Physical health and fitness have, for a long time, been the determining factors of whether someone is well enough to perform their duties within the workplace. After all, an employee who is in peak health would certainly outperform their flu-ridden colleague, and a door-to-door salesman wouldn’t be expected to carry out their duties with a broken leg.

More recently, the focus has shifted to wellness that we can’t always see. Poor mental health frequently doesn’t have physical symptoms but can have as much of an adverse effect, if not more, on the productivity and performance of an employee. It can often lead to absenteeism or presenteeism, both of which harm your business.

Absenteeism: The habitual absence from work over a prolonged period.

Presenteeism: Being physically present at work but not functioning at peak productivity.

Employees with improved mental health are more engaged and committed; they will make more informed decisions and are more likely to have innovative and creative ideas. Additionally, when someone feels they have further control over their workload, motivation increases boosting productivity and performance and driving your business forward.

How can you create a culture at work to promote stronger mental health?

One of the key drivers of poor mental health in the workplace is the work-life balance. As a result, your company policies on this subject will be of great importance to potential job candidates, and at times even more so than prospective salary.

HR and payroll software provider CIPHR polled over 1,000 UK workers to find out which job aspects matter most to them. The report reveals that the top three most important aspects of a job, ranked by popularity, are:

• Work-life balance
• Pay and benefits
• Job security

Where employees feel the need to be ‘always on’, presenteeism is becoming more common due to a false economy which results in less productivity. Subsequently, they no longer feel connected in either the workplace or their personal lives, leading to burnout.

Often this feeling is unknowingly promoted by the actions of leaders within an organisation, such as not taking breaks, or responding to emails outside of working hours. It is important that the work-life balance forms a core part of company values, and that you enable your employees to feel More Present in the moment, both at home and in the workplace.

Improving the balance means employees can spend more time away from work doing things that they enjoy, and when they return, they’re refreshed and ready to go.

Quick wins in this area are:

• Taking the time to actively listen to your workforce on how the current balance affects them and identify any obvious opportunities to improve it, both individually and as a department.
• Introducing walking meetings or external coffee breaks, encouraging employees to take time away from the screen.
• Avoiding burnout by raising its awareness and educating employees on early warning signs, not just in themselves, but in each other.

A more favoured and longer-term solution, however, is offering your employees a successful method of hybrid working.

What does a successful hybrid work model look like?

Be it Remote-first, Office-occasionally or Office-first, a hybrid model encourages flexible and blended working from different locations. This can be an official arrangement between employer and employee, or something more ad-hoc.

Hybrid working is one of the more successful methods of promoting a healthy work-life balance for your staff for many reasons:

• The time saved on commuting can be spent with friends and family or doing something they enjoy.
• Worries about having to rearrange appointments are eased with a more flexible calendar.
• Shifting surroundings at work can often give a new perspective, increase productivity and enhance focus.

Without the right processes and technology in place, however, there can be some negative effects of hybrid working, such as:

• Management of call handling can become more difficult without workforce visibility, with an increased risk of customer calls going unanswered.
• Unreliable access to vital business applications can often cause frustration and reduce productivity.
• Collaboration becomes more difficult when teams are not present in the room, with the risk of some employees being left out of the loop.
• Newer members of staff may feel isolated from their colleagues and line manager.

What tools can you provide your hybrid workers to enable them to Be More Present?

Having established that hybrid working enables people to Be More Present in both their work and personal lives, how can you ensure your employees can execute every function of their job wherever they are? The answer lies in using the right technology for both communication and connectivity.

Business Cloud Solutions

The Cloud means that your staff can access vital software and data through any device with an internet connection, 24/7. When combined with Cloud migration services and robust data centres, it provides an incredibly easy solution to work anywhere without any loss of functionality.

Cloud-based Hosted Telephony

Offer your employees the ability to take their office set up home with them. A hosted handset will work wherever there is a broadband connection, alternatively use a mobile app to enable the transfer of calls onto a personal device without creating diverts. Removing the need to commute to the office frees up time for personal needs, without taking time away from the working day. 

Microsoft Teams

We have seen the rise of Microsoft Teams during the pandemic, not just for the video conferencing aspect, but for collaboration, scheduling and file sharing. Whole departments can communicate via chat groups and conference rooms, no matter where they are working, and receive real-time views and responses; no more lengthy email trails where aspects of the conversation can be easily lost or veer off in another direction.

Most importantly, Teams offers employees an opportunity to communicate effectively in a face-to-face environment, building strong working relationships, regardless of where they are in the world.

5G Mobile Devices

Where it’s not possible to rely on broadband, 5G can provide a fast and reliable connection that businesses can use just about anywhere. Connectivity hubs powered by 5G SIMs allow multiple devices to connect, creating an office space in minutes.

Why SCG is best suited to support your hybrid workforce

We have been specialists in bringing people and technology together to create positive change since 1965. With both the tools and the experience to optimise your connectivity, we will help you achieve greater heights of efficiency and productivity.

Our suite of communication services enables you to work seamlessly across video, mobile and VoIP telephony, helping you to be wherever your customers need you to be, whenever they need you to be there.

Allow your staff the flexibility to work from anywhere and benefit from the impact it has on their work/life balance.

Call us today on 0800 4700 007 to find out how we will empower your staff to Be More Present in work, life and in the moment, generating the productivity and performance results your business deserves.