You hear a lot about health and wellbeing at work these days, but what does it mean, and why does it matter?
At the height of the pandemic, it was about taking the right steps to protect your people from Covid-19. However, now that threat has receded somewhat, many employers are focusing on health and wellbeing strategies to help retain existing staff and attract new talent.
Health and wellbeing at work encompasses staff’s physical and mental health and can assist people in developing and maintaining a positive attitude toward their job, colleagues and the wider business.
Employers can do their bit not only to create safe environments for staff but to create a healthy culture where people are comfortable, happy, supported, engaged and able to perform their roles in a productive way.
Factors contributing to health and wellbeing at work
The CIPD point to seven factors that impact an individual’s wellbeing at work:
Health
This includes physical and mental health and also the physical safety of employees. When it comes to physical health, it can encompass health promotion and health checks, while for mental health, it can cover stress management and conflict resolution training. Physical safety can address safe working practices, equipment and safety training.
Good work
This encompasses the requirements of the job, the working environment, transparent management, staff autonomy, ability for employees and the business to change and adapt, plus pay, and reward.
Values and principles
This area focuses on business leadership, ethical standards and diversity and inclusion.
Collective and social
This is the need for positive relationships and communication across teams. Employees also need to feel heard and involved in decision-making.
Personal growth
Offering career development opportunities, fostering emotional connections with colleagues and a continuous learning strategy are essential to cover this element.
Good lifestyle choices
This includes an emphasis on walking clubs, charity walks and other activities as well as healthy eating, including offering healthy eating options to staff.
Financial wellbeing
Offering pay rates above the statutory minimum wage, providing benefits schemes and offering employee financial support for example, signposting to external sources for free advice such as MABs or Citizens Advice.
Measuring the impact a health and wellbeing strategy
As with any strategy, it’s important to put in place metrics so you can measure, track and, if necessary, adjust your strategy to ensure you meet your objectives. Consider metrics such as:
Sick days
Track trends throughout the year, to understand underlying causes of absenteeism.
Staff retention
Compare the average length of time working for the business across roles and departments and make use of exit interviews for qualitative data.
Employee satisfaction
Use an ‘NPS’-like score and ask staff to rank different areas of their job so HR teams can understand employee sentiment.
Employee engagement
Identify what’s important to your teams and what steps you can take to boost involvement in socials, business incentives, or general involvement in the business.
Employee benefits
Track the take-up of employee benefits, focused on mental or physical wellbeing; if the take-up is low, consider if a particular benefit is still fit for purpose.
Productivity
It is harder to measure, but remember quantity isn’t the same as quality; you can also consider introducing remote or flexible working to help staff manage their time in a way that works for them.
Overall, keeping clear KPIs in mind means you can map the success of a wellbeing programme, and the insights gathered can be used to develop successful retention and recruitment strategies.
