The Ultimate Guide to Looking After Your Employees

There have been a lot of changes to the structure of business and industry in the past year or so, hasn’t there? 

It has been a wild ride especially in terms of the general public’s understanding of who really provides essential roles for the community, not actually having to sit in an office nine to five to be productive, and that they can, in fact, ask for better benefits and options. 

Your employees are extremely important to your business – anyone who has been part of a firm with a high turnover rate will understand how much work actually goes into the job roles, and how much employees often go above and beyond.

Treating your employees well, listening to their thoughts and concerns, and implementing strategies and concessions that benefit their work can only be a good thing.

If you are interested in looking after your employees – read on.
And if you are not – you should be.

Consider Mental Health and Real Life Factors

Humans are not robots, and as much as some employers would like them to operate as one, they come with a variety of different personality traits, issues, and creative outputs.
Creating a safe space and understanding these factors can go along way into ensuring the happiness (and productivity) of an employee. If they do not feel cared for, valued, or heard, you can expect them to look elsewhere, and thrive. 

Offer (and Enforce) Adequate Breaks

It is far too easy in the corporate world to just keep going and going … and going, until you have burned out. Breaks are actually vital to productivity, memory, focus and attention, and employees who forgo them can experience stress, tiredness, and productivity fatigue.
There is a misconception that hard workers are the ones who ‘go hard or go home’, which is just not true. It is about the quality of work that is created as much as it is the speed. And speed does not always equal productivity. 

Not only that, but constantly staring at screens can cause issues such as eye strain, headaches, and other physical complaints, which will only get worse if unmanaged.

Businesses can use solutions such as a HR platform to remind employees to take breaks, or schedule their holidays. 

Positive Workplace Culture

For the unfortunate among us (which is probably a hefty number), a toxic workplace is not just the stuff of fiction reserved for sitcoms. No. They are extremely real, and will almost always cause the most damage to your company and your employees. 

“People do not leave a job, they leave their boss” is just one of the common phrases used to explain how the culture and management of the job is possibly the most important part of any work place. 

Many can tolerate a mediocre job if the culture is great, but not many want to tolerate a great job if the workplace is toxic. Be sure to keep on top of this, listen to any complaints or suggestions, and be proactive in making your company a safe and happy space for everyone.