Liviu Tudor, Genesis Property: Inequalities in employees’ mental, physical and financial wellbeing, a top priority for companies
2021 highlighted inequalities in people’s wellbeing and in their ability to manage the pandemic challenges. While the concept of wellbeing has always been on the employers’ agenda, its true value is emerging this year, as companies are focusing more and more on expanding benefits and support for their teams, upon their return to the office.
A continued expansion of mental health and wellbeing services are among the most important trends for employers and their workforces, according to a Business Group on Health report. After two years which surfaced significant inequalities, fueled by the uncertainties regarding the future way of working, companies need to rethink their plans and increase their support for a return to a sustainable work-life balance of their teams.
One of the most important tools in the context of hybrid working is providing online assistance to employees. Companies need to ensure that employees have access to support and services to maintain a good mental and physical balance. Therefore, online healthcare should increasingly become an important part of employee benefit packages.
Small medical clinics should also be set up in office buildings, offering services in both physical and mental health areas. The return to the office will depend a lot on the professionals’ easy access to such services, so the proximity of health clinics and health memberships offered as benefits will become important differentiators for organisations in the labour market.
From a broader perspective, companies should also focus more and more on the health of workspaces, especially since more than half of employees believe that post-pandemic offices need to be redesigned to include technologies that limit health risks, according to a survey initiated by Genesis Property. Health measures are essential at this time, and their presence will regain people’s confidence, many of them being recommended in the IMMUNE Building Standard™, a standard released in April 2020.
