What is well-being and why is it important for businesses? There is a growing recognition about the importance of looking after the well-being of staff in many organisations. Many managers are choosing to adopt practices to increase the well-being of their staff, as they are finding that working collaboratively benefits both the employee and the employer.
But what does the term well-being mean? Well-being is a dynamic process and not static. It gives individuals a sense of how their lives are going, due to how they relate to activities, relationships and circumstances that are taking place simultaneously in their day to day lives. Well-being covers the interrelationship of these three areas – psychological, physical and social.
- Physiological – e.g. stress reduction, burnout prevention, emotional protection;
- Physical - the working environment, e.g. the building; and
- Social - relationships with others which should be non- discriminatory, and non- confrontational.
In 2015, 30.4 million working days were lost due to self-reported work-related illness or injury:
- 9 million days due to work-related illness;
- 5 million days due to workplace injury.
- Stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for most days lost due to work-related ill health.
All organisations, need to provide and maintain an environment that is suitable for all its operations and processes, and they also need to meet government regulations. These regulations are regularly updated and it is up to the organisation to keep abreast of new changes and how they will impact their staff.
What Are the Benefits of Looking After the Well-being of Your staff?
- Better communication at work and improved health and well-being of all members of staff.
- Productivity will increase, and a higher percentage of staff retention which will reduce recruitment cost.
- Increased level of engagement and motivation for staff at work.
- Better work-life balance and reduced stress.
- Gain the reputation of being a leading employer who delivers a happier work environment.
Which accreditations, include looking after the well-being of staff? For many companies, they need to have specific quality standards to tender for public funds or to remain competitive. Some of these accreditations include:
- Investors in People for managers,
- The matrix Standard which is a unique quality standard for support services of individuals in their choice of career, learning, work and life goals.
- The Quality Management Systems Standard ISO 9001:2015. This standard was revised to include the latest best practices in how to manage and monitor quality across operations from users and experts around the world.
One new accreditation, that is unknown to many organisations in London, is the London Healthy Workplace Charter. The London Healthy Workplace Charter is backed by the Mayor of London. More than 279,000 employees have benefited from over 150 organisations including small business, large corporations or public sector organisations. There is also a national standard, The Workplace Well-being Charter
I have trained as a verifier of the London Workplace Charter, as I am passionate about employers looking after the well-being of their staff. With over 25 years experience working in the secondary school sector, rising to the position of deputy headteacher, I know first-hand the impact and consequences of managers not looking after the wellbeing of their staff. My personal experiences have been published in my new self-help coaching book, ‘Say Yes To New Opportunities! Be Motivated to LE.A.R.N.
With
Article 50, to be soon triggered, and the UK looking for new markets following BREXIT, it will be even more critical for companies to keep their accreditations current so they can win and secure new contracts.
So, do you want to invest in your staff and show them that they are important?
Do you want to learn more about my services and how I support you and your organisation with your accreditation processes, using my skills around well-being, leadership and management?
If you are a
visionary leader of your organisation, that wants to know more about how you can improve the well-being of your staff using accreditation, send me a message or connect with me via my Linked In Profile www.linkedin.com/in/ruthpearsonltyv
