Employee Well-being: Strategies for a Healthy and Productive Workplace

This report comprehensively examines employee well-being, emphasizing its crucial role in organizational success. It defines well-being as encompassing physical and mental health, job satisfaction, and overall happiness, highlighting the workplace's responsibility to ensure employee safety and health. The report explores the impact of well-being on productivity and identifies various strategies for enhancing employee health, such as flexible working hours, gym memberships, and financial education programs. It also discusses the importance of creating a supportive and respectful work environment that encourages employee talents and addresses potential limitations of wellness programs, like employee participation and program costs. The report uses Tesco as a case study, illustrating how companies can implement initiatives to improve employee well-being. It underscores the link between employee well-being and organizational performance, including reduced absences and increased productivity, while acknowledging the challenges in implementing and managing wellness programs.

Running head: EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
The word well-being is a very common term that is being used commonly in the present
scenario. The government and the other public agencies are looking in the well-being of
individuals very much seriously. Well-being significantly means how someone tends to feel
about the various things that tend to happen in their respective lives. It tends to concern both the
lives they live in their homes, about their health, the relationship that one tends to live with the
others. It also tends to concern the job life of one individual as well as various other activities
which one is involved in (Banfield, Kay and Royles 2018). The well-being usually deals with
the fact that an individual is happy and is even feeling well enough. However, concerning the
workplace of an individual, the well-being of an individual tends to concern about the health and
safety of the employees. In other words, it can be said that it is the duty of the workplace to
ensure that the safety of the employees are being maintained and health and safety concerns are
being limited and even addressed. However, well-being is a much broader topic in the workplace
organization. The employee well-being is more about enhancing the health of the employees
rather than firing the employees who are identified to suffer from some form of mental illness.
However, it is to be noted that the well-being of the employee’s also involves the happiness of
the employees. It also tends to include the satisfaction of the job of all the employees as well
(BATEMAN and Bateman 2014). The main goal or the aim for workplace well-being is to
implement the OSH measures in order to make sure that the workers are very much safe, healthy,
satisfied and even very much committed to their work. The well-being of the workers is one of
the most effective factor which tends to determine the effectiveness or success of an organization
in the long run. Many studies that have been done in this field tends to indicate the fact that the
standard of productivity as well as the general health and well-being of the employees are
directly connected to one another. In the present scenario, the enterprises and organizations are

2EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
working progressively to understand and identify the requirements of the employees so that the
workers well being are handled adequately. It is however to be noted that the organization’s are
working hard for the wellness of the employees because they tend to understand that the
employees are the main resources of the organization. On the other hand, many organizations are
engaging themselves to maintain the well-being of the employees because they tend to
understand that the workers are less committed over the work when their safety and well-being
are not being safeguarded (Bratton and Gold 2017). The wellness of the employees in the
organization are maintained by creating a culture in which all the employees are being respected
and the talents of the employees are being encouraged and motivated. Giving flexible working
hours to the employees are also another way of removing the stress from the employees and
therefore it is also considered another way of looking into the wellness of the employees.
Offering one remote working day to the employees in each of the weeks is also another way of
enhancing the well-being of the employees (Anago 2016). Giving memberships card in gyms
and health insurances programs can also be initiated. Education can also be offered by the
employers to the employees about the financial matters. Employee assistance programs must also
be initiated in order to provide counselling and even services of support to the employees or even
to their families (Brewster and Mayrhofer 2011). Encouragement must also be given by the
employers of the organization to the employees in order to focus on their physical health. These
are some of the steps which the organizations or the companies implement in order to ensure the
well-being of the employees.
The physical, as well as the mental health of the employees, tend to get highly influenced
with the healthy, clean and spacious environment in which an individual tends to work. It is to
be noted that various employees who are working in the organization tend to suffer from some

3EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
form of diseases like diabetes, high levels of cholesterol and high blood pressure. Therefore one
of the scope for the well being of the employees in an organization is that the organization can
take the initiative to make the employees sign up for the services that are being provided.
However, it should be the duty of the organization to make sure that not only the people who are
suffering from some form of diseases tend to get the benefits of the services (Carbery and Cross
2015). All the employees who are working in the organization must be able to take part in the
programs which tends to check the health and safety of the employees. The physical environment
in which the employees tends to work must be very much welcoming and it must be made very
much creative. The environment in which an employee tends to work has a great impact because
an employee tends to say in his or her workplace for more than eight hours. The right
environment will enhance the creativity of the employees and even lead to a better rate of
productivity. If the physical health of an employee is well enough, then the employees are able to
work more and produce a higher rate of success or productivity (Christy 2015). Initiatives must
be taken by the employers to make sure that the wellness of the health of the employees is being
maintained. The program must be concerning education so that it can encourage the employees
as well as the families who are connected to them to live a very healthy life and not get addicted
to any form of drugs. The initiative must also be taken by the employers of the organization to
ensure that the mental peace of the employees working in the organization are being maintained.
It is to be noted that the proper mental peace of employees enabled them to be very much active
and produce a higher level of work for the organization. Alternative shift hours of time must be
offered to the employees so that they can work accordingly as per their own comfort zone.
Creative ways to engage the employees in the organization and among one another must be
ensured in order to avoid any sort of conflicts and problems. In order to create a health well

4EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
being, it is very important for the employers of the organization to praise the talents and skills of
the employees as well. These are considered to be the scopes of the well Being of the employees
in the organization. (Gilmor 2013). If these are being followed within the organization then it
will be helping the employees to remain good both physically and mentally and this will lead to a
greater amount of benefits for the company as well. Programs related to the workplace wellness
are often beneficial as it helps in the reduction of the expenses in terms of the medical
emergencies, it also tends to enhance the productivity and even motivate the employees to
enhance their habits related to that of their health care. However, the will of the employees to
participate in the wellness programs tends to make the impact as well as the effectiveness or the
success of these programs. One of the nature of employee wellness is that it leads to a higher rate
of production. When an initiative is taken by the company to offer programs of wellness for the
purpose of motivating the health of the employee, it leads to the enhancement of the rate of the
production as well (Hoert, Herd and Hambrick 2018). Various studies that have been done in this
field tend to examine that the in the wellness programs, much initiative is being taken in matters
related to obesity, stress and in behaviours which tends to deal with smoking and drinking.
Employees who are fit tend to have better energy and abilities that help in performing more.
emotional well being that tends to result from the wellness tends to help the employees to come
for working with more positive energy and with an approach which is very much oriented to the
team. Another nature of the well-being of the employees of an organization is that it leads to a
lower level of absences in the organization or the company (Hook, Jenkins and Foot 2015). The
absences in the company which is caused because of the ill health of the employees cost the
company a huge amount of money and even various opportunities are being missed (Jones,
Hillier and Comfort, 2013)Through the reduction of stress and other issues of health, the reason

5EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
for being absent among the employees tends to get reduced as well. Employees tend to give more
productivity when they are work in a consistent time.
However, there are various limitations of the wellness programs that are being initiated
for the employees by the employers of an organization. The first limitation that can be
considered is that it totally depends upon the employees to participate in the good programs.
There may be situations in which the employees may not be interested in taking part in the
wellness programs that are being organized. In such conditions, the wellness programs that are
being conducted becomes totally ineffective and unsuccessful (Losina et al.,2017)..Another
limitation of the wellness programs initiated for the employees in the workplace is that the
wellness programs are very much expensive. Some companies tend to have employees who work
for the wellness of the other employees of the organization by sending newsletters and various
other updates on the wellness. Some of the companies also tend to give incentives in order to
encourage and motivate the employees in order to achieve their aim of wellness (Mankin 2009).
However, it is to be noted that the investment of the company in the programs of fitness as well
as of the preventive health screenings are some of the common costs of the company. Another
limitation is that all the private information’s of an employee are not being unknown through
which the accurate medical programs can be initiated (Mello 2014.)On the other hand, it is been
seen that the employees tend to be afraid of participating in the wellness programs because they
fear that others will get to know about their diseases from which they are suffering and this may
lead to their isolation among the employees. All the wellness initiatives that are being taken by
the employer for the employee may not be accurate for all the members of the organization
(Mukhopadhyay and Wendel 2013). In order to have a wellness program, it is very important to
have a team who are experts in conducting the program (Plets and Goethals 2016) However, the

6EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
employer may not have the resources in order to create this team. It is also to be noted that the
employees may not participate in the events if the meetings are held after the working hours.
The first organization which has been taken into account for the purpose of analysis of
the initiatives which are being taken by the company for the enhancement of the employees of
the organization is that of the Tesco. In order to ensure that the well being of the employees are
being initiated, the company Tesco changed many of its program. In the present situation, the
company Tesco has combined themselves with various gyampass to give the facilities of the gym
to the members of the organization (Pronk et al., 2018). As per this initiative, the employees of
the TESCO in UK as well as in the Republic of Ireland is able to get access to facilities to more
than 1400 gym. Studies and researches that have been conducted indicate that a great number of
employees had a positive impact on them because of the initiative taken in sports like that of the
marathon or cycling competition. Apart from this, the initiative is also taken by the TESCO
organization to see that employees who are working for the organization are eating healthy and
good food. It is for this purpose, healthy discounts are being provided. The initiative is also taken
by the organization to have free blood pressure checks and even assessment of the diabetes risk
are also being ensured. During the check-up months of the colleague, free fruits are being
distributed to the employees. Studies that have been done in this field indicates that the company
has gifted of about 6 million pieces of fruits to its employees till the present time (Ayodele,
Abdallah and Issaka). Free gym passes are also provided to the employees to ensure that the
employees remain fit apart from this, the company is a strong believer that apart from the
physical health of the employee, the mental health being is also very much important. By
keeping this belief I mind, the company supported the Time to change whose main goal was to
remove the stigma which is generally associated with mental health. The employees of the

7EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
organization have used the mindapple of more than 20,000 times since the time of its origin. On
the other hand, it is to be noted that the more than 1000 employees have taken part in the
workshops which are related to mental health. In combining with the British heart productions,
Cancer research of UK and the Diabetes UK, the company is trying to establish themselves as
the leading workplace health program which is assumed that will benefit of about 300,000
employees of the company. In the 100 years celebration of the company, the company is taking
initiation to provide the package of the wellness to all the employees of the company. This
included all the employees who are working in the head office to that of the employees working
in the stores.
Aldi is the supermarket company chain which is owned by two German families. It was
being founded by Karl and Theo Albrecht in the year 1946. It is one of the topmost company in
the UK. It takes several initiatives for the well-being of the employees in their organization.
They are committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for the employees who
tend to work for the organization. A various number of measures for the safety of the individuals
are being taken constantly by the company which aims at the particular conditions of each
particular area of the work (Richardson 2017).Apart from the authorial and the general measures
that are being taken by the company, the company even ensures that apparatuses or the
equipment’s that are needed for the safety of the individuals are stored so that it can be utilized
during the time of the need. The company Aldi tends to take the safety of its employees very
significantly and they are constantly working for their enhancement as well. The company even
trains their employees so that they themselves can be are of their own safety during the time of
their work. Various seminar regarding the safety of the employees is being initiated by the
company. Safety induction programs for the awareness of the employees are also being initiated

8EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
by the company. This helps the employees to be aware and even conscious of the safety of their
own self first. For the safety of the employees, the company first focuses on the areas of the
sectors which are very much prone to that of the incident. This is more applicable in sectors or
work which tends to concern around the logistics and that of the sales. For example, when filling
up the shelves and the fridges with products accidents are about to take place. Maintaining the
well-being of the employees is the foundation of the company. The company is working hard to
limit the risks as well as to create a healthier and even safer place for the employees to work. In
order to do so, the company tends to use technological instruments which are technical in nature
and which designs the ergonomic places of work. One example of this is the optimized
placement of the barcodes on the products of the company. With the introduction of the scanner
checkouts, the packaging of the company has been constantly improved. This tends to speed up
the process of the checkout and provide a lesser amount of strain on that of the employees. The
company Aldi tends to follow a different kind of policies and approaches in order to create an
environment which is very much healthy and friendly for the employees who are working for the
organization or that of the company. The company has collaborated with the FAST and SAFE
and even with the Front End Efficiency to improve upon the productivity of the employees as
well as to look after the well being of the employees as well. Fast and Safe programs is
considered to be the two-fold program that tends to identify the ergonomic habits which are
unfavourable in nature along with the inefficiencies which are very much common during the
process of the reload (Smith and Rees 2017). However, the training program has been initiated
by the company for the employees for the purpose of educating them on the accurate technique
of reloading. On the other hand, the front end efficiency program tends to aim at the ergonomics,
efficiency and also the service provided to the customers during the time of their checkout. In the

9EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
year 2014, a health and safety committee was being created by the company through which the
company created its own structure for the purpose of tasks concerning the safety of the
occupation. However, the company even realized that being physically active makes the
employees active in their work. Therefore, the company even boost the energy of the employees
by providing them with gympassses. Research that has been done in this field indicates that
more than 37000 employees in the UK within 1000 stores and 13 offices have access to the gym
facilities in more than 450 towns across the UK and even in Ireland. Apart from this, on their
colleague app, the company updates articles on the well-being of health. Promotion is also
conducted on the topic of mental health. The employee assistance program has been recreated by
the company in which the employees of the organization are being asked to engage themselves in
the program if they require any form of support. On the other hand, health and well-being
courses have been launched for the managers of the company which can enable them to provide
support to the teams more accurately.

10EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
References
Anago, C.R., 2016. The core HR Practices in the retail sector in Ireland and their role on
Service Quality and the level of satisfaction and loyalty found in both Employee and
Customers (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin, National College of Ireland).
Ayodele, A., Abdallah, N.M. and Issaka, Y., USING TESCO AS A CASE STUDY.
Banfield, P., Kay, R. and Royles, D., 2018. Introduction to human resource management.
Oxford University Press.
BATEMAN, C. and Bateman, C.R., 2014. A Normative Framework Impacting Employee
Engagement and Outcomes. Organizational Ethics and Stakeholder WellBeing in the Business
Environment, p.275.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C. and Mayrhofer, W., 2011. Comparative human resource management. International
human resource management, 3, pp.47-78.
Carbery, R. and Cross, C. eds., 2015. Human resource development: A concise introduction.
Palgrave.
Christy, G., 2015. CSR and human resource management. Corporate social responsibility, Sage,
London, pp.72-102.
Gilmore, S., 2013. Introducing human resource management. In Human resource
management (pp. 3-20). Oxford University Press.

11EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
Hoert, J., Herd, A.M. and Hambrick, M., 2018. The role of leadership support for health
promotion in employee wellness program participation, perceived job stress, and health
behaviors. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(4), pp.1054-1061.
Hook, C., Jenkins, A. and Foot, M., 2015. Introducing Human Resource Management 7th edn.
Pearson Higher Ed.
Jones, P., Hillier, D. and Comfort, D., 2013. In the public eye: sustainability and the UK's
leading retailers. Journal of Public Affairs, 13(1), pp.33-40.
Losina, E., Yang, H.Y., Deshpande, B.R., Katz, J.N. and Collins, J.E., 2017. Physical activity
and unplanned illness-related work absenteeism: Data from an employee wellness program. PloS
one, 12(5).
Mankin, D., 2009. Human resource development. Oxford university press.
Mello, J.A., 2014. Strategic human resource management. Nelson Education.
Mukhopadhyay, S. and Wendel, J., 2013. Evaluating an employee wellness
program. International journal of health care finance and economics, 13(3-4), pp.173-199.
Plets, I. and Goethals, K., 2016. The Attitude/Behaviour of an Employer towards an Employee
Who Partially Resumes Work after Long-Term Incapacity Can Constitute Harassment and
Discrimination (BE). Eur. Emp. L. Cases, p.89.
Pronk, N.P., Malan, D., Christie, G., Hajat, C. and Yach, D., 2018. Health and well-being
metrics in business: the value of integrated reporting. Journal of occupational and
environmental medicine, 60(1), pp.19-22.

12EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
Richardson, K.M., 2017. Managing employee stress and wellness in the new
millennium. Journal of occupational health psychology, 22(3), p.423.
Smith, P.E. and Rees, G., 2017. An introduction to the organization, its environment and human
resource management. Strategic human resource management: an international perspective, 3.