Trends in business and the way they are run change from decade to decade thanks to new standards being normalized. A prime example of this is women becoming increasingly numerous in male-dominated workforces such as engineering and being a CEO.
As society changes, so do the things that “feed” it, which is why we will be looking into what employment sustainability is, how it works, and its benefits and drawbacks. This isn’t just important for employers though, since there is a symbiotic relationship between a job and everyone working in it.
Supporting aged employees also plays a certain role in sustainable employment practices, which we will be taking a look at later in this article.
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What is employment sustainability?
Sustainable employment comes with various definitions thanks to the keyword, “sustainable”, meaning different things to different people.
Sustainability can be seen as a method where a company’s growth satisfies environmental, societal, and economic standards. It can also mean an employee is able to add value to a company continuously into the future, as well as gain value themselves.
Sustainability does not equate to stability, though it does tend to overlap in many aspects since sustainability does mean a suitable employee stays with a company for a longer period.
What’s making sustainable employment important?
Being a part of the workforce provided employees with better attitudes towards life and a sense of accomplishment, that is until the stress builds up too much and affects their health.
Yale University did a survey on workplace stress and found that 29% of employees said they experience extreme stress from their jobs. The two main forms of stressors present from work are either physical or psychosocial.
Physical stressors include harsh lighting, bad ergonomic environments, noises, physical jobs, and so on. Psychosocial stressors are things such as bad work hours, lack of job control, job insecurity, high demands, inadequate work structure, and so on.
It can easily be said that psychosocial stressors are the larger cause for workplace stress, and sustainable employment aims at fixing those factors for the better by making workplaces an environment that doesn’t add to employees’ issues and creating a positive sector in their lives.
Stress is one of the leading causes of decreased health in general since it can induce elevated blood pressure, anxiety, depression, insomnia, gastrointestinal issues, eating disorders, weakened immune systems, and so on.
Being age supportive is also important because the majority of the workforce is aging. Providing sustainable employment practices for your aging employees means they can continue working for as long as they can.
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The employer’s side of things
From the employer’s point of view, there is a major incentive to maintain healthy and sustainable methods for employment due to needing to maintain profits and success in the long run. This means burning out your employees and mistreating them is not something you should be practicing.
There are two sides to the same coin, which means there’s mutual benefit in practicing sustainable employment.
The three main factors for sustainable employment include work engagement, proper commitment from all parties, and employability.
Losing employees leads to losses and an increase in costs that could have been avoided in the case of unfair working conditions. Avoiding job hopping is also beneficial from the employee’s point of view since stability is indispensable in most people’s lives.
Employees can also be seen as an investment for the company since they pertain to information and skills specific to your organization. Development is important in surviving and your specialized employees are there to continue achieving that.
How to maintain healthy work ethics and environment
The first step to reducing stress is sleep and allowing your employees healthy work hours is the key ingredient in creating sustainable employment. Allowing breaks and nap times for employees is also a great way to compensate for the lack of energy in your employees.
Employee participation and creating a clear path on how to earn promotions also aids in maintaining your employees since the company is more transparent with them regarding their own careers and futures. It also provides employees with a clear goal to work towards.
Any physical drawbacks in the work environment you provide should be solved, for example, more ergonomics chairs, standing desks, proper fridge space, better ventilation, and so on.
If your company is somewhat affected by this, then reducing occupational hazards by establishing protective measures for your employees is a great way to keep them safe and reduce any oncoming stress.
Things that can easily help your employees are proper training, proper hiring methods (meaning they are given certain jobs based on certain skill sets), routine health screenings, and maybe even cognitive behavioral therapy training.
You should also provide medical care for your employees or redirect them to assistance programs to allow them to have something to relate to and a more direct way of healing any issues they may have.
If an employee is in need of a hiatus, making their return sturdy and organized, as well as almost guaranteed, allows them to have hope in healing and also increases their loyalty by showing them your company is there to support them by their return.
