30+ Ways to Foster Workplace Wellbeing
Date postedNovember 12, 2024
Does your organization's benefits package and employee experience align with your nonprofit's values? Centering wellbeing in your practices and communications can help you stand out from the crowd and attract and retain talented people to power your mission.
Here are 30+ ideas for fostering wellbeing in your workplace, many of which are free or low-cost.
Physical Health + Wellbeing
- Ergonomic training and equipment/supplies
- Outdoor meetings / walking meetings
- Fitness incentives (gym memberships, etc.)
- Nutritious offerings in staff kitchen
- Wellness stipends
- Group fitness hours
- Team challenges (water drinking, exercise, steps)
- Safety training
- Good lighting / sunlamps
Emotional + Mental Health
- Mental health days
- Parental leave / Caregivers leave
- Stress management workshops
- Art activities
- Conflict resolution training
Financial Wellbeing
- Retirement savings program (and incentives)
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Student loan support
- Financial literacy education
Intellectual Wellbeing
- Professional development stipends / tuition reimbursement
- Mentorship
- Lunch & learn sessions (including fun topics!)
Organizational Culture
- Team agreements
- Relationship building time built into meetings
- Flexible schedules / remote work options
- Investments in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (training, policy review, etc.)
- Days without meetings
- Onboarding buddy program
- Wellbeing Suggestion box
- Office quiet zone
- Team-building exercises
- Birthday days off
- Time off to vote
- Office decor/art
- Puzzles in a common area
Social Interaction
- Team volunteering days
- Field trips as a team (especially to other local nonprofits)!
- Pot-luck lunches
- Cookie swaps
- Happy hours (in person or virtual)
- Virtual "Water Cooler" channel (via Slack or Zoom chat)
- Book clubs
- Co-working hours for remote teams
More Resources
Articles/Blogs
- 12 employee wellness initiatives that actually help (Forbes)
- Employee wellbeing is key for workplace productivity (Gallup)
- It’s a new era for mental health at work (Harvard Business Review)
- About Work-Life Harmony (TAFEP)
Books
- Your Wellbeing Blueprint: Feeling Good And Doing Well At Work by Michelle L McQuaid and Dr Peggy L Kern
- The Healthy Workplace Nudge: How Healthy People, Culture, and Buildings Lead to High Performance by Rex Miller, Phillip Williams, Michael O'Neill
- Workplace Wellness that Works: 10 Steps to Infuse Well-Being and Vitality into Any Organization by Laura Putnam
- The Workplace You Need Now: Shaping Spaces for the Future of Work by Sanjay Rishi, Benjamin Breslau, Peter Miscovich
- IKIGAI for Leaders and Organisations: The Way to Individual and Collective Purpose and Meaning by Frank Brueck
Our thanks to our colleague Rachelle Furst at National Council of Nonprofits for inspiring this topic and compiling the initial list of ideas!