The COVID-19 epidemic catapulted the entire globe into a new age of health concern. Health practices have changed dramatically in the last two years, with social distancing and technology becoming the new standard. People have also grown much more conscious of the need for excellent health habits to stay disease-free.
During the pandemic, safeguarding employee health and well-being became extremely important for organizations.
Employees suffered from despair, anxiety, weight gain, and other health issues due to remote working and social isolation. Employers had no choice but to implement wellness programs and efforts to minimize productivity and output losses due to employees’ rising physical and mental health difficulties.
The resumption of office work posed a health risk to both employers and employees. Focusing on workplace wellness measures has become progressively crucial to protecting employee health and safety.
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Why your company needs technology-enabled mental health solutions
Employers have always been unconcerned with their employees’ mental health difficulties. There is all the evidence to support the argument that employee mental health has a significant influence on corporate performance and revenue. Employees with unresolved mental health difficulties exhibit a 35% drop in productivity, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
According to an Oracle poll, 83% of employees want their company to give more technology-based mental health services. This has presented HR departments with a problem and an opportunity to enhance their employee wellness programs, abandon traditional wellness management methods, and engage in well-being technology solutions to have a significant beneficial effect.
Individuals’ increasing use of personal health-tracking gadgets and smartphone applications to track their own health objectives proves to be a solid indicator that workers are no strangers to using well-being-related technology.
What can well-being technology solutions do for your company?
As previously mentioned, the stigma related to mental health topics and a lack of experience and training in the workplace are significant barriers to getting treatment for mental health difficulties. These limitations may be efficiently eliminated with the help of technology. Well-being technology systems have become more cost-effective and give higher ROI since the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
These platforms and solutions provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anonymous and clinically safe.
An organization’s technology requirements
Human Resource managers are on the lookout for ways to make their workplaces more dynamic and effective. Among the improvements are:
- Enhanced cooperation and invention via global and virtual work teams; bringing together the brightest brains to solve a problem or seize an opportunity, regardless of their physical location.
- Greater adaptability and reactivity to meet the demands of both internal and external clients.
- Using technology, organizations increased our cost-effectiveness (less need for travel due to work being done virtually).
- Employees with flexible working options have more engagement and a better work-life balance.
- Costs of healthcare are lower.
This move to more dynamic and productive work can be accomplished by leveraging technology elements to make employees feel happier and healthier.
However, there are always hurdles to overcome while adopting technology, such as:
- If not used correctly, there will be less effective communication and collaboration.
- With separated virtual and on-site staff, there are unintended negative repercussions to company culture.
- Employee burnout is caused by the sensation of always being “plugged in” to email, voicemail, phone, and other electronic devices.
- Building good working connections across scattered teams/workgroups can be difficult, especially if the team has never met face-to-face or does not have a historical experience to draw on.
- Without the proper processes in place, remote employees, in particular, may feel alienated and detached.
- If left unattended, they may have a negative influence on employee engagement and performance; successfully engaging, managing, and developing employees who are surrounded by technology is crucial for getting the most out of both the technology and the worker.
Benefits of employee well-being technology solutions
Here are the most significant benefits of utilizing technology for employee health, particularly mental well-being:
Accessibility
Mental health technology tools are available online and offline, allowing employees to use them whenever they need them.
Data insights
You can’t enhance something if you can’t measure it. Data metrics provided by well-being technologies aid employee wellness programs. Employees can benefit from insights into their health risk assessment, eating habits, exercise and physical activities, happiness assessments, and extensive surveys on their work-life balance.
Awareness and training
The first step toward a better emotional state is eliminating the stigma associated with mental health concerns. Employees can seek treatment without fear of being judged using wellness applications. Some well-being technology systems include elements that can help managers teach and promote a safe working environment.
Collaboration and communication
Remote colleagues may stay linked through well-being technology platforms, even if geographical limits separate them. This promotes better communication and cooperation, resulting in a happier and healthier work environment.
