Wellbeing In And Around Workspace

Kalpesh got a new job in an organization that gives him very handsome pay. It is his first day and he is excited. He gets to his desk, opens his laptop, and starts his day optimistically. He returns home at 10 pm in the night and collapses on his bed with almost zero excitement for working the next day. He feels physically weakened, tired, psychologically exhausted, and frustrated. Yet, he has to work. After all, the money is so good!

Over the next few days, Kalpesh finds himself turning jittery, easily annoyed, and extremely irritated. He was losing his social life and slowly starting to feel sad and morose. He felt like there was a huge weight put on his back. However, his roommate and best friend, Piyush, who happened to be a psychologist, started to notice these changes in him. He sat with him and attempted to help him out. Piyush figured that Kalpesh was going through extreme stress that was sourcing from his office which was affecting his overall functioning.

The situation Kalpesh has been going through is not alien to us. We have experienced this ourselves, or have seen someone close to us go through this.

In the corporate world, “employee wellbeing” is of immense importance, not only for the employees but also for the employers. So what does Employee Wellbeing mean?

Employee wellbeing essentially refers to the perceived physical and psychological well-being resulting from operating in and around his or her workplace.

Employee wellbeing has primarily four major subdomains.

1. Physical Wellbeing: 

This refers to the typical physical health of an employee. It has to be ensured by the employer that the working conditions of the workplace are not affecting the physical health of the workers.

For example, it is often seen that people working in glass factories lose their eyesight or have pulmonary problems. Ignorance of these issues by employers is a violation of employee wellbeing standards.

2. Mental Wellbeing:

The mental health of workers has to be attended to by the employers. It has been found out that one out of almost seven employees suffers from severe mental health conditions in the United Kingdom. People often experience chronic stress, anxiety, and also depression resulting from workplace conditions. 

3. Social Wellbeing:

Social wellbeing refers to the kind of intergroup and interpersonal relationships the employees have in the workplace. The employer must look into things like community engagement, intergroup conflicts, and the employees’ relationship with authorities.

4. Financial Wellbeing:

In many organizations overworking employees are underpaid. This reduces productivity and leads to inefficient performance. Adequate pay to the employees, incentives and reinforcements are important in maintaining a proper well-being state for the employees.

One of the major reasons why employers are giving more and more attention to the wellbeing of employees is because recent research has revealed that workplace wellbeing is a major determinant of productivity. In other words, there is a direct relationship between an individual’s physical or psychological wellbeing and his or her productivity.

Various theories of motivation suggest that personal wellbeing leads to a boosted morale, which leads to better performance and higher productivity.

Now, what are a few factors that can ensure employee wellbeing?

1. Physical comfort

2. Safety

3. Ergonomics of the workplace

4. The design of the workplace

5. Reinforcements and Incentives

6. Collaborative competition

7. Cooperative authority

8. Recreational activities

9. Healthy working hours

That being said, we can easily ensure a steady rise in the productivity of a particular employee by ensuring his or her state of wellbeing at the workplace.

• Arinjoy Bhattarcharjee