Tag Archive for: Wellbeing

Enhancing employee wellbeing: Practical steps for employers

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Every July, Samaritans run an awareness campaign. This year’s event was held on 24 July, so it is an important month for thinking about mental health. The Samaritans Foundation, established in the UK in 1953,  currently respond to a call for help every ten seconds.

Mental health issues have a significant impact on both individuals and organisations. According to a 2024 Parliamentary briefing, one in six adults in the UK experiences a ‘common mental disorder’ like depression or anxiety each week. We know from discussions with our clients the importance they place on supporting staff wellbeing. There is an increasing understanding of the importance of mental and physical health and the impact that all life’s challenges can have on employees’ overall wellbeing.

Our clients tell us that ensuring their staff feel valued, supported, and healthy is not just the ‘right thing’ to do, but also crucial for organisational performance and growth. However, many find it challenging to identify and implement practical and effective measures to support mental health in the workplace.

Building a supportive culture

Creating a genuinely supportive work environment is the cornerstone for employee wellbeing. Employers can build a supportive culture by encouraging open communication, recognising and appreciating employees, and actively working to create an inclusive environment. Regular check-ins and surveys can help gauge employee satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.

Formal recognition schemes are a great way to celebrate staff efforts, not forgetting the power of more informal ‘shout outs’ in team meetings or group chats for a “job well done”. Fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated will lead to all employees feeling valued and respected.

Promote work-life balance

Work-life balance is crucial for maintaining employee wellbeing. This can be challenging for employers, but open and constructive conversations with employees can lead to positive results for all parties. Employers can promote work-life balance by offering flexible working hours and remote working options, while still ensuring business objectives can be delivered. These can help employees reduce stress and improve job satisfaction. Additionally, they boost productivity and improve retention. Employers should encourage employees to disconnect from work during their time off, with managers leading by example by setting clear boundaries around working time and annual leave.

Mental health support

Employers can support mental health by offering access to confidential counselling and services through Employee Assistance Programmes, a cost-effective option providing immediate access to support. Mental health training for designated staff helps to identify mental health issues and signpost support. If possible, allowing employees to take days off specifically for mental health can reduce problems, and improve employees’ confidence that the organisation genuinely supports their mental health.

Physical health initiatives

Employers can offer a range of initiatives to support physical health, including subsidised gym memberships and wellness challenges. A healthy work environment, with ergonomic furniture, healthy snacks, and promoting regular breaks will have the additional benefit of helping to reduce many common causes of sickness absence, and some employers enhance this by offering on-site flu vaccinations or regular health check-ups.

Professional development and financial wellbeing

These are not areas that might typically be the first things you might consider when looking at supporting wellbeing, but providing opportunities for growth and development can enhance job satisfaction and a sense of belonging. Possible initiatives include training and development programmes, structured career pathways, and mentoring schemes.

Support for financial wellbeing can include regular benchmarked compensation reviews. Offering workshops or resources on financial planning, budgeting, and retirement planning could also be beneficial., and if your organisation’s resources allow, providing comprehensive benefits packages that include health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks.

By implementing these practical steps, employers can significantly enhance the wellbeing of their employees. A happy and healthy workforce is not just beneficial for employees but is also essential for business performance and growth, with benefits across the whole employee lifecycle – better recruitment outcomes, higher productivity, reduced absence rates, and increased retention rates. And who doesn’t want to work in a happier environment?

For specialist support on this topic or to discuss any other HR matter, please contact Andrew Miles in our team on 07468 698 975.

International Men’s Day: How Are You Supporting Men’s Health in the Workplace?

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19 November is International Men’s day and it takes place during the ever popular ‘Movember’. But amidst critiquing the varying successes of moustache-growing, it’s important to also take time to consider the importance of men’s health.

Why Is Men’s Health Important?

The statistics on men’s health speak for themselves – men account for three-quarters of premature deaths from heart disease, are twice as likely to die from drug or alcohol abuse and three times more likely to die from suicide. 

Men are less likely to access psychological therapy compared to women, with men accounting for only 36% of referrals to NHS talking therapies. Research shows that men are more likely to turn to harmful coping mechanisms, such as using alcohol or drugs to cope. When talking about their mental health, one in three men attributed this to their work, according to research carried out by Mind in 2017. 

Whilst the focus on wellbeing and in particular mental health has increased within society and many organisations, why is it that men often face health challenges alone? This can in part be explained by the traditional expectations of what masculinity is – being strong and keeping it together and perhaps a dogged determination to ‘man up’ rather than face health issues. 

It could also be due to a lack of resources and support targeted specifically at men. If we think about men’s engagement with health services, in a man’s life time there are few touch points that offer men the opportunity to look at and discuss their own physical and mental health. So they may not be able to spot any concerns in the first place and when they do, they may not know how to seek help. 

What Can Businesses Do to Help?

As with any health issues, raising awareness is fundamental in facilitating change. Research by the charity Samaritans, found that both language and content of any awareness initiatives needs to be specific for men to actively engage. Running campaigns to highlight men’s health concerns – heart disease, prostate and testicular cancers as well as mental health issues such as depression and suicide. 

Train your line managers to hold wellbeing conversations. Research carried out by CIPD has found out that only 29% of managers feel confident in being able to spot signs of mental ill health. Likewise when discussing taboo subjects on men’s health, it can be hard for both manager and employee to feel comfortable to open up. 

With one in eight men experiencing some poor mental health at any time, it’s important that managers are able to consider the possible life experiences that may be affecting men at work – becoming a father, bereavement, relationship breakdowns. Managers need to have the skills to open up that conversation, not rush to provide a solution but ask the right questions and most important of all, provide space and time to listen to the individual.

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Create safe spaces to have vulnerable conversations and permission to open up without being perceived as a weakness. Those safe spaces are across the whole organisation not just with line managers, so this is about ensuring that all employees have an appreciation of likely health issues and can play their part in spotting the signs and supporting colleagues.

Signposting to resources and support. Many organisations may have an employee assistance programme which can offer targeted support for men’s health. Likewise there are external organisations that can help. Sometimes this just isn’t obvious for men who may be having physical or mental concerns. So organisations need to clearly signpost and direct men to those services that can help.

We have come a long way in regards to focusing on health and wellbeing at work for all employees, but on this International Men’s day we should take the time to drive that conversation forward. By talking about the issues and trends in men’s physical and mental health, we can encourage more men to be open about their feelings and access support.

For specialist HR support with any of these issues, or for how you can support International Men’s Day, please contact Sue Meehan Boyes in our team on 07384 468797.

More Companies Offer Mental Health Day Holidays for Employees

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In light of the challenges of the pandemic and as part of an ongoing commitment to employee wellbeing, Thomson Reuters has introduced two annual company mental health day holidays, commencing in 2022.

On those days, Thomson Reuters encourages employees to ‘use the time off with intention and do something that gives the day meaning to them’.

This poses a question for organisations who share this increased focus on employee wellbeing. Are they also willing to implement such policies?

Why Invest in Employee Wellbeing?

There is now a much broader understanding and application of holistic health and wellbeing approaches in many workplaces. It is also clear that some companies are not yet embracing the health and wellbeing agenda to full effect.

Investing in employee wellbeing can lead to increased resilience, better employee engagement, reduced sickness absence and higher performance and productivity. To gain real benefit, employee wellbeing priorities must be integrated throughout an organisation, embedded in its culture, leadership and people management.

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Rising Mental Health Concerns

There has been a rise in the number of reported mental health issues over the past 10 years and it’s well recognised that in many cases the main risks to people’s health at work are psychological. This has led to a growing recognition of the need for employee wellbeing practices to address to psychological, as well as physical, aspects of health and wellbeing.

CIPD’s 2022 Health and Wellbeing at Work survey report show that organisations’ wellbeing activity is increasingly focused on mental health, with most organisations taking steps to support mental health and address workplace stress.

The survey also found evidence of a range of unhealthy working practices such as ‘presenteeism’ (people working when unwell), with 81% of organisations reporting presenteeism among people working from home and 65% in a physical workplace. Two thirds (67%) have also observed some form of ‘leavism’, such as using holiday entitlement when unwell or to work, over the past 12 months.

Looking Beyond the Statistics

There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure all workplaces are giving this topic the time and attention it deserves. Employers need to look beyond absence statistics to understand the underlying factors, such as unmanageable workloads, that are driving unhealthy working practices and influencing people’s wellbeing.

Your organisation may wish to support its wellbeing agenda through new initiatives such as additional wellbeing days for its employees, to demonstrate this driving focus on supporting them through the ever-evolving challenge of balancing work and life pressures.

For specialist support with these issues or for advice in implementing any new initiatives, please get in touch with Sarah Martin in our team on 07799 136 091.

Stress Awareness Month – Top Tips for Supporting Employee Wellbeing

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April is Stress Awareness Month and this year’s theme is Community. It seems entirely apt that coming out of a pandemic which isolated us from the various communities that support us, that this is the theme for 2022.

The Importance of Community

It’s well known that human connection is fundamental to our happiness and fulfilment. The various communities we are all a part of help to provide that.

The Stress Management Society who are behind the awareness day say they chose the community theme because a lack of support can cause loneliness and isolation, which in turn lowers people’s wellbeing, impacts mental health and can lead to mental illness.

UK workers put in the longest working week in Europe, spending on average 42.3 hours a week at work. With this in mind, what role can employers play in optimising our workplace communities, bearing in mind the changes we are seeing to the way we work as a result of COVID?

Five Ways Employers Can Help Mitigate Employee Stress

  • Think about what changes your workplace has seen as a result of the pandemic. For some it might be minimal, for others there may have been a massive shift from the ‘norm’ with staff working in a different ways. If things do look different, can any gaps be identified in terms of the ways employees might have previously communicated with and supported each other?
  • Review your absence data. Look at any recent trends. Have you seen an increase in stress or mental health absence? Can you identify any themes? Do these give you any insights from a team or wider workplace perspective?
  • What are your staff telling you? If you do a staff survey, consider whether the questions capture the topics of support, both from a manager and colleague perspective. If you don’t, consider using staff forums or other frameworks to see what these tell you.
  • Encourage staff to reach out if they are feeling unhealthy levels of stress or anxiety. Give the message that the workplace is a supportive community that wants its staff to thrive. Issue communications to this effect via email, noticeboards, team briefings or other means.
  • Keep talking. Checking in with people, chatting about non work related topics – it’s some of these more informal catch ups that have been lost in some workplaces as a result of less face to face contact. It’s sometimes in these moments that people feel more able to open up about things or discover a shared connection that makes them feel less alone.

For more information on how you can support employee wellbeing, please contact Sarah Martin in our team on 07799 136091.

Why You Should Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day

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National Employee Appreciation Day falls on 4 March 2022. The day provides an opportunity for employers to celebrate their employees and express gratitude for their hard work and contributions.

Actively recognising the contributions of your employees can help improve staff morale and ultimately, staff retention rates. In addition, it is also an effective way of helping employees feel valued by acknowledging that their work is appreciated in the business. 

The day can also be used as a good opportunity to check in on employee well-being. Taking the time to engage with staff in an open and genuine way can help employers find out what they can do to support their staff and if there are any new practices they can adopt to address employee concerns.

In light of the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on employees, employers should take any opportunity they can to help improve staff wellbeing. Whether it is an extra hour for lunch, a communal coffee break or time out to pursue a hobby, taking part in National Employee Appreciation Day can be a great way of improving employee / employer relations. 

For more ideas of how you can support your employees, read our previous articles for our top tips for supporting employee health and wellbeing, and how to best support employee mental health.

For support with managing and improving employee appreciation and relations, please contact Helen Couchman in our team on 07799 901 669.

Voluntary Reporting on Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing

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In October 2017, “Thriving at work: the Stephenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers” was published.

Following this, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have published a framework to support employers to voluntarily report disability, mental health and wellbeing in their workforce.

The framework is entirely voluntary in nature and aimed at larger employers with over 250 employees. However, smaller employers are also encouraged to engage with the framework as well.

The purpose of the framework is to drive transparency in organisations. Employers are encouraged to provide a narrative explaining the action taken to recruit and retain disabled employees and provide support in relation to mental health and wellbeing in the workforce.

The Stephenson/Farmer review suggested that poor mental health was costing employers between £33 billion and £42 billion per year (namely in relation to sick leave, staff turnover and impact on productivity).

It appears that the issues of disability and mental health and wellbeing is increasingly under the spotlight and it is possible that reporting will become mandatory in the future (although this is not suggested at present). Employers may decide to voluntarily report as a point of best practice and to demonstrate transparency and a commitment to addressing issues arising out of disability and mental health in their workplace. Further guidance regarding reporting is to be published shortly.

For more information, please contact Sarah Martin on 07799 136 091 or Caitlin Anniss on 07909 683 938 at Narrow Quay HR.