3 Ways to Increase Employee Productivity

Work productivity can be impacted by a myriad of factors including wage levels, business infrastructure and employee health.

A recent study by Britain's Healthiest Company, (BHC) has shown that poor employee health results in British organisations losing 30.4 days of productive time per year. Collectively, British organisations are losing billions of pounds per year because of lost productivity. This is due to staff taking sick leave or staff underperforming in the workplace as a result of poor health. Below, we have listed three ways in which organisations can avoid falling victim to lost productivity by looking after their employees' health.

Make Your Employees Take Sick Leave

It has become conventional for employees to attend the workplace with an illness. A pressurised workplace combined with higher expectations means it is now unconventional to take sick leave. Whilst this may seem like an admirable trait to organisations, it can lead to lower productivity. Staff members that come into work with an illness are more likely to suffer from exhaustion, thus, resulting in performing poorly at work.

Plus, when employees take the time off work and allow themselves to rehydrate and rest, they are likely to get over the illness quicker and more efficiently. This allows them to come bouncing back into the office, ready to be productive!

Provide Healthy Food and Drink Alternatives

While supplying biscuits and sweets in the office might seem like a treat for some, junk food can have serious effects on the overall health of an employee, which has lasting effects on their productivity. The sugar highs will cause employees to crash later in the day, which means they may struggle in afternoons and are less productive.

Healthy employees are much less likely to require extended time off work, and they'll be ready to take on new tasks and challenges during the workday. So, instead of your biscuits and cakes, supply fruit and other healthy alternatives to keep employee health and productivity on the rise.

Employee Benefit Schemes

Employee benefits such as Employee Assistance Programmes help staff deal with physical health and mental health as well as legal and financial issues. The schemes provide an online help system and around the clock telephone counselling services. Whether employees are looking for legal advice on sick leave, advice for managing their illness or tips on how to implement a healthier lifestyle, an EAP scheme can help.

The scheme can also help employers to deal with staff absenteeism and illness. Organisations have more time to deal with other issues, HR departments can put their absenteeism concerns aside and managers can receive expert advice on how to deal with specific situations like staff illness.

Whilst organisations should always welcome conversations with ill or unhealthy employees, a helping hand from an EAP aids both employer and employee, increasing health and productivity in the office!

For more information on Employee Assistance Programmes, call our team on 0330 333 9100 to develop a greater understanding on how the employee benefit scheme can facilitate employee productivity.