Your social responsibility to employees

Businesses are increasingly aware of their impact on society as much as for their products and services. How businesses treat their employees directly influences public perception and attractiveness to skilled workers.

By acknowledging your social responsibility to your employees you’ll have a more engaged and productive workforce. You’ll also have an easier time attracting and retaining highly skilled workers who value work-life balance and well-being.

Step 1. Promote work-life balance

By promoting a healthy work-life balance, you’re showing employees that their personal time is valued and respected as the norm, which enables them to be more productive at work and increases their job satisfaction.

• Flexible work arrangements such as giving employees the opportunity to work remotely if possible or enabling them to have shorter workweeks or job share so they can enjoy a better quality of life.
• Paid time off, which includes vacation days, personal days, and sick leave, enables them to take a break from work to rest and recharge.
• Family-friendly policies that enable workers to take time as they need to care for or be present for their families. This might include paid family sick days to care for family members when they’re ill, flexible workdays to enable parents to see their children’s recitals or enabling remote work so employees can be home to look after their children.
• Reasonable work hours that respect the normal workday and encourage employees to be off during their personal time.

Employees have the right to a fulfilling life outside work. Promoting work-life balance will enable you to build trust and loyalty with your employees, making your business more sustainable and productive.

Step 2. Support employee health

In addition to promoting work-life balance, you can support employees by offering extensive benefits that enable your staff to stay on top of their mental and physical health.

• Offer comprehensive benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance, which gives your employees peace of mind that at least some of their healthcare costs will be covered.
• Provide mental health support such as access to counselling services, stress-relief workshops, and mindfulness training, which will help reduce workplace stress, provide workers with effective coping strategies, and enable them to address mental health issues.
• Implement flexible PTO policies such as personal days, stress-relief days, or days where employees do not have to justify taking some time off.
• Monitor workload and stress levels to ensure employees aren’t overworked or at risk of burnout. While most jobs have periods of stress, it’s important to monitor employees’ workloads so they don’t take on too much on an ongoing basis.

Offering a mix of benefits that address physical and mental health will show your employees you care about their overall well-being.

Step 3. Provide learning and development opportunities

It’s important for employees to feel engaged in their work. One way to do so is to enable employees to develop their skills and continue their education.

• Foster a learning culture by paying for courses or programs and offering workshops and seminars for your employees.
• Implement mentorship and coaching by pairing newer employees with those who are more experienced.

As your employees’ skillsets expand, they’ll build confidence and gain the experience to make better decisions and grow your business.

Step 4. Lead by example

Employees tend to follow the example of their leaders. If you advocate for employees to take care of themselves, it’s important to model that behavior for them. Doing so gives them confidence that you mean what you say, and they will feel supported in doing the same. Further, in leading by example, you will embed a culture of work-life balance in your business.

An important way to lead by example is setting boundaries for both you and your employees. Send emails and schedule meetings only during working hours. If you receive emails outside of regular work hours, respond when you’re back in your office. Protect your employees by ensuring clients and customers also respect those boundaries.