Guest Blog: Put wellbeing high up on your business agenda

Go on, I dare you - put wellbeing high up on your business agenda

Surely not! I have got far too much going on, don’t you know we are in the middle of a global pandemic, trying to climb out of a lockdown and facing a worldwide economic recession? This could well be your response to the headline of the post, and I hear you. Life is tough, but give me a few minutes of your time to read and reflect on the benefits that will come from pushing wellbeing up your agenda.

The simple fact is, that if your employees are well, fit and healthy - then they will be more engaged in their roles and your business and as a result, your business will be more successful. “Really?”. Yep, really and there is a lot of evidence out there to support it.

Engage for Success research shows that engaged employees with high wellbeing were (35%) more attached and therefore engaged and committed to their organisations than those with lower wellbeing, calling it “the Virtuous Circle”.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) provide a wealth of research, information and guidance on the matter:

As well as benefiting employees, an integrated approach to well-being can increase employee engagement, fostering a joint commitment to organisational success.

Equally, consumers are increasingly choosing to use and buy from brands that they trust, and an element of the trust is about how companies look after their people. The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2020 has startling data, including the fact that 90% of respondees want their chosen brands to protect the well-being and financial security of their people, even if it means suffering big financial losses until the pandemic ends!

So, with evidence in place to link engagement and wellbeing what are your next steps?

1. Accepting and acknowledging its importance and benefit is the first essential step.
2. Do not park this solely at the door of your HR team. Of course, they will be pivitol, but to really embed wellbeing into your company culture, all areas of the business need to be involved and certainly, your management team need to proactively support and encourage.
3. Recognise that a bowl of fruit next to the kettle on a Wednesday is not going to constitute a rounded approach to encouraging wellbeing!
4. Start by talking to your people and asking them what they believe would support their wellness and as a business what could you consider putting in place? You will be surprised at the ideas, creativity and range of thinking. Here are some to get you going. Engagement from the start will no doubt support engagement of the initiatives further down the line.
5. Wellbeing is, of course, our combined physical and mental wellbeing, so any plans you put in place need to consider supporting both aspects and are wide-ranging so that there is something for everyone. “What's right for me, might not be right for you” is a good approach.

In summary, I would go as far as to say, it’s actually everyone's duty to look after their wellbeing and stay as fit and healthy as possible in these difficult times. Companies and employers certainly have a duty of care to support and do this and in doing so will not only be doing the right thing but will have the added benefit of contributing to the success of their business.

Written by Jo Redman.

About the author:

Jo is a freelance consultant whose purpose is to inspire people and organisations to be even better versions of themselves. You can find out more here.