How to Create and Promote a Healthy Work Environment

The health of an office is about more than just a gym membership or a wellness program. While physical health is very important, mental health is just as important in any work environment. In the past few years there has been a lot of focus on toxic work environments and how you can make sure your office doesn’t become one. Here are some great ways to build strong connections with your employees and make sure your work environment is a healthy one.  
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Build Trust with Your Employees
Building trust with your employees can take a lot of time and effort. The outcome will make your team much stronger in the long run. Model the kind of trust in others you want them to have in you. Building trust is a balance between leading and listening and making sure you and your team are all on the same page. Promoting trust between employees is also important because everyone should feel like a valued part of the team.
 
Keep Your Employees Informed
Communication is essential to building a workspace that is healthy and positive. Keeping your employees up to date on things happening within the company, no matter how big or small, makes them feel appreciated. If a large change is coming informing your employees first lets them know you care and don’t expect them to adapt overnight to change. When in doubt, the golden rule of treating others the way you would want to be treated will help guide you on what kind of information is important to share.
 
Hire Smart
The hiring process is when you get to know the personalities of potential employees and see if they would be a good fit for your company. You don’t just want someone who has the technical skills you are looking for; you want to hire someone that will fit with the other personalities of the office and adapt to the workflow already in place. Hiring someone that is excited about their work and long-term goals in their career will give other employees a boost of enthusiasm.
 
Rethink Your Workspace
The physical space in which we work plays a huge role in the quality of our day-to-day lives. Natural light, clean air, and tidy spaces play a big role in making us feel good at work. Another way we can rethink workspaces is by personalizing them for each member of the team. If someone needs a different chair, desk, wants to have a plant or hang a picture, allowing them to have these little things goes a lot way to help their mental health at work.
 
Check-in with Your Team Regularly
Once you set these things into place it is very important to continue to check-in with team members. Getting their feedback on what is working and what isn’t will help you adjust as your business grows and changes. It will also show employees that you value their opinion and really do care about their experience at work.
 
Everyone deserves to work in a place that wants to help them grow and become the best they can at what they do. As an owner, boss, manager, or leader of a company, you have the power to help make that happen. Each day you get to shape your office environment into what you want it to be. Remember that making a healthy work environment is the first step and maintaining it is a commitment that you have to keep working on every single day.  

By Chelsea Bray- Elle A. Design