Get ahead of the game by blocking out some time to plan your company wellbeing strategy in 2022. January is a great time to get the balls in motion and our article takes you through 5 steps to begin that journey.
How is our mental health?
Mental ill health has been on the rise for many years and is currently estimated to cost the UK economy over £105 billion per year. Stress and mental health issues account for over 50% of absences and presenteeism is on the rise (where we are ‘present’ at work in body but not in mind or showing up to work when we are not well, therefore not being productive).
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of looking after our physical and mental health and that we cannot take it for granted. The added challenges placed on us through this time have created new wellbeing issues for many as well as exacerbating pre-existing issues. We have all reflected on what work/life balance means to us and so there is an added pressure for companies now to support staff through flexible and hybrid working practices in order to enable people to work at their best.
We would probably all agree that mental health and wellbeing have had quite a focus in the news and on social media and it is more normalised to ask those around us how they are doing and coping with everything going on. Our clients talk about how they are having more open conversations around stress and mental health with staff feeling more comfortable to disclose when they are struggling.
Are we doing enough to support wellbeing at work?
The increased awareness is a step in the right direction, but is it enough?
Are businesses equipped to support and manage the increased conversations and openness?
Are we taking enough action on that increased awareness, or can we sometimes switch off to the topic or become desensitised?
We are seeing an increase in companies taking wellbeing more seriously in the workplace, but they admit it’s hard to know where to start. Is it enough to deliver in-house, or do we need to bring in experts and specialists to really see a positive impact? Are reactive support systems such as counselling and helplines enough to support staff, or do we need to be more proactive and look at preventing some of the issues arising in the first place?
There is no one size fits all approach to what is right when it comes to the wellbeing of your teams but following a process or framework can be really helpful. Having a clear process lets you explore what is working well, where you may need to develop, how you will get there and how you will measure the impact. Every business has an overall strategy with objectives to meet and wellbeing needs to be part of that strategy.
Do wellbeing initiatives help?
Deloitte conducted research into the return on investment of wellbeing initiatives and identified that for reactive support such as employee assistance programmes, helplines and Occupational Health for every £1 invested, companies saw a return of £3 in productivity. For those with more proactive approaches such as tailored training, development & coaching and minimising of psychosocial risks (e.g. environmental stressors, work demands, job design), for every £1 invested, they saw between £5-£6 return. But these changes don’t happen overnight and typically companies need to have this support in place for at least a year to see the positive impact. A one-off training session or free fruit Fridays won’t cut it.
5 steps towards developing your wellbeing strategy
We support organisations with a clear process to help them develop an effective strategy around wellbeing which covers actions and initiatives across four core pillars of wellbeing: physical, mental, financial and environmental. Here is a summary of our 5-step process:
1. Make a commitment to wellbeing within the organisation. This is about communicating why wellbeing is important to the organisation to engage your workforce. Often this ties into the values and mission of your company and may involve setting up a wellbeing working group.
2. Gather and analyse data to understand where you are and where you want to be. This could be through the use of wellbeing surveys and existing data around absence, performance, retention and verbal feedback from staff
3. Develop the strategy. This is a living document to be updated and reviewed regularly in response to societal and organisational changes. It will help the company understand your objectives under each area of wellbeing, who is responsible for what, what actions and initiatives you will run and the timescales.
4. Implement actions as part of that strategy, whether this be changes to working practices and processes, changes to the physical environment, providing specialist training, coaching, and leadership development and/or setting up of support and resources available internally
5. Monitor and review the strategy on an ongoing basis to inform changes. To do this, you first need to know what outcomes you are hoping for and what you will use to measure. Will your measures be data driven or more about behaviours?
January 2022 is a great time to get this process started and if you need any help, give us a shout!