Well-being at work

In our Growing the health and well-being agenda report, we show that healthy workplaces help people to flourish and reach their potential. This means creating an environment that actively promotes a state of contentment, benefiting both employees and the organisation.

There’s now a much broader understanding and application of holistic health and well-being approaches in many workplaces. However, it's also clear that there's an implementation gap, with many organisations not yet embracing the health and well-being agenda to full effect. These organisations could benefit from greater investment in the well-being of their workforce.

Investing in employee well-being can lead to increased resilience, greater innovation and higher productivity. Put simply - it makes good business sense.

What an effective health and well-being programme looks like depends on the needs of the organisation and its people. It's likely to include:

• health promotion
• a good working environment
• flexible working
• positive relationships
• opportunities for career development
• an open and supportive management style.

However, well-being initiatives often fall short of their potential because they stand alone, isolated from the everyday business. To gain real benefit, well-being must be integrated throughout an organisation, embedded in its culture, leadership and people management.

The people profession is in a unique position to drive forward this agenda, to convince senior managers to make it a priority, and ensure that line managers accept and uphold its importance its importance.

Adopting an organisational approach to employee well-being carries with it distinct responsibilities for particular employee groups.

HR professionals

HR professionals have a key part to play in steering the health and well-being agenda in organisations. They need to ensure that senior managers regard it as a priority and integrate well-being practices into the organisation’s day-to-day operations.

They need to communicate the benefits of a healthy workplace to line managers, who are typically responsible for implementing people management and well-being policies. They need to work closely with all areas of the business and provide practical guidance to ensure that policies and practices are implemented consistently and with compassion.

Senior managers

Lack of senior management commitment to well-being can be a major barrier to implementation. Senior managers are crucial role models, and line managers and employees are more likely to engage with health and well-being interventions if they see senior leaders actively participating in them. Senior managers have the authority and influence to ensure that well-being is a strategic priority embedded in the organisation’s day-to-day operations and culture.

Line managers

Much of the day-to-day responsibility for managing employees’ health and well-being falls on line managers. This includes implementing stress management initiatives, spotting early warning signs of stress, making reasonable adjustments at work, and nurturing positive relationships.

Yet our surveys consistently suggests that ‘poor management style’ is one of the top three causes of work-related stress. Leaders and managers are important role models in fostering healthy behaviour at work, and this finding shows how harmful the impact can be if managers aren’t equipped with the competence and confidence to go about their people management role in the right way.

Managers also need to understand the impact their management style has on employees and the wider organisational culture at work.

Occupational health

Occupational health (OH) is a specialist branch of medicine focused on health in the workplace. For this reason, OH practitioners are likely to work closely with HR practitioners and those responsible for health and safety in a workplace. 

Employees

Employees also have a responsibility for looking after their own health and well-being, and will only benefit from well-being initiatives if they participate in the initiatives on offer and take care of their health and well-being outside work as well. Employers can encourage employees’ involvement by communicating how staff can access the support and benefits available to them. It’s also important that the organisation seeks employee feedback about its current offerings so it can learn how to shape existing initiatives and plan new ones.