As increasingly competitive work environments continue to blur the boundaries between work and home, people are spending more time with their colleagues than ever before. One fact that clearly differentiates successful workplaces of today is happy employees.
A happy employee is a motivated, loyal and productive one. That is why ensuring an employee’s well-being is now considered integral to a company’s overall success.
Stress is often highlighted as among the top factors impacting productivity and happiness at the workplace – and this is especially true in the GCC region. In fact, research shows that highly stressed individuals take an average of 4.7 days off and can cost the company about 16.4 days of productivity.[1]
There are several ways to de-stress the workplace:
- Initiate a wellness programme: Investing in a wellness program that focuses on greater team-building, and physical and mental well-being, can go a long way in tackling work-related stress.
- Provide an adequate insurance plan: An overwhelming 45% of respondents claimed that they paid for their own medical expenses[1], showing a clear mismatch between employer-provided insurance and the employee’s healthcare needs.
- Career advancement: Only 36% of UAE workers admitted to being satisfied with the career advancement opportunities open to them.[2] If anything, this should serve as a reminder that constant check-ins with your employees on their job satisfaction and growth in the company are vital to keeping them happy and motivated.
- Fruit to show you care: Believe it or not, ensuring the availability of fresh fruit at the office is seen to have a significant impact on employee productivity. In fact, employees regard fruit as an improvement on the overall quality of work.[3] Ultimately, every little step counts when you’re trying to create a low-stress and high-performance work environment.
To learn other ways to create a stress-free workplace, contact mesales@cigna.com.
