Well, when we say home, we mean our place of work.
Every one of our employees is part of the Joseph Homes family. And like any family, we look after each other. We’re committed to creating a workplace culture where every employee is happy and healthy, inspired and enthused. Because when employees are happy and healthy, they’re better at what they do. And if our employees perform better, we make better homes. This, in turn, has a huge ripple effect, benefiting our customers, our neighbourhoods and even the wider industry.
So, how to go about creating a positive working environment?
It’s about taking care of staff physically and emotionally, making sure people are healthy in their bodies and their minds.
Physical Wellbeing
When we talk about physical wellbeing, we’re talking about everything from diet and exercise to body posture and air quality. And we’re talking about it in relation to both our office staff and our workers out on site.
Air Quality
For construction workers in particular, air toxicity is a huge issue. Long-term exposure to smoke, dust, diesel fumes and toxic materials has a detrimental effect on their health. This is why we are introducing a number of measures to help address the problem: we’re reducing the amount of harmful materials we use on site; we’re tailoring our construction methodology to reduce site toxicity; and we will be training our teams on the subject.
But just because air toxicity is greater on construction sites, this isn’t to say office workers aren’t at risk. We are introducing air filtration systems in our offices, and we’ve picked a selection of plants known to absorb airborne impurities and screen against radiation.
Exercise & Posture
Some of the biggest physical problems facing office workers arise from poor posture and repetitive strains. That’s why our offices have enough standing desks for everyone.
We also host regular walking meetings, giving our staff natural opportunities to get up and moving at work.
Beyond this, we give funding and encouragement to any sports clubs our office workers want to organise and provide workplace massages with our dedicated masseuse, who tailors therapies to the unique needs of our office and construction workers.
Diet
Maintaining a healthy diet at work can be difficult. The most convenient food is often the least healthy. And preparing nutritionally-rich lunches can take a lot of planning, which employees don’t always have the time for.
That’s why we run nutritional advice sessions. And to encourage healthy snacking, our offices are always well-stocked with free organic fruit and nuts.
Mental Wellbeing
While we know a lot about physical health and fitness, we’re still scratching the surface when it comes to mental health. The past few years have seen us come on leaps and bounds. But there’s still a long way to go. Which is why we’re making sure we’re at the forefront of supporting and promoting mental health in the workplace.
Raising Awareness
The first port of call is to normalise discussions around mental health. Part of this is about making the various support networks visible at work. For example, we’ve teamed up with ‘Mates in Mind’, a charity working to raise awareness of mental health and reduce the stigma surrounding it in the construction industry.
Following conversations with their team, we are training accredited Mental Health First Aiders both on site and in the office. Who will be on hand whenever fellow employees want to discuss their personal or professional lives, or if they simply want someone to talk to.
Work-Life Balance
Long hours and stressful working environments play a huge role in mental health problems. In the UK, one in six of us will experience a mental health problem at work in any given week. This is far too many.
We’re committed to making sure everyone at Joseph Homes has a healthy work-life balance. We do this by paying close attention to resource requirements, ensuring the amount of work on any given project doesn’t outweigh the number of people working on it. If our staff do feel overworked or under any undue pressure, we have robust feedback structures in place, so they can voice concerns as and when they arise.
Ample time off work is critical. We give all of our staff plenty of allocated holiday, and make sure everyone takes it. On top of this, everyone gets their birthdays and the Christmas period off.
Meaningful Work
It’s well documented that positive feelings about work and workplace achievements help to improve our mental wellbeing. So, while it’s vital that we ensure people are getting enough time off work, it’s just as important that the work they’re doing is positive and meaningful.
A key way to ensure this happens is to instil strong values and a clear identity throughout the company. This helps everyone understand what we stand for and where we’re heading. Which, in turn, means all our employees can see how their work is having a tangible effect, how they’re contributing to the wider company vision.
And because everyone is working towards a shared goal, we ensure remuneration is team-wide. We want our employees to push themselves and each other, but we don’t want a separationist, competitive, pressure-based culture. We’re collaborators and team players, and when we succeed together, it means that much more.
That said, we know our employees want to progress and grow individually. That’s why we create clear paths to progression at every level. Our training and mentoring programmes give employees the skills and know-how to successfully further their careers. And by advertising vacancies internally wherever possible, we give people the opportunity to do that at Joseph Homes.
