Workplace wellness is quite the corporate buzzword. But supporting healthy behavior in the workplace shouldn’t need a buzzword. It should be ingrained in the culture of an organisation. 

As more and more companies try to encourage workplace wellness with new strategies and initiatives, it’s important to understand the motivation for doing so. 

What’s prompted the increased focus in workplace wellness?

Facts and figures about mental health are plentiful and the subject has never been higher on the public health agenda. So it’s no surprise that these issues have moved into the workplace. I’ve reviewed some of the findings of the CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work Report that have been published in conjunction with Simply Health, and have a few thoughts around how employers can address wellness in the workplace.

“Work-related stress absences have increased over the last year in nearly two-fifths of organisations.” 

Heavy workloads remain the most common cause of workplace stress, with management style being highlighted as one of the biggest areas of concern. In my experience, I think we, as HR professionals, place a lot of responsibility on our managers to deal with a wide array of issues and situations. But are we aiding them with the tools and resources to do that effectively? Robust training and development plans to help managers understand and deal with the processes around human resources - such as sickness, holidays and effectiveness - are essential. Many managers, particularly those promoted internally, are not equipped with these skills, and find coping with these challenges difficult. I’d suggest that any employee who is promoted into a managerial role completes a programme of mandatory management training. It helps avoid stress for the employer, the manager and the staff they manage. 

“Two-thirds of organisations are taking steps to identify and reduce workplace stress, a small increase on previous years.”

 Great news! But there’s still a lot to do. Wellness is ever-expanding but common themes and hot ticket subjects continue to be the promotion of flexible working (read my thoughts on that here), options for improving work–life balance, and mindfulness in the workplace. 

Mental illness is still one of the top reasons why people take time off work and is increasingly prevalent as a cause of both short and long-term absences. Yet a shocking 58% of the report’s survey respondents said that their organisation currently do not have an employee mental health policy. 19% are working on it but that’s still a full 39% who are not even attempting to set a policy.

Mental health is a broad topic which makes it a huge challenge for employers. Some organisations are trying to tackle it by providing training aimed at building personal resilience such as coping techniques and mindfulness, or introducing mental health first aiders. All approaches that I would endorse. 

“Three-quarters of organisations report positive outcomes from their health and well-being activity”

Quantifiable results like this are hugely encouraging. Especially when there are such shocking statistics available about workplace absence caused by ill health. For example, a survey of 25,000 health workers found that those who smoked are twice as likely to take time off work. Another study found Transport for London workers categorised as obese (BMI>30), take on average three sick days more annually than those of normal weight (BMI<25). And those with severe obesity (BMI>35) take six days more.

Presenteeism is always a focus for organisations considering wellness but you also have to think conversely about staff who go to work regardless of if they are ill. That can have an even more damaging effect, particularly in higher level roles. 

The big question is, are organisations doing all they can in the wellness space? Or are they still too reactive? Employers who genuinely want to address workplace wellness issues need to look at preventative measures, and the only way to do that is to instill organisational change.

Workplace wellness at an organisational level

Our employees are our greatest asset. We have a commitment and indeed a need, to look after them. Engaging with staff to understand the issues at the heart of workplace wellness is the first step employers can take to promote a healthier culture. 

I’m bemused by organisations who don't want to invest in a wellness strategy because it is in fact, a preventative measure that can reduce absence and loss of productivity. But strategy alone is not the answer. You need to live and breathe that strategy. It needs to be filtered through the fibre of your organisation and embedded in a wellness initiative that affects real change. And often companies haven’t worked out exactly what those initiatives are.

I’ve seen a lot of different ideas that come under wellness initiatives, all with varying degrees of effectiveness; one company ran lunchtime yoga sessions; others delivered weekly fruit baskets, offered cycle to work schemes, and some offered EAP programmes. One employer I worked for had a no lift rule so if you were travelling less than three floors you were expected to take the stairs. The NHS have even gone as far as stating at the bottom of each set of stairs how many calories you can burn by walking up them, which is great. 

Whatever the initiative, my point is that it has to be implemented correctly, embedded into the culture and visible to staff. Initiatives should also be reviewed and refined to ensure relevance - what was important in the workplace 10 years ago, may or may not be relevant today. Employers have to stay in tune what their employees need and want, so I encourage them to include wellness in annual or quarterly staff surveys. 

It’s also worth noting that truly successful wellness initiatives aid candidate generation. Organisations with embedded wellness strategies show they value their staff, which says a lot about the company and its culture if you want to work there. 

The Benefits of Wellness in the Workplace

I don’t think I need to extol the virtues of wellness in the workplace but I will summarise by sharing a quote from CIPD:

“Investing in employee well-being can lead to increased resilience, reduced sickness absence and higher performance and productivity. Put simply - it makes good business sense.”