Article
4 min read
Author
Gabriele Culot
Published
November 20, 2023
Last Update
June 20, 2024
Table of Contents
Promote open communication
Prioritize mental health awareness
Advocate for ergonomic workspaces
Eat healthy and stay active
Nurture teamwork and collaboration
Manage workload effectively
Promote healthy decision-making
Building a better workplace with Deel
A healthy workplace is vital to employee wellness, productivity, and success overall. A work environment characterized by open communication, teamwork, and initiatives focused on mental health can significantly impact job satisfaction, employee retention, and, ultimately, the organization’s bottom line.
However, triggering change at the organizational level is not always easy or quick, and cultural renovation can be challenging to roll out. This means workers are often left hoping for a better workplace while nothing around them seems to change.
We compiled a list of actions you can start taking to help improve the way you work and your satisfaction in the workplace. Find the ones that best fit your needs and your work situation and try them out. Start building a better workplace today.
I believe that culture change starts with the actions of individuals. If everyone sent one personal Slack message each day, that was just well-wishing, acknowledgment of someone, gratitude, etc. It would create small, subtle shifts or, at the very least, brighten someone’s day.
—Sarah Schwab,
Senior Content Writer
Promote open communication to ensure team members and collaborators feel heard and valued. Transparent decision-making and regular check-ins create a healthy work culture, which is vital to workplace satisfaction.
Put these tips into practice to ensure open communication is at the core of your workplace relations:
Active listening: Give your full attention when others are speaking, nodding, and paraphrasing to confirm understanding when engaging in conversations.
Clear email communication: Write clear and concise emails, specifying the purpose of the message and desired action if necessary. Avoid jargon and acronyms to enhance understanding.
Feedback culture: Encourage feedback from colleagues and superiors. Acknowledge feedback positively and use it as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Don’t shy away from providing feedback when needed.
Document decisions: Clearly document your actions and work, and share them with the team. This ensures everyone is on the same page and reduces misunderstandings.
Practice empathy: Empathize with your colleagues’ perspectives and emotions. Understanding their point of view encourages open and honest communication.
Addressing mental health concerns reduces absenteeism and burnout, fostering a supportive atmosphere. While this can be a delicate topic, there are actions you can take and promote to ensure your work environment is a safe place to discuss mental health and foster positive behaviors.
Take breaks: short breaks throughout the day to relax, stretch, or practice deep breathing. Breaks enhance focus, reduce stress, and improve overall well-being. Encourage the people you work with to take breaks, too.
Normalize mental health conversations: Encourage open dialogue to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. Share news, initiatives, and awareness campaigns rather than push people to discuss delicate topics.
Adopt mindfulness practices: Introduce mindfulness practices, such as meditation or breathing exercises, during work hours. Good examples can go a long way, so start dedicating some time to mindfulness, and others will follow.
Recognize achievements: Acknowledge your coworkers’ accomplishments and milestones. Recognition boosts morale, increases self-worth, and positively impacts mental well-being.
Promote work-life balance: Encourage your coworkers to establish clear boundaries between work and personal life. Discourage after-hours emails and excessive crunch time. As we already mentioned, a good example is contagious, so set your own boundaries and encourage others to do so as well.
Ergonomic workstations create a comfortable setting, promoting a healthy lifestyle even in a busy work environment. Remember The Office episode where employees needed new chairs? Comfort and healthy habits deeply affect the quality of work and the overall work environment, so don’t underestimate them.
Adopt (and promote) healthy eating habits and physical activity both in the workplace and remotely. These habits can help keep yourself and your team members energized and focused.
Foster a sense of teamwork and collaboration by organizing team-building activities, both virtual and in-person. Strong teamwork enhances employee productivity and creates a positive work culture.
Worker communities have been a game changer for me. As well as making work days fun with word game tournaments, trivia quizzes, and similar activities. They foster bonding, unite people over a common goal, or engage them in healthy competition!
—Danica Ristic,
Senior Program Manager, People Development
Prevent burnout by monitoring workload and ensuring realistic expectations. Proactive workload management contributes to a healthier work environment and higher employee retention rates.
Practice healthy decision-making, and encourage your coworkers to do so too, both at work and in their personal lives. Resources and methods for stress reduction, time management, and work-life balance empower individuals to make positive choices.
Many different actions can lead to workplace health. While some may require a deeper commitment from the organization as a whole, such as employee wellness programs or healthcare-related perks, others simply require you to take action and can be initiated at the individual level, like ensuring you get enough exposure to natural light or have open and positive communication channels.
Start small, initiate the change that is in your power, and become an advocate to push bigger initiatives that are not in your control.
At Deel, we are passionate about making work work for organizations and individuals alike. From tools and solutions that enable employers to embrace the work-from-anywhere ethos to visa support for digital nomads, we help build better workplaces every day. Check out our blog to learn more about what we do, the future of work, and workplace wellbeing.
Looking to take your workplace improvement a step further? Take a look at the Deel Engage suite of Slack plugins and suggest them in your workplace. These are plugins designed to streamline and simplify team communication and processes, leaving you with more time and resources to build meaningful connections with your coworkers.
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