Where is health & wellbeing on your agenda?

Health and wellbeing at work has gained a much higher place on the agenda for employers and individuals over the last few years. 

Government attention on the issue through its welfare reform agenda has helped put it firmly on the radar for organisations and barely a day goes by without mention of the issue in the media.

While the Government seems to have grasped the importance of health and wellbeing as a workplace issue – it has invested in employee happiness research and the significant Black and Frost Review into absence and health at work – not all employers feel the same.

There are some forward-thinking companies who are grasping the issue, taking a proactive approach to the health of their staff and reaping the associated benefits. But research suggests that some employers are only just starting to confront the issue and grasp the opportunity to improve the performance of their businesses.

The cost of poor employee wellbeing should alarm any leader: translating the impact of the sickness absence, reactive health costs and staff turnover gives the average organisation with 750 staff a bill of around £3,264,000 according to the energiseYou Employee wellbeing guide.

Employees know there is a problem. Research of over 2,000 UK employees, from energiseYou, shows 80% of people score just 40% with regards to their health and energy.

With sickness absence and stress levels rising across the UK, poor employee wellbeing represents an iceberg which looks set to hit UK business unless action is taken quickly.

So the opportunity is clear: employers need to turn their attention to helping their staff improve their health to support better business performance.

To better understand issues facing organisations around health and wellbeing at work we partnered with Edenred and asked almost 200 senior HR professionals what their organisations are thinking and doing in four key areas:

• Getting wellbeing on the agenda
• Making the link between wellbeing and performance
• Practical actions to improve health and wellbeing
• measuring the impact

The purpose of this report is to share this insight and draw on best practice to establish a framework so that organisations can improve the performance of their business.

For a copy of the survey please email contactus@energiseyou.com

The rules of engagement

High levels of employee engagement is what every business wants.

According to research, from the Best Companies, high levels of employee engagement help to create a more profitable business. This is because it drives performance by:
- Improving motivation so that staff go that extra mile for the business
- Inspiring employees to be the best they can be at work
- Giving clarity so staff understand the organisations objectives & priorities
- Achieving great staff retention and the ability to attract top talent

If we were able to wave a magic wand to create a highly engaged workforce I’m sure most business leaders and HR professionals would take it. But sadly there’s not. As leaders we need to work hard to create a positive work environment where employees feel valued, where they are driven by what they do and able to perform at their best.

There is lots of employee focused research that has been carried out to investigate what creates an engaged workforce and what helps attract, retain and motivate workers. This all shows we are not simply driven by large salaries and job security. Our needs go much further, beyond just our material needs, and they become quite physical and emotional.

Wayne Clarke, International Partner, Best Companies Partnership says, “One of the most important things in achieving strong levels of employee engagement is the relationship between employees and their line manager – people join organisations, but they leave managers. Managers need to focus on providing direction and this means good communication.”

Think about a time when you have produced your best work or performed at your best. How did you feel? What type of environment were you working in? How did you feel about your employer and manager? Did you feel healthy, happy and energised? When we are able to meet our employees material needs and also make sure they feel valued then they are far more likely to put in extra work.

Employees want to know that their employers care about them. They want to be recognised for their work and feel valued, which is why the role of managers is so important – click here to read my earlier blog, which focuses on the role of line managers.

Wellbeing is very important. Wayne says, “Effective managers not only offer clarity for what is expected from their employees but they treat them as individuals, with fairness and respect and with a concern for their wellbeing.

"We know that when employees feel that they are fairly treated and looked after, in terms of their health and wellbeing, that they are much more engaged and far more likely to put in the extra effort when needed.”

As a business leader myself, I want my employees to be committed, feel motivated by their work, be passionate about what they do and able to perform at their best. This means listening to employees so that I can:
1. Understand what is most important to them
2. Identify any potential problems so that interventions can be put in place
3. Create a culture where employees are able to perform at their best

We know from our work with some of the best companies that they remain successful because they stay close to their people and have open communication. They listen to employees so that get a good understanding of their needs and by doing so they are able to create a culture where their staff are happy, energised and able to perform at their best.

Employee wellbeing – where do line managers fit in?

More and more organisations are taking action when it comes to improving employee health and wellbeing but in order to achieve real return on investment it is critical for line managers to play their part. In this blog I discuss the role of line managers in improving the health and wellbeing of employees - this first appeared on Edenred.com.

We know from our experience of working with some of the UK’s top brands that by taking a proactive approach to the health and energy of employees, organisations can really improve wellbeing which in turn helps increase the company’s profits.

But to succeed, and achieve real return on investment, the culture of the organisation needs to be one that embraces wellbeing - this is where line managers come in. Managers can really help create the positive organisational culture that is required to really achieve a healthy, energised, high performing workforce.

Here are five things areas to consider when thinking about the role of line managers in employee wellbeing:

1) Direction, motivation and challenge
It is important for line managers to give clarity about the vision of the business and business objectives, and make sure employees understand how their individual objectives fit in. A little pressure can be a good thing. It is up to line managers to get the balance right, making sure staff feel stretched and are motivated by their objectives but not feeling overwhelmed and unable to handle the pressure.

2) Good communication
Research from Best Companies highlights the importance of good communication in achieving high levels of employee wellbeing and engagement. The most effective way to improve communication is through conversation and this is where line managers come in. It is important for team members to feel that they trust their line manager and can have an open and honest relationship. Managers who listen to and are open to receiving feedback and maintain an open channel of communication will naturally become aware of problems more quickly and this will enable them to fix them much sooner.

3) Spot the warning signs
Managers need to work closely with their team to ensure they are working to realistic deadlines and have a manageable workload. There will be times when individuals themselves are unable to spot early warning signs and this is where line managers come in. Are employees unable to cope with the pressure? Do they appear to lack energy? Is morale low? Are engagement levels changing? Is someone working too many hours? Managers need to be close enough to their team to spot potential problems. Only then will they be able to intervene and provide the support required.

4) Address the warning signs
Fail to address these warning signs and the business will suffer. Sometimes it will be as simple as a manager taking their team member to one side and discussing the issue and other times it maybe more complex. It is important to ensure line managers understand how to deal with problems when they spot them and what processes are in place to support their employees.

5) Employee recognition
It is important to give recognition to employees when they do a good job. By treating employees well and giving them recognition they are far more likely to be happy, motivated and engaged in their job and as a result pass on the positivity to customer, clients and colleagues thereby maintaining a positive corporate culture.