Employees who have problems — whether work-related or personal — are, for obvious reasons, unlikely to perform as well as they would if the problem did not exist.
But the impact on their work can take numerous forms ranging from reduced concentration and effort to sickness absence.
If endemic, the situation may even lead to higher levels of staff turnover (and, therefore, heightened recruitment costs) and, in extreme cases, to medical illnesses such as depression, alcoholism and the like.
The idea behind employee wellbeing programmes then is to try and enhance both the physical and emotional health of personnel in order to help prevent problems arising in the first place – or, if they do, to help people cope with them as well as possible in order to reduce the impact on their work.
Even if workers do not have cause to use the wellbeing benefits provided by their employer, the fact that they have been made available demonstrates concern for their mental and physical health and the organisation’s commitment to them. This, in turn, is likely to generate loyalty and help to foster good employee relations.
Therefore, adopting a positive approach to staff wellbeing can help to boost individual performance which, in turn, may contribute to enhancing organisational performance.
Types of wellbeing programme
Wellbeing initiatives fall into four key categories – those that:
- ensure the workplace is welcoming and well-organised
- make sure terms and conditions of employment are fair and contribute to employee wellbeing
- help workers with specific problems, for example, providing individuals who are ill or injured with rehabilitation plans
- offer benefits and policies to help staff adopt a healthy lifestyle or offer them assistance with developing one, if required.
Employers’ duty of care
Employers owe a duty of care to their employees, which manifests itself in many ways. It means, for example, that they must:
- define jobs properly and undertake risk assessments
- organise work to motivate staff and minimise undue stress
- train personnel to ensure that they have the necessary skills to do their work
- give feedback on performance, put together personal development plans and help workers to overcome poor performance
- provide communication channels between managers and staff so that employees are kept informed or are consulted about issues that affect their jobs and livelihood
- train managers to be alert to problems such as bullying or harassment within their departments
- ensure equipment is well maintained in order to minimise work-related injuries
- provide areas for rest and relaxation at work so that staff can move away from their desks to eat lunch. If space allows, a quiet room where workers can go to spend a bit of time in prayer or mediation may also be useful
- ensure that no-one works excessive hours
- make certain that all staff take their holidays
- create a culture in which employees are encouraged to raise any concerns with their manager so that problems do not fester.
If staff feel that the workplace is well-organised, their jobs are interesting and worthwhile and that they have an opportunity to make their views heard, the potential for work-related stress and disengagement will be greatly reduced. Instead a sense of job satisfaction and feelings of wellbeing are likely to be enhanced.
Enhancing terms and conditions
The law now lays down many terms and conditions of employment such as maternity leave/pay and sick pay, but employers are free to boost these basic statutory rights if they so desire. In terms of employee wellbeing, employers might consider:
- enhancing statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay
- strengthening sickness absence policies and procedures, while also putting the emphasis on rehabilitation
- offering all staff members the right to ask for flexible working
- ensuring that there are effective policies in place for dealing with bullying and harassment and making certain that managers and employees are trained in the meaning of and use of these policies. Harassment and bullying should be classed as disciplinary offences and personnel should be left in no doubt that such activity is prohibited. They should also be educated about the negative consequences/damage that such behaviour can cause.
- introducing time-off policies that might include paid time off for domestic leave, career breaks and sabbaticals
- implementing a grievance procedure to enable employees to address work-related problems
- devising policies to help manage stress at work and providing staff with suitable avenues to explore if they feel that they are becoming stressed. A stress-related condition that leads to sickness absence or even, ultimately, to dismissal as a result of ill-health does not differ in the eyes of the law from a physical injury sustained at work. Employers will be liable if they have breached their duty to provide a safe system of work.
Rehabilitation
Where employees have been away from work due to serious illness or as a result of an accident, they may need support in re-entering the workplace. The ‘fit note’ certificate, which replaced a doctor’s sick certificate as of April 2010, allows GPs to recommend that staff return to work at a reduced level perhaps by undertaking shorter hours or less arduous work.
Employers do not have to allow employees to return to work in this manner, however, not least because the doctor may not always understand what is feasible from their point of view. Employees also have the right not to return on a phased re-entry basis if they feel it is not appropriate. Moreover, employers cannot force them to work while the fit note remains in force.
The principle behind introducing the certificate was to encourage employees to return to work as soon as they were physically able to do so, however, and employers should, therefore, try to encourage this scenario.
Organisations with occupational health departments should also use them to assist in ensuring employees’ successful return to work. Where there is no internal OH help available, developing a relationship with an external provider may provide a good substitute.
Health and wellbeing initiatives
There are a number of soft benefits that employers can offer to help employees stay fit and healthy, ranging from discounted gym membership to medical assessments.
By investing in wellbeing initiatives, organisations should see an improvement in the mental and physical health of their staff. Such a situation should, in turn, help to reduce their costs as a result of cutting sickness absence and employee disengagement, creating a win-win situation all round.
Fraser Gregory is corporate health, safety and technical services manager at HR software and services provider, Croner.
