Supporting Wellbeing in the Workplace with the Four Pillars

By the Exploristics Health and Wellbeing Employee Led Network

In today’s fast-paced world, the importance of health and wellbeing in the workplace is gaining recognition as a key factor in creating a thriving and productive business. Organisations increasingly understand that a healthy and happy workforce contributes to overall success. To support this at Exploristics, we feel that it’s crucial to focus on the four pillars of wellbeing:

1. Physical wellbeing
2. Psychological wellbeing
3. Social wellbeing
4. Financial wellbeing

 

Physical wellbeing

Physical wellbeing can be supported at work by encouraging regular physical activity in several ways. This can be through providing on-site facilities in the case of large businesses, organising group workouts, or promoting activities like walk meetings. Offering wellness programs that include health screenings and nutrition workshops can also contribute to enhancing physical health. While simple changes like ensuring teams have ergonomic workstations can play an important role in preventing physical strain.

As an SME, Exploristics strives to support physical wellbeing by:

• Setting fitness challenges that promote team building as well as encouraging physical activity, such as the annual step challenge.
• Providing private health cover that educates employees through apps that promote physical activities.
• Sharing internal weekly blogs that focus on the importance of physical activity and offer top tips for staying fit.

 

Psychological wellbeing

Creating a positive work environment that promotes open communications and reduces stress supports psychological wellbeing in the workplace. Implementing mindfulness programmes, meditation sessions, or workshops on stress management can supply practical solutions to help with this. New hybrid work patterns provide many benefits that can help strike the right work-life balance. However, they can also make it difficult to escape the pressures of work. So, a workplace culture that openly values a good work-life balance and encourages teams to take breaks is vital and can significantly contribute to mental wellbeing. When things become too much, access to counselling services or employee assistance programs can offer further valuable and more targeted psychological support.

At Exploristics, we prioritise the psychological wellbeing of our teams by offering:

• Flexible working from day one for everyone
• Wellness Action Plans (WAPs) to support an individual’s needs so they can perform at their maximum capacity in the most supportive environment possible, without prejudice or discrimination. This can involve the inclusion of small reasonable adjustments.
• One to one counselling through our private health cover.
• Outreach from our certified Mental Health First Aid Staff as well as support from line managers and our Human Resources (HR) team.
• Internal weekly blogs with a focus on strategies for looking after mental health.

 

Social wellbeing

Nurturing a sense of community within the workplace is important in enhancing social wellbeing. Studies have shown that a supportive social environment can play a key role in motivating team members and increasing job satisfaction. This can be done by organising team-building activities, social events, or volunteering opportunities. Encouraging open communication and providing social spaces can also help people to connect and build relationships. Moreover, recognising and celebrating key achievements rewards the individual and strengthens a sense of belonging.

At Exploristics, we foster social wellbeing by:

• Offering regular opportunities for social get togethers either in person or via Teams. Many of us work remotely across different parts of the UK and so value the opportunity to join online coffee chats or team quizzes.
• Supporting working visits to our Belfast office so our teams can get to know each other better in person.
• Celebrating and rewarding success using the Perkbox scheme and through nomination for our popular Above and Beyond awards.
• Providing cross team interaction with social activities that encourage involvement such as a leaderboard driven team step challenge.
• Organising annual in-person and online Christmas parties to give team members the opportunity to join colleagues a more relaxed environment.

 

Financial wellbeing

Finally, financial wellbeing should not be overlooked when it comes to health. Depending on the size and resources of an organisation, education programs to help employees manage their finances and providing benefits such as retirement plans and access to financial counselling services can be effective ways to support team members. Transparent communication about compensation and benefits can also help reduce financial stress. Moreover, offering opportunities for skill development can improve long-term employability and financial security.

At Exploristics, we promote financial wellbeing and employability by offering:

• Annual updates from an independent financial advisor to provide information on company pension scheme performance and on tax incentives to help save for retirement.
• Information with a focus on finances, such as flagging scams and offering budgeting tips.
• Regular training opportunities for career development

 

A sound investment

At Exploristics, we believe that prioritising the four pillars of wellbeing in the workplace not only contributes to the health and happiness of our teams but also enhances overall organisational success. By investing in the physical, psychological, social, and financial wellbeing, we strive to create a positive supportive culture that attracts and retains top talent. As an SME, this makes sound economic sense as we can see for ourselves that a thriving workforce is the foundation to a thriving business.