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Health and wellbeing in the workplace has never been more critical than it is today; as we face a global health crisis, which will have a profound impact on business and economies across the globe. Before we became consumed by COVID19, Boards and business leaders had become increasingly aware that fostering healthy wellbeing, could not only help deliver increased productivity, but was also crucial to any talent attraction and retention strategy. This awareness has been heightened even further as a result of the current crisis, as we are all faced with the many health and wellbeing issues presented as a result of the pandemic. Creating a comprehensive and inclusive wellbeing programme that is integrated into the company values and culture isn’t necessarily easy, but it is critical to business performance and also helpful at times of crisis.
Zen takes a holistic approach to health and wellbeing and its strategy addresses factors that may affect employee wellbeing from both inside and outside the organisation. This approach has proven particularly effective as we navigate through a remote working environment, which is set to continue in one guise or another for the foreseeable future.
Safety
An obvious one, but safety is fundamental to employee health and wellbeing. Maintaining safety standards, including safe working practices and a safe work environment, is one of the most logical places to start with any wellbeing strategy. Yet ‘Health and Safety’ is often seen as a compliance function; completely separate from HR or wider wellbeing initiatives. It shouldn’t be. There is real value in having close links and a collaborative approach between Health and Safety and HR – both functions play a key part when it comes to the wellbeing of employees. There are a number of areas of overlap and working together provides insight, which will help inform a more proactive approach to safety.
At Zen, health and safety is integrated into the overall wellbeing agenda, and works alongside HR. The recent introduction of a Health and Safety app – ‘Notify’, allowing anyone to report a near miss, injury, or ill health matter via their mobile devices, wherever they are, was a timely addition. We introduced it to encourage everyone to take responsibility for creating a safer, healthier workplace – an important consideration always, but today, it is also going to be invaluable to us as we navigate towards a return to the ‘new office environment’.
Personal health – physical and mental
This is an area that rightfully gets a lot of air time. Most companies now understand the importance of both the physical and mental wellbeing of their people. Quite simply, investing time and effort in this area can have a tremendous impact on the happiness and performance of your people.
Zen has a comprehensive plan of activities that are reviewed and updated annually, based on employee feedback. Some of these were on site initiatives: funded on-site therapies such as reflexology, physiotherapy and massages; sporting activities and team events or challenges; free fruit on a weekly basis; a wellbeing room.
But others could still be executed remotely and we have put added emphasis on these in recent times e.g. mental health awareness virtual sessions; mental health first aiders who can operate from anywhere and have been delivering support videos throughout this crisis; an employee assistance programme; private medical cover for all employees; physical health awareness virtual sessions (things such as cancer support, alcohol or drug dependencies, physical fitness etc); mindfulness training; science of happiness sessions; and guest inspirational speakers. Clearly a number of these initiatives come at a cost; but consider the cost of absence and turnover – the investment is worth every penny and look how fortunate we were to have some of them in place when this current crisis emerged. Whichever combination of benefits and initiatives you choose, in our experience, the key to success is making them relevant and inclusive. So regularly seek feedback from your people on what is important to them, and use this to decide the programme of activities for the coming year.
Life factors
It’s not just things that happen at work which can affect wellbeing – personal life pressures and experiences can also have a significant impact on health. It’s crucial for employers to recognise and consider this, when looking at developing an inclusive health and wellbeing strategy. Factors such as financial wellbeing, work-life balance, caring responsibilities, relationships and support networks outside of work, will all have an impact on how people feel and perform at work. This has never been so true as it is now. We have had people working from home while home schooling their children or minding toddlers, and we have had to consider everyone’s mental adaptation to this crisis and how they were coping with so much change and uncertainty. The impact of the current crisis on your people, should not be underestimated. Many will also be living in fear and dealing with grief.
At Zen we provide access to a 24/7 telephone counselling support service – this is something that has proven to be of great value; helping our people deal with wellbeing issues outside of work. Contact and frequent open dialogue with your people, is critical – even more so now that remote working has become the norm, and people are dealing with multiple pressures in their personal lives. Flexibility in regard to working arrangements is now absolutely essential. The best employers will have listened to and engaged with their people, and will have multiple options available for the varying needs. This greater level of flexibility allows you to attract a more diverse pool of talent into the business, and also plays a vital role in retaining people. Financial awareness is another area that is of benefit to invest in for your people, and again, very relevant in the current circumstances. You can engage an external company to provide guidance and support sessions, but there are also lots of ways you can support this in-house at little to no cost.
Working environment
You can have the best and most innovative well-being initiatives in place, but if the working environment is not right, then their impact will be short-lived at best. But what is the ‘right working environment’? Having a positive and supportive company culture is a good start; with supportive colleagues and managers. After that, rewarding and treating people fairly, and providing interesting work and opportunities to grow and develop, is crucial. Championing diversity and inclusion, and empowering people so they feel valued and trusted, are also key to a positive and healthy working environment. And guess what – all these can be achieved remotely. We don’t need the physical office to promote a positive working environment.
Culture is king at Zen. There is a significant focus and investment made in maintaining a ‘people first’ approach, and that really helps to maintain a great company culture.
We all know the power of having a great company culture…it leads to engaged people and high performance…but let’s not forget the significant positive impact it also has on wellbeing!
Resilience
Resilience can often get tagged under mental wellbeing, but it deserves a greater level of focus than this, which is why it is one of the key strands of the wellbeing strategy at Zen. It may be surprising to discover how many people have various limiting assumptions or beliefs, which are not only impacting their confidence and ability to thrive, but are also having a detrimental impact on their overall health and wellbeing. Along with this, change is now common practice in business, and the ability to adapt with agility and pace, particularly now, has become increasingly important to competitiveness and performance and to navigating a positive exit from this current crisis we all find ourselves in.
With this in mind, it is crucial for employers to provide support and development, in order to help their people make the various transitions required to operate in a more versatile environment. Failure to address this key area, can often result in an increase in performance issues, sickness absence, or employee turnover, as people struggle to deal with the pace of change.>
Everyone at Zen has access to leadership development and resilience training in order to support them as they adapt to change and to help them grow and achieve their full potential. Recognising an increasing need for more accessible and flexible training, we had fortunately arranged for our resiliency training to be delivered digitally. These were launched to the business back in March – which was great timing for us, as we were all moving to home working and adjusting to being in lockdown at that point.
Giving back
The final component of the wellbeing strategy at Zen, is all about achieving the “feel good factor”, by providing people with the opportunity to ‘give back’ and do something good for the community and environment. This is an area that may not be widely associated with employee ‘wellbeing’, but has been proven to have a significant impact on engagement levels and the happiness of employees…and as such, a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. This aside, it is also the right thing to do!
Most companies have strategies in place to tackle environmental concerns and participate in charitable activities – so you may feel you’ve got this covered. It is, however, advisable to review just how inclusive and diverse your strategies really are in this area. Are you able to engage with your entire workforce? Do employees feel they have the ability to participate and contribute? Having a well-written and comprehensive CSR policy is a start, but without the engagement of your people, it won’t achieve a positive impact on wellbeing, and this could be a missed opportunity. Charitable and environmental direction, activity and impact, that is owned and driven by employees - from all levels and functions across the business - helps make the “feel good” impact, significantly higher.
Conclusion
Health and wellbeing is playing an increasingly important role in employee engagement and can have a positive (or indeed negative) impact on the attraction and retention of talent. It is also a fundamental component to creating and nurturing the right company culture, in which your staff can thrive. It has never been more critical to review your health and wellbeing strategy, than it is now, as you look to manage your way through and then finally exit this crisis – how you look after your people through these uncertain times, will be remembered…and more effort will be needed to engage your people. Remember to consider the breadth of impact both internal AND external factors can have; listen to your people to ensure any wellbeing activities are inclusive, engaging and relevant; take a long, hard look at resilience and how supporting your people will ensure they can operate effectively in a more versatile working environment; and finally, remember that creating a great culture is key to future success.
Zen takes a holistic approach to health and wellbeing and its strategy addresses factors that may affect employee wellbeing from both inside and outside the organisation. This approach has proven particularly effective as we navigate through a remote working environment, which is set to continue in one guise or another for the foreseeable future.
Safety
An obvious one, but safety is fundamental to employee health and wellbeing. Maintaining safety standards, including safe working practices and a safe work environment, is one of the most logical places to start with any wellbeing strategy. Yet ‘Health and Safety’ is often seen as a compliance function; completely separate from HR or wider wellbeing initiatives. It shouldn’t be. There is real value in having close links and a collaborative approach between Health and Safety and HR – both functions play a key part when it comes to the wellbeing of employees. There are a number of areas of overlap and working together provides insight, which will help inform a more proactive approach to safety.
At Zen, health and safety is integrated into the overall wellbeing agenda, and works alongside HR. The recent introduction of a Health and Safety app – ‘Notify’, allowing anyone to report a near miss, injury, or ill health matter via their mobile devices, wherever they are, was a timely addition. We introduced it to encourage everyone to take responsibility for creating a safer, healthier workplace – an important consideration always, but today, it is also going to be invaluable to us as we navigate towards a return to the ‘new office environment’.
Personal health – physical and mental
This is an area that rightfully gets a lot of air time. Most companies now understand the importance of both the physical and mental wellbeing of their people. Quite simply, investing time and effort in this area can have a tremendous impact on the happiness and performance of your people.
Zen has a comprehensive plan of activities that are reviewed and updated annually, based on employee feedback. Some of these were on site initiatives: funded on-site therapies such as reflexology, physiotherapy and massages; sporting activities and team events or challenges; free fruit on a weekly basis; a wellbeing room.
But others could still be executed remotely and we have put added emphasis on these in recent times e.g. mental health awareness virtual sessions; mental health first aiders who can operate from anywhere and have been delivering support videos throughout this crisis; an employee assistance programme; private medical cover for all employees; physical health awareness virtual sessions (things such as cancer support, alcohol or drug dependencies, physical fitness etc); mindfulness training; science of happiness sessions; and guest inspirational speakers. Clearly a number of these initiatives come at a cost; but consider the cost of absence and turnover – the investment is worth every penny and look how fortunate we were to have some of them in place when this current crisis emerged. Whichever combination of benefits and initiatives you choose, in our experience, the key to success is making them relevant and inclusive. So regularly seek feedback from your people on what is important to them, and use this to decide the programme of activities for the coming year.
Life factors
It’s not just things that happen at work which can affect wellbeing – personal life pressures and experiences can also have a significant impact on health. It’s crucial for employers to recognise and consider this, when looking at developing an inclusive health and wellbeing strategy. Factors such as financial wellbeing, work-life balance, caring responsibilities, relationships and support networks outside of work, will all have an impact on how people feel and perform at work. This has never been so true as it is now. We have had people working from home while home schooling their children or minding toddlers, and we have had to consider everyone’s mental adaptation to this crisis and how they were coping with so much change and uncertainty. The impact of the current crisis on your people, should not be underestimated. Many will also be living in fear and dealing with grief.
At Zen we provide access to a 24/7 telephone counselling support service – this is something that has proven to be of great value; helping our people deal with wellbeing issues outside of work. Contact and frequent open dialogue with your people, is critical – even more so now that remote working has become the norm, and people are dealing with multiple pressures in their personal lives. Flexibility in regard to working arrangements is now absolutely essential. The best employers will have listened to and engaged with their people, and will have multiple options available for the varying needs. This greater level of flexibility allows you to attract a more diverse pool of talent into the business, and also plays a vital role in retaining people. Financial awareness is another area that is of benefit to invest in for your people, and again, very relevant in the current circumstances. You can engage an external company to provide guidance and support sessions, but there are also lots of ways you can support this in-house at little to no cost.
Working environment
You can have the best and most innovative well-being initiatives in place, but if the working environment is not right, then their impact will be short-lived at best. But what is the ‘right working environment’? Having a positive and supportive company culture is a good start; with supportive colleagues and managers. After that, rewarding and treating people fairly, and providing interesting work and opportunities to grow and develop, is crucial. Championing diversity and inclusion, and empowering people so they feel valued and trusted, are also key to a positive and healthy working environment. And guess what – all these can be achieved remotely. We don’t need the physical office to promote a positive working environment.
Culture is king at Zen. There is a significant focus and investment made in maintaining a ‘people first’ approach, and that really helps to maintain a great company culture.
We all know the power of having a great company culture…it leads to engaged people and high performance…but let’s not forget the significant positive impact it also has on wellbeing!
Resilience
Resilience can often get tagged under mental wellbeing, but it deserves a greater level of focus than this, which is why it is one of the key strands of the wellbeing strategy at Zen. It may be surprising to discover how many people have various limiting assumptions or beliefs, which are not only impacting their confidence and ability to thrive, but are also having a detrimental impact on their overall health and wellbeing. Along with this, change is now common practice in business, and the ability to adapt with agility and pace, particularly now, has become increasingly important to competitiveness and performance and to navigating a positive exit from this current crisis we all find ourselves in.
With this in mind, it is crucial for employers to provide support and development, in order to help their people make the various transitions required to operate in a more versatile environment. Failure to address this key area, can often result in an increase in performance issues, sickness absence, or employee turnover, as people struggle to deal with the pace of change.>
Everyone at Zen has access to leadership development and resilience training in order to support them as they adapt to change and to help them grow and achieve their full potential. Recognising an increasing need for more accessible and flexible training, we had fortunately arranged for our resiliency training to be delivered digitally. These were launched to the business back in March – which was great timing for us, as we were all moving to home working and adjusting to being in lockdown at that point.
Giving back
The final component of the wellbeing strategy at Zen, is all about achieving the “feel good factor”, by providing people with the opportunity to ‘give back’ and do something good for the community and environment. This is an area that may not be widely associated with employee ‘wellbeing’, but has been proven to have a significant impact on engagement levels and the happiness of employees…and as such, a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. This aside, it is also the right thing to do!
Most companies have strategies in place to tackle environmental concerns and participate in charitable activities – so you may feel you’ve got this covered. It is, however, advisable to review just how inclusive and diverse your strategies really are in this area. Are you able to engage with your entire workforce? Do employees feel they have the ability to participate and contribute? Having a well-written and comprehensive CSR policy is a start, but without the engagement of your people, it won’t achieve a positive impact on wellbeing, and this could be a missed opportunity. Charitable and environmental direction, activity and impact, that is owned and driven by employees - from all levels and functions across the business - helps make the “feel good” impact, significantly higher.
Conclusion
Health and wellbeing is playing an increasingly important role in employee engagement and can have a positive (or indeed negative) impact on the attraction and retention of talent. It is also a fundamental component to creating and nurturing the right company culture, in which your staff can thrive. It has never been more critical to review your health and wellbeing strategy, than it is now, as you look to manage your way through and then finally exit this crisis – how you look after your people through these uncertain times, will be remembered…and more effort will be needed to engage your people. Remember to consider the breadth of impact both internal AND external factors can have; listen to your people to ensure any wellbeing activities are inclusive, engaging and relevant; take a long, hard look at resilience and how supporting your people will ensure they can operate effectively in a more versatile working environment; and finally, remember that creating a great culture is key to future success.
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