Many companies now recognise the importance of wellbeing at work and are taking action as cases of absenteeism and mental health issues continue to rise in the workplace. Employers are now holding events, addressing policies, and having wellbeing committees or champions but why is wellbeing such a topical issue?
We can all agree that covid has been challenging for all and that it has changed the way we work and how we will work in the future. For key workers there has been anxiety about going into the workplace and putting themselves at risk, it’s fair to say there has been a significant amount of the population that have been out of work and under financial pressure and then there are the homeworkers who have had to either deal with the additional strain of home-schooling whilst working or have been socially isolated and that’s without worrying about losing loved ones to covid. We’re still not fully aware of what impact that has had on our wellbeing or the workplace.
When thinking of wellbeing in the workplace, here are four things you should know:
1. Presenteeism
Presenteeism is a term referring to employees that feel the need to work despite being in poor health. Poor mental health is an invisible illness that often carries a stigma and it certainly attributes to presenteeism. This may sound like a benefit for employers but, someone suffering from poor mental health will often be distracted, fatigued and lack morale, effecting their productivity and potentially exasperating their mental health issues. This can also lead to physical manifestations of ill health, high blood pressure, memory loss, obesity, confusion, behaving out of character, and being emotional.
2. Absenteeism
Most work-related ill health is now predominantly due to mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression and is attributed to 55% of all working days lost. This figure continues to grow year on year. It is in the benefit of your business to put measures in place to prevent and mitigate the effects of poor mental health both for the good of the employees but also to reduce absenteeism. Poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion each year so it “pays” to support employees’ mental health.
3. Reputation
Having a good support system for mental health in the workplace can build your reputation as a caring employer that wants their employees to be happy and healthy at work. This can help attract new customers and talent to your business. Conversely, an employer that does not value wellbeing may very well gain a poor reputation and have poor employee retention rates. There are indexes that list the highest performing business in wellbeing prioritisation and of those companies profitability and growth increase with the efforts made to help their employees have higher morale and productivity.
4. On the agenda
Wellbeing is certainly now on the workplace agenda with HSE emphasising its importance by including it within their Health and Work strategy for Ill health. The strategy covering all industries focuses on three main priorities one of which is work-related stress. There are also rising numbers of compensation claims being brought against employers who do not try to prevent or mitigate the effects of work-related mental health issues.
Businesses can do a lot to be proactive and provide additional support to their employees by providing specialist training on how to improve wellbeing in the workplace. If you are looking to have a positive influence on wellbeing in your workplace, NEBOSH Working with Wellbeing is a great choice for you. It is particularly relevant to Health and Safety professionals, wellbeing practitioners, and those with people management responsibilities but is open to anyone with a passion for wellbeing.
Investing in good wellbeing will bring benefits to your business as well as your workforce.
Research has shown that good wellbeing can:
- Reduce staff turnover
- Reduce sickness absence
- Reduce accidents and injuries
- Increase employee satisfaction and engagement
- Increase productivity
Based on research and best practice, NEBOSH Working with Wellbeing provides a holistic approach that is relevant for any sector, anywhere in the world. It covers:
- what ‘wellbeing’ is and why it matters
- the different factors that can positively and negatively impact wellbeing
- the benefits of achieving good worker wellbeing
- practical initiatives that can improve wellbeing
- how to measure the effectiveness of wellbeing initiatives.
This one day qualification is delivered in the classroom and introduces the concept of the NEBOSH ‘wellbeing tree’, which considers six key areas of wellbeing – Interaction, Exercise, Mindfulness, Nutrition, Kindness, and Learning.
Through your participation, you will gain the knowledge and confidence necessary to positively influence employee wellbeing in your workplace.
If you are interested in our next upcoming NEBOSH Working with Wellbeing award please register your interest.
0333 358 2032