Staff and Volunteer Wellness

What are the most pressing needs in terms of Staff and Volunteer Wellness

What are your organizations currently doing to promote wellness?

Volunteer and Staff wellness needs clustered into four main categories that echoed themes from both recruitment and retention concerns and strategic recovery planning. The themes included: emotional and physical health, work/life balance, burnout, and navigating hybrid and/or virtual engagement.

“Reducing paralysis from hear/uncertainty of the unknown-keeping folks moving forward doing and being their BEST”

“Opportunity for time outside work, with their families and ease the work load.” “Burnout and fatigue for those who never actually shut down or stopped working from the onset of the pandemic. No time to breathe, recover, and renew”

“Education: Admin team and entire staff has more to do navigating virtual and COVID safe systems”

Current solution tactics organizations are employing to promote wellness mostly centered on increased check-ins and encouraging staff towards self-care/mindfulness and taking their vacation time, but some organizations went further in adding more time off opportunities, as well as monetary incentives for wellness activities.

Group

Staff

Both

Volunteers Suggestions

Encouraging staff to take their PTO/vacation time, offering more holidays or adding mental health days, having a beach day instead of a training day, Create areas/spaces for employees, emphasize self-care and/or mindfulness, increase personal check-ins during meetings, funding wellness activities, in-creasing remote or hybrid work options

Access to rapid COVID testing, appreciation event (sunset cruise), mindfulness incorporated into meetings and engagements

Increase appreciation opportunities (gifts, dinners, emotional connections)