The casual workforce is a sporadic, intensive and ever-changing. With such vastly moving structural dynamics, there is a significant need for management to help develop a sense of consistency and foundational support for casual employees. A part of this is prioritising the promotion of employee well-being. A recent news story reported that night shift nurses are at a higher risk of developing common cancers than those who worked regular hours. While other factors are contributing to this, such as increased access to health care check-ups, it does reinforce the importance of putting in place internal strategies that encourage the well-being of staff in the casual workforce. Here are a few ways managers can contribute to the well-being of staff members.

Encourage work-life balance

With stress being one of the biggest factors affecting employee health, it’s crucial for management to avoid working crazy overtime or encouraging staff to do the same. Placing focus on creating a healthy work-life balance and practising self-care will show employees that they should too prioritise their health. ShiftMatch can help management contribute to this, by alleviating the workflows around filling shift shortfalls. By instantly filling vacancies, managers gain back valuable time that can be spent in more crucial areas of their role. It also relieves the pressure on casual employees, allowing them to shape their schedule around their individual needs. Achieving work-life balance provides many benefits to both the organisation and employee, including increased happiness and higher productivity.

Participate and liberate

Managers must participate in maintaining their well-being; otherwise, staff are unlikely to listen to their advice. It’s essential for managers to lead by example and enable healthy behaviours around the workplace – whether that’s by going outside during a lunch break, taking a mental health day when needed or simply promoting productivity over busyness. By showing employees how to work smarter, it reduces the level of chaos within the environment, rather providing staff with a sense of ownership over their work experience.

Check-in regularly with staff

How often do you check-in with your team? Scheduling regular check-ins or making it a priority to ask team members how they’re doing is extremely valuable to their well-being. Not only does it show that managers care, but it also provides those employees who may not usually speak up, an opportunity to express how they’re coping with the work environment. Tracking the progress and stability of casual staff members will allow managers to identify and intervene when someone’s well-being is at risk. It also provides managers with the chance to develop a rapport with their team, introducing a level of consistency into what can sometimes be an irregular environment.