How Your Employees Stay Healthy
"People who feel good in a company are more committed and productive. In addition, satisfied employees are less sick." This is what Health Promotion Switzerland writes. So it's worthwhile for you as a boss to invest in the health of your team members! We tell you what promises success.
Create a Healthy Working Environment
You can promote the physical health of your employees by creating a work environment in which people feel at ease and can work comfortably. Look for these things:
- Ergonomic office furniture – now a given. To make sure your team isn't always sitting down while doing office work, you can organize some height-adjustable desks.
- Practical and user-friendly technology.
- Different workspaces for different activities: for silent work, sharing, meetings, creative activities, etc. Make sure there are retreats as well.
- A pleasant atmosphere through appropriate lighting, colors, plants and room temperature.
Ensure a Positive Working Atmosphere
The working atmosphere in your team has a decisive influence on the well-being and productivity of the team members. It is essentially shaped by the relationships in your team.
Here's what you can do to create a positive work environment:
- Stay in dialogue. Communicate openly, simply and honestly.
- Establish clear and comprehensible rules for communication and behavior that everyone can agree to.
- Deal with conflicts quickly and resolve them according to clear rules.
- Give your employees a say in decision-making and allow for differences of opinion.
- Create an inclusive work environment in which people of all colors feel at ease.
- Ensure psychological safety: employees are allowed to make mistakes, express opinions, give feedback and show vulnerability without being judged or condemned by the team.
- Organize events and activities outside the company for team spirit.
Lead with the Goal of Motivating
As a leader, you have many opportunities to motivate and win over each individual employee:
- Give clear and achievable goals, which you ideally work out together with the team member concerned.
- Challenge your employees, but don't overburden them. In dialog with them, you will find out what is the right measure.
- Give them trust, and they will trust you.
- Show that you care about your employees.
- Give praise and recognition, show your appreciation.
- Give regular feedback and seek feedback about yourself and your leadership.
- Give constructive criticism.
- Actively encourage your employees and discuss their development opportunities with them.
- Avoid micromanagement and instead grant autonomy: Don't control every detail of your team members' work and tell them how to do it better. It only causes trouble. It's the result that counts!
- Be fair and a role model yourself.
Provide the Necessary Resources
Insufficiently available resources for their work trigger dissatisfaction and stress among employees or even make them ill. Ensure that these resources are allocated appropriately:
- Interesting tasks in which employees can contribute and realize their potential.
- Enough time to get the job done.
- Enough time for recreation in the form of breaks and vacations.
- Flexible working time models, thanks to which they can better manage their work and leisure time.
- Remote work: home office or coworking.
- Free space: grant your employees time off from the daily grind, time to be creative.
- Information: Make sure that the information to get things done flows and is available. Technical tools such as Teams or Slack support you in this.
- Knowledge and learning: never skimp on the training of your team members and let them do their training sooner rather than later.
- Appropriate and reliable tech tools. They should serve your employees, not the other way around.
Seek dialogue when you observe that employees have health problems. The web app "Etwas tun?!" developed by Employees Switzerland together with Workmed helps them to stay mentally healthy at work (link below).
What helps against stress
Are you overwhelmed by all the suggestions? Don't get stressed, even your resources are limited! You have certainly already implemented a lot 😊. Go through the other advice point by point and you'll see: They are implemented faster than you think.
Related Links
-
Working mentally healthy: Web app "Etwas tun?!"
-
Health Promotion Switzerland: Working healthy in new work environments (in German)
External link -
Friendly Workspace Office: Creating a healthy office environment (in German)
External link -
Office Wellbeing Barometer: Survey employee satisfaction in the office space (in German)
External link
Author
Hansjörg Schmid
More on work and health
-
ArticleIn today's digital working world, cyber attacks are a constant threat. We have tips on how you can protect yourself against them.
-
A little story about our holidays
ArticleTrekking trips, cultural tours or cruises: that's how versatile our vacations look today. But that was not always the case.-
7/30/2024 · 3 minutes
-
-
What is boundary management?
ArticleBoundary management is the ability to set and live boundaries between work and private life.-
7/16/2024 · 1 minutes
-
-
Working against the flow of traffic: beware, the road is closed
ArticlePeople are increasingly looking for meaning, not only in their private lives, but also in their work. Gone are the days of the food job. The younger generations, scalded by the urgency of the climate crisis, coupled with the health crisis we saw in 2020, are moving towards a job that not only embraces their skills, but also defends values.-
2/21/2024 · 4 minutes
-
-
Difficult Career Start after Childhood Cancer
ArticleIn Switzerland, around 350 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer every year. Their chances of survival are good, but the long-term consequences often affect their career prospects.-
12/5/2023 · 5 minutes
-
-
Navigating Year-End Office Celebrations with Elegance and Professionalism
ArticleThe end of the year is approaching, and December is often the month synonymous with celebrations and festivities. This is the time for companies to thank their staff and organise events or "company dinners".
Be careful, however, not to over-stage the party and avoid any excesses, either on the plate or with colleagues.-
12/3/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
Accident - what You Need to Know
ArticleWe tell you what to look for in a work injury - so you can put your time and energy into your recovery.-
10/2/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
Apprentices Are Specially Challenged Mentally
ArticleMany young people suffer from psychological problems. This makes a stable environment in the apprenticeship all the more important.-
9/25/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
How to Sleep Better
ArticleIs work depriving you of sleep? Then heed our tips for a healthy sleep.-
9/25/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Working with a Mental Illness
ArticleIf you are mentally distressed, work can help you get better faster.-
9/20/2023 · 5 minutes
-
-
How to Eat Healthy for Lunch
ArticleLittle time over lunch? All the more important is a healthy meal!-
9/18/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Disconnect - this Is how It Works
ArticleBringing your work home is bad for your health. Psychotherapist Saskia Lüdi gives you tips on how to let go.-
8/29/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
Is it possible to be relaxed at work?
ArticleSome employees are reluctant to go to work, as it is often a source of stress for them. Is it possible to reverse this trend? Employés Suisse took a look at the ways in which employees can make their working lives more enjoyable.-
7/6/2023 · 5 minutes
-
-
Occupational Diseases – these Are Your Rights
ArticleFor employees, it is worth clarifying whether an illness is an occupational disease.-
7/4/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
How Do I Deal with Job Worries?
ArticleAm I good enough at my job? Is my job secure? That's exactly the kind of worries this article is about.-
6/26/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
4-day Week: "We Work in a More Focused Way".
ArticleEmployees at Huggystudio work from Monday to Tuesday. "Now we are happier and more successful," says Managing Director Daniel Abebe.-
5/25/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Employees Bear Burden of Shortage of Workers
ArticleIn half of the companies, employees have to do the work of absent colleagues. We need other recipes.-
5/25/2023 · 5 minutes
-
-
Work-Life Balance Is Just as Important as Job Security
ArticleEmployees in Switzerland want a good work-life balance and flexible working hours. They have little concern about losing their job.-
5/25/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Almost Everyone Is Stressed from Work
ArticleMore than a quarter of working people in Switzerland are permanently stressed, and just under half are temporarily stressed. This costs us 6.5 billion francs.-
5/22/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
How Emotions Influence Our Daily Work
ArticleWe have emotions all the time, especially in the workplace. They help us cope with life, inspire us or make us ill.-
5/15/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
How to avoid Boreout
ArticleAre you bored to tears at work every day? Then do something about it before you fall into a boreout.-
5/15/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
What You Can Do against Stress
ArticleMeditating, laughing, exercising, healthy eating – many things help against stress at work. A practical guide.-
5/15/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
How Do I Recognize the Alarm Signals of Burnout?
ArticleLearn how to recognize burnout at an early stage.-
5/11/2023 · 2 minutes
-
-
How to Prevent Burnout
ArticleYour work can be a cause of burnout. Find out what you can do to prevent it.-
5/11/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
Am I Obliged by Law to Provide Emergency Aid?
ArticleEveryone would like to help someone in need. Sometimes, however, you are overwhelmed by it.-
4/17/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Am I Susceptible to Boreout?
ArticleBoreout – can it happen to me too? Here are the most important factors that can cause boreout.-
4/13/2023 · 1 minutes
-
-
Boreout – a Vicious Circle
ArticleBoreout is much more than twiddling your thumbs at work. It is a condition that can make people seriously ill.-
4/13/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
Child Sick – Am I Entitled to Paid Leave?
ArticleHow many days of paid leave can parents take to care for their children?-
4/13/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Do I Have to Work Sick?
ArticleYou can still work with a slight scratchy throat. But not at all with the flu.-
4/12/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Is the Employer Liable for Stress at Work?
ArticleEmployees can become ill because of stress at work. Can they hold their employer liable for this?-
4/12/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Working with an Impairment – Your Rights
ArticlePeople with disabilities should not be discriminated against at work, but rather encouraged.-
4/11/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
Burnout Risk: Can the Law Help?
ArticleIf a company cuts jobs, those who remain have to absorb the additional burden. Their risk of burnout increases.-
3/22/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
Can my Employer Monitor me if I Have a Burnout?
ArticleAn employer hires a private detective to investigate his employee, who is on sick leave due to burnout. He doubts his ability to work and dismisses him without notice. Is that allowed?-
3/22/2023 · 3 minutes
-
-
When the Body Can't Take any more
ArticleHow Anna fell into a deep depression and how she picked herself up again.-
3/22/2023 · 4 minutes
-
-
Is Quiet Quitting Advisable?
ArticleMaybe you have heard of quiet quitting – doing the minimum, not a bit more. Is that a good idea?-
2/2/2023 · 2 minutes
-
-
What Is Quiet Quitting?
ArticleQuiet Quitting means: Someone decides to do only exactly what is required at work, the minimum.-
2/2/2023 · 1 minutes
-
-
Quiet Quitting – not Going the Extra Mile
ArticleAnother trend from the world of work is currently spilling over from the USA to Europe: Quiet Quitting. What is behind it and who does it concern?-
2/1/2023 · 5 minutes
-
More on leading and managing
-
Assembly of Delegates 2024
ArticleOn 7 June, the delegates of Angestellte Schweiz met in Lucerne for their annual meeting. A review of the day and information you shouldn't miss.-
6/11/2024 · 5 minutes
-
-
Coaching: Speaking Is Silver, Asking Is Golden
ArticleForget about guiding your employees with good advice. Instead, ask them the right questions.-
7/3/2023 · 5 minutes
-
-
How to Successfully Lead from Distance
ArticleDo you lead a team that is mostly scattered to the winds? Then you need to organize yourself particularly well and pay attention to a few additional things.-
6/29/2023 · 2 minutes
-