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28 Apr 2023

3 tips for shaping an effective wellbeing programme

Achieving total employee wellbeing in the workplace should be every organisation’s goal

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Deloitte’s recent Mental Health and Employers report has shown a 25% increase in chronic mental health disorders in the UK.

As mental health continues to decline, HR leaders also face ongoing changes and challenges around economic uncertainty, ‘quiet quitting’, the great resignation and the need to attract and retain top talent.

Why employee wellbeing matters

A range of factors can make it difficult for most workers to prioritise their mental and physical health. From financial uncertainty to changes to one’s professional role, feelings of isolation and loneliness, there are countless reasons why people may feel anxious or overwhelmed.

Given that healthy employees are the backbone of high performing organisations, this is a challenge employers can’t afford to ignore as it affects an organisation’s talent pool, revenue and culture.

Recent years have shown the effect of poor employee mental and physical health.

  • 61% of employees cite poor mental health as the reason for leaving (Deloitte 2022)
  • An estimated 36.8 million working days were lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries between 2021 and 2022, according to the UK Health and Safety Executive.

The problem with traditional programmes

Many organisations have wellbeing programmes but these often fall short of creating lasting impact for a variety of reasons:

Lack of focus on prevention

Traditional programmes tend to focus on treatment, not prevention, and only support members when there’s already a problem.

In its 2022 guidelines on Mental Wellbeing at Work, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended that organisations adopt a preventive and proactive strategic approach to mental wellbeing at work. This includes ensuring that wellbeing is embedded in the overall business strategy of all organisational policies and practices.

Fragmented resources

With different initiatives tackling various health issues, employees are forced to deal with too many points of contact to get the care they need. This can be confusing and uncoordinated and puts the onus for sourcing proper support on the employee, therefore creating barriers to care.

Low engagement

It is reported that 42% of employees don’t know about or understand all their employee benefits. This suggests that employers need better strategies to educate team members on their benefit plans and keep them engaged, all while ensuring that these resources are easily accessible.

3 Tips for shaping an effective wellbeing programme

1. Address wellbeing at a cultural level

Company culture can have a significant effect on employees’ wellbeing as it plays a crucial role in creating a positive and supportive work environment.

Improve workplace culture by encouraging healthy habits and advocating regular, active breaks, like stretching or spending time outside. Another way to enhance workplace culture is by fostering a sense of community whether through remote coffee chats, company-wide events or team wellbeing challenges.

2. Adopt a prevention led model

It is important to have programmes in place that prevent the development of health related issues as opposed to focusing solely on treatment. This can be achieved through providing employees with a range of specialised tools that support their mental health and wellbeing.

Some of these tools might include: self-led digital cognitive behavioural therapy, habit building toolkits around sleep or financial wellbeing, or health and wellbeing content across all four pillars of wellbeing – physical, emotional, financial and social.

3. Drive higher engagement through tailored wellbeing programme

A powerful wellbeing programme recognises that each individual is on a unique health path.

This is why our platform adapts to the different wellbeing needs and starting points of its members:

  • Members who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle
  • Members who believe they need to make changes to their lifestyle
  • Members who want to course-correct to live a healthier life

Achieving employee wellbeing is essential for companies that want to thrive in today’s world.

To empower your workforce on their health, address workplace wellbeing at a cultural level, assess your offering to ensure that it takes a prevention-led approach and takes a whole person view of wellbeing to ensure employees’ individual needs are met.

To learn more about how to support your employees while building an engaged and productive workplace, click here to download The ultimate guide to achieving total employee wellbeing.

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In partnership with Dialogue formerly Tictrac

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