Business runs on people. Money and equipment might be the tools they use, but people are the life support for your company and its ultimate success. Of course, people are the hardest ‘resource’ to manage, because they aren’t really a resource at all. They’re human beings with flaws, just like you. It’s easy to see the numbers and statistics when it comes to running your company effectively and looking over the reports for your growth progress, but you might be missing a trick when it comes to the workforce themselves.
Productivity is damaged by poor health. So many businesses run their employees into the ground, and are surprised when they still don’t get the results they want. If you want productivity, you need a productive workforce, and a productive workforce needs to be both healthy and happy. How do you achieve this? Better working patterns? Promotions? Fairer pay?
Well, all of these things help, but there’s more you could be doing to the condition of the workplace itself to lift the spirits of your employees. There are new technologies being developed all the time with the health and wellbeing of office workers in mind, whatever the specific nature of your business or industry. Technology can transform your employees and improve their productivity, which might sound a little more appealing if you start to consider the ways it could benefit your business.
Better health means more productivity.
This is an obvious one, though it’s so easy to forget. As a businessman with overheads to consider and a million different variables which could go wrong, you just want your workforce to run like clockwork. That’s why it can become almost second nature to neglect the core, basic health needs of each and every employee under your care. Of course, you’re neglecting the needs of your own business through doing so.
However, there are ways to improve health, and hence improve productivity. Statistics have shown that introducing wearable technology such as the Apple Watch or Google Glass to companies can have an astounding effect on their work mentality and general energy levels. This benefits you, as a business, because it means your employees are working to their absolute fullest, and so your business is safer, or more balanced, because you’re always striving for absolute growth.
It can allow for remote working.
An interesting opportunity afforded by modern technology is the possibility of remote working. Given instant storage and sharing services such as Google Drive, there’s no longer a need for workers in certain positions to always be based in the office. Work can be submitted from home, if needed.
Maybe you’re wondering why this would benefit your business, but, honestly, the pros far outnumber the cons. It all depends on your specific industry, of course, and the specific job roles you have available, but there may always be some workers who would benefit from remote working. The break from the hectic chaos of the workplace can be a welcome relief for some, and can actually afford them a little respite, higher energy levels, and more productivity than if they were in the workplace, because some employees may actually prefer peaceful and quiet working conditions.
So, from a health standpoint, remote working hugely benefits your employees and, in turn, you, because it will increase the quality and speedy-delivery of their workload. Even if you only allow remote working a few days for a few workers a few days a week, the improvements it will bring to your business, as well as the health of your workers, is astounding. You might even save costs on salary levels, if you begin to factor out the need for travel expenses. This is all money which is an unnecessary cost in an age of instantaneous technology and interconnectedness.
It can lift their energy levels.
Sitting at a desk all day, every day, from 9 to 5 is absolutely soul-destroying. As the employer, you too may share this sentiment with your employees and could take great note from some of our suggestions. Improving the health of everyone within your company could improve energy levels and ensure that you start to get things done more quickly, so you can all get home at the end of the day without collapsing at the wheel of your car, or on the train.
Modern technology can help with this. Typing excessively is awful for your hands, which is why ergonomic keyboards have shot up in popularity. When the world changes to demand more of our workforce, we must adapt to find ways to protect the wellbeing of employees in the face of their overworked schedule. This is why standing desks have increased in popularity, as of late: http://ift.tt/2imuttK As with all such modern technology, the health benefits become more attractive because of the comfort and advanced nature of the technology.
Sitting all day long is awful for the body, as there’s little movement or activity keeping the blood flowing and, in turn, your employees will grow weary with bodies failing to tick over properly. Standing desks offer a technological, exciting incentive for your workers to try something new and, in the process, improve their health through not sitting down all day long.
Connectivity and communication improves mental health.
Offices are changing, and there’s good reason for that. If you want your business to flourish, along with the people within it, then it’s time you adapted to a business world which is starting to understand what it takes to offer good health to its employees. Cubicles and isolated work can allow some to really get their heads down and work, but makes others restless. Likewise, teamwork can work for some of your employees, but distract others. A perfect balance of the two, depending on people’s work habits and needs, will improve your business.
Connectivity and communication are important, but there’s no reason it always has to be in person. If there are workers who feel overwhelmed by the loud, chaotic workspace and distracting colleagues, then communicating through an interconnected business phone system means that every employee can reach everyone else with ease; whether they’re in the office, or working remotely on that day. Productive employees have instant access to their coworkers no matter where they are. That’s the critical lesson to learn when you’re using technology to meet the individual needs of employees, whilst ensuring that the team remains cooperative and communicative.
For the employees who love to connect and communicate in a busy, bustling team, the option to continue working together in person could be available to them too. The point is that technology gives your business the best of both worlds. Every employee has what they need in order to work to their fullest potential, feel as healthy and happy as possible, and do the best for the company that they possibly can.
This is about caring for your workers to avoid problems down the line.
Whilst many of your workers may be young, or simply in good health, and you might find yourself wondering whether they’re as unproductive as these pieces of advice suggest, the thing to note is that these are all preventative methods. The effect of an overbearing workload, and a lack of workplace practices designed to safeguard the health of employees, is that health problems develop and productivity drops over time.
Once the health of the people within your company has been affected, it becomes much harder to act. High counts of absent workers means huge company costs shelled out on sick leave; not to mention the lack of productivity when your workers are actually in the office. Whilst it may not be noticeable on the surface, poor health for your workers means poor work standards. People can’t help being sluggish when they feel tired and unwell all the time. These are all costs you could be avoiding. By investing a little in new technologies and organisational methods, designed to help your workers relax, you’ll be saving huge costs down the line, because people will no longer need to take so much time off to recover.
Better technology could reduce sick leave.
It’s a competitive world, and sometimes employers are tempted to achieve their goals or targets at the expense of their workers. Of course, many people are willing to work overtime, because the promise of extra money is something to which it is hard to say no. Of course, what neither you as the employer or your overworked employees may realise is that you’re actually damaging the growth and functionality of your business. You’re weakening your workforce, tiring them out and making them more susceptible to sickness or bodily pains; as sleep deprivation or excessive time spent working on a computer each day does eventually take its toll on the body.
The amount of sick leave that you, and most other employers, pay for should be a warning sign. You could massively reduce this if you just started thinking about what was making your employees unwell in the first place. Maintaining good health is a delicate process, but one that can be made easier through modern advancements in technology and better time management within your company. Encouraging the use of devices such as the Apple Watch, and all the health apps that come with it, might help people to look after themselves throughout the day.
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Michael Melfi is an IP attorney, entrepreneur coach, investor, media personality and four-time author. Michael has a dynamic background that allows him to provide insightful legal services, while creating business development strategies for funding and growth. He is author of “
