These 30 initiatives can improve employee well-being

Employee well-being improves the work environment. Companies that prioritize employee well-being initiatives and integrate them into their culture achieve better productivity and performance.

These 30 ideas can boost organizations. How many does your organization practice? 

Employee recognition: Employee appreciation and recognition make employees feel valued and more connected. 

Well-being surveys: By allowing employees to share feedback, they feel heard and valued.

Mental health awareness and counseling: Ensure employees support, which will reduce sick days and burnout. 

Virtual wellness events: Focus on topics such as burnout, mediation, mental health, nutrition, sleep, stress, and team building. 

Encourage workplace friendships: Workplace friendships improve collaboration, creativity, and performance.

Flexible work hours: Employees can achieve better work-life balance and well-being while strengthening employee trust, engagement, and commitment. 

Standing desks: These can reduce fatigue and health risks associated with prolonged sitting. They boost mood and improve focus. 

Remote workdays: Offering them promotes balance, focus, and well-being. 

Unlimited PTO: Time off can increase employee focus, productivity, and performance in the long term.

Sabbaticals: Extended time away for tenured employees helps them navigate their career path and strengthens their connection to the company.

Extended parental leave: Working parents with new responsibilities can face enormous stress. Parents can return reconnected, refreshed, and better prepared to work. 

Use of sick days: Employees often feel pressure to work through illness. Remind people they need to balance productivity with rest. 

Autonomy over goals, strategies: A self-management strategy motivates employees to reach their own their goals, productivity levels, and work schedules.

Volunteer opportunities: These reflect a company’s culture and its commitment to the local community. Volunteering makes employees feel fulfilled.

Schedule stability: Reduce employee stress by setting schedules in advance. Give people time to balance their busy lives and bring their best to work. 

Hire sufficient staff: Long hours and pressure to work quickly can increase burnout, frustration, and turnover. Distribute the work. It raises quality, boosts morale, improves retention and helps recruitment. 

Support personal needs: Whether it is education, family, health, or hobbies — boost well-being by giving support and time. 

Healthy snacks: When people are busy, encourage nutritious options. 

Mandatory lunch breaks: Productivity will improve if everyone steps away, resets, socializes, and enjoys lunch away from their desks. 

Team lunches: Whether catered or a chance to dine out, they will help team-building and socialization.

Exercise challenges: Competing and socializing adds team energy and encourages a healthy workforce.

Compensation and positive reviews: Financial rewards and positive feedback improve motivation and satisfaction.

Company swag: Clothes, gear and toys boost morale.

Team-building activities: They build trust, improve collaboration, reduce conflict, and minimize stress.

Company-wide meetings: Introduce new initiatives, promote values, recognize great work, and set shared goals. This can improve collaboration among teams that do not usually work together. 

Safety training: Focus on how to prevent injuries and how to handle accidents. Employees will feel supported and in control of their safety.

Personal development: Helping employees reach their full potential builds a sense of connection and makes employees feel valued.

Natural light: Natural light makes employees less drowsy and more stimulated, and research shows it makes humans happier. 

Screen breaks: Breaks will reduce eye strain and headaches, and they help employees get more restful sleep. 

Remember remote workers: Remote work can be isolating and challenging. Ensure everyone feels included. 

There are no one-size-fits-all solutions for improving employee well-being. Experiment with these ideas to find what is meaningful for your workplace culture.

Bob Helbig is media partnerships director at Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee survey firm. Energage is The Washington Post’s survey partner for Top Workplaces.