Employee welfare as panacea for improved productivity

The welfare of employees at the workplace has been described as critical to the growth of any organisation and the productivity of its workforce.

Industriall Global Union said an enhanced welfare package for workers serves as a natural boost for employee effectiveness and productivity.

Meanwhile, a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) noted that organisations that do not invest in the wellbeing of their staff usually lose their good hands and talent, stressing that studies have shown that a healthy workplace and sense of wellbeing increases productivity and innovation.

Recent research carried out by the CIPD showed that one in every six workers in the United Kingdom (UK) experience depression, anxiety or stress in their lifetime and in England alone, 16 million sick days per year have been attributed to mental ill health.

This is the most important factor new hires between ages 18-34 look for when considering job offers.

Majority of those surveyed in a Deloitte study said they would priorities a healthy work-life balance over other benefits and would consider moving on if their welfare is jeopardised.

The Vice-President, Industriall Global Union, Issa Aremu urged workers in the country to give priority to health and safety in their work places.

He said doing so was the best measure to enhance their productivity and measure up to standards required among workforce in the country.

Aremu enjoined employers in the country not to jettison measures that could promote health and safety of their workers.

Nigeria, he added, would be a labour-friendly country if more measures were taken to boost the safety of workers and reward them in line with labour laws and international statutes.

He added that Nigerian workers must give premium to their health and safety and be conscious of their rights and duties at their work places.

According to him, workers have the rights to refuse work that they believe was dangerous to their health and safety in their workplaces.

“To make progress in occupational safety and health within an organisation, employees and their representatives have to cooperate with their employers,” he added.

A Research Adviser on Resourcing and Talent Planning at the CIPD, Claire McCartney, said organisations that facilitate and support good mental health in the workplace would experience improved productivity among their employees.

The report identified three ways in which organisations must always look out for early signs to promote the wellbeing and support employees.