As the manager of a team, irrelevant of how many employees work for you and the exact nature of the work, you have a specific duty of care to them.
If you want to prove yourself as a manager who cares about your team, then here are some ethical ways to help your employees stay healthy.
Hold Meaningful One-to-One Meetings
Thankfully, issues pertaining to emotional health and well-being are finally, and not before time, at the forefront of the minds of the general public, the government, and employers.
One fantastic way you, as an ethical manager and leader, can help to boost the level of self-esteem and self-confidence your employees hold is by making their annual, or even bi-annual, one-to-one meetings actually matter.
Discuss their long-term professional goals together and, more importantly, look for ways and means of helping them progress in their chosen field and career.
Upgrade Your Healthcare Plan
Another incredibly effective and probably, considerably more affordable than you may have previously thought, way of ensuring your employees can look after their physical and emotional health is to upgrade your healthcare plan.
From healthy food allowance for seniors to money off local grocery stores, the list is endless as to the additional perks and benefits a one-size-fits-all health benefits card can bring. Remember that healthy employees are happy employees, and happy employees are considerably more productive and efficient at work.
Initiate an Employee Wellbeing Assistance Program
EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs) are essentially specific counsellors who work, together with yourself and your individual staff members, to hold confidential and private counselling sessions.
EAPs not only work towards making individuals feel happier in their work, more motivated, and therefore, more effective throughout the working day, but also serve to discuss and attempt to alleviate any personal problems too.
There are many advantages to the initiation of an EAP in your own company, including the following:
- Legal and financial advice
- The collation of anonymous data from such meetings
- Support for managers and heads of departments
- A happier and more efficient company culture
- Bringing the team together as one
Arrange Social Occasions to Encourage Teamwork
As trite and cliché as it may be, teamwork really does make the dream work. As a result, it is in the best interests of both yourself and your employees to make a concerted effort to arrange out-of-work get-togethers and social occasions focused on team bonding.
You could choose to vary the types and schedules of each social meeting, with some months having your employees, together with yourself, focus on physical and outdoor pursuits, such as a social fun run to raise money for a local cause.
Other such get-togethers could be based around a more social and relaxed setting, such as booking a meal at a local restaurant for a time straight after work has finished for the day. Either way, the more together your team feels and the higher the sense of belonging, the more they will get out of coming to work and the more work you will get out of them.
