Promoting health and wellbeing at work

Some easy ways to promote employee health and wellbeing at work

It is well known that promoting health and wellbeing at work has a positive impact on the performance and productivity of the workforce. Companies that embrace health and wellbeing initiatives reap many benefits from helping their people build and maintain good physical and mental health. Their staff feel valued, cared for, energised and inspired to lead healthier lives both at work and at home. Positive outcomes for the business include better morale, reduced sickness absence, fewer accidents and an enhanced reputation. In this article we highlight some quick and easy ways to get you started.

Something that every business can do without spending any extra money is for senior leaders to demonstrate commitment to promoting health and wellbeing at work and lead by example. This means the leadership team developing awareness of common health issues and how the organisational culture set by their own behaviours can shape the message sent to the workforce about health and wellbeing. Giving up smoking, doing ‘dry January’, or even going for a run at lunchtime sets a great example – it is surprising to see how many follow once someone takes the initiative to lead.

Another way to promote health and wellbeing is by using the principles of ‘nudge theory’. This is about understanding how people think, make decisions and behave. An easy way to get started is by using posters around the workplace and giving out information booklets to your people so they can start making better choices when it comes to health and wellbeing at work.

Physical health

If you’re thinking of going further then you could look at providing healthy options in the canteen, discounts on local gym membership and organising a walking group at weekends. Some companies even get a team together to tackle a stiffer challenge such as a Mighty Hike, raising money for great charities, and with lots of fun and team bonding along the way. The options are many and varied and to some extent depend on your local context and what enthuses your staff. Something that works in one organisation may not do so in another, so just ask your people what they want to do.

Mental health

This takes a bit more effort but the rewards are worth it. Many people find balancing work and home life a real challenge so offering flexible hours and the option to work from home can be very helpful. You can also look at stress management training for people with responsibility for others in your organisation, and personal resilience training for everyone. How about having a mental health ambassador, with the responsibility for co-ordinating wellbeing activities in the workplace or department, and trained to recognise the early signs of mental health problems so that you can provide a suitable response?

Environment

Providing a welcoming and pleasant working environment is good for everyone. Your staff appreciate it and its good for your reputation with your customers too. Some nice and easy ways of improving your working environment include making the office more attractive and the air cleaner by investing in some greenery, having a seating area away from their desks where people can chill out and relax and using interesting colour schemes to enhance the feel of your space.

Improving health and wellbeing at work – together with Cafe Therapy

In this article we’ve given you a few ideas to get started on improving health and wellbeing at work. You only need the support of the senior leadership team and a very modest budget to make some really meaningful changes that are guaranteed to have a positive impact on your people.

Cafe Therapy can help you improve health and wellbeing in your workplace by partnering with your company to deliver enlightening and effective training and workshops, as well as helping you access, evaluate and act upon feedback from your people. Our thoughtfully designed presentations and activities bring people together and foster a spirit of community and co-operation and bring real results for your company. Drop us an email and start a conversation with Cafe Therapy.