When enacting provisions to support employee wellness, HR should focus on initiatives that bring observable, measurable change.
By Simon Kent
The provision of well-being support across the workforce has become more vital and more complex in recent years. The impact of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and the concurrent mental health issues alongside these challenges have brought well-being to the top of the agenda for many HR practitioners. Because if the workforce isn’t happy or is preoccupied with matters other than work, how effective will they be in their roles?
Comprehensive well-being provisions should cover the four pillars of well-being: physical, social, financial, and mental. It’s a tall order, but Sir Cary Cooper, professor of organizational psychology and health at the University of Manchester’s Manchester Business School, warns that even when businesses appear to do this, they may not be having the impact they need or think they’re having.
“They do the low-hanging stuff but they’re not being strategic,” says Professor Cooper. In fact, a CIPD survey identified only 40% of businesses as being strategic around well-being initiatives. For the 60% looking to make a change and be truly strategic, Cooper says organisations need to make sure a senior HR leader owns clear responsibility for health and well-being and they can operationalise the issue. In other words, they can make things happen that will make a difference.
Professor Cooper advocates for auditing processes that can provide information about “hot spots” where health and well-being is an issue for businesses. This can be compared to other companies in the sector and therefore identify areas which need to be addressed. This could involve offering a good intervention–perhaps physical education to help with recurring muscle and joint strains–but it could also mean addressing the behaviour of a line manager or the culture of a particular part of the business.
Claire Webber-Powell, people director at Outdoor and Cycle Concepts, says their company takes a holistic approach to health and well-being support. A technology platform model gives access to discounts on everyday items as well as wellness resources for meditation, workouts, and yoga. There is also a recognition space, providing all colleagues the potential to celebrate the achievements that happen in the business—an initiative which is aligned to the company’s behavioural framework. In addition, there’s an employee assistance programme (EAP) and a private medical insurance scheme for managers, including access to mental health support. Overall, employees are able to connect with true specialists and experts when and if the need arises.
“Mental health continues to be a growing concern with more colleagues stating this is impacting them both at work and personally,” says Webber-Powell. “As a consequence, we are seeing more colleagues taking ad hoc days off to help manage their well-being.” The company ensures employees know where they can go for support and also keeps in touch with further support for colleagues who are off long-term.
“This can sometimes be a tricky balance to achieve so we try to connect as soon as possible with a colleague who is likely to be off for more than three weeks to establish how we keep in touch and aid their recovery,” says Webber-Powell.
She acknowledges the challenges of measuring ROI for well-being, especially when some of the support mechanisms are confidential. However, colleague satisfaction surveys can establish whether awareness of support is effective, and feedback is sought whenever a support mechanism is used. Use of “Mental Health First Aiders” in terms of numbers of contacts and trends are also correlated against absence data.
Health and well-being are clearly wrapped up in the working culture of Ecotone U.K., a company focussed on biodiverse food products. HR Director Ann Chambers says the support they provide links strongly to the company’s overall mission to create lasting change in the world and benefit the planet with better, sustainable food choices. Good well-being among staff not only means they are ready to work, but also that they share the same positive and innovative sentiments which underpin the business.
Chambers agrees that the emphasis on financial well-being has increased with the cost-of-living crisis and emergence from the pandemic, but that provision is also offered alongside initiatives which address the three other pillars of well-being: physical, mental, and social well-being.
The support itself comes through a mix of resources, some coming from the business itself which is a great way for the company to own the well-being activities and integrate them into the fabric of working life. One of their employees, for example, hosts hugely popular weight training and yoga classes. “This also feeds into the social element of wellbeing,” notes Chambers, an activity which is also supported through the company’s work with young peoples’ charity, My Big Career.
Acting upon the impact of these measures isn’t easy, agrees Chambers, but the company does ensure the feedback loop is complete. “What we can look at is our low absence and sickness rates,” she says, “which are at less than 2%, even across manufacturing, which accounts for our team in the Clipper Teas factory. As an industry, this figure is usually slightly higher which we attribute to our team being suitably engaged at work. If sickness rates are higher, it can be anticipated that people aren’t thriving in the workplace in the same way.”
As these companies demonstrate and Cooper upholds, being effective is not about having a special day to heighten awareness, it’s about being systematic in the approach to each area of well-being. Companies must be on top of objective measures—attrition, stress related absence, presenteeism, and so on if they are to make a real difference to employee’s all around performance and well-being. Anything else will not just be ineffective but could be seen to be an empty gesture from a business that otherwise doesn’t understand what it’s like to work there.
