Employee wellbeing is no longer just about cultivating the right workspace for teams to thrive. In a post-pandemic world, organizations are shifting their perspective on mental health, investing more in actionable ways to improve the employee experience.
From providing better insurance policies to putting on more engagement events to help foster greater team collaboration, we’re seeing the umbrella term for ‘health’ move away from just physical fitness; now it’s about the combination of physical and mental health to support overall employee wellbeing.
At GF Corys, this is something that HR Director, Satish Venugopal, understands all too well. He and his team have been working on implementing a comprehensive Employee Value Proposition, that focuses not just on compensation but also on providing a work environment that supports employee growth, development and wellbeing.
For Satish, he recognizes not only the need for creating a stress-free environment, but also in creating the policy framework for employees to feel they can speak out and seek support when they need it.
“It’s about creating mutual respect amongst employees with control mechanisms to effectively address concerns,” affirms Satish.
Setting realistic objectives and educating one another on how we can continually improve is also important. Employees at GF Corys are encouraged to find a good work/life balance to avoid burnout and general fatigue. Set working hours, flexible working, and ensuring teams take their allocated annual leave are key to achieving this, alongside fun activities and team building events.
Of course, with such a diverse workforce at GF Corys (over 25 nationalities and still growing!) understanding what best engages employees is crucial. Informal feedback and monitoring team turnout are some of the best ways to ensure programs appeal broadly.
While COVID unfortunately slowed down some employee engagement activities, Satish is keen to point to how efforts are stepping up once again in this area, with more physical activities, casual gatherings and health related webinars scheduled for the remainder of the year.
Reflecting more on how the company dealt with the bigger pandemic restrictions, Satish highlights the commitment and efforts in helping employees feel safe and secure in their roles during this period too.
“The efforts the company took are really remarkable. It’s at times as these, that the commitment of an organization towards its employees is put to test and we are proud that we did a good job with that!”
Looking ahead to the future, the HR team are in the process of developing more programs and initiatives to support employee needs in the office and beyond.
“Employees spend a major part of their everyday life in the office, and what happens at the workplace could have a profound impact on an individual’s mental health,” Satish points out.
With so many different cultures, experiences, and passions (see our recent chess tournament!) to be shared, stay tuned for more of our #LifeAtCorys series coming soon.