Post-pandemic wellbeing priorities

Employees as individuals

As businesses open up, many people will be waiting to hear when they are expected back into the office. For some, this will be the first time they have been in the office and around their teams for over a year, if they have been working from home since March 2020. Bupa have produced tips for employees to manage any back-to-work anxiety they may be experiencing. From being worried about the continued risks of the virus to being uneasy mixing with people in the office and on the commute, line managers must manage the planned return with a focus on the individual.

This may be further complicated by Long Covid which has a range of symptoms and presents very differently in people. When it comes to treatment and assistance, a “one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t address the very personal nature of the illness” according to Managing Director Christine Husbands of RedArc Nurses. Early intervention can make a huge difference to recovery and support needs to be tailored accordingly for each employee.

Employer brand

As the pandemic unfolded, there was an impetus on strong communications from senior leadership to not only keep customers updated on organisational responses, but also employees. The focus on wellbeing ramped up last year in an unprecedented way. Not only were priorities re-assessed, with many people set to adopt new patterns of work, but the conversation around rounded employee wellbeing became more widespread. The continued importance of a clear communication strategy to drive employee engagement is crucial, particularly for around half the population who continue to work remotely.

Organisations’ employer brands have been defined by their response to the pandemic. A renewed focus on their wellbeing strategy has been a key focus of organisations who have had to redesign reward strategies to accommodate remote workers. More employers have been reporting an annual review of their benefits and many have been investigating various accreditations, such as investors in people which focuses on leadership and wellbeing. Especially during the first lockdown, in our HR Groups, many organisations reported that they had received the highest levels of employee engagement reported in pulse surveys.

Mental health

The question of mental wellbeing is increasingly being linked to a return to the office. In addition to concerns employees may have about returning, there is also the risk of creating a division in the workforce if employees are given more autonomy over where they work and when. Employers are grappling with how to translate the level of flexibility employees have enjoyed at home into a workable solution for when people can return to the office. Whilst Google have announced that 20 per cent of their workforce will remain remote and flexibility is key, others are more reluctant and have voiced concerns over the long-term impact on the culture of their business. Meanwhile, Apple employees have written to CEO Tim Cook making the case for not returning to the office.

Whilst the balancing act of having employees in and out of the office is being termed ‘hybrid working’, this is a generic term for the varying levels of flexibility that will ultimately be defined by individual organisations. What is undeniable is the lasting impact on our collective ways of working and the digital transformation driven by the pandemic. Many are talking about portals for staff to socialise online and determine their wellbeing packages, trying to counteract the risk inherent in remote workforces.

Actively listening to employees