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Daria Spizheva
Technology and software expert and author
I’m a writer with a passion for technology and a firm believer that the key to explaining detailed technical and business information is simplifying it into concepts everyone can understand.
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In the ever-pulsating world of tech, where innovation is the heartbeat and deadlines are the driving force, an alarming statistic speaks up. Recent studies indicate that a staggering 59% of workers in the tech sector experience chronic stress, namely work-related stress. Throw in the common 11-hour workdays, the pressure to outperform, and the challenge of 24/7 connectivity, and we’re peering into a cauldron of unmanaged stress simmering on the backburner.
Interestingly, despite these factors, about 72% of people within the tech industry have reported to actually like their jobs. This paradox presents an urgent need to reconcile job satisfaction with a culture of stress and brings us to the vital topic of wellness and tech employee well-being at work.
And let me assure you, my friends, the magic of software developer well-being is a hearty stew with lots of ingredients. I’ve dug through mountains of research, spent hours talking with our tireless HR team to craft this insightful article so you can strategically build a treasure trove that’ll send your workplace wellness skyrocketing. Let’s start by looking at why it matters.
Now, you might be asking yourself, “Why does this matter?” Well, from the results I’ve witnessed in successful offshoring firms like, TurnKey Labs, boosting your software engineers’ quality of health and well-being is like finding a golden ticket to the chocolate factor. It’s a win-win situation for the hard-working folk on site, and the top dogs of the company alike.
This makes sense as you can’t expect someone to give their best at work if they’re feeling like a zombie from “The Walking Dead”. There are really four elements that contribute to the perfect well-being concoction:
With these four pillars firmly in mind, let’s venture into the benefits of elevating their importance within your tech team. It’s time to concoct the potion for brewing up a little employee happiness enchantment!
Well – first off, along with other corporate social responsibility commitments, having your company’s employees being more healthy will light a fire under your organization’s overall performance. I’m not talking about being as healthy as Olympic athletes but in ship shape, so they can wrangle stress like a cowboy at a rodeo, and they won’t be clocking out for sick leave, which leads to more productivity and lower healthcare costs.
Now, moving on to social and mental health, the unsung heroes of workplace safety and wellness. Trust me, developers with a sturdy mental fortress and support are more likely to be happier than a seagull with a french fry, perform better, and stick around longer. The result? Higher morale and a lower chance of seeing your team members’ backs as they head out the door.
Last but definitely not least, the economic health of your team is the secret ingredient in this well-being recipe. You see, worrying about money can knock the wind out of an employee’s sails, affecting both their mental and physical health and dragging their job performance down faster than a lead balloon. Which is why competitive wages, top-notch benefits, and resources that make understanding finances easier than tying a shoelace makes a massive difference to your engineers’ overall well-being.
The result? You get a motivated team with no plans to leave your company! Which is great for the bottom line, as we all know that the cost of churn is insane. It also kills morale, weakens your culture, and robs the team of product knowledge.
Retaining staff is often the toughest part of running a successful tech business, and at TurnKey, we’re more than familiar with this problem… in fact, we’re obsessed with retention.
So to help you tackle any wellness and developer well-being issues and lower your churn rate, I will pull back the curtain and share the strategies and tips we’ve meticulously crafted for our retention program here at TurnKey, which are based on solid experience and scientific research.
I’ll let you in on a little secret. Improving developers’ well-being requires a multifaceted approach. It isn’t a one-and-done kind of deal. Nah, this requires an ongoing commitment. But here’s the kicker – tech employee health and well-being isn’t just a ‘nice-to-have’. Nope, as I mentioned before, it’s as essential as a map on a treasure hunt. Companies that want to strike gold in the future need to focus on what makes their developers tick so they can be whipping into a workforce that’s healthier, happier, and more productive.
To do that at TurnKey Labs every month, our talent retention gurus give our client’s development teams a thorough once-over. They assess everything from your coders’ access to their favorite snacks to their programming language of choice. Okay, maybe not the snacks, but they definitely go deep into all the important retention factors!
Then, with the power of our ultra-mega-super secret algorithm (yeah, it’s proprietary!), we conjure up a Talent Retention Index Score. It’s like a crystal ball that tells them the churn risk level for each developer. Spooky, right?
Once they know the score, to keep our clients’ happy coders grinning like Cheshire cats and gently nudging those on the medium to high risk of churn towards blissful contentment, our retention gurus reach into their bag of tested and effective retention programs and pull out just the right one that is tailored to address each team members risk level.
But this is not a solo act, we never leave our clients in the dark. Our team regularly share all the juicy details with them, so they’re always up to speed with the retention risk in their team, along with the ninja moves we’re making to keep that risk to a minimum.
So how does this pay off? Drumroll, please…the results! We’ve managed to cut churn by more than half. That’s right, folks, a whopping 50% reduction in the industry average churn rate! Talk about a game-changer.
Since we have been cruising at the 30,000 foot level with the trifecta of health benefits – physical, mental, and economic – that can turn your workforce into a well-oiled, high-performing machine, now I’ll bring it down and look at the specifics.
This seven-strategy treasure trove that’ll send your workplace wellness skyrocketing.
Want to Attract Top Talent and Give Them Reasons to Stay? Connect with TurnKey today and Let Us Show You How It's Done!
Did you know that employees feel like superheroes when they’re given control over their work? They exhibit lower stress levels than a zen-master and have higher job satisfaction. In the words of Destiny’s Child, “I’m a survivor. I’m not gonna give up. I’m not gonna stop. I’m gonna work harder!” So, unleash your employees’ inner superhero by letting them set their own goals and decide on the methods to meet those goals.
Flexibility is no longer just a perk. It’s a basic requirement, like oxygen or coffee on a Monday morning. According to a Gallup report, the ability to choose when and where they work is as important to employees as choosing what to watch on Netflix. Organizations can provide remote work options, flexible work hours, and job-sharing opportunities. These measures offer employees a better work-life balance and have been shown to reduce employee stress often, improve physical health, and boost morale.
Getting employees involved in problem-solving is like making them captains of their own ship. A study in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management highlighted that participatory problem-solving strategy could decrease workplace stress and also improve employee wellbeing and the quality of work-life. This could include soliciting employees’ feedback, encouraging them to come up with innovative solutions, and involving them in decision-making processes. So, encourage employees to come up with innovative solutions and get them involved in the decision-making process.
Overworked employees are about as productive as a sloth on tranquilizers. By ensuring your organization is adequately staffed, you’re keeping workers’ workloads reasonable and promoting mental and physical health. After all, overwork can lead to issues like depression and anxiety, which cost the global economy way, way more than my coffee addiction. In fact, the World Health Organization reports that depression and anxiety, often linked to heavy workloads, cost the global economy an estimated trillion per year in lost productivity.
Managers play a crucial role in creating organizational resilience, promoting employee well-being by recognizing and addressing employees’ personal needs. This support can come in many forms, various factors such as allowing time off for family responsibilities, acknowledging significant personal events, or offering resources for personal development. Google’s Project Oxygen found that managerial support and emotional safety have significant impacts on team productivity and employee satisfaction.
The absence of social support in the workplace can lead to isolation, low morale, decreased productivity, and increased stress levels. Companies can foster social support by promoting team-building activities, developing mentorship programs, and creating open communication channels. A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that increased social support and supportive relationships in the workplace reduce the risk of burnout and enhance overall employee well-being.
Leadership style significantly impacts workplace well-being. Transformational leadership, which involves leading by example, motivating tech employees, and encouraging innovation, can promote a positive work environment and boost employee mental health. A survey by the American Psychological Association found that employees who feel valued by their leaders report better physical and mental health, higher levels of engagement, and stronger job performance.
Looking for the Best Software Engineers Without Any Compromise on Workplace Wellness?
By now, you might think that getting tech employees jazzed about wellness programs is like trying to get a cat excited about a bath – tricky, but not impossible! As someone who’s spent more time researching this and hanging with leaders and the HR team than I care to admit, I can assure you that the key to success lies in integrating wellness initiatives into your company culture. Let’s now look at some of TurnKey’s best practices you could use to tie wellness to your big-picture organizational goals, making it as integral to your company as water is to a fish.
Now, fasten your seatbelts, ’cause here come the strategies!
Are you ready for some show and tell about results? With great success comes the need to get more hands on deck. Our client R1 had to boost their dev team faster than a cheetah on a caffeine rush, filling all those key roles, and fast! They turned their gaze offshore and, lucky for them, TurnKey was ready to swoop in with the much-needed engineering talent. And, we’re not just talking about a couple of extra hands here and there. We’re talking about a whopping 40 full-time staff across different roles. Yeah, you read that right!
The result? Let’s just say R1’s productivity skyrocketed, like an adrenaline-fueled rocket! They’re now popping out 51 releases per year – that’s a weekly cadence.
But wait, there’s more! The cherry on top is the impressive average annual churn rate they’ve seen over the past three years, less than 5%. Thanks to this, disruption to their engineering needs has been minimal.
“TurnKey’s YourShore model allows us to easily integrate developers directly into our organization so that they are truly my team. I honestly forget most of the time that they aren’t working in the same building as me.”
Imagine this. Employees embracing wellness programs, not just half-heartedly, but with gusto, the kind you see when someone spots an empty seat on a crowded subway. Boom! Before you know it, they’re enjoying better well-being, and your organization is reaping the benefits, with healthcare costs shrinking, fewer paid time offs, satisfaction soaring high, and productivity pumping like a high-end espresso machine!
“But wait,” you ask, “how do we get our developers to jump on board?” Excellent question, my friend. Here’s where TurnKey’s model and our stellar team of HR specialists enter stage right, all ready to make things happen. They’re not just the cheerleaders but the quarterbacks, too, playing a pivotal role in leading companies in promoting and supporting these wellness programs.
With us, you can ensure these programs are well-resourced and will work their magic to weave wellness right into the very fabric of your team, work culture and organization’s culture, so it’s as natural and essential as coffee on a Monday morning.
The bottom line is if you want to create a thriving, healthy and vibrant workplace, get your employees engaged in wellness initiatives using our strategies. It’s worth it!
Let's Create a Work Environment That Your Software Engineers Will Love. Get in Touch with TurnKey Today to Find Out More!
Work well-being is about tech employees feeling happy and satisfied in their roles. It means they're physically healthy, mentally sound, socially connected, and see opportunities for growth and achievement.
It's about employees being physically fit, mentally stress-free, emotionally appreciated, socially integrated and professionally fulfilled. In other words, it's feeling good, getting along with colleagues, and finding your work meaningful and rewarding.
They are Physical, Mental, Social, and Financial. This means promoting health and safety, supporting mental health, fostering positive relationships, and ensuring financial fairness and stability.
TurnKey Staffing provides information for general guidance only and does not offer legal, tax, or accounting advice. We encourage you to consult with professional advisors before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business or legal rights.
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