Workforce wellbeing

Nick Babington shares his guide to improving workforce wellbeing

Covid-19 raised mental health to the top of workplace priorities, so now is a great time to take the ball and run with it. As an employer, you have a duty of care to protect your employees. But more than that, we should all be looking out for each other. Create a workspace where all feel welcomed, valued and appreciated. The success of your business depends on it. This guide will help you strengthen workforce wellbeing in simple, actionable ways. We’ll provide the first steps for putting mental health on the agenda, while enhancing long-term wellbeing.

WHY IS WORKFORCE WELLBEING SO IMPORTANT?

• One in four people will suffer from mental health issues at some point in their lives.

• 91% of organisations suffer from stressrelated absences.

• 55% of employers said they would like to improve staff wellbeing, but don’t feel they have the necessary training or guidance.

Mental health issues can derail selfesteem, motivation and the ability to cope with day-to-day life. If your employees are struggling, their work-life has likely taken a knock, too. This can lead to increased absence levels, higher staff turnover and a greater capacity for error. Workplace culture takes a hit, and so does business performance.

If you can support employees at work however, their road to recovery will seem a lot less daunting, and the effects on workplace morale can be monumental, too.

CHECK IN WITH EMPLOYEES

All good journeys have a starting point. The journey to improving workforce wellbeing is no different, but it’s hard to get a sense of direction when you don’t know where you’re starting from in the first place. Check in with employees to see how they feel about work and home life. Ask them if there’s anything you can do to improve things in the workplace. After all, these are the people who will be affected by any changes you make.

“Mental health issues can derail self-esteem, motivation and the ability to cope with day-to-day life”

WORKFORCE WELLBEING TO-DO LIST

• Create and circulate a wellbeing survey

• Consider the responses from the survey, and create your wellbeing action plan

• Plan awareness day activity (e.g. posters, informative emails, etc.)

• Have conversations with senior staff members, HR teams and line managers about improving workforce wellbeing

• Consider an Employee Assistance Plan

• If you have an EAP in place, make sure you’re regularly signposting to it

• Appoint mental health first aiders to help employees struggling in the workplace

• Review your progress with employee check-in surveys

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDERS

We have physical first aiders and fire wardens the workplace and having a mental health first aider can be just as crucial. More workplaces are now training designated staff members in mental health first aid. This course teaches people to identify, understand and help support a person at work who may need it. Having a dedicated individual at your clinic who people can trust might encourage team members to reach out for help if needed.

CREATE A CULTURE OF SUPPORT

Make your workplace one of support, of togetherness. Be open about mental health in the workplace. If you talk openly with your staff members, it encourages them to do the same. Review your progress with employee check-in surveys. Ask for their feedback and feed it into your workforce wellbeing strategy for the future.

NICK BABINGTON

Nick Babington is the sales director of Health Assured. He leads the growth of Health Assured’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) service through insurer and provider partnerships, insurance brokers, occupational health partners and the direct market. His main objective is to drive workplace wellbeing with industry-leading employee support across organisations of all sizes. Contact Nick at nick.babington@healthassured.co.uk