Maintaining employee health and motivation

Sustainable employability of employees is a topic that is becoming increasingly important. In this article, you can read why and discover how you can keep employees motivated and engaged in your organization.

Aging populations and workloads increase the importance of sustainable employability

Last year, RIVM and TNO published a study on the future of healthy and safe work. This indicates that the workload will continue to increase over the next 20 years. This is partly due to an aging population, staff shortages, and technological developments. These are developments that we also see in government institutions.

Within government institutions, we make extensive use of the expertise of older professionals. It is important that they are kept up to date with all developments and that they can devote themselves as best as possible until their retirement. If they eventually retire, their work must be taken care of. This is very difficult, because there are already many departments that are experiencing a lot of workload due to staff shortages. It is therefore essential to create an enjoyable work environment that attracts and retains older and younger employees. In other words: an environment in which sustainable employability is encouraged.

The basis of sustainable employability

Good health, productivity and motivation form the foundation for sustainable employability. It's important that your employees continue to enjoy their work throughout their careers. Even if their work changes due to developments in society. This requires a safe, healthy and development-oriented work environment. You focus on two important topics: the mental and physical health of your employees and opportunities for development and growth within the organization.

Mental and physical health

It goes without saying that people feel good about themselves if they follow a healthy lifestyle. This means following a correct diet and adequate exercise. As a result, in addition to good mental and physical health, employees often also have more energy, which is a huge advantage. Employees become more productive and better able to deal with the pressure and stress of work.

How can you as an organization contribute to the health of your employees?

• It is open door, but offers healthy products in the company restaurant and ensures that the workplace is ergonomically designed.
• Organize exercise activities that employees can participate in voluntarily, such as boot camps or yoga classes. Or simply go for a walk with your team during breaks.
• Give employees (if possible) the space to organize working hours flexibly, so they can create a good work-life balance for themselves.
• Adjusting work and leave arrangements to suit the health and vitality of employees (elderly).
• Make sure an expert is available if employees have concerns about their health or need advice. This could be an external expert (Occupational Health and Safety Service).

Development and growth opportunities

The content of work changes based on social and technological developments. This means that employees' knowledge and skills quickly become outdated. Employees sometimes get bored if they do the same job for too long or if the work no longer challenges them. This comes at the expense of job satisfaction and productivity. Either way you want to offer employees the opportunity to develop and grow. Or give them the space to adapt the work to their interests and talents.

How do you, as an organization, provide and stimulate development and growth opportunities?

• As a manager, regularly participate in conversations to discover what makes your employees happy. Then immediately take an inventory to see if they have developmental needs and aspirations.
• Ensure that employees are aware of any annual training budget and motivate them to take advantage of it if they want to develop.
• Education or training is not always necessary to increase job satisfaction. Taking on another project or new tasks can also be very fun and educational.
• Give employees the space to take responsibility and organize their work.
• Create a safe culture where employees dare to express their opinions, so they can offer ideas. Then give them the space to do something with it.
• Give (new) employees who are interested in an underserved career, but do not have the appropriate diploma, a chance. Allow them to retrain and grow in the profession as they work.

Sustainable employability is a good thing for your employees and your organization

When employees are healthy and have many opportunities within the organization, they feel happy. This is good for the work atmosphere, job satisfaction, and dealing with work stress. Results? Less absence, more productivity. Employees are more motivated to work for your organization, and there is a greater chance that they will not leave. Moreover, due to development opportunities, they possess higher level knowledge and skills. So the quality of their work also improves. This way you can better face social challenges together!