It has been great to see a bigger focus on health and well being at work recently, with more and more companies stepping up the help and support they offer staff.
In New Zealand the Health Action Trust has emphasised that workplaces have a duty to look after employees and, in turn, their employees' families and communities.
A bad day at work that is left unresolved can lead to stress, exhaustion and extreme tiredness, which affects a person's personal life as well as their work life.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, happy workplaces mean better staff retention, happier customers, increased productivity and a better work-life balance for staff.
Easy options for creating happy and healthy workplaces include being able to bring pet dogs to work, having pool tables, darts or other games, and regular staff lunches or drinks.
New Zealand company, Sleepyhead, is going above and beyond for its hundreds of employees after finding that their present factory location meant staff had unreasonably long commutes and nearby houses were unaffordable.
Sleepyhead is now building a whole 'town' with affordable housing for staff and short commutes to new work sites nearby, enabling staff more time with families and friends, and more disposable income as well.
Efforts like this are highly commendable and SaaSam has always had an 'employee first' policy which encourages staff to 'work to live' not 'live to work'.
With SaaSam employees spread out across New Zealand, Australia and the UK, we have a very flexible work policy; offices are available for staff in each country, but we encourage them to work at home whenever they need, especially those with young children.
Sick days are considered there to be taken, as well as regular holidays or breaks. There is a Cambridge-based SaaSam quiz team which catches up most weeks, and each summer employees from overseas are flown to New Zealand for a long weekend of fun, games and Kiwi sunshine.
We are always looking for new ways to assist staff and promote a positive and open work environment. Not only do our staff appreciate it, but we in turn appreciate the better focus, happiness and creativity they bring to work.
