Employers are getting creative in their efforts to support employees’ physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing as the COVID pandemic rages on.
Your employees are juggling enormous responsibilities, stresses, and challenges right now; but you can help them eat, live, and feel better. Your efforts to address their wellbeing will not only make their lives happier and healthier; they will enhance productivity, engagement, and innovation on the job.
Here are some of the most inventive and easiest to adapt for your workers:
- Virtual grocery store tours. Have a dietitian conduct virtual grocery store tours to help employees (and their families) make healthy choices based on the food pyramid and learn how to read labels and plan nutritious meals and snacks. Provide low-income workers with coupons and other ways to get grocery/food discounts or freebies.
- A Facebook work group that’s not about work. Start a FB group called “Life after Work” and post videos of workers/families playing music or performing, photos and stories of people volunteering or having fun family nights, ‘stupid pet tricks,’ and other after-work activities. This is a great way for workers to connect and engage on a positive, personal level.
- Pet projects. This is a no-brainer—have people share photos of their pets on a bulletin board, in the break room, or on a special page online. Have virtual pet-people happy hours or brunches where workers can bring their pets and tell stories about how they make life better.
- Weekend warriors. Every Friday provide workers with a list of fun, healthy activities they can pursue on the weekends with their families. Offer activity boxes with all the supplies necessary to complete a craft project, give out jigsaw puzzles, provide gift cards for pizza and other snacks, etc. Have workers post movie reviews and suggestions. Then ask workers to share pictures of their weekend adventures.
- Virtual summer camp for kids. Have some volunteers lead a virtual summer camp with crafts, games, story hours, and outdoor activities. These can help bring fun to families and give work-at-home parents a break every day.
- Virtual classes. Let volunteers and family members shine by leading a virtual cooking show or art class. Giving people an opportunity to share their talents and experience with others increases confidence and self-esteem. It also helps you maintain engagement with volunteers until they can come onsite again.
- Virtual skills development. Find or create virtual classes to offer skills such as learning a new language, dog obedience training, how to cut hair, or how to start a vegetable garden. Helping people feel more self-sufficient in challenging times can improve their self-esteem and outlook and save them time and money.
What creative ways have you devised to promote wellbeing at your organization? Let us know. Write to us: [email protected].
