3 Things your staff need from their working environment in 2019

The Feel-Good Factor

Maintaining positive mental and physical health helps staff do their job well. It’s the little things that motivate employees to engage with their working environment.  A CIPD report exploring issues of health, wellbeing and absences in 2018 reported that 51% of UK Employers are now aware of the impact of mental health on employees, up from 31% in 2016.

If this is the case, which support measures can Employers put in place? There are many ways Employers can help but here are a few to get you started; at team meetings, ask your staff to gauge their week-ahead. This will help your team feel supported, while also revealing any issues that can be resolved. The above survey also stated that 81% of employees find it hard to ‘switch off’ outside of work - largely due to the increased use of technology across the work/life balance.  Help your staff to prioritise their own health. Not all Employers have the space to offer in-house canteens, gyms and showers. Instead; offering fruit, encouraging team participation in a charity run, flexibility for gym class participation all help. Often overlooked but interior design is important too, create an inspirational environment in which to work. To support with bullying, mental health issues or confidence concerns, create a confidential concerns hotline. These are all significant ways Employers of any size can make a difference to employees in 2019.

Learning from each other

We all have hopes and dreams, wish-lists we want to tick off for the year ahead.  Whether this is a personal or professional goal, Employers can help their staff to achieve these. Companywide mentoring programmes improve working environments and encourage a more positive culture and mutual respect among employees. There are a number of ways Employers can do this, across teams; two-way across junior and senior staff or more selectively to suit both Candidates’ needs and aspirations. The Oxford Learning institute offers guidance on creating a scheme that is a good fit your business.

Going Places – Take your staff with you

Knowledge is power, empower your staff to move forward with you in 2019. Provide regular training and career progression plans to engage staff intellect. Good leaders know how to delegate, and you want to create a workforce who ‘can.’ Invest in them and they will invest in you and take your business far.  Career progression and training are changing; millennials move on faster, though perhaps not if you can inspire them to stay by instilling a more progressive working environment that looks set to take them where they want to go.  Similarly, pre-millennials may be more loyal but they too appreciate an opportunity to learn new tricks and progress their careers.

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