Labor Welfare: 6 steps on how to improve it 

3,500 days of our lives are spent working. On average, working hours take up 10% of our lives. A relevant fact considering this percentage is only exceeded by sleeping time.

Let’s talk in annual terms: if 8 to 9 years of our lives are spent working, wouldn’t it be reasonable to make our working days as pleasant as possible?

Welfare at work is still one of the major tasks of many companies in all kinds of sectors. It has been proven that feeling happy and satisfied at work leads to higher levels of productivity.

So, if this factor points to ways of being a successful business investment, in the interest of greater productivity and business benefits, what should we do to improve well-being at work?

The importance of labor welfare

Work certainly constitutes an important pillar in anyone’s life. Not only because it takes up a big part of our lifetime,  but also because personal and professional projects are intertwined from the beginning of the training. 

Each person dedicates a significant amount of time in their life to training for a specific profession or occupation. Therefore, work is a crucial aspect that affects the personal and private side of employees.

In the same way that someone’s state of mind has clear consequences on work performance, maintaining an adequate level of well-being at work will directly influence the employee’s quality of life.

What is labor welfare?

At the end of the 1990s, the field of psychology devoted to occupational health, focused its attention on how employment conditions directly affected job performance beyond the economic consequences.

This is when we realized that when it comes to working, a positive predisposition in employees is especially linked to their feelings of well-being and happiness at work.

We could summarize the term work welfare as a balance between the different aspects that involve a person with their work environment, such as physical and emotional well-being and a feeling of commitment and happiness with their daily tasks.

Well-being at work is an integral term that imbues feelings and attitudes, since a healthy, dynamic and happy work environment produces efficiency and innovation in its business processes.

Labor welfare plan

In order to contemplate this positive situation in employee participation, companies design a welfare plan.

In other words, in a labor welfare plan, companies specify the actions to be made by the company and aimed at facilitating, as well as improving, the participation of all employees in it.

The occupational welfare plans include provisions such as parameters for work-life balance, discounts and agreements with other companies and organizations, flexible working hours or working remotely from home, proposals to improve health or aid to facilitate employees working duties.

A rising asset

When companies intervene and seek the best working climate, reorganization of tasks, good inter-labor relations between their workers or implement protocols for reviewing wage conditions, they are betting on an improvement in employee satisfaction.

A specific labor welfare plan understood by an organization as the implementation of measures to improve the quality of life of its employees, taking into account their professional, personal and family development, is a safe investment.

Happy workers are, on average, 12% more productive and collaborative, and have a lower incidence of illnesses such as depression, anxiety and stress.

Keys to improving the well-being of employees

Workplace welfare has a positive impact on the profits and growth of any company or organization.

Even though investment in the development of a welfare plan can mean an increase in business expenditure, it will produce significant benefits in the short, medium and long term.

1. Design an appropriate workplace welfare programme.

There is no point in creating a labour welfare plan if it is not specifically made for a company. The key to having a motivated and productive workforce lies in knowing their needs and wishes.

2. Analyze the company’s capacity.

The real greatness lies in knowing your own limitations. A company should consider its possibilities when it comes to designing a labor welfare plan.

3. A Correct planning of employees’ schedules and tasks

Using algorithms, Orquest is able to perform shift and tasks planning for each employee with great accuracy. This results in greater job satisfaction as the workload becomes more balanced. In addition, it becomes possible to respect the time preferences of each employee.

4. The importance of feedback.

Listen to employees. Corporate communication must be effective and carried out smoothly and regularly.

An employee survey or meetings with employees where their recommendations are taken into account are key to improving well-being at work. Take care of your employees, and they will take care of you, your company and your customers.

5. Reward your employees

In a satisfactory working environment, the work of employees is recognized. An enthusiastic staff is one that is motivated by incentive or recognition programmes.

The creation of career plans, continuous training or the possibility of internal promotion are not only a direct boost to productivity, but will also retain talent in the company’s organisation chart.

6. Work flexibility and family reconciliation

It is very important that workers are allowed to meet their family obligations without impairing their professional aspirations.

Working from home or customizing working hours are measures successfully implemented to facilitate work-life balance, significantly improving the well-being of the members in your work team.

In the retail sector, it is convenient that employees have different tools at their disposal to change shifts or request days off, such as an employee app. This way, employees can organise their lives more easily and be more satisfied.

At Orquest we help you plan and manage your shop’s staff through intelligent employee care planning.

Because committed employees generate more revenue and optimize shop performance.

Provide the best customer service and maximize the optimal productivity of your employees. Contact us to help you succeed in improving the well-being of your employees at work.