.

• Organise a company challenge – you could measure the number of daily steps, longest dog walk or miles cycled. Create a leader board and give prizes to the winners and most improved.
• Use internal communication channels such as Workplace to create a place focused on fitness. Share workout plans, swap exercise tips and post success stories.
• Encourage healthy eating. Share nutrition advice and recipes and invite employees to get involved.

Find out more

If you want to find out more about looking after your employee wellbeing or want to review your current employee benefits to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and relevant for the new world of work, please get in touch with a member of our specialist team or visit our Employee Benefits & Wellbeing web page.