In recognition of World Wellbeing Week, we had the pleasure of speaking with Renée Clarke (Director Of Work Well Hub), who drew upon her 11 years’ experience to provide us with her own expert viewpoint on what it takes to create a truly thriving workplace wellbeing culture.
What does workplace wellbeing mean to you?
“For me, workplace wellbeing is about ensuring the work environment is one that nurtures the health, safety and wellbeing of workers. It’s about taking a holistic approach to employees’ health and wellbeing and not just reacting when things go wrong but preventing them from happening in the first place. It’s also about offering supportive solutions that meet the needs of both the business and its people, in order to ensure that both thrive in an ever-changing world.”
Why is workplace wellbeing such a pressing issue in today’s business world?
“I think workplace wellbeing has always been a pressing issue but due to a lack of knowledge and skills, organisations have brushed it under the carpet, rather than face it head on. The good news is things are on the upturn. With more conversations around the topic, we are now seeing a surge in organisations wanting to put the health and wellbeing of their employees on the business agenda. Furthermore, organisations are also realising the impact good employee health and wellbeing has on the organisation’s long-term effectiveness (especially on work performance, absence levels, and attracting and retaining the best employees).
Having a supportive organisation where health and wellbeing is clearly embedded into its core, offers a clear advantage. Employees want to work in a supportive environment where their health and wellbeing needs are met, and they have the opportunity to grow and flourish.”
Why might businesses be reluctant to embrace wellbeing initiatives?
“The biggest barriers I face when talking to organisations about investing in workplace health and wellbeing isn’t just the monetary factor; it’s the lack of knowledge, skills and confidence to design and deliver their health and wellbeing strategy. Organisations often fear that if they ask questions, they will then be faced with situations they cannot deal with, especially when asking about the environment in which people work. The message is ‘if you don’t know what the problem is how can you fix it’? Taking a targeted approach to workplace health and wellbeing will enable employers to identify hazards and then put in place measures to either eliminate or reduce them, whilst also improving the working environment for all.”
How can we best create a culture of wellbeing within our workplace?
“A workplace health and wellbeing culture isn’t something that just appears overnight, it needs to be authentic, well-structured and led by those at the top of the business. Creating a culture of wellbeing is about employers demonstrating that they genuinely care about their employees, it’s about taking time to listen to employee views and taking action to help them improve and grow. When starting the health and wellbeing process, it is important that employers conduct research from within their organisation to find out what the real issues are (not just the ones they think need addressing). I have seen it far too often when organisations offer mental health and wellbeing training because they think they should, but in reality, there are far more pressing issues they need to address. Doing research and understanding the real drivers for health and wellbeing will enable organisations to offer targeted actions for longer term health improvements and will also demonstrate a genuine interest in their workforce.
In addition, for workplace health and wellbeing to really work and for it to be emended into the heart and soul of the organisations, staff need to feel valued and heard. As such, ensuring communication channels are open for staff to speak up and speak out when they need to is an invaluable asset when it comes to any workplace health and wellbeing programme.”
What are the benefits have you seen within workplaces which promote a culture of wellbeing?
“When an organisation embeds health and wellbeing into their business, they don’t just see a substantial return on their investment, they also see huge value of returns. Staff are more engaged in their work, they perform better, take less time sick, are more ‘present’ in their role, and the working culture is improved. In order to gain the biggest benefits however, organisations need to take a holistic approach to wellbeing and not just focus on one area such as mental health. Including all five pillars of wellbeing (mental, physical, social, financial, and organisational) and taking a ‘whole person’ approach will offer organisations the opportunity for improved business outcomes.”
Based on the advice you have provided, what are the next steps businesses should take when it comes to implementing health and wellbeing within their organisation?
“The Number 1 starting point of any health and wellbeing initiative is to create a workplace health and wellbeing strategy. When I talk about a strategy, I don’t just mean an off the web document that sits on the shelf and is never looked at, I mean a focused and targeted strategy that drives positive results for both the organisation and its people. When putting a strategy together organisations need to address 4 key factors - research, planning, delivering, and evaluating.
Research is a key element to building a holistic and focused workplace health strategy, it looks at the needs of both the business and its people through predefined questions that will enable them to build a targeted facts-based strategy.
Planning involves identifying key drivers for health and wellbeing improvements (following the initial research) which will enable them to build a targeted and action plan and framework.
Delivering is all about getting the health and wellbeing programme out into the business so that it drives engagement and in turn, long term health improvement.
The final stage is all about evaluating the programme so that organisations can establish, what is working, what isn’t, and what needs to change.
Following this four-step programme will enable employers to create a bespoke health and wellbeing strategy that focuses on prevention, protection, and intervention and achieves positive results for both the organisation and its people.”
Renée Clarke - Biography
Renée Clarke is the founder of Work Well Hub a training and consultancy company based on the South Coast of England.
Renée specialises in delivering workplace health and wellbeing consultancy and training to organisations across the UK and has recently launched her online course ‘Implement a Workplace Health Strategy in Four Simple Steps’.
Renée’s overall aim within her work is to encourage organisations to embed health and wellbeing into the culture of business through strategy development and delivery. Having previously worked in both public and private sector organisations she has a clear understanding of the health and wellbeing issues organisations face.