Creating a Supportive Work Environment

We spend much of our time at work. An average of 3,507 days in fact. That’s not factoring in employees who still feel ‘on the clock’ after logging off for the day.

With so much time dedicated to our jobs, it’s important that our work environment is devoid of unnecessary stress. Of course, stress is a natural part of our lives, but too much of it leads to poor mental health and burnout. Whether you’re on the management team or a business owner, how can you build a supportive work environment? And why is it important you do so? With our actionable steps, you can facilitate a supportive work environment for your staff.

What is positive workplace culture?

A positive work environment is one where employees feel safe to be who they are. Whether that’s communicating their thoughts, wearing what helps them express their identify and everything in between, ultimately, it’s a way to facilitate safety.

Workplaces that invest in building a positive work culture take a variety of things into account, such as:

• Facilitating a good work-life balance

• Being solution-focused

• Honesty and transparency at all levels

• Growth opportunities

Why is a positive workplace important?

A positive workplace is important for employees to perform their job to the best of their ability. Without this, negative feelings and associations can arise, which can ultimately affect productivity and staff turnover. Unproductive staff are bad for business. So, instead of giving in to rehiring or brushing it under the rug, investing in your staff should be the first item on your list. Here are some strong reasons why you should take a positive workplace seriously.

1. It boost happiness According to the Social Market Foundation, happy employees are 12% more productive than unhappy employees on average. By ensuring staff are happy, you can expect to see keenness in their work, better service, higher quality of work and an overall positive attitude at work. All of these things contribute to a wider positive working environment for everyone – including management teams.

2. It lessens staff turnover Employers that show they care for their staff are likely to decrease staff turnover. This is because employees know they feel valued by the work they do. Low turnover not only benefits a business’s workflow, but it also helps to attract top talent.

Unfortunately, the global employee turnover rate has risen to approximately 20% in 2024 – up from 18% in 2023. There are a multitude of reasons why UK staff turnover is on the rise, but one such reason is that 17% of employees who leave their jobs cite poor work-life balance.

How to create a supportive work environment?

1. Provide employees with an employee assistance programme Bad days and poor mental health strike at the worst of times. When this happens, having an employee assistance programme (EAP) is vital to ensure your staff have a place to go for professional and qualified counselling support. With a solution-focused approach, an EAP can help get to the root of the problem and empower your staff to take the steps to improve their wellbeing.

2. Make room for staff to grow Encourage mistakes for growth, involve staff in different projects and provide additional training for their development. By showing you invest in your staff and their career progression, you’ll really show you care about their success.

3. Invest in training Similarly to the above, it’s important to invest in staff training. This could be from the quality of your mandatory health and safety training, through to additional skill-specific workshops. This helps with your staff’s continuing professional development (CPD) and help remove any perceptions of glass ceilings in your workplace.

4. Invest in on-boarding Putting your company’s best foot forward isn’t just reserved for the interview. It also extends to your on-boarding process too. By having a robust employee on-boarding plan in place, you can really set the scene for what your new staff members can expect moving forwards. Inform them of any EAP you may have, health and safety, mental health first aiders, how to report issues and provide a company handbook they can refer to for all relevant information.

5. Provide accommodations Employers need to make reasonable adjustments for employees – particularly if they have a disability or health condition. A lot of these accommodations can be really easy to implement, however, if you’re struggling with the how our occupational health providers can help.

Benefits of creating a positive work environment?

We know we need to create a positive work environment, but it’s far more than a tick box exercise. Here are some of the many benefits of creating a positive work environment that not only benefit your employees, but your business as a whole.

1. It increases engagement and productivity

2. Facilitates progression

3. Increases staff retention

4. Reduces absenteeism

5. Supports staff’s wellbeing

6. Increases collaboration

7. Boosts company morale

8. Increases creative thinking

9. Promotes mental health

10. Boosts company reputation

Unfortunately, some of us may experience a toxic working environment at some point in our professional careers. But by knowing the signs already, you can take steps as an employer or leader to mitigate poor behaviour and negative associations at work.

Leaders' role in shaping culture

Leaders – whether they’re managers, team leaders and the like – play a crucial role in shaping a company’s culture. You may often hear the term “people don’t leave jobs; they leave bad managers”. According to The Worker’s Union, 67% of UK employees agree, and have left or considered leaving their job due to poor management.

If you’re a leader, your role in shaping culture in a positive way presents itself in every aspect of your job:

• Key decision making

• Practicing company value’s

• Resource allocation

• Setting the vision for the business and/or team

• Ensuring employee engagement

• Task communication and workload handling

• Developing individuals and teams

It’s also important as a leader to encourage a culture of empowerment, as this can lend itself nicely to encouraging autonomy across a variety of functions. Be it CPD, innovation and new projects.

How can managers and leaders build a positive work environment?

1. Encourage autonomy Placing trust in your employee’s technical, project and time management skills is key to ensuring they can work autonomously. After all, no one likes a micromanager. Staff need room to plan, implement and communicate with decision makers without a manager overlooking every tiny detail.

2. Provide purpose A McKinsey & Company survey showed that 70% said their sense of purpose comes from their job. What does this mean for a leader? Letting go of control in order to help staff grow. Involve them in projects that they otherwise wouldn’t (particularly if they’ve shown an interest), give them further insight into your job role, and provide gratitude and feedback for the work they do to ensure they know they’re making a difference.

3. Provide regular check-ins Having regular check-ins with your staff is a great way to see how they’re getting on with work, as well as providing a space for them to discuss concerns. This allows you, as a leader, to address them, as well as use the time for constructive (yet positive) feedback. Plus, it helps employees know they aren’t just completely left to their own devices. Staff need to know they can turn to their managers and/or leaders for support whenever they need it.

4. Be inclusive Ensure your staff know who everyone is in the organisation, who they can turn to and how to reach out to team members. This is especially important when on-barding new members of staff, who may already feel a bit nervous integrating into a new team.

Other ways you can show you’re inclusive is by inviting them along for lunch breaks, meetings they may benefit from for their job role, and empowering their voice and expertise as they settle into their role.

Why an Employee Assistance Programme is ideal for your workforce

Whilst you can make every effort to build a positive work environment, outside factors such as issues at home or personal relationships are completely out of your control. An Employee Assistance Programme such as HA | Wisdom Wellbeing is a great service for staff to turn to. Whether they require immediate support, short-term therapeutic help, financial, occupational or legal advice, they have a helpline that’s fully confidential.

Plus, your staff’s immediate family can benefit from an EAP too – which can be a fantastic benefit to add to your recruitment assets when hiring new staff.

Conclusion

From interviews through to long-term employee tenure, a supportive working environment can make or break an employee’s experience at your organisation. This can be costly to your staff’s mental health as well as your business. By understanding the key benefits of how you can support your staff, you can expect to see better staff retention, employee engagement, low absenteeism and high productivity rates. Invest in your workplace happiness, and your business will reap the benefits.