How to Improve Employee Satisfaction and Reduce Turnover

Our curated list of mental health & physical benefits that employers should provide to increase employee satisfaction & reduce turnover.
How to Improve Employee Satisfaction and Reduce Turnover
By
Lily Scott

A study from Indeed shows that 52% of employees are feeling work-related burnout post-pandemic, which is almost a 10% increase from the previous survey conducted pre-COVID. When employees are more satisfied with their employer, they are likely to feel less burnt out and continue to stay with the company.

Turnover and employee satisfaction are directly connected.

When workplaces put effort into their employees’ well-being through physical or mental benefits, it ultimately leads to employees being more satisfied with their employer. This satisfaction leads to an employee staying with the company long-term. Employers who do not prioritize their employees’ health often have higher turnover rates and lower employee satisfaction rates.

We have curated a list of mental health benefits, as well as a list of physical health benefits that employers should provide in order to increase their employee satisfaction rates and reduce turnover in 2021.

Mental Health Benefits

With over 800 million people worldwide living with mental health disorders and 90% of employees admitting that workplace stress affects their mental health negatively, it is important for employers to provide ways for their employees to de-stress and focus on their emotions.

Here are a few ways employers can take action to improve the mental well-being of their employees.

Communicate Often

Open communication will make a huge positive impact on your employees’ mental health. Host conversations and group time that isn’t based on work. Taking an interest in your employees’ lives and keeping the line of communication open will show your employees that you care about them.

Emphasize Virtual Togetherness

In a remote work environment, it’s easy for employees to feel disconnected and excluded.

Create group chats on a platform such as Slack that revolve around non-work-related topics.

This will allow employees to connect with each other and build positive relationships with their co-workers.

Provide Free Therapy

One of the biggest ways employers can make sure their employees have a way to release stress is by providing free therapy for all employees. This will give employees someone to talk to about all of their work- and non-work-related stresses.

It will help employees feel more psychologically safe knowing that they have access to therapy.

Encourage Independence

When you micromanage your employers, they can feel like you don’t trust them. Usually, when an employer is consistently checking on their employees during a project it leads to unnecessary stress.

Trust your employees to get their work done effectively and efficiently.

Physical Health Benefits

Actions that are taken to improve the active lifestyle or workload are known as physical health benefits. Here are a few ways you can improve your employees’ quality of life and therefore lower your turnover rates.

Friday Half-Days

When employees are anticipating their fun weekend plans, they’re not necessarily as productive at the end of a Friday as they usually are on other work days…

It could be more beneficial to both you and your employees to make every Friday a half-day.

This is a great benefit to boost employee morale!

Assist with Childcare

Having in-office childcare or paying for your remote employees’ childcare will take a huge stressor off of your employees’ shoulders. Your employees will also need fewer days off because of unexpected problems related to child-minding, as they will have it covered by you.

Generous or Unlimited PTO

Giving many or unlimited PTO (Personal Time Off) days will lower employees’ stress levels about missing too many workdays. This will lead to improved employee satisfaction, as well as prevent employees from leaving the company due to needing more time off.

It also helps employees know that the company is concerned about their personal well-being.

Flexible Hours

Flexible hours are extremely beneficial for your employees. Some employees have children that need to be picked up or dropped off at school at certain times, while other employees may have disabilities that require them to work untraditional hours.

It is best to let your employees keep their hours flexible, whether it be through letting them start and in turn, leave later, or complete their work at their own pace.

You can agree on the terms of the flexible hours beforehand to make sure expectations are met.

Encourage Breaks

Many employees are scared to take breaks in fear that their employer will see this as ‘slacking off’ or not taking urgent work seriously enough.

The reality is, it is impossible to work 8 hours effectively without taking breaks.

Encourage your employees to take snack breaks, walks, or to go out and grab a coffee. This will speak volumes about how much you care about your employees.

Employees notice all of the little things you do to benefit their well-being, even if it is simply encouraging them to talk to their peers. These things are what lead to higher employee satisfaction.

Satisfied employees will see no reason to leave their job, which leads to a lower turnover rate.

Take action to improve your employees’ physical and mental health to create a happier and more efficient workforce.

Infographic by Velocity Global

About the Author

Lily Scott is a content creator living in New York City. When she isn’t creating amazing content, she can be found running her online boutique or snuggling with her cats.

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